Boston Red Sox prospect Triston Casas soaring in Arizona Fall League
Boston Red Sox prospect Triston Casas is bashing the ball in the Arizona Fall League as he begins to make his case for some duty with the big league team next season.
Casas has rung up nice numbers in that league after playing with Portland and Worcester last season. Here’s what his Arizona line looks like according to yardbarker.com,
"… Casas raised his batting line with the Scorpions up to an impressive .333/.455/.429 to go along with three doubles, one home run, nine RBI, 15 runs scored, 12 walks, and 16 strikeouts over 16 games spanning 77 plate appearances."
Casas also was recognized by being asked to play for Team USA in 2021. He did a nice job for his country’s team, as well.
Boston Red Sox Triston Casas is ranked as the Sox top prospect
Soxprospects.com has Casas ranked as the Sox top prospect, numero uno. Casas was drafted in the first round in 2018 and has progressed up the system’s minor league ranks since.
He’s a bonafide slugger and a big one at that. Standing 6’5″ tall and weighing in at about 250 pounds, he packs a wallop when he gets into a pitch.
Casas swatted 14 home runs in 308 plate appearances for Portland in double-A ball and Worcester in triple-A. Most of that production came at Portland.
He hit .284 in Maine and only had a mere 33 at-bats at Worcester after stepping up. He’ll almost certainly start the season at Worcester and see if he can continue his progression to the bigs.
How his development will progress is a logical question to ask in light of a few factors to consider. Let’s take a look at a couple of them.
Factors impacting Boston Red Sox Triston Casas’ call-up to Boston
First, is Casas ready for the jump now to the big club? The answer is probably not. With limited at-bats at Worcester, he’s likely to need some additional acclimation to near-big league-level pitching before that happens.
SoxProspects.com, an amazing source for information on all of the Boston Red Sox prospects, has his estimated time of arrival at mid-season next year, that’s 2022. And they know their stuff.
Seemingly, if he begins to tear up Triple-A, a call-up in case of injury or in September might be possible. Another major factor standing in his way is competition.
The path the Red Sox takes in free agency could impact Casas’ situation. One factor would be whether the Red Sox does sign Kyle Schwarber to a long-term deal.
Schwarber was great with the Sox and even though they flamed out against the Houston Astros, the season was a huge success.
The space has advocated that signing Schwarber should be the Boston Red Sox first order of business in the offseason. Nothing has happened to change that thought.
He was cited in this space as a great fit here, and he’s being called a fit now even by Boston’s Chief Baseball Officer, Chaim Bloom.
With J.D. Martinez having opted into the final year of his current contract, Schwarber is a natural to slide right into that DH role in 2023 if Martinez moves on.
A potential problem is that the National League may adopt the designated hitter. If so, there will likely be even more competition for his services now in free agency.
There will be competition anyway. He’s that good a hitter and he can now play both the outfield and first base, or DH. He’s the complete package for any American League or National League team for that matter.
It’s going to cost. But Schwarber is worth all of it. He’s one of those left-handed power hitters for whom the longer dimensions of Fenway Park’s right-field are no problem. He can still power the ball out with ease. And so can Cases.
Another possible obstacle to Casas’ arrival in Boston is the presence of Bobby Dalbec. The right-handed hitting first baseman can also play third.
Dalbec emerged with 25 home runs and 78 RBI’s last season for Boston though he only had 417 at-bats.
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He’s proven he belongs and his versatility is a nice complement to anyone else who also plays those two positions.
Should Schwarber depart (really hope not), Dalbec will probably own the first base spot until someone comes along to take it away from him. That may very well be Casas.
When Casas is ready, with perhaps no Schwarber or Martinez either around in 2023, the door will be wide open for Cases to step in. He could DH or play first base, his primary position.
The good news for the Boston Red Sox is, with Dalbec producing and Casas in the wings, by 2023, there should be room for both on the team.