Portland Sea Dogs
The No. 1 prospect in the Red Sox organization is living up to his high expectations. The 20 year-old Rafael Devers has been simply sublime this year. Devers was recently named to MLBPipeline’s prospect team of the week, and his slash line proves that. Over the course of 7 games, he hit .440 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI’s. Also, his slugging percentage was an insane .920 in that span.
On the season, Devers has a .322 average with 6 home runs. One of Devers’ best tools is his raw power. He has the strength to hit the ball out of the park in all areas. Add in that Devers is projected to be a very good defender and his future is very bright. Below is a video that shows two of his home runs this week.
While third base has been a sore spot for the Boston Red Sox, Devers is the future at the hot corner. It is highly unlikely that he gets called up to Boston before September. Even though he is lighting up double-A, he is still not MLB ready.
It seems that the Red Sox are determined to take their time with Devers. It is clear that Dombrowski liked Devers enough to not trade him in the offseason. If Pablo Sandoval struggles over the next two years, it is realistic to assume that Devers would take over the third base position. Devers probably will spend 2018 in Pawtucket, and Boston will look to deal Pablo at that time.