Triston Casas is the freshly-minted No. 1 prospect in the Red Sox’s farm system as rated by MLB Pipeline. Sometimes it seems as if he was born to hit.
Over the past three days, the 21-year-old with the sweet, left-handed swing has had the chance to play in Grapefruit League games.
Though there haven’t been any hits yet in five at-bats, Casas showed off his plate discipline by laying off a tough pitch for a walk on Monday and he demonstrated his situational awareness with a sacrifice fly in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Braves.
“It’s been awesome,” said Casas, selected 26th overall by Boston as a high schooler in the 2018 Draft. “The last couple of years, I haven’t really been into any action in terms of Major League games and stuff. So getting to be in the dugout around all the guys has been awesome.
“I’ve been learning a lot and I’m looking forward to being in the dugout a little bit more. But yeah, it’s been awesome, getting some AB's against some really quality pitching. I’m really liking the way my at-bats are turning out. I’m feeling really good.”
The left-handed hitter appears poised to be an impact hitter someday -- the question being “when” instead of “if.”
Casas knows that being the No. 1 prospect for a team like the Red Sox creates buzz and expectations. But he’s too locked in on his craft to think about external factors such as how quickly he will climb the Minor League ladder.
“I’ve always thought of expectations as limitations. I don’t like to put any expectations on the season or my performance,” Casas said. “In baseball, it could be anybody’s game, anybody’s day, so I’m just going to go out there and do my best and let the chips fall where they may. So I don’t have an idea where I could land level-wise. I’m just going to go out there and try to play hard every day and see where it gets me.”
Casas has already made an impression on Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
“It was a solid one,” Cora said of Casas' sac fly to center. “Like I said, he is always in balance, knows what he wants to do. For such a young guy, his work ethic not only in the cage but on the field is amazing. And he kept talking about that at-bat, what he was looking for or what he did or didn’t do. The good ones, they do that. So it’s been fun to watch him perform. You can see all the things people have been talking about with this kid. He’s a good hitter.”
In fact, Cora paid the ultimate compliment to Casas when he compared his cage work to that of star slugger J.D. Martinez.
“With him, the approach, the swing, the thought process, you have to see him in the cage,” Cora said. “Like, we talk about J.D. and everything he does, this guy is right there with him. It’s impressive.”
While Casas did get one at-bat in 2019 and one last season as a Spring Training extra, this is his first time in Major League camp. His debut was delayed due to a non-baseball medical issue in which Casas had to fly back to Boston a couple of weeks ago.
“Yeah, everything is good,” Casas said. “It’s a really long season. Just some precautionary things. We want to make sure everything checks out so I can go out this season very healthy. I’m happy to be back.”
Houck shaky
Prior to No. 7 prospect Tanner Houck making his third appearance of Spring Training on Tuesday, Cora was asked what he was looking for from the talented righty.
“We want him to keep pounding the strike zone,” said Cora.
Unfortunately, the opposite was the case. Houck walked two batters and hit a batter in the first inning. Though he got out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam, Houck finished the day with four walks and allowed three runs over 2 2/3 innings. Marcell Ozuna came up with the big blow against Houck, belting a three-run homer to left.
It was reminiscent of Houck’s first outing of Spring Training, when he walked five while recording just two outs. Houck seemed to make the necessary adjustments in his second appearance, when he fired three shutout innings and struck out three.
So what happened Tuesday?
“Just not attacking the zone, honestly,” said Houck. “That’s what it boils down to. It’s as simple as that. Just didn’t throw enough strikes, so just part of it, I’ll come back in tomorrow, continue to work. I still got stuff to work on obviously and I’ll continue to say that for the rest of