All things Moncada

[cp176]

This is where I guess i should be venting. Trade anyone of our prospects (not currently with the club) to get that totrp if you think we need one. I think that we already have our number 1 though. Just don't trade this kid! He is special. i haven't given this a lot of thought but right off the top, i can't think of anybody that I have seen in a Sox uniform that looks like he might have more to offer than this kid. Size, strength, power, speed. There is no reason to rush him. We are in pretty good shape. When they decide what to do with him and where he can help us the most, I cannot wait to see what he can do. he is as ready to go as any of our prospects.

[Jack Flap]

A Mike Hazen sighting!!! Oh, and something about Moncada, too.

 

http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2016/07/18/red-sox-gm-mike-hazen-still-no-immediate-plans-to-switch-yoan-moncadas-position/

 

“No,” said Hazen when asked if the Red Sox on the verge of introducing another position to the 21-year-old second baseman. “We want him to get comfortable at second base. He’s showing very well at second base right now. He’s developing at Double-A. We want him to go day in and day out, learn a position, master a position. We’ll tackle that as we need to.”

[cp176]

A Mike Hazen sighting!!! Oh, and something about Moncada, too.

 

http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2016/07/18/red-sox-gm-mike-hazen-still-no-immediate-plans-to-switch-yoan-moncadas-position/

 

“No,” said Hazen when asked if the Red Sox on the verge of introducing another position to the 21-year-old second baseman. “We want him to get comfortable at second base. He’s showing very well at second base right now. He’s developing at Double-A. We want him to go day in and day out, learn a position, master a position. We’ll tackle that as we need to.”

 

Let me start by saying - correct - i am just a fan. Wanting him to be comfortable playing a position anywhere is important. Unless he really is a poor fielder which I guess he might be, this line of thinking puzzles me. He is a prospect for sure. A very good one. The suggestion that he could be used as pinch runner is unbelievable. He could be for sure but it kind of looks like he might be able to hit. With the tools he has, he must just suck in the field or the Sox don't think that they will need him anytime soon. I would hate to see them trade this kid but his value right now might be as high as it can get. Stockpiling prospects is one thing but stockpiling really good ones is something entirely different. oh - couple more fingers for him last night. Ho hum - hope he gets comfortable!

[Youk Of The Nation]

Moncada is being called up for Friday's game, thought it was time to move this here. Is anyone excited?

[southpaw777]

I was pretty much dead wrong on what I thought they would do. Im excited that hes coming up and I have zero issue with it. Im not the kind that would compalin about doing this to certain prospects. I think the challenge of MLB pitching and the speed of the game will give us all a solid guage on where hes at with the bat and his D. Itll be good to know going into the winter if theres a good possibility he could break camp with Boston or not.

[cp176]

It will be very interesting to see how he responds. I certainly will not be a fan of the move if his only use comes as a pinch runner or a pinch hitter. That would be a recipe for failure. I suspect he will get thrown right into it. Physically he is an upgrade over almost everybody that we have. Good luck to him!

[Nick]

Moncada is being called up for Friday's game, thought it was time to move this here. Is anyone excited?

 

Hell yes I'm excited.....there's absolutely nothing wrong with him getting a look. Ultimately its what he does at this level that will determine his value. Someone in the organization thought enough of him to spend $60M. And everyone here wants to treat him like another average Joe.

 

It's worked out for Benintendi. What are we afraid of? Finding out the truth never hurts. If it's a bad news, I want to know right away. Let's find out where he is today.

[cp176]

Hell yes I'm excited.....there's absolutely nothing wrong with him getting a look. Ultimately its what he does at this level that will determine his value. Someone in the organization thought enough of him to spend $60M. And everyone here wants to treat him like another average Joe.

 

It's worked out for Benintendi. What are we afraid of? Finding out the truth never hurts. If it's a bad news, I want to know right away. Let's find out where he is today.

 

Just a couple of things - first , sadly, somebody in the org. thought enough of Castillo to pay him more. Not everyone here thinks that he is just another average Joe. He is a prospect just like Benintendi still is. Very good prospects but that is still what both of these guys are. With Moncada though, no one lied about his size. I'm excited just like you are. He has more physical gifts than anyone I have have seen in a Sox uniform for many years.

