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

By Hunter Noll

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 31: The Boston Red Sox 2018 World Series Championship banner hangs outside Fenway Park on October 31, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 31: The Boston Red Sox 2018 World Series Championship banner hangs outside Fenway Park on October 31, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees pitches during the MLB London Series game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium on June 29, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees pitches during the MLB London Series game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium on June 29, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) /

7. C.J. Chatham (Shortstop)

C.J. Chatham doesn’t have the same hype as a lot of other prospects on this list. The reason for that is simply because he isn’t a 30-home run guy. The five home runs he hit last season were tied for a career-high.

That doesn’t mean Chatham isn’t amongst the elite though.

In fact, he’s someone fans should be most excited about. At shortstop, there doesn’t seem to be a clear path to the Majors for him. Xander Bogaerts is there and he’s signed for quite some time.

However, he worked at second base a little bit in 2019 and that could be the plan moving forward. It’s a shame because Chatham’s the better defender at shortstop compared to Bogaerts.

The real attraction of his game is the bat though. Chatham dealt with injuries in his first two seasons, playing in just 42 games. This put a big question mark around him. It also killed the hype considerably.

In his last two seasons though, Chatham’s remained healthy. He hit .314 in 2018 and .298 in 2019.

In 2018 the right-handed hitter drove in a career-high 52 RBI and scored a career-high 55 runs. He also had a career-best in steals with 11. Despite all that and the higher average, his 2019 was still better in comparison – I’ll explain why.

First off, Chatham spent 2019 between Double-A and Triple-A. The year before he was in Full-A and Advanced-A.

Then there’s the fact that Chatham still hit .298 with 46 RBI and 50 runs scored. He had one triple and that career-best five home runs. He also smoked 31 doubles, which is 11 more than his previous best.

Chatham has shown a ton of growth over the last two years. He’ll be in the Majors at some point next year. At just 24, he has a long career in front of him as well.

I’ve said it for a long time and I’m sticking by it. Chatham will be a consistent .300 hitter in the Majors. If the Red Sox were smart they’d find a spot for him and let him earn it in Spring Training. Give him the chance and I guarantee he proves he belongs.

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