Red Sox prospect Triston Casas makes Opening Day roster: What it means for his development
First baseman Triston Casas will be on the Red Sox’s Opening Day roster, manager Alex Cora said Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Casas, 23, was selected at No. 26 by Boston in the 2018 MLB Draft out of American Heritage in Plantation, Fla.
- The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Casas as the No. 40 prospect in baseball in January. He was No. 56 on last year’s list.
- Casas slashed .197/.358/.408 last with five home runs in 27 games for the Red Sox last season.
Scouting report
Casas is a boring prospect, but not in a bad way; he projects as an above-average or better regular at first base and he’s ready to take over in Fenway right now, but he doesn’t have a huge tool, no 80 power or elite defense and definitely not big speed. He’s patient, disciplined and has a very good feel to hitting, with hard contact that so far has produced a ton of doubles, although there’s no real reason to think he can’t put more of those balls over the fence.
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Casas is big and very strong; his swing makes excellent use of his upper and lower half as he rotates his hips to get more power from his legs. Boston tried him at third base but let’s just pretend that never happened. He’s a first baseman who rakes, and should be the traditional slugger for that position, hitting for some average with a ton of walks and either 40-odd doubles or 25-plus homers. — Law
What were the odds of Casas making the big club at the start of spring training?
Casas debuted Sept. 4 and showed impressive plate discipline almost immediately with 19 walks and 23 strikeouts in 95 plate appearances. The Red Sox had acquired Eric Hosmer at the trade deadline as a backup for Casas, but Casas proved he was more than ready for the majors and the team released Hosmer over the winter, signaling the starting first base job was Casas’. So there wasn’t much question whether Casas would be with the club to start the season. The club’s first baseman the last two seasons in Bobby Dalbec has seen reps at second base, and Justin Turner — signed this winter for his bat — will see some time at first, though he’s hardly played there in his career so Casas will get a majority of games at first. — McCaffrey
What it means for his development
While it had long been known that Casas would be the Red Sox starting first baseman this season, Cora made it official by telling Casas on Sunday that he’d made the Opening Day roster. Casas has performed well this spring, hitting 18-for-50 (.360) with three homers and five doubles in 17 games. As far as his development, Casas showed there wasn’t much left to prove when he debuted last September. He’ll continue to learn the league’s pitchers and seek to improve against lefties but will be a key part of the lineup.
The Red Sox think so highly of Casas’ plate discipline that they suggested he could hit leadoff against some righties while hitting in the middle of the order the rest of the time. His extreme patience at the plate coupled with immense power should give the Red Sox a strong bat to lean on despite just 27 big league games under his belt. — McCaffrey
Required reading
(Photo: Paul Rutherford / USA Today)
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