Red Sox Prospect Watch: Young players are the future
By Mike El-Far
Boston Red Sox
Up until Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox were lacking in eye-popping prospect news. Sure, Deven Marrero has been playing above league average. But, it seemed that Boston was just full of young players who happened to have enough service time to not be considered a prospect.
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That all changed Tuesday afternoon, as the Red Sox made a roster move that shocked many. While Hector Velazquez was sent down to Pawtucket, it is who got the call that turned heads. The No. 3 prospect in the the system, Sam Travis was assigned to Boston’s roster.
I highly doubt that when Travis tore his ACL on May 29th, he thought that he would be on a major league roster just six days before the first anniversary of that event. After having a productive spring, Travis sputtered out of the gates to start his age 23 season. But, he has turned a corner over the last 20 games.
Hitting 3 home runs and 6 doubles, it seems that Travis has turned the corner offensively. While it always is exciting to see a young, highly touted player, there are some question marks.
I understand that the offense for Boston has been lackluster at best. This current team is great at hitting singles, but not much else. Obviously Travis could provide power to this lineup, but where is he going to play? Hanley Ramirez should be the designated hitter for this year, barring injury. And Mitch Moreland has been a bright spot in this lineup.
My only hope during this call-up is that Travis is not getting MLB experience time to either sit the bench or be featured in a trade. Cleary, he is the future at first base for Boston. And while Boston will probably be a buyer at the deadline, let’s hope Travis is not a part of that deal.