{"id":24123,"date":"2019-08-16T09:12:59","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T13:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=24123"},"modified":"2019-08-16T09:12:59","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T13:12:59","slug":"pedro-castellanos-power-boston-red-sox-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/08\/16\/pedro-castellanos-power-boston-red-sox-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Pedro Castellanos Finding Power for Boston Red Sox Farm System"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Red Sox<\/a> are a massive disappointment, but fans can take solace in the fact that the farm system is having a solid year. Bryan Mata<\/a> <\/strong>lighting up Portland, Triston Casas<\/a><\/strong> looks like a star in the making, and Darwinzon Hernandez<\/a><\/strong> 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<\/a><\/strong> has started to find his power and could develop into another intriguing corner infield bat.<\/p>\n

Pedro Castellanos Hitting for Power<\/strong><\/h2>\n

So far on the season, Castellanos owns a good-but-not-great .280\/.325\/.404 slash line with a corresponding 110 wRC+. He\u2019s hit nine home runs in his 467 plate appearances, which isn\u2019t anything special. However, when looking at his recent performances, it appears as though he\u2019s found his swing.<\/p>\n

Since July 27th<\/sup>, Castellanos owns a .316\/.365\/.772 slash line with a corresponding 215 wRC+. For those who aren\u2019t familiar with Fangraphs\u2019 metrics, this means that he\u2019s been 115% better than the league-average hitter. In his last 57 at-bats, he\u2019s hit three doubles, one triple, and a staggering seven home runs. Maintaining THAT<\/em> type of home run rate is obviously impossible, but the fact that he\u2019s starting to put the ball in the air shows that he might start living up to his potential.<\/p>\n

If you watched Pedro Castellanos in batting practice, you\u2019d think he\u2019s the second-coming of Babe Ruth<\/a><\/strong>. Ok, maybe he\u2019s not that good, but Castellanos has a ridiculous amount of raw power. According to Sox Prospects<\/a>, Castellanos has \u201cplus raw power but curiously below-average in-game power\u201d. Through this point in his career, Castellanos has only been a noteworthy prospect because of what he does before the game starts. If he\u2019s truly turned a corner, then he could have a major league future. However, let\u2019s look at just how good he could be.<\/p>\n

Castellanos\u2019 Ceiling<\/h3>\n

Sox Prospects currently has Castellanos ranked as the 38th<\/sup>-best prospect in the Red Sox system. Some of this is due to the system naturally getting better, but some is due to Castellanos\u2019 relatively low ceiling. His in-game power rise ensures he\u2019ll rise up the prospect rankings. That said, he probably won\u2019t develop into anything other than an up-and-down major leaguer.<\/p>\n

Castellanos is one of many corner infielders in the Red Sox system. Rafael Devers<\/a><\/strong> is the third baseman of the present and future, but the organization also has Michael Chavis<\/a>, Sam Travis<\/a>, Bobby Dalbec<\/a><\/strong>, Triston Casas, Brandon Howlett<\/a><\/strong>, Nicholas Northcut<\/a><\/strong>, Cameron Cannon<\/a>,<\/strong> and Danny Diaz<\/a><\/strong> as notable corner infield prospects. All players have a varying degree of MLB promise, meaning that Castellanos has a hard climb to the top.<\/p>\n

Even if he does make it, he probably won\u2019t be anything more than a backup first baseman. Players like that are a dime a dozen in the MLB, and Castellanos doesn\u2019t have the profile to be an elite power-hitting first baseman. The power signs are encouraging, but he probably won\u2019t be anything more than a depth guy at the major league level or a trade chip for a small-time player down the line.<\/p>\n

Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>