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

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.