Red Sox prospects named Arizona Fall League All-Stars have bright futures

The Boston Red Sox have a trio of prospects who were named to the 2019 Arizona Fall League All-Star team, signaling they may have bright futures.

The Boston Red Sox may not have a highly rated farm system but that doesn’t mean it lacks talent. Three prospects in the organization are set to take part in the Arizona Fall League All-Star Game.

The 14th annual Fall Stars Game will take place on Saturday, October 12 at 8:00 PM ET at Salt River Fields, the spring training facility shared by the Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. The East and West rosters were selected by a combination of scouting and farm directors, AFL staff, and MLB.com writers.

Marcus Wilson, C.J. Chatham, and Jarren Duran were all named “Fall Stars” and will represent the Red Sox for the West squad.

The Red Sox acquired Wilson from the Arizona Diamondbacks last spring in exchange for Blake Swihart. The outfielder struggled during his initial stint with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs but thrived with High-A Salem, hitting .342/.413/.603 in 45 games. That earned him a promotion back to Portland where he hit .250 with a .811 OPS over his final 43 games.

Wilson is 7-for-22 (.318) with a .923 OPS, a home run and eight RBI in six Arizona Fall League games.

Chatham started the season in Portland where he hit .297/.333/.403 in 90 games. He saw a slight uptick in production when he moved up to Triple-A Pawtucket, hitting .302/.330/.430 in 20 games to wrap up the season.

The 24-year old could be knocking on the door of a big-league call up next year but he’s blocked at the shortstop position by Xander Bogaerts. BoSox Injection’s Hunter Noll spoke with Chatham last month about how he could squeeze his way onto the Red Sox roster at second base, where he played briefly this year. Chatham revealed he would be gaining valuable experience at the position in the AFL and sure enough, he’s played six games this fall at second. He’s also hitting .333 with a .844 OPS in 36 at-bats.

Duran was the only Red Sox prospect featured in the MLB Futures Game back in July. The young outfielder hit a blistering .387 with a .998 OPS in 50 games with Salem. He battled inconsistencies following his promotion to Portland, hitting .250 with a .634 OPS, although that’s hardly unusual for a 22-year old being tested at the highest level of his career.

Duran (No. 4), Chatham (No. 9), and Wilson (No. 17) are all among the top-30 Red Sox prospects ranked by MLB.com.

Each of these prospects has the potential to make it to the majors at some point, even if it isn’t in 2020. They could all use a bit more seasoning but this trio is worth keeping an eye on as they climb the minor-league ladder.