Red Sox: Five prospects poised for a potential callup to boost the offense

Five possible offensive call-ups for the Red Sox

Oh, how things can change. After being one of the worst offenses in baseball for the first month of the season, the Red Sox have unquestionably had the league’s best bats over the past three weeks.

Since May 10, the club has had an almost unfathomable 157 WRC+ and is slashing .303/.369/.528. Rafael Devers and J.D Martinez have been two of the top five batters in all of baseball, Trevor Story has gone nuclear with seven home runs in seven games, and the bottom of the lineup is finally contributing.

Though they hardly need reinforcements, the Red Sox lineup could soon get even better. That’s because the requirements for MLB rosters are going to change on June 19th, allowing teams to carry an extra position player. In other words, the Red Sox are going to have a choice of who to add from a hard-hitting Worcester squad.

For this list, I ranked the five players who are most likely to get that callup. To be clear, these are not the five players I would choose for the new spot, but who I think is most likely to receive it. So without further ado, let’s kick things off with one of the hottest prospects in all of baseball.

Red Sox Callup #4: Yolmer Sanchez

No player on this list can match Yolmer Sanchez’s MLB experience. The 30-year-old played 657 games over 7 seasons with the White Sox, including winning a Gold Glove in 2019. He even slashed .313/.476/.616 over the shortened 2020 season before being surprisingly cut, claimed off waivers, and DFA’d by the Orioles.

Sanchez signed a minor-league deal prior to this season with the Red Sox and, despite failing to make the Opening Day roster, has continued to rake down in Worcester. He’s slashing a terrific .284/.404/.480, homering 6 times and leading the team with 27 runs scored. Sanchez may not have many standout tools but he has tremendous control of the strike zone, walking 26 times against just 36 strikeouts.

Much of the focus on the Red Sox’s offensive needs have focused on first base and the outfield, but the lack of a utility infielder is just as big an issue. Trevor Story, Xander Bogaerts, and Rafael Devers have not had a day off this month, and while it’s nice as a fan to see the stars in the lineup every day, those innings are eventually going to add up.

If Sanchez can produce even average offense to go along with his plus glove, he can be a valuable asset to the club.

Red Sox Callup #3: Jonathan Araúz

To reiterate, these rankings are not who I would want to be called up to the big leagues on June 19, but who is most likely to. If it was up to me, Jonathan Araúz would be way down on the list for potential call-ups. He’s a career .208/.286/.326 hitter in the big leagues and his minor league line (.242/.316/.360) doesn’t offer much encouragement.

There are a couple of things working in Araúz’s favor, however. Despite appearing in parts of three seasons with the Red Sox, Araúz remains just 23 years old, giving him ample time to keep improving. He also provides defensive versatility and speed, two things that the current Red Sox roster lacks.

And while his offensive numbers may be hard to look at, he does have a solid feel for the strike zone, which is all you can really ask for from a nine-hitter. Get on base, and let’s turn the lineup over to the big guys to bring you home.

Araúz is not flashy, but he does all the little things that a utility infielder should. Since he’s already on the 40-man roster, he won’t require a corresponding DFA move to call him up to the big leagues. Don’t be surprised if Araúz finds himself in the big leagues yet again come June.

 Red Sox Callup #2: Jarren Duran

Despite absolutely raking at the Triple-A level, there are two main reasons why Jarren Duran has only played one big-league game this season. The first is his atrocious performance during his 2021 callup in which he slashed .215/.241/.336 and struck out 40 times against just four walks. The second is the current construction of the Red Sox outfield.

Each player is an established big leaguer with a history of coming up big both in the regular and postseason with the Red Sox, making it difficult for Duran to breakthrough.

At a certain point, however, there just isn’t anything more Duran can prove in Triple-A. After exploding for 18 home runs and 18 stolen bases last year, Duran is slashing .313/.389/.536 with 4 home runs in Worcester so far in 2022. He’s also stolen 10 bases, leading the WooSox and as many as the entire Red Sox game team combined.

While each of the outfielders has a strong track record, they have not been up to snuff this season. Alex Verdugo, Kiké Hernández, and Jackie Bradley Jr. each have OPS+ below 80, and if you throw utility man Christian Arroyo (.194/.227/.306) into the mix, the numbers are even worse.

With Duran’s ability to play each of the three outfield positions at least an average level, he can spell all three players while providing pop and unmatched speed.

There is no question that Duran is a major league player, and at 25 years old, there is not much to be gained from him sticking in the minor leagues. Yet while Duran is likely to make an impact at the big league level from sometime this summer, his callup credentials still trail the next guy on our list.

Red Sox Callup #1: Ryan Fitzgerald

Of all the players on this list, none can check as many boxes as Ryan Fitzgerald. The sweet-swinging left-hander burst onto the prospect scene in 2021, hitting as many home runs (16) as he did in his entire minor league career to that point, and his stock has only risen from there. He made a strong case for a roster spot in the spring with 4 home runs in just 16 at-bats, but with few open spots in the Red Sox lineup or bench and no spot on the 40-man roster, he was sent down to Triple-A.

Yet in the two months, since spring training ended, a number of things have occurred that work in Fitzgerald’s favor. The first and most important one has been his continued production at Triple-A.  Fitzgerald is slashing .298/.357/.603 and leads the WooSox in hits (45), home runs (10), and RBI (37). Fitzgerald’s improvement over the last few years has been incredible, and like Duran, any more time at Triple-A is a waste of talent.

Fitzgerald is also helped by pretty much every bench player on the roster underperforming. Travis Shaw and Jonathan Araúz were hitless before being DFA’d and optioned respectively. Bobby Dalbec is slashing an anemic .162/.254/.234 with just one home run. Christian Arroyo has just a 52 OPS+. The stars on the roster may be excelling, but the struggles of the role players have opened the door for Fitzgerald.

The final thing Fitzgerald has working for him is his defensive versatility. He was already a swiss-army knife in the field before the season, spending significant time at second base, third base, shortstop, and centerfield in 2021, but he’s added first base, left field, and right field to that list this season. The ability to play so many positions gives Fitzgerald a ton of value to a big-league team and opens a number of doors for a big league callup.