Red Sox: Sam Travis cracks ESPN’s top 100 prospect rankings
By Sean Penney
Boston Red Sox first base prospect Sam Travis earns a spot on ESPN’s Keith Law’s top 100 rankings. Does he have a future at the big league level?
ESPN’s Keith Law has released the first installment of his annual top 100 prospect rankings, which finds Boston Red Sox first base prospect Sam Travis sneaking in at No. 98.
The Red Sox once had a stacked farm system that would make almost any organization envious, but Dave Dombrowski’s penchant for cashing in trade chips to bolster the big league roster has pushed their collection of minor league assets toward the middle of the pack.
That’s not to say that the system is completely barren. Future star outfielder Andrew Benintendi still counts as a prospect since he didn’t accrue enough service time to exhaust his rookie eligibility, so we’ll likely find him ranked near the top of the list. Rafael Devers is expected to be the third baseman of the future, while Jason Groome, the 12th overall pick last June, has top of the rotation upside.
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Then there is Travis, who was on track to make his big league debut in 2016 until a torn ACL ended his season. There’s always the risk that a player returning from a significant injury will struggle to return to form, but during his 47 games for Triple-A Pawtucket he showed the tools that could make him a successfully major league player.
Travis may not have the superstar ceiling of some of the other top prospects that have come up through the Red Sox system, but Law’s expert evaluation suggests that he has the potential to provide enticing value with his bat.
"“Travis is a bit of a throwback as a first baseman, a guy who’s going to hit for average and doubles power but might get to only 12-15 homers a year,” writes Law. “He has a clean, simple swing that should produce some line-drive power in time, although in 2016 he was putting the ball on the ground a little more than he should.”"
The lack of home run power may limit his upside, particularly for a player at a position loaded with sluggers. Last season there were eight first baseman that hit at least 30 homers, including Hanley Ramirez for the Red Sox. Of the 19 first basemen to qualify for the batting title, only three of them tallied less than 15 home runs.
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The 23-year old is still developing, so packing on some muscle could help raise those projections. The increase in ground balls that Law noticed means that the home runs won’t necessarily become more plentiful even if he does get stronger unless he makes some alterations to his swing, but he should still possess solid gap power.
Even if Travis never develops the pop that teams look for at first base, he can still become an above-average hitter. Boston led the majors in runs scored by a mile despite finishing middle of the pack in terms of home runs. Fenway Park is perfectly tailored for right-handed bats that can take advantage of its shallow left field, so Travis is certainly capable of adding some dents to the Green Monster.
The Red Sox remain high on Travis’ potential, enough so that they avoided long-term deals for free agent first base/DH types knowing they would soon need to find room on the roster for him.
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Power bats have a tendency to grab the attention of fans, which may leave Travis flying a bit under the radar. It shouldn’t, as Travis is a prospect that we should be keeping an eye on. There likely aren’t any home run titles in his future, but if he can deliver a strong OBP with 30-40 doubles then he’ll provide the Red Sox lineup with a solid option at a position they need a long term solution for.