Conrad Cason Is Preparing as a Two-Way Player

According to Chris Smith of MassLive, the Red Sox are preparing to enter spring training with Conrad Cason as a true two-way player. This arguably makes Cason, an 18-year-old whom the Sox took in the eighth round of the draft, the most interesting player to watch once he arrives in Fort Myers in February. Although the practice is slowly becoming more common around the league thanks to the monumental success of Shohei Ohtani, no other two-way player has found success yet. Kansas City's Michael Lorenzen attempted to pitch himself as a two-way player during free agency, but that was mainly as a roster manipulation strategy. As Cason is a teenager without any professional experience, projecting him to be an impact two-way player is tough, but there’s some belief that he will jump the Florida Complex League and start his professional career with the low-A Salem Red Sox. That’s a pretty high vote of confidence for a teenager.

We’ve already briefly profiled Cason here at Talk Sox, but for those unfamiliar with him, he was a four-sport star for the Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, Georgia. During his senior year, the 6-foot-2 Cason led the school to a regional title and was named the stat's Gatorade Player of the Year, with good reason. He went 7-1 an absurd 0.48 ERA as a pitcher, and batted .364 with three home runs and a .519 on-base percentage. He signed a letter of intent to play at Mississippi State, but chose to sign with the Sox. He was drafted as a pitcher/shortstop who sits around 92-95 mph with his fastball, but tops out in the high 90s. He’s an athletic shortstop who could shift to center field if necessary and has quite a bit of pop in his bat, especially to the pull side. (Plus, he’s right handed, and these days, it never hurts to be a righty hitter in the Boston system.)

Cason is extremely young, and the two-way plan presumably makes his path too the majors even longer. However, he should be extremely fun to watch. The allure of a pitcher touching 100 mph on the radar gun while being able to turn around and hit for power was too much to pass up, and the Red Sox are hoping their bet pays off. Despite his age, Cason is a prospect to keep on your radar for the upcoming season. If his status as a two-way player can stick, the Red Sox may just have the next big thing on their hands.

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