Prospect Watch: A season-long series that focuses on the farm system of the Boston Red Sox.
Every Wednesday, Prospect Watch will be released. While some other writers will focus on what’s happening at Fenway, I decided to take a different route. One of my favorite parts of baseball is the development of prospects into players. Because of that, I will cover the Boston Red Sox prospects and what they are doing on a week to week basis.
Coming into the 2016 season, there was no debate that the Red Sox had one of the best farm systems in baseball. After last season, Dave Dombrowski followed what he has done in previous organizations, trading top prospects for MLB-level talent.
Now, while Dombrowski did trade 4 of the top 10 prospects away, he did get some high-quality players. Mauricio Dubon, a middle infielder who showed very high upside, was dealt to Milwaukee for Tyler Thornburg.
And the trade that shook the baseball world was, of course, orchestrated by Dealin’ Davey. Chris Sale switched the color of his socks, as he left Chicago to come to Boston. But, the White Sox asked a very high price. Michael Kopech, the 5th best prospect in the system, was only part of the deal. It also included the best prospect in the system, Yoan Moncada.
Clearly, this has hurt what is left of the farm system for 2017. But, that does not mean that the farm is suddenly barren. There are some bright young players that can be an impact to this team in the future, both short-term and long-term. Included in that list is the #1 overall prospect in baseball (if only because of a technicality).
For this list, I’m going to break it up in a different way. Pitchers, Hitters, and Non-Roster Invitees will all get their own section. To start off, I’m going to focus on that aforementioned #1 prospect in baseball.