There is no denying that the Boston Red Sox are in the midst of rather rough season. They’ve underwent a 10-game losing streak, seen star players like Shane Victorino and Clay Buchholz struggle to produce for the squad, and everything in between. One thing that has been a rather bright point is the play of one Brock Holt, who at one point in his career was nothing more than an extra player thrown into a larger deal between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Red Sox.
Flashback to December 26th, 2012. The Boston Red Sox, in search of a replacement for long time closer Jonathan Papelbon, close a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan. The Sox sent reliever Mark Melancon, outfielder Jerry Sands, and prospects Ivan De Jesus and Stolmy Pimentel in return for Hanrahan, and a 24-year old infielder Brock Holt, who debuted with Pittsburgh that past season.
The scouting report for Holt was pretty simple: A contact hitter, with above average plate discipline, but lacking any major home run potential. Average speed and a decent glove, not too much jumped off the page about the 5’10” Rice product.
In 24 games with Pittsburgh in 2012, Holt batted .292, with a pair of doubles. That’s not a huge sample to work with, but it shows that he had the talent to make an MLB squad. Coming into spring training of 2013, Holt failed to make the Opening Day roster, and started the season out playing with Triple-A Pawtucket. Brock spent a total of 83 games as a member of the PawSox, playing the infield and batting .258 with 24 runs batted in. Brock found himself playing 26 games for the Red Sox (who would go on to win the World Series that year, in case you forgot) but failed to impress. He only managed a .203 average, with 11 runs batted in.
Holt’s 2013 was unimpressive for the most part, and it was looking more and more unlikely that he would find his way onto the Red Sox come 2014. Once again, he started the year off in Pawtucket, but batted an impressive .315 throughout 27 games, with 8 doubles and 2 triples. At the age of 26, Holt was starting to gain some traction and put together a good looking season. To the chagrin of the Red Sox, injury struck the major league squad, seeing third baseman Will Middlebrooks go down with nagging injuries. To fill some depth in the lineup, Boston called up the hot-hitting Holt from Triple-A, and he was inserted into the lineup, playing all over the infield.
30 games into his MLB stint with Boston, it appears that Brock is ready for the bigs. A scorching .341 average, with 9 doubles and 13 runs batted in. Holt began playing at third base, but found himself being moved all over the field, even the outfield. Despite the Red Sox’ struggles, Brock stayed strong, stepping into the leadoff spot in the lineup and being an instant difference maker. Paired with rookie Xander Bogaerts, the duo became the offensive leaders for the defending World Champs, despite playing in a lineup with the likes of Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, and Mike Napoli.
Before Holt’s impressive offensive run began, Boston re-signed shortstop Stephen Drew to a one-year deal to play shortstop/third base with Bogaerts. Even with Drew on the squad, Holt could not be taken out of the lineup, and he was promptly moved to left field (where he didn’t miss a beat).
Brock Holt came into the Red Sox organization as an average prospect thrown into a deal for a relief pitcher. Despite a down first season with Boston, Holt battled back in 2014, and is slowly carving a niche into both the everyday lineup, and the heart of Boston’s fan base.