After his breakout 2023 season, Triston Casas has been getting a lot of attention. From appearances on top-100 players lists to mic'd up interviews, Casas' baseball talents and his personality are earning him some well-deserved recognition.
At just 24 years old, Casas has plenty of time to find himself in MLB. But his production at the beginning of spring training had some Boston Red Sox fans nervous.
The first baseman was slow-played at the start after he caught the flu and needed to spend some time away from the team. His Grapefruit League debut, and his performances in many of the following games, were underwhelming, to say the least.
Casas didn't register a hit in his first five spring training game appearances. In his sixth game, he finally got on base with a single, but he struck out in all three of his other at-bats.
Fans began to panic about Casas — the second half of his 2023 season skyrocketed him into popularity around the major leagues, but it could've been a fluke if his follow-up was beginning to look this bad.
Then Casas began to make contact more and more. He got on base with walks instead of striking out, making good use of his eye that the Red Sox have so heavily praised.
Triston Casas SMOKED this ball! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Cdt27m52BE
— MLB (@MLB) March 13, 2024
Triston Casas' spring training mirrors his 2023 Red Sox season
Casas' first good outing of spring came against the Yankees. He hit his first bomb of Grapefruit League action, and it was a moonshot off Carlos Rodón. The pitcher winced as Casas' ball left the yard, in acknowledgment of the power everyone in the park witnessed.
The slugger batted just .215 with four home runs off lefties in 2023. One homer off a lefty starter doesn't indicate that trend will change, but it's encouraging that result came early, as did a mirror image of how he rebounded from his poor first half last season.
His best Grapefruit League performance thus far was on March 19 against the Rays, another division rival. Casas went 2-for-4 with three RBI — one of his two hits was a towering blast off reliever Shawn Armstrong, the other was a single to score Jarren Duran and Reese McGuire and secure the win for the Sox.
Casas started the spring 0-11, 5K. Has since gone 7-26, 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB.
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) March 19, 2024
Casas lagging behind was definitely a cause for concern for much of Red Sox Nation. He was the bright spot in last year's season and seeing him struggle just like he did in the beginning of 2023 was far from what Boston fans needed to raise their spirits after another rough winter for the team.
But, if Casas has shown fans and opposing pitchers anything, it's that he shouldn't be counted out. And if his spring training is any indication, he could be in for another huge season this year.