[Nick]

Overthemonster...

 

The same is not true for Yoan Moncada. Certainly, the Red Sox are in need of help at third base. Every once in a while they'll get a solid performance or two--Shaw three days ago, Hill on Wednesday--but generally speaking the hot corner has been an absolute black hole since Shaw cooled off. In the second half, Sox third baseman are hitting to a remarkably low .574 OPS.

 

That being said, the transition to the majors might not be nearly so easy for Moncada as it was for Benintendi. Moncada's performance in Double-A has been extremely impressive, but not without some red flags. Moncada has struggled some with contact issues, particularly against southpaws. It's easy to imagine him getting eaten alive by lefty off-speed pitches, at least off the bat, and even from the left side of the plate, there's certainly a chance that Moncada's minor league success will not immediately translate to the majors. He could be a huge spark, or he could be completely unready. Where with Benintendi the likelihood seemed to be that he would at least contribute, with Moncada the probabilities are less certain.

 

But he's going to be hard-pressed to actually be worse than what the Red Sox have received from third base over the last couple months, and that's really all the argument the Sox need right now. Unless they were planning to leave him off the major league roster until the first couple weeks of 2017 had passed, it's not that big a deal to start his clock now. And given that this is a team trying to make a playoff push, September is probably not the time to be dancing around service time considerations. The Moncada era is about to begin, and while there's no guarantee it's going to get off to a great start, the Red Sox don't have all that much to lose in giving it a shot

 

This is well put....they don't mince words...usually tells it like it is....refreshingly honest.

[Emp9]

Does he sit vs leftys?

[Jack Flap]

I hope John Henry is ready to throw some real money at Mookie, X, and JBJ for long-term extensions, because those three, Benintendi, and Moncada is a core I could get used to watching for a long, long time.

[SoxnCycles]

Does he sit vs leftys?

 

If what was posted above is true, I would.

The only problerm is, Shaw can't hit left-handers either.

Hill simply can't hit.

[Nick]

If what was posted above is true, I would.

The only problerm is, Shaw can't hit left-handers either.

Hill simply can't hit.

 

We don't know that Moncada can't hit lefties while batting left handed.......I'd scrap the switch hitting at some point.

It's pointless.....why hit your head on the wall if you don't have to?

[Maxbialystock]

About Moncada playing 3B. The Sox Prospects piece on him says that long term he is probably better suited physically to be at 3B or in the outfield. He has, for example, a strong arm. The piece also says his weakness on defense is lack of focus, which I think would also argue in favor of 3B or 2B--3B is simpler.

 

Someone else wrote that Moncada might have a harder time adjusting to MLB pitching than did Benintendi. This makes sense to me. But it also makes all kinds of sense to bring him up now and let Farrell decide when and how to use him because this is the month, September, for doing this to all your best prospects.

[Wade Boggs]

We don't know that Moncada can't hit lefties while batting left handed.......I'd scrap the switch hitting at some point.

It's pointless.....why hit your head on the wall if you don't have to?

 

Agree. I only would start him against RHP at the moment. They need to ease him in slowly but not turtle slow though. I don't know if he's ready but at this moment in time I agree with the call up. If he plays like I think he will, I see him as the starter at 3B for the next 6 years. The scouts compare him to Carlos Beltran if that is the case, I take it all day everyday. Jmo

[Wade Boggs]

Does he sit vs leftys?

 

Yes. Hill plays. Oh Well. Shaw becomes the back up 1B to give Hanley a breather and PH off the bench.

[moonslav59]

Moncada could play 1 game at DH, 1 at 2B and maybe half of the games vs RHPs at 3B. He could also PH and PR the games he doesn't start.

 

I think we can find room for Shaw to play enough to stay somewhat fresh.

 

I know Moncada doesn't hit lefties as well as righties, but the sample size is small, and he has hit letfies well enough in the minors to play both handed. To me, Hill is our biggest "black hole" right now, and my guess is Moncada can hit better than he has vs lefties. Maybe he should play 3B vs lefties and half the righties.

