Boston Red Sox: What to Expect from Yoan Moncada
Top prospect Andrew Benintendi has provided a big boost for the Boston Red Sox over the past couple weeks. However, with the rookie outfielder out with a knee injury, the Red Sox have decided that now is the time to call up their consensus best prospect, infielder Yoan Moncada.
When the Boston Red Sox committed over $60 million to the then 19 year-old Cuban sensation last February, the team was expecting that the athletic infielder had a chance to become a star at in the MLB. Even with those lofty goals, Yoan Moncada has exceeded expectations.
Starting his professional career at the Single-A level, the second baseman was immediately comfortable at the minor league level, hitting for a .278 batting average with eight home runs and swiping an absolutely ridiculous 49 bases in just 81 contests. Moncada has built off this great start and has continued to impress in his first full season in the Red Sox organization.
After starting out 2016 with Boston’s advanced Single-A affiliate, it took the 21 year-old just 61 games to be called up to Double-A. Prior to his promotion, Moncada was getting on-base at an impressive .427 clip. He also continued his exceptional work on the basepaths, as he stole 45 bags during his first two months of play.
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This incredible debut for a player that had played just two years in Cuba seemingly had to reach a stopping point, but Moncada continued to produce and grow as a player without experiencing many struggles.
Unlike most young players that reach a certain level and experience growing pains, Moncada has been able to improve and stay productive throughout his entire minor league career.
Over the past 45 games in Double-A, Moncada’s average and on-base numbers have dipped a bit, but his spike in power should give Red Sox fans and management more reason to get excited about the player he can become. After he hit just four homers to start the year, he now has 11 dingers in Double-A. This is a sign that there is plenty of untapped power potential in the athletic infielder’s game.
Moncada’s play over the past year and half have caught the eyes of people around baseball. After coming into 2016 as a top ten rated prospect by MLB.com, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, the 21 year-old is now considered the top player in the minors by both MLB.com and Baseball America. With his excellent play and considerable hype, Moncada was just recently called up to make his major league debut with rosters expanding this September.
This obviously means that he will skip Triple-A, which is not the norm when considering the usual value teams place on prospects needing to grind through the farm system before contributing in the MLB. However, it’s not terribly uncommon, as Manny Machado was promoted straight from Double-A during the Baltimore Orioles pennant chance four years ago, which obviously turned out fairly well. Boston has also seen Andrew Benintendi produce in a starting role with less than a year of minor league experience. To be fair though, his situation is much different than Moncada’s.
When Benintendi made his major league debut about a month ago, the Red Sox were hurting in left field as Brock Holt was struggling and Chris Young was hurt. This made the former seventh overall pick an easy fit on the Sox’s roster. But with Moncada, his primary position is filled by a longtime Boston great in Dustin Pedroia. This means that either the Red Sox see Moncada as just a bench player during the final stretch or that they could be envisioning a positional switch.
While the Cuban sensation was mostly a second baseman in the minors, he did make ten appearances at third base. While this may just be a bit of experimentation from the Red Sox front office, there is absolutely a reason why the club would make this change. Just as the Orioles did with Manny Machado, shifting from shortstop to the hot corner, the Red Sox may be following the same gameplan as the team is currently opting for a combination of Travis Shaw and Aaron Hill. This duo doesn’t scream excitement, especially with Shaw now on a bit of an elongated slide after a hot start.
If Moncada is given the opportunity to step in at third base, it could pay huge dividends for them as the Red Sox look to overtake the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East crown. There is a reason that Moncada is thought of as highly as he is. He has an all around game with speed, power and a very good hitting tool. At 6’2”, 205 lbs., the 21 year-old is the rare player that can run while still being able to hit for power. His home run stroke has not been on display as much, but his recent power surge and ability to hit doubles suggests that he can be at least a 22-25 home run guy in the future.
I ranked Moncada as the top position player prospect four months ago, and he has done nothing but strengthen my confidence that he can be a special player in this league. There are not many guys that have the skill set that he has. Of course there may be a slight adjustment period for him as he faces pitchers of a much higher caliber from what he’s gone against over the past year. But, if John Farrell gives him regular at bats, he should provide a nice spark for a team that already is loaded throughout the lineup.
Moncada most likely will not be an everyday player right away, as he might platoon with Travis Shaw and come in as a pinch runner at times as well. But there is something to be said for a guy that has never really struggled and has quickly risen through the ranks of one of the best farm systems in baseball. He has all the tools with the game to match, and while his promotion to the majors be a bit unorthodox with him skipping a level, there is good reason to why Boston has made this decision….which is because Moncada is an exceptionally talented baseball player.
What do you think of the Red Sox promoting Yoan Moncada? Is the club pushing him too quickly? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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