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 #5: Triston Casas

It’s hard for Red Sox fans not to be on Triston Casas watch this season. While current first baseman Bobby Dalbec has looked completely overmatched all season (.160/.250/.236), we have been getting seemingly daily clips of the big first baseman launching 450ft home runs all over Worcester. It’s been a long time since the Red Sox have had a prospect with Casas’ pedigree, making it difficult for fans to be patient for the #10 overall minor leaguer.

Yet a closer look at Casas’ numbers shows he just isn’t ready for the major leagues. His Triple-A slash line has dropped from .279/.394/.484 last year to .248/.359/.472 this year, and his strikeout rate has increased from 19.1% to 22.4%. In addition, he still isn’t on the 40-man roster and would require another player to be DFA’d before he was called up.

The calls for Casas’ callup have also been quieted with the emergence of Franchy Cordero. The once overlooked big man was called up on April 29 and has slashed .254/319/.413 with top-end exit velocity and sprint speed numbers. He hasn’t been spectacular, but he’s earned a longer look at the big-league level, which means giving Triston Casas a little more time to keep improving down in Worcester.

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 #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.