Red Sox Prospect Watch: Halfway Point of the Season

Pawtucket Red Sox

Triple-A baseball is a very different level of baseball. If a player is there for a long period of time, it points to the fact that they are probably a career minor leaguer. But, there are always stories of players that emerge into a full-fledged major league player.

We might be watching another one of those stories unfolding with Bryce Brentz. The former Middle Tennessee State Blue Raider, Brentz was a first round pick all the way back in 2010. At one point, he was the 6th highest rated prospect in the system.

In the offseason after the 2012 season, Brentz accidentally shot himself in the leg. He missed the beginning of the 2013 season in Pawtucket, and things were compounded when he tore his meniscus in July. After 2013, he started to struggle heavily in Pawtucket.

Over the past couple seasons, many pundits wrote Brentz off. There was a serious lack of offensive production, and Brentz has always been an average defender. But, this season it seems that he is turning back into the offensive powerhouse that he was a couple years ago.

May 23rd is the date that Bryce Brentz seemed to turn around his production this year. He has been an offensive juggernaut, leading some offensive categories in both major and minor league baseball. Here is a tweet that has illustrated the production Brentz has provided for the PawSox.

Now, the outfield for Boston is one of the most secure parts of the team. Betts, JBJ, and Benintendi should be the outfield at Fenway for the next number of years. But, the offensive production of Brentz will warrant him a September call-up at the very least. And, there is a school of thought that he might get called up even earlier.

Yes, Chris Young is the 4th outfielder who John Farrell has used in matchups against left-handed pitchers. But, Young has only 4 home runs on the entire season. Now, obviously major league pitching is more talented than minor league. But, if the Red Sox wanted to shake things up, calling up Brentz to be the 4th outfielder might add some life to the offense.