Red Sox Sam Travis leads prospects into Arizona Fall League

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Jun 28, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox hat and glove lay in the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Each year the Red Sox send several of their promising prospects to the Arizona Fall League which began its month-long season this week.  The league is something of a showcase for talented players and a way to see where there prospects are in competition against other top talent from around baseball. Players will be sent their also to give them additional playing time if they were injured during the season. An assessment can also be made by the team whether the player should be protected in the Rule 5 draft later in November.

Prospects are split between six teams in the league. For the past three years, the Red Sox players were sent to the Surprise Saguaros. This season, they will play with the Scottsdale Scorpions, for whom Red Sox players last played in 2011. Last year’s AFL MVP was Greg Bird who started at first base down the stretch in the big leagues for the Yankees. The 2013 MVP was Kris Bryant who may be this year’s National League Rookie of the Year for the Cubs. Red Sox pitchers will have a familiar face in the Red Sox A level farm team Salem’s pitching coach Paul Abbott who will be the pitching coach for Scottsdale as well.

This article will take a look at this year’s crop of Red Sox players in the Arizona Fall League.

Mar 7, 2015; Sarasota, FL, USA; A general view of Boston Red Sox hat and glove laying in the dugout at a spring training baseball game at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Hitters, Part 1:

The premier prospect to watch in this year’s Red Sox AFL contingent is  first baseman.  Sam Travis. The Red Sox 2015 minor league offensive player of the year hit .307/.381/.452 in 131 games, splitting his time evenly between Single A Salem and Double A Portland. He had nine home runs and 78 RBIs. The Sox selected Travis in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Indiana University where he was a teammate of the Cubs’ slugger Kyle Schwarber who already has hit three homers in this year’s postseason.

Travis has done nothing but hit since he came into the Red Sox system in 2014. At Rookie League Lowell, Travis slashed .333/.364/.448 in 167 plate appearances before advancing to Low-A Salem where he hit .290/.330/.495 in 115 plate appearances. In 164 starts as a professional at first base, Travis has a .991 fielding percentage with just 13 errors. In his minor league career Travis has slashed .310/.371/.457.

It is tempting to call Travis the first baseman of the future, though his sort of namesake Travis Shaw laid claim to the position with a solid end of the season run (13 homers and .822 OPS in 248 plate appearances).   Shaw can also play third base and a little outfield, so he could potentially be like Bryant with the Cubs who plays similar positions, albeit with more home run power.  There is also a question as to whether the Red Sox really want Hanley Ramirez to be their first baseman or are just looking for another way to trade him. Travis will need to show he can perform at AAA Pawtucket next year.

Travis is three for 13 with two walks, a double, and an RBI in his first three games in Arizona this season.

Sep 11, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox hat and gloves lay in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Hitters, Part 2:

For second baseman Carlos Asuaje, the Arizona Fall League gives him the chance to show the kind of promise he displayed in 2014.  Asuaje was drafted in the 11th round out of Nova Southeastern University (in Florida) in 2013.  The Venezuelan infielder posted an respectable .735 OPS in his first season at Lowell.  In 2014, Asuaje hit wherever he went, posting a .927 OPS and 65 extra base hits while driving in 101 runs in 129 games, splitting time between the higher levels of A ball.  A 2015 promotion to AA Portland brought a return to the production levels of 2013.  In 131 games at Portland, Asuaje posted a .708 OPS, while his 38 extra base hits and 61 RBI showed a lack of ability to adapt to the stiffer competition of the higher levels.

Asuaje is one for nine with a double and a walk in two games so far in Arizona. He made two errors on throws in his first game in this abbreviated season.

Shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin is a taxi squad player for Scottsdale, which means that he can only play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Lin received a $2 million bonus in 2012 to sign with the Red Sox, the highest bonus ever received by a player from Taiwan. He is a defensive-minded shortstop (according to SoxProspects.com), with a strong arm and above average speed. After starting the year promisingly at High A Salem (.281), he slumped to a .202 average with AA Portland. Lin swiped 23 bases in 2015.

