The future was on display at Fenway Park on Saturday. Red Sox first round pick Triston Casas took batting practice and hung out with the team.
Boston Red Sox first round pick Triston Casas put his considerable power on display at Fenway Park yesterday. No, he wasn’t called up already. But he did come to Fenway for a visit. Casas was picked 26th overall and had, perhaps, the biggest raw power of any prep bat in the draft. Scouts have pinned it at 70 on the 20-80 scale. That would put him in the range of Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton. Of course, in game power is what you are really after, and how that rates will depend on his hit tool.
Triston Casas, the Red Sox No. 1 draft pick, and JD Martinez talk baseball before Casas takes BP today at Fenway. pic.twitter.com/mYH7huKGSE
— Michael Silverman (@MikeSilvermanBB) June 23, 2018
Luckily, the hit tool does appear to be there as well. He’s an excellent all around hitter and wasn’t afraid to show that while taking batting practice. According to Alex Speier, Casas cleared the walls in both right field and center. He also the Monster a bit as well. That neighborhood watch he mentions in the text? His high school coach had to warn neighbors near the field when he took batting practice. They needed time to move their cars.
Is this kid going to be a star?
One of the big questions with amateur bats is whether they will be able to carry over their success to a wood bat. This was one of the knocks on Seth Beer. He was another power bat the Red Sox were linked to in the first round. Beer appears to be doing just fine with the transition, going yard three times in his first eight games. But what about Casas? He won’t begin playing games in the GCL in earnest until next week. But we can see he does still make loud contact.
Triston Casas takes his first swings at Fenway Park. Kid has some pop. pic.twitter.com/RvD42WOfbx
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) June 23, 2018
That’s a beautiful sound. And one we can all hope to be hearing at Fenway for years to come. Chances are even if Casas is a special talent, he’ll need to spend 3 or 4 years in the minors before getting called up. It’s possible he’s one of those elite players who can hit the big leagues as a teenager. But it’s never a good idea to bet on that. If he’s stepping-in to the plate in front of the Fenway faithful by age 22 he’s still ahead of the curve.
Next: The framework for a Xander Bogaerts extension
What do you think of the team’s first round pick this year? Is the farm system about to start climbing back up to a respectable level? Let us know in the comments!