Boston Red Sox Prospects: The Christian Koss factor

Red Sox prospect Christian Koss isn’t the typical “all-around talent”

Something you’ll hear a lot whenever people bring up Boston Red Sox prospect Christian Koss is that he can do a little bit of everything. Obviously, that’s a compliment, but it does have the negative connotation. Because “a little bit of everything” sort of sounds like he’s decent in every category, but nothing more. For Koss, that simply isn’t true.

Yes, Koss can do everything. Just look at his numbers from this season for proof of that. The right-handed hitter is slashing .276/.319/.429 with seven doubles, four triples, and six home runs. He’s put up some good run production numbers with 37 RBI, 24 runs scored, and seven steals too.

Hit tool is good, and there’s a solid amount of pop in his bat.

Defensively is where it starts to get interesting. Koss is very solid at shortstop, third base, and second base. He can make a lot of athletic plays and has a really strong arm. Meanwhile, his speed lets him get to a lot of balls that others wouldn’t be able to reach.

Speaking of that speed, wow. This is a wild one. Portland has David Hamilton and now Ceddanne Rafaela on the roster. So a lot of speed that might overshadow other players.

Go watch a game though. Any time Koss hits the ball on the ground, there’s a chance he’s getting a hit. Dude is an absolute burner down the line. It’s one of those things that you can tell he’s fast when watching the game on TV, but with the camera angles and everything (let’s not pretend like MiLB games give you some great angles all the time) you tend to miss some stuff.

In person though, Koss was easily one of the fastest people on the field at all times. No matter what uniform they were wearing. MLB gives him a 55. I feel like it’s got to be bump up to at least a 60.

He’s at a pretty loaded position. And this is only his second year in the system (was traded from the Colorado Rockies). He is in the Red Sox top-30 prospects, according to MLB, but he’s down at No. 26. Due to that, Koss isn’t exactly a household name. And the “he can do a little bit of everything” tag might make a lot of fans feel like the ceiling isn’t very high.

The truth is, Christian Koss can do it all. He can do more than “a little bit” though. And the speed being better than the grade is proof of that. The Boston Red Sox have a jack-of-all-trades prospect that excels at most of those trades – and he has a dope handshake with Pedro Castellanos.