Tomase: Top Sox prospects highlight early stages of rebuild
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The Red Sox have started rebuilding their farm system, but it won't happen overnight.A series of deadline deals imported some badly needed depth, and the emergence of slugging first baseman Bobby Dalbec and surprising right-hander Tanner Houck provides some hope for the immediate future, but the Red Sox are not yet to the point where the upper reaches of their system are filled with surefire major league stars.Only four short years ago, their best prospects were Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada, each of whom could've made a credible case for best prospect in baseball. Now they must watch as division rivals Tampa Bay (Wander Franco), Baltimore (Adley Rutschman), and Toronto (Nate Pearson) boast top-10 overall prospects leading loaded farm systems.The cupboard isn't bare, however. Here are Boston's top 10 prospects, along with an estimated year of arrival. Note that Dalbec and Houck are now considered big leaguers and were thus left off this list.
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1/10
Still listed at 6-4, 238, Casas recently said that he's actually 6-5, 255, the result of a post-draft growth spurt. The slugging first baseman certainly looks the part after slamming 20 homers in 2019, but there's more to his game than raw power.
He considers Reds first baseman Joey Votto his idol, and he isn't above choking up with two strikes. He continued opening eyes when summoned to the alternate camp this season, and could be the answer at first base sooner rather than later.
ETA: 2022
2/10
The emergence of outfielder Alex Verdugo has taken some of the heat off of Downs to be the centerpiece of the Mookie Betts trade. Downs can instead simply focus on improving his own solid all-around game.
He projects as an everyday big leaguer, probably at second base, with some deceptive power. He finished 2019 at Double A, where he hit five of his 24 homers, and depending on how the Red Sox address their middle infield this winter, he'll have a chance at making his debut sometime next season.
ETA: 2021
3/10
The Red Sox believe they have something in the hard-throwing Mata, whose two-seam fastball pushes triple digits with impressive sink. Triple-A pitching coach Paul Abbott calls him "the most exciting guy we have in the organization."
If Mata never expands his arsenal beyond fastball-slider, he'll still have an opportunity to close. If he can improve his changeup, he's a potential middle of the rotation starter. Managing his walks will be the key.
ETA: 2021
4/10
Duran might not be the fastest player in the system โ that honor probably goes to outfielder Gilberto Jimenez โ but he's up there, and if Jackie Bradley Jr. departs in free agency this winter, there's a chance that Duran opens next season in Boston in center field.
Relatively unheralded as a seventh-round pick in 2018, all Duran has done is hit, opening eyes both in spring training and at the alternate site. An impressive physical specimen, he has the strength to hit for power.
ETA: 2021
5/10
The Red Sox are finally getting a chance to see what Groome can do after taking him 12th overall in 2016. He missed all of 2018 and most of 2019 following Tommy John surgery, arriving at the alternate site with only 66 pro innings.
In Pawtucket, he pitched with the confidence of someone who believes he belongs in Boston right now. Groome possesses an above-average fastball and one of the best curveballs in the minor leagues.
ETA: 2022
6/10
You may not know the name now, but the Red Sox believe you will soon. Signed out of the Dominican in 2017 for only $10,000, Jimenez is one of the fastest players in the minor leagues and an electrifying talent with the arm and speed to play center field.
He has yet to play above short-season Lowell, where he hit .359 to win a batting title last year, but the 160-pound switch hitter has a chance to move quickly.
ETA: 2023
7/10
Song had hoped to delay the start of his two-year Naval commitment until after his baseball career, but he was not retroactively allowed to benefit from a new Department of Defense guideline relaxing the standards for athletes. Even still, he could rejoin the Red Sox in 2022 for his age-25 season after flight school.
In his brief debut, he showed why he was one of the most overpowering pitchers in college, striking out 19 in 17 innings at Lowell on the strength of an upper-90s fastball and refreshingly quick pace.
ETA: 2023
8/10
Ward is a Fort Myers native who used to work as a Red Sox batboy during spring training. He's the rare college reliever who made the transition to starting in the pros after being drafted in the fifth round in 2018 out of Central Florida.
He was out of this world at two levels of Single-A in 2019, striking out 157 while posting a 2.14 ERA. His best pitch is a sweeping slider that has drawn comparisons to Chris Sale's.
ETA: 2022
9/10
Time for some new blood. Seabold arrived alongside right-hander Nick Pivetta from the Phillies in the Brandon Workman trade, and while Pivetta's physical tools are more impressive, Seabold has a habit of pitching beyond the sum of his parts.
He commands a fastball, slider, and changeup and doesn't beat himself with walks. His fastball has ticked up into the 93-94 mph range, and as he continues to gain strength, he has a chance to be more than just a finesse pitcher.
Signed for nearly $2 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2016, the left-handed speedster generates consistently high on base percentages, even though he's just a .264 lifetime hitter. The 20-year-old has been among the youngest players at each stop, and the Red Sox hope that continued physical development will yield increased power and contact.