The No. 1 ranked prospect in baseball, Yoan Moncada, will make his debut tonight in Oakland. What can the Red Sox expect from him during the playoff push?
For over a year now, people have been praying for the highly touted prospect Yoan Moncada to make his big league debut sooner rather than later. As much as people wanted that to happen, many assumed that Moncada wasn’t going to be an everyday major league player until the 2017 or maybe 2018 season.
But after roaring through the farm system, Red Sox Nation’s prayers were answered as the potential stud will be making his major league debut tonight against the Oakland Athletics.
With the struggles of Travis Shaw and Aaron Hill, it only feels necessary to give Moncada a shot to deepen the Red Sox lineup.
Now with Moncada playing with the big boys, what can we expect from him and how will he help the Sox as they try to play in October?
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It’s simple to say really. Having Moncada’s speed on the base paths (45 steals this season combined in Single A and Double A) along with Mookie Betts, and eventually Andrew Benintendi when he returns, will create more runners in scoring position. His power has obviously been shown as well this season, where he has hit 15 homers in 106 games with Salam and Portland. If he can add some pop near the end of the lineup, it will make Boston 10 times more dangerous.
Yes, I said the end of the lineup. Don’t expect Moncada to hit behind or in front of David Ortiz, Betts or Xander Bogaerts yet. Expect him to be penciled in as the 7 or 8 hitter.
The last thing you want to do is start a guy too early. Obviously, the Red Sox are risking that right now since Moncada is skipping AAA and going right to the big leagues, but if they put him near the end of the lineup then there will be less pressure on him then there would be having him hit next to the All-Stars in the heart of the order.
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During the last month of the season, I don’t see Moncada putting up MVP numbers. As we all know, it takes a little bit of time for anyone, even top prospects, to get used to the major leagues. Just ask our All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who had a slash of .250/.320/.364 in the one month he had in 2013 before the playoffs began. Also, we all know how long it took for Jackie Bradley Jr. to get in his groove and be the All-Star outfielder he is now.
Like I just stated, don’t be shocked if Moncada isn’t putting up the amazing numbers everyone is expecting this season. But give it until next season where he has more experience and you may be seeing something special. We should all know that patience is key when it comes to baseball.
Moncada definitely has the raw talent to become a MVP caliber player. Everyone is saying he is already a five-tool player, so it makes perfect sense to give him a shot right now where the Sox are looking to make the postseason.
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I’m at the point now in my life where I’m beginning to watch players younger than me make an impact for a major league ball club. Yoan Moncada just turned 21 years old and is about to make his major league debut. I’m 22 years old and I get pumped if I can balance on one foot to put a sock on. I hope you can see a difference there.