Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Left fielder Tyler Hill
The Boston Red Sox have a depleted farm system, but a few are positioned for the future. What about one who may be on the outside looking in?
Tom Brady was not the last player chosen in the 2000 National Football League draft, but the 199th and selected in the seventh round. That is the point of the draft where teams are taking borderline talent and occasionally it actually works. Just think Mike Piazza in baseball who was drafted in the 62nd round as a favor to his father. Piazza now is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Boston Red Sox top prospects are well-known to possibly even the casual fan. Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers are on the fast track to hopeful stardom in Boston. Benintendi was a first round pick who starred in college and quickly advanced in the Boston system until making a strong and positive impression with the big club in 2016. So who is ranked last? Who is number thirty on the MLB Prospect Watch for Boston?
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The honor of being number thirty in the MLB rankings is Tyler Hill. Hill registers a bit less favorably on the website Sox Prospects, which is not affiliated with the organization. At Prospects, Hill staggers in at 35th.
Just who is Hill?
Hill was a 14th round selection by Boston in the 2014 draft out of Delaware Military Academy signing a $100,000 bonus. Hill was the 589th player chosen in the draft and that usually represents a borderline potential. The now 20-year-old Hill started his professional trek with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox where in seven at-bats Hill had no hits. That was it for 2014 with the notation that he may or may not have been injured or it was just a developmental decision.
In 2015 Hill returned to the GCL and hit .250 in 39 games before moving up a baseball shade hogher to Lowell in the New York-Penn League (NYPL) where Hill hit .400 in just 15 at-bats. In 2016 Hill returned to the short-season Lowell team and had a season that showed some developmental progress.
Hill has a quick right-handed swing and does a nice job of using the entire field. He makes consistent contact and shows some patience at the plate. He has some strength and shows some pull power, but he’s more likely to produce doubles than to become a big home run threat. – MLB Prospect Watch
In 2016 Hill was chosen for the NYPL All-Star team and the right-handed Hill finished 2016 with an impressive slash of .332/.402/.487 In 232 at-bats. If power is the object of your hitting desire it is lacking as Hill hit only four home runs and accounted for 38 RBI. Hill also walked 24 times while striking out 41 rimes.
Hill plays left field and the way the Red Sox are constructed outfield talent has some significant roadblocks. Hill’s arm is considered average, but scouting reports note his instinctive ability to be an average or better defender on the corners. Speed is average with 11 steals in 22 attempts with Lowell. Expect Hill to join the Greenville Drive in the Low-A South Atlantic League for the 2017 season.
Next: Boston Red Sox still interested in Trevor Plouffe
Hill is certainly not considered a top prospect for Boston. Just how he advances in 2017 may determine his professional potential. The next level within the system would be a stop at Salem – this could happen in 2017 if the Lowell numbers remain close.
You can never say never with a draft choice without a good baseline of information.