The Boston Red Sox are a massive disappointment, but fans can take solace in the fact that the farm system is having a solid year. Bryan Mata lighting up Portland, Triston Casas looks like a star in the making, and Darwinzon Hernandez looks like a mainstay in the Red Sox bullpen. However, there is a player in the low minors who is starting to live up to his potential. First baseman Pedro Castellanos has started to find his power and could develop into another intriguing corner infield bat.
Pedro Castellanos Hitting for Power
So far on the season, Castellanos owns a good-but-not-great .280/.325/.404 slash line with a corresponding 110 wRC+. He’s hit nine home runs in his 467 plate appearances, which isn’t anything special. However, when looking at his recent performances, it appears as though he’s found his swing.
Since July 27th, Castellanos owns a .316/.365/.772 slash line with a corresponding 215 wRC+. For those who aren’t familiar with Fangraphs’ metrics, this means that he’s been 115% better than the league-average hitter. In his last 57 at-bats, he’s hit three doubles, one triple, and a staggering seven home runs. Maintaining THAT type of home run rate is obviously impossible, but the fact that he’s starting to put the ball in the air shows that he might start living up to his potential.
If you watched Pedro Castellanos in batting practice, you’d think he’s the second-coming of Babe Ruth. Ok, maybe he’s not that good, but Castellanos has a ridiculous amount of raw power. According to Sox Prospects, Castellanos has “plus raw power but curiously below-average in-game power”. Through this point in his career, Castellanos has only been a noteworthy prospect because of what he does before the game starts. If he’s truly turned a corner, then he could have a major league future. However, let’s look at just how good he could be.
Castellanos’ Ceiling
Sox Prospects currently has Castellanos ranked as the 38th-best prospect in the Red Sox system. Some of this is due to the system naturally getting better, but some is due to Castellanos’ relatively low ceiling. His in-game power rise ensures he’ll rise up the prospect rankings. That said, he probably won’t develop into anything other than an up-and-down major leaguer.
Castellanos is one of many corner infielders in the Red Sox system. Rafael Devers is the third baseman of the present and future, but the organization also has Michael Chavis, Sam Travis, Bobby Dalbec, Triston Casas, Brandon Howlett, Nicholas Northcut, Cameron Cannon, and Danny Diaz as notable corner infield prospects. All players have a varying degree of MLB promise, meaning that Castellanos has a hard climb to the top.
Even if he does make it, he probably won’t be anything more than a backup first baseman. Players like that are a dime a dozen in the MLB, and Castellanos doesn’t have the profile to be an elite power-hitting first baseman. The power signs are encouraging, but he probably won’t be anything more than a depth guy at the major league level or a trade chip for a small-time player down the line.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
