The Boston Red Sox have plenty of prospects that the following season could be good too. Just exactly who will make it their year in 2019 though?
The Boston Red Sox catching depth is a barren wasteland. That’s been the narrative for the last few seasons, despite there being quite a few intriguing prospects in the system. Last season, they bolstered the position even further by drafting Kole Cottam.
Cottam was the Red Sox fourth-round selection in the 2018 MLB draft. He brings something to the position that not a lot of other Boston catchers have, power – and a lot of it.
In 32 games last season (31 in Short-A and one in Full-A), Cottam slashed .236/.278/.390. Out of his 29 hits, eight were doubles and one was a triple, three more were home runs. With those numbers, he drove in 24 runs and scored nine more (even stealing two bases).
Now, Cottam isn’t going to steal a lot of bases – speed isn’t his game. Everything else has plenty of potential though.
Next lowest on the list would be his defense. Cottam doesn’t have an elite arm and isn’t perfect behind the plate. He showed plenty of improvement at blocking balls later in the season though and could turn into a very solid defensive catcher.
The main attraction for the right-handed hitter is the offense though. Cottam has fantastic raw power and could be a 20-plus home run guy.
So why will 2019 be his year, I just told you – keep up. It’s the power.
Cottam will likely start the season in Full-A. While there he should do the heavy lifting at the position. This will give him the perfect opportunity to improve on his defense while showing off his power.
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It could also lead to a mid-season promotion. The Red Sox probably won’t be able to keep all three catchers they have on the 40-man roster at the moment. It wouldn’t make sense for them to go with the trio on the Major League roster again this year.
Due to that, by the end of Spring Training, they’ll either have to trade one or take one off the 40-man roster (and risk losing them to another team). It would be extremely unlikely for any of them to clear waivers and be able to be sent to the minors.
With that in mind, the next-man-up would be Juan Centeno or Oscar Hernandez. After those two, no one has any MLB experience. However, I’m all-in on lobbying for Austin Rei to get the call should Boston need a catcher at any point.
Realistically, there are three catching prospects ahead of Cottam when it comes to where they’re at developmentally on the Red Sox. Rei is joined by Jhon Nunez and Roldani Baldwin for that distinction.
Should any of them get injured or earn a call-up to the next level, that will set off a chain of events. One that would see Cottam get promoted to Advanced-A.
That’s not the only way he could find his way to Salem though. Kole Cottam has a legitimate stick. Now that he’s had a taste of minor league pitching, it could be time for him to feast. If that happens, 2019 will most definitely be the year of Kole Cottam.