Jose Iglesias is the future. At least that’s what the media would have you believe. Signed as an international free agent in 2009, Iglesias has been heralded as the next short stop since the day he arrived. With the defensive ability of Ozzie Smith, but the offensive capability of a late David Eckstein, Iglesias still has much to prove.
Iglesias has proven himself to be a wizard at shortstop, showing range that is often described as unreal. He can reach any ball, ranging the infield almost like an outfielder, protecting his portion of the diamond as if allowing a hit would be a cardinal sin. Iglesias is the best defender in the Sox’ system. There’s only one problem: he can’t hit.
With a .235 average this year, and a .285 mark the year before, Iglesias still has not impressed with the bat. Even with an acceptable .285 average, he only put up a .315 OBP. He lacks power as well, never finishing with a slugging percentage over .357 in his career. Without an impressive eye at the plate, Iglesias has a weak case to stay in the majors, supported only by his defense.
But what a defense it is. With range unlike any other player in the Sox’ system, Iglesias’s dazzling ability is incredible to watch. He had a cup of tea in the majors this year, racking up six plate appearances, while serving as pinch runner many a time. In fact, he was the player scampering home from second base when Carl Crawford laced a double off the monster on May 8th, one of the few highlights of Crawford’s season and certainly Iglesias’s. He has speed but not enough to suddenly shift him to a leadoff spot in the order. With 12 steals in 387 plate appearances, he certainly does not have enough speed to warrant a call up for that reason alone.
Despite all of this, Iglesias has rocketed through Boston’s system, making it all the way to Pawtucket in only two years, clearly a sign of his value within the minds of the higher ups. Again, it all comes back to his offensive ability. Even with a .285 average in 2010, his BABIP that year was .360, a sure sign that some of his hits came as gifts. His WOBA tells the truth of that season, sitting at .303, only .018 points higher than his average.
Now that the World Series is over, Boston has an important decision to make regarding Marco Scutaro. After fulfilling his two-year contract, Scutaro has a six million dollar option for next year. He recorded his highest batting average (.299), OBP (.338), and SLG (.423) with the Sox in this past season. Considering he has a 1.5 million dollar buyout if Boston does not pick up his contract, it seems safe to say that Scutaro is worth the 4.5 million that they would have to pay. Fangraphs.com has his 2011 season valued at 12.9 million dollars, so to get him at a fourth of that cost is a sure value, even if he does not replicate his production from last year.
If Boston does decide to buy Scutaro out, the other option at shortstop besides Iglesias is Jed Lowrie. The concern with the Lowrie is his health. He missed almost half of this season with mononucleosis, and even more time in 2010 with an injured wrist. With such a spotty history, it seems unsafe to entrust the starting spot to Lowrie. With rumors that Kevin Youkilis may be on the trading block, it makes even less sense to let go of Scutaro. If such a move is made, Lowrie and Mike Aviles would be the candidates left to start at third base, and without Scutaro, quite a depth problem is left in the middle infield.
Jose Iglesias is the future. This has been a foregone conclusion since early last year. The only question is whether he dons this role next year or the year after. The smart money has to be on the latter option. Iglesias would certainly benefit from another year in the minors, working on developing excellence at the plate, while continuing his mastery on defense. While Marco Scutaro will not .299 next year, he should be a decent enough player, especially with Jed Lowrie on the bench to start against left-handers.
Jose Iglesias cannot hit. With a consistently low slugging percentage, and an average on base percentage, Iglesias still has much to learn. He can field though, and that may be an understatement. The question is, can that be enough to carry him at a major league level? He certainly projects as the ninth hitter in a decent lineup, but even then, until he develops better skills with the bat, it seems unproductive to promote him to the big leagues. A wizard with the glove and an amateur with the bat, Iglesias is a fascinating subject. While he may have been pre-ordained by the media as the short stop of the future, he still has much to prove, especially offensively. He may not be perfect yet, but that’s how the life of a prospect goes. They’re the future until they’re not. For Jose Iglesias, one can only hope that the future goes as planned. Of course, the future, being what it is, rarely does.