International free agents make up a huge portion of today’s MLB players. Some, like Yasiel Puig and Yoenis Cespedes, receive huge contracts before they ever step on an MLB field. Others, like Jurickson Profar and Boston’s own Xander Bogaerts, sign smaller deals at an incredibly young age, usually. For example, the Red Sox discovered Bogaerts when he was just 16-years-old.
Xander made the jump from the majors to the minors pretty quick once he started playing in the Red Sox system, and they may have another player just like him in Rafael Devers, a third-baseman. Devers, now 17, signed with the Red Sox during last summer’s international signing period for $1.5 million dollars. At the time, he was ranked as one of the best international free agents available, and he’s really starting to show why this year.
Rafael started this season with the Dominican Summer League Red Sox in rookie ball, and quite simply, he raked. A .337 average with a .445 on-base-percentage, he was making constant contact with the ball. His .538 slugging was overwhelmingly impressive, and his .984 OPS was just as good.
28 games was all Devers spent in the DSL before earning a much deserved promotion to the Gulf Coast Red Sox squad. Rafael has only spent four games in the GCL to date, but he’s made good use of his time there. A .643 average, three doubles, one home run, and seven runs batted in. It would appear that Rafael hasn’t missed a beat during his promotion.
Now before anyone gets too excite, might I remind you that he’s only 17-years-old, and hasn’t even left rookie league. By all means his stats are still incredible, but we’ve got some time before he finds his way to the bigs. At 6’0″ and 190 lbs, Devers’ size will never be a problem. He’s currently a third-baseman, and it’s safe to say he could still play the position in a few years. The only real question is, will there be room for him? With Xander Bogaerts proving he was worth a callup at a young age, it’s unlikely he’s moved form either the shortstop or third-base spot. Let’s say Xander plays shortstop full time, that still leaves to prospects Garin Cechini and Devin Marrero on the left side of the infield. Unless something drastic happens, it seems like Marrero and Cechini will have their chance to prove their worth at the Major League level before Devers does. Does that 100% rule out Devers playing in Boston down the line? Absolutely not. Trades happen, players change positions, and it’s already too early to be talking about Devers’ fate in the majors anyways.
Regardless of how the future looks, Rafael Devers is still tearing it up at an incredible pace, and only at the age of 17. He’s a serios target to keep an eye on as the years roll by, and if he stays at this pace, we may not have to wait too long to see his face in the pros.