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Red Sox top-30 prospect rankings after the 2018 season

By Hunter Noll

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 18: Dave Dombrowski the President of Baseball Operations of the Boston Red Sox stands at home plate before a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on September 18, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox won 5-4. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 18: Dave Dombrowski the President of Baseball Operations of the Boston Red Sox stands at home plate before a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on September 18, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox won 5-4. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 09: A tarp is seen on the field before game four of the American League Division Series between the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on October 9, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /

10. C.J. Chatham

I mentioned this a lot in my prospect watch articles throughout the season, a healthy C.J. Chatham is an elite-type prospect. In 2018 he proved just that with a superb season at the plate.

Defensively, Chatham is above-average. He looks naturally comfortable at shortstop despite being 6’4″ and has a cannon for an arm that allows him to make any throw.

Sure, the defense is great, but that’s not the main attraction when it comes to Chatham. The 23-year-old feasts at the plate.

2018 saw the first “full” season of Chatham, with the shortstop appearing in 114 games (previous high was 35). With that, the right-handed hitter boasted a .314/.350/.389 slash line between Full-A and Advanced-A. He hit 20 doubles and two triples, as well as three home runs in that time.

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The run production was solid too – driving in 52 runs and scoring 55 more, while stealing 11 bases.

Power wise Chatham isn’t going to hit 30 home runs, but 10-15 home runs with an abundance of doubles could do the trick. Especially with the potential to hit .280-plus on his side.

Run production could be the crown jewel of his game. In 2018, Chatham hit .322 (39-for-121) with runners in scoring position. That kind of clutch-hitting could lead to a lot of RBI. Meanwhile, he’ll get on base enough to score runs. He doesn’t have elite speed but there’s enough there to take an extra base and add a few runs to the total. Chatham also showed some base-stealing prowess last season, swiping 11 bags.

All-in-all it comes together to create an all-around offensive machine who can more than hold his own on the defensive end.

Chatham finished the year in Advanced-A but if he stays healthy could climb the ladder fast. That’s great news as it will be interesting to see how his bat continues to handle more-and-more advanced pitching.

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