Boston Red Sox top-30 prospect rankings after the 2019 season

14. Pedro Castellanos (First Baseman)

The annoying thing with prospects is sometimes you have to go off of projections. I absolutely can’t stand that because I’m all about production. I need to see things. Sometimes, it doesn’t even have to all be great. But show me something. Improve in an area, learn a new position or change your swing.

However, prospects are raw. They’ve got frames and swings that scouts use to determine how a player will turn out. It’s why the business of scouting is so imperfect. There are always those famous scouting reports showing no one thought the player would be good. For each of those, there are 20 of players that everyone thought was can’t miss who never even hit the Majors.

Pedro Castellanos is raw, very raw. Something that’s always been marked with him though is the power. He had plus-power projections. Someone that could give you 25-plus home runs in a season.

Naturally, in his first three seasons in the minors Castellanos hit a total of six home runs in 775 at-bats. However, the right-handed hitter was still producing well with the bat. In all three years he hit over .300.

Then came 2019, and with it that power. In his first 87 games, Castellanos hit just one home run. However, from July 17 on (30 games), he mashed eight more.

The nine home runs marked a new career-high, as did the 23 doubles. Those weren’t the only two career-bests though. Castellanos scored 61 runs (previous high was 39) and drove in 71 more (previous high was 47). He also stole 10 bases after swiping just three bags over the first three years of his career.

While the batting average was down to .276, it’s hard not to be excited about the potential Castellanos showed. Especially because his 6’3″, 195 lbs frame suggests he’ll only get stronger as he fills out.

At first base, there’s a lot of work to be done. He’s shown some nice athleticism and marked improvement in 2019. This is the best spot for him and he could definitely turn into a solid defender.

At just 21, Castellanos has already done a lot in his career. Having his best season in the minors in his first year in Advanced-A was definitely a major positive. He’ll be a step closer to the Majors in 2020 and could find himself flirting with a promotion to the top level by the end of it.

Castellanos was a pretty highly-touted prospect for the first few years of his career. What’s incredible is now that he’s showing that power potential, he’s seemingly losing the spotlight. Don’t be surprised when he makes people pay attention in 2020.