MLB Announces Full All-Star Futures Game Rosters

It’s that time of year again! No, it’s not Christmas. No, it’s not Back-To-School for the kiddies (sigh). No, it’s not even the MLB All-Star Game, silly you! It’s time for the announcement everyone’s been waiting for: the MLB All-Star Futures Game full rosters.

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To read the entire rosters for both the U.S. and World teams, click here: 2015 All-Star Futures Game Rosters

Here is the list of players in the Boston Red Sox minor system who made the rosters … oh wait, that’s right, nobody in the organization made the U.S. team roster. Only two players made the World team roster: Rafael Devers and Manuel Margot.

Devers, listed as a third baseman from the Dominican Republic, is playing Class-A ball for the Greenville Drive in South Carolina. He is one of only five players from Class-A to be asked to play in this year’s game, of a possible 50 spots combined. Devers is hitting .298, with six home runs, 37 RBIs, 11 walks, and 50 strikeouts. His on-base percentage is .329 and his slugging percentage is .447, in 262 at-bats this season. Not bad for an 18-year-old. Devers throws righty but hits lefty at the plate, with his six-foot, 195-pound frame looking more like a man raking hits than just a boy getting lucky.

Margot, another member of the Dominican Republic, plays for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs in center field, after being promoted from Class-A Advanced. He hit .292 with a home run and seven RBIs in 12 games for the Sea Dogs. He also hit three home runs and 17 RBIs in 46 games for the Salem Red Sox. He currently has a .333 OBP and .438 SLG, demonstrating a nose for the ball and gives it a ride when he finds it. Margot is 5-foot-11, weighs 170 pounds, and hits the same way that he throws: righty.

It is an honor for these men to be asked to play in this game, as it is often the stepping stone for them to make it to the big leagues, whether on their current team or being traded to play for other teams. “It’s served as a springboard to future MLB success for players like Joey Gallo (2014) and Mike Trout (2009), among many others in the past 16 years,” according to Bleacher Report‘s Adam Wells. And, of course, not everyone makes these teams, and many of the Red Sox top prospects from the United States of America are playing for the big club right now, but the question should be asked: Do the Red Sox have international players on the brain?

Mookie Betts is from Tennessee, Jackie Bradley Jr. is from Virginia, Blake Swihart is from Texas, both Henry Owens and Noe Ramirez are from California, Matt Barnes is from Connecticut, and David Marrero is from Florida. That is the extent of the U.S. 25-and-under youth content for the Red Sox who have played with the big club this year. Xander Bogaerts is from Aruba, Rusney Castillo is from Cuba, Eduardo Rodriguez is from Venezuela, and injured catcher Christian Vazquez is from Puerto Rico. Lots of names, but only a handful seem to be in the plans for the Red Sox in the present or near future.

Betts is the only U.S. player to make a consistent impact on the Red Sox in 2015. Bradley seems like he can never stay with Boston for long, Swihart’s job was taken as soon as Ryan Hanigan came back from injury, Owens has not looked amazing even in Triple-A, Ramirez got lit up recently, Barnes gets lit up a lot, and Marrero has been sometimes an afterthought.

Bogaerts has established himself as the full-time shortstop for Boston. Without Rodriguez’s emergence has given the Red Sox starting rotation some legitimacy, and Vazquez would never even have been questioned to be the starting catcher if he didn’t get injured for the season. Castillo may or may not be the only bust for the club, paying huge money for a guy who continues to have to hone his plate skills for consistency, but his power has given him a bit of a reprieve with Red Sox fans.

Don’t forget: Yoan Moncada, a 20-year-old second baseman from Cuba, was signed earlier this year to Boston’s affiliate in Greenville for an incredible amount of money.

Have your say. Do you think that the Red Sox should continue looking for international talent to help them win ballgames, or is their future at home in the U.S.A.? Has Boston execs been looking too much at other countries’ talent or is there not as much to choose from in North America?

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