[Emp9]

I hope John Henry is ready to throw some real money at Mookie, X, and JBJ for long-term extensions, because those three, Benintendi, and Moncada is a core I could get used to watching for a long, long time.

 

You got that right. No matter what happens this season, this team should be fun to watch for a long time... Position -wise.

[mvp 78]

Does he sit vs leftys?

 

Probably.

[mvp 78]

Yes. Hill plays. Oh Well. Shaw becomes the back up 1B to give Hanley a breather and PH off the bench.

 

Shaw has been terrible lately so this isn't a big loss.

[sk7326]

You got that right. No matter what happens this season, this team should be fun to watch for a long time... Position -wise.

 

To quote the poet Stone Cold Steve Austin, I guaran-damn-tee you at least one of those five will be gone within three years.

[Emp9]

To quote the poet Stone Cold Steve Austin, I guaran-damn-tee you at least one of those five will be gone within three years.

 

Sorry, I'm not familar w/ his work. More of a Poe guy myself. If that indeed ends up being the case, I can live with that as long as we get a totr SP back. Assuming you meant trade. Or do you mean we probably can't extend all of them? That's a possibilty.

[sk7326]

Sorry, I'm not familar w/ his work. More of a Poe guy myself. If that indeed ends up being the case, I can live with that as long as we get a totr SP back. Assuming you meant trade. Or do you mean we probably can't extend all of them? That's a possibilty.

 

Could be either. After all Devers (who is not that far behind Moncada) profiles to 3B ... and there is a significant school of thought that Moncada ends up in RF ... and Bradley is a very attractive guy (not as a centerpiece but as part of a deal) in a trade

[sk7326]

My hot take guess is that the Red Sox and ChiSox revisit talks on either Sale or Quintana, and Bradley is in Chicago next year as a result.

[Hugh2]

Moncada could play 1 game at DH, 1 at 2B and maybe half of the games vs RHPs at 3B. He could also PH and PR the games he doesn't start.

 

I think we can find room for Shaw to play enough to stay somewhat fresh.

 

I know Moncada doesn't hit lefties as well as righties, but the sample size is small, and he has hit letfies well enough in the minors to play both handed. To me, Hill is our biggest "black hole" right now, and my guess is Moncada can hit better than he has vs lefties. Maybe he should play 3B vs lefties and half the righties.

 

The sample size is small, but it's also backed up with the scouting reports that say he looks bad at the plate vs. LHP. I suspect the problem will only be exposed more at the MLB level.

 

Also, even though he "could" do all those things, I highly doubt it's going to happen. I highly doubt he's going to DH or play any 2nd unless Pedey gets hurt.

[mvp 78]

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=660162#/splits/R/hitting/2016/MINORS

 

Not sure he has hit "well enough" against lefties in 2016.

[jacksonianmarch]

This had to be done. Shaw started 2016 off hitting .300 with power and OBP. He has withered to the point of being less valuable than Chase Headley. You know, the guy who had no EBH in April? Shaw is a liability and Moncada is the future. Couldn't be worse

[bosoxmal]

Why? I thought he was a switch hitter. Even if he chooses to hit from the left side against any pitcher, that would be fine with me. I have no idea what his numbers are, and could care less. And don't hit him ninth! That's JBJ's for life. Stick him in there where Shaw or Hill woild be, and let it fly!

[mvp 78]

Why? I thought he was a switch hitter. Even if he chooses to hit from the left side against any pitcher, that would be fine with me. I have no idea what his numbers are, and could care less. And don't hit him ninth! That's JBJ's for life. Stick him in there where Shaw or Hill woild be, and let it fly!

 

Um, ok?

[Hugh2]

I was never sold on Shaw, I was calling for reinforcements at 3rd months ago when the 2016 trade and roster move thread was going.

 

I thought Hill was a great trade, even though he hasnt' been great here but at the time it was a good trade. Hopefully Moncada can give the team the boost it needs there.