Brandon Workman got the minor league promotion season kicked off last week when the Red Sox moved him from Portland to Pawtucket. According to WEEI’s Alex Speier, one of his former Sea Dog teammates will be joining him:
“With Jose Iglesias remaining on the big league roster, there’s a vacancy at shortstop in Pawtucket, and so the Sox — after having front-office deliberations this week about whether or not to promote the top prospect in their system — will indeed unveil him in Triple-A tonight (weather permitting), according to multiple Red Sox sources.”
Bogaerts is packing his bags for Pawtucket (CREDIT: FLICKR)
There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is the right move. Through last night, he’s hitting .311/.407/502 on the season, but even that undercuts how well he’s performed as of late. After a slow start to the season, Xander Bogaerts has kicked it up another couple of gears hitting .343/.444/.579 since the tenth game of the season. He’s driving the ball to all fields, playing solid defense at shortstop, and most importantly, drawing walks in ways he’s never done before. His plate discipline and pitch recognition were considered his biggest opportunities heading into the season, and he’s answered those concerns emphatically.
Probably the most impressive part of Bogaerts’s story is that he doesn’t turn 21 until October 1st. Think about that. He’s a 20 year old who’s crushing the ball in a league where the average player is 24. Baseball America rated him as the eighth best prospect in baseball prior to the season; ESPN’s Keith Law recently named him #3 in his mid-season update; and he’s the consensus top prospect in the Red Sox farm system. This kid is for real.
Now, the interesting part comes. With more than half of the season remaining, he has a great chance to establish himself in the International League. Should he continue to hit at even 80% of the level in triple-A as he did over the past two months in double-A, what happens next year in Boston at shortstop? People seem to be buying into the Iglesias movement, but Bogaerts is an even better all around prospect–and by a lot. It could get very interesting over the next few months. Stay tuned.
Now, if only they’ll promote Garin Cecchini to Portland…