No. 20: Red Sox shortstop prospect Christian Koss
Christian Koss has to be one of the more underrated prospects in the system. He does everything well. The right-handed hitter slashed .260/.309/.430 with 22 doubles (career-high), five triples, and 17 home runs (career-high) in 125 games in Double-A this season. He also set new career bests in RBI (84), runs scored (69), and stolen bases (16).
Koss is a solid hitter with sneaky pop. He’s got gap power, with the ability to hit 20 home runs. The only issue here is that he doesn’t really draw walks. So when he gets into a slump (and he did run into one at the end of the season), things can get ugly. However, Koss tends to be a consistent bat. And he showed a real knack for driving in runs this year.
Defensively, Koss is above-average at shortstop, third base, and second base. He even showed off some skills in the outfield this year (although he had very limited reps). His best position is probably shortstop. That gives him the most chances to show off his fantastic range and a strong arm. He has a good glove and nice instincts off the bat.
Speaking of range, Koss might be the most underrated runner in the system. I always thought Koss was fast when watching him on TV for all the games. I went to a Portland series this year though. And my guy is an absolute burner. He was flying down the first base line. It immediately made me bump up his speed grade. There are some things you can’t see on MiLB TV as much as you would like (limited camera angles and few replays). This is one of those things.
Overall, Koss might not jump out to you as this crazy prospect. The reason for that is I don’t think there’s any statistic that really lends itself to being the highlight of a conversation. But he does everything at a high level. Could be an everyday infielder that consistently produces.
He’d get you a 20/20 season at some point too, so that’s fun.
Hit: 55
Power: 55
Run: 65
Arm: 55
Field: 55
Overall: 55