Yoan Moncada hasn’t even reached Triple-A yet, but his recent numbers are becoming hard to ignore.
The Boston Red Sox’s highly touted infield prospect had another big game for Double-A Portland on Monday, going 2-for-5 with two monster home runs in an 11-4 win over the Trenton Thunder.
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Moncada now has seven homers in 21 games with Portland since being promoted from High-A Salem earlier this season. He also has driven in 20 runs, leads the team with a 1.098 OPS and is batting at a .329 clip. On top of that, the Cuba native took home MVP honors at Major League Baseball’s Futures Game thanks to his clutch home run.
Moncada, ranked the No. 5 prospect in baseball by MLB.com, appears to be living up to the hype so far. But is his recent play enough for the Red Sox to add him to their roster in September after fewer than two full seasons in the minors?
Boston wants to keep Moncada at his natural position of second base, so unless something happens to Dustin Pedroia, there isn’t a pressing need to call up the 21-year-old prospect. But, as WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford points out, Moncada could prove useful as a “designated pinch runner” in the mold of Quintin Berry or Dave Roberts. Moncada has 43 stolen bases in 82 total games this season, but has been caught nine times.
At the very least, the Red Sox aren’t opposed to the idea of a Double-A call-up, as team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said recently he doesn’t see Triple-A as a necessary stop for a player before joining a big league club. That mindset also could bode well for Moncada’s teammate, outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who actually might be more likely to earn a call-up by virtue of his position.
Boston’s first-round draft pick in 2015, Benintendi already has risen to Double-A and is batting .277 in 51 games for Portland with six homers, 30 RBIs and 30 runs scored. The Red Sox obviously would like to give the 22-year-old more time to develop, yet if the injury bug continues to bite in the outfield, Benintendi might be called on to add more depth down the stretch.
“He’s making steady progress in Double-A,” Red Sox general manager Mike Hazen recently told Bradford. “The consistency of his at-bats day in and day out have gotten better and better and better. There’s usually a transition to every level.”
Moncada and Benintendi are the two most important prospects in Boston’s system, and the Red Sox shouldn’t rush them to the bigs if they don’t believe they’re ready. The blueprint for success is there, however, as Xander Bogaerts was called up late in the 2013 season at age 20 and went on to help Boston win a World Series.
MLB rosters expanded to 40 players on Sept. 1, so only time will tell.
Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vazquez/USA TODAY Sports Images