Lin has not gotten into a game yet for Scottsdale.

May 14, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; A general view of a glove and Boston Red Sox hat in the dugout prior to a game between the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Pitchers, Part 1:

Aaron Wilkerson is the most intriguing prospects among the Red Sox pitchers in the AFL. The right-handed Wilkerson was a two-time NAIA All-American (yet undrafted) out of Cumberland University in Tennessee, in 2010 and 2011. The Red Sox might be trying to see if the Texan can keep up the momentum he has built up since signing with the Red Sox out of an independent league in July of 2014 at the age of 25. Wilkerson started out his Red Sox career spectacularly, posting a 1.62 ERA in eight starts with Rookie League Lowell in 2014, striking out 54 batters in 50 innings.  After a slow start to 2015 (4.76 ERA in 17 innings and one start at Low-A Greenville), Wilkerson became a more frequent starter, posting a 2.96 ERA in 79 innings (12 starts) at High-A Salem, then a 2.66 ERA at AA Pawtucket in 40.2 innings (seven starts).  At 26, the Red Sox will likely promote him quickly if he continues to pitch well and strike out a batter an inning (137 in 136.2 minor league innings).  The fact that Wilkerson can touch 96 with his fastball (Sox Prospects.com)  doesn’t hurt his chances either.

In his first AFL start, Wilkerson was touched for two runs and three hits in 3.1 innings, walking two and striking out one.

Right-hander Kyle Martin) was a ninth round selection in the 2013 draft from Texas A&M University. He has a career 3.43 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP for his professional career. The six foot seven inch Texas native got off to a promising professional start in 2013, posting a 1.25 ERA in 36 minor league innings that season, with three saves. He struggled a bit the next season, posting a 4.02 ERA in 82.2 innings, though saving 10 games for High A Salem. Martin’s fastball sits in the low 90s, sometimes touching 95. His best pitch is a change up which is ten or more miles per hour slower. Similar to Wilkerson, Martin is a strikeout pitcher fanning 164 in 162.2 professional innings.

Martin’s initial appearance of the AFL season was a perfect one, striking out one batter in one inning of relief work.

The Pitchers  Part 2:

Feb 23, 2014; Viera, FL, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Danny Rosenbaum (65) poses for a picture during photo day at Space Coast Stadium . Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Left hander Danny Rosenbaum who had Tommy John surgery in 2014, was acquired from the Washington Nationals in January of 2015 for catcher Dan Butler. In Rosenbaum’s career he has been a starter, posting a 3.33 ERA in 141 career minor league starts. He may be in Arizona to build up his innings for this year, since he pitched only 57.1 coming back from the surgery. Rosenbaum is 28 years old, a 22nd round pick by the Nationals in 2009 out of Xavier University. Like Martin, Rosenbaum’s best pitch is his changeup. His fastball is about 91 mph. Rosenbaum is subject to the Rule V draft in December, so the Red Sox may also be taking a closer look at him to see if they might want to protect him so he won’t get picked up by another team, but given his injury history and age, that seems unlikely.

Rosenbaum pitched 1.1 innings in his lone AFL appearance so far this season, allowing no runs on two hits, walking one and striking out one.

Right handed pitcher Chandler Shepherd was a 13th round draft choice out of the University of Kentucky in 2014. In his debut season, Chandler struck out 35 batters in 33.1 innings for Lowell in the Rookie A League. Shepherd’s arsenal features a low 90’s fastball, low 80’s slider and a change-up. Shepherd started well in 2015, posting a 1.23 ERA in 14.2 innings at Low-A Greenville. When the team promoted him to High-A Salem, the native Kentuckian posted a 3.61 ERA in 52.1 innings with six saves. It is a feather in Shepherd’s cap to be invited to the AFL considering he has not pitched above A ball yet, so he is another pitcher to keep an eye on.

Shepherd has yet to pitch in an AFL game.

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