Red Sox Prospect Watch: Minor League Baseball starts

With Minor League Baseball underway, many Red Sox prospects are trying to develop their skills. Here is an update on the state of the farm system.

The month of April is filled with hope.  Every team has the same chance, theoretically, to win a championship.  As the season progresses, certain players get their chance to be on the national stage and showcase why they play professional baseball.

In the first week of the regular season, a top 10 prospect has already been called up to the major league roster.  Also, there is a new No. 1 prospect in the Boston Red Sox farm system after last night’s game.

While the current state of the farm system pales in comparison to just a year ago, there are still some bright spots.  There is a current “three-headed monster” of prospects that leads this class. And below that, there are a couple players in the top 10 who can be an impact player for Boston a couple years down the road.

With the Red Sox having one of the youngest teams in baseball, they do not need prospects to help out with the team.  Even so, it is very important to keep tabs on these players.  If they are very successful, they have a shot of getting themselves in the lineup.  If not, there is always the chance they could be flipped for major league talent.

Keeping with the format for this slideshow that started last week, let us start by looking at the major league roster.

Pawtucket Red Sox

Just 45 miles from Fenway lies McCoy Stadium.  This is the closest full-season affiliate for the Red Sox (Lowell is closer to Boston, but play short-season).  While Double-A usually is filled with the most talent, Pawtucket has some good players who are knocking on the door.

The third best prospect in the system, Sam Travis, is playing everyday at first base in Pawtucket. He showed some flashes of greatness in Spring Training by hitting a couple of home runs.  Now, Travis is not going to be taking Mitch Moreland‘s job anytime soon.  He tore his ACL less than a full year ago.

Last night, Travis was involved in yet another injury scare.  He collided with Blake Swihart in foul ground, and had to be removed from the game.  You can see the collision below.

Now while that collision didn’t look that serious, it is not something Red Sox fans want to see. Travis is poised to be the everyday first baseman in 2018, and the last thing anyone wants to see is another injury sideline this future player.

Speaking of injuries, another prospect was injured this week in Pawtucket.  Brian Johnson, the No. 11 prospect in the system, was hit with a comeback line drive in his first start of the year. Johnson, who has been plagued by injuries since the middle of 2015, has had some very bad luck over the last 20 or so months.  With that being said, this injury was not serious, and Johnson will make his next scheduled start.

If David Price is out for a considerable amount of time, and there is another injury to the rotation, Johnson is something that could be called up to make a spot start.  Hopefully he can pitch well, if given the opportunity, and try to get some of the expectations of his career back to what it was 2 years ago.

Portland Sea Dogs

Double-A baseball, where the highest level of talent resides.  That statement rings true with the Red Sox farm system, as the new “King of Boston Prospects” makes his home at Hadlock Field.

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Rafael Devers, a 20-year old third baseman, has ascended to be the highest rated Boston prospect after Benintendi lost his prospect status.  If you payed attention to Spring Training this year, you would know that Devers was one of the most disappointing players.  He was only able to muster 3 hits all spring, and all of them were singles.  Add in a couple errors and it was not a good showing for Devers.

Well, it is a good thing that Spring Training doesn’t mean anything, because Devers is firing on all cylinders.  Devers is hitting .375 with an OPS of 1.063.  Also, half of Devers’ hits have been extra base hits, including 2 doubles and a home run.

Surprisingly, Pablo Sandoval has been playing well through the first week of the season.  Even if he did struggle, I doubt we would have seen Devers anytime before the September call-ups.  But, this is a very encouraging sign for the young third baseman.  His youth, coupled with his very high ceiling, makes him a shining star of the future.  Add him to the already young core of Benintendi, Betts, Bogaerts, Travis, and Vazquez.  This could be a dominant young core in only three years.

Salem and Greenville

Single-A baseball, where dreams of being in the show begin.  Currently, the Red Sox have some exciting prospects in both Salem and Greenville.  The 1st round pick in last year’s draft made his first start the other night for Greenville.  For Jason Groome, it was a start to forget.

More from Red Sox Prospects

• 3 players the Red Sox could’ve DFA’ed instead of Jeter Downs and Eric Hosmer
• Red Sox cut bait with key Mookie Betts trade piece in latest roster move
• Boston Red Sox prospects: 2022 Rule 5 additions and subtractions
• Red Sox Rule 5 Draft results: Minor leaguers gained and lost
• Boston Red Sox offseason news, rumors, 2023 payroll, luxury tax, and more

Groome is starting his first full professional season of baseball, and the sky is the limit for this 18 year-old kid.  Unfortunately, his first start was not a good one.  In just 1.1 innings pitched, Groome gave up 9 earned runs.  Yes, that is correct.  9 earned runs.  Clearly, this is only one start, so let’s not overreact.  There is still a whole season left for Groome.  But, this should be a sign for some people who were very high on him.

I’m not saying that I think Groome will be a bad pitcher, but some need to temper expectations on when he will be in Boston.  Personally, Groome needs to work on the changeup that he started throwing his senior year of high school.  Also, he will need at least 2.5 full seasons of minor league work before he will be MLB-ready.

But someone who could shoot up the minor league rankings is Groome’s teammate in Greenville. Bobby Dalbec, the 3rd round pick of last year’s draft, started off the season strong.  A hero in the College World Series last year with Arizona, he showcased his bat and arm.  Dalbec was able to hit over .300 while also being a reliable pitcher in that tournament.

Next: MLB's best catching duo

Bobby Dalbec is a third baseman for the Drive, and has showcased his ability to hit professional pitchers.  He is hitting .348 in 23 at-bats, and has driven in a couple runs.  Obviously, if Devers pans out, Dalbec will be blocked at third.  But, if he can keep hitting the ball well, and advancing throughout the minors over the next year and a half, there is a chance he could compete with Devers for the third baseman job in the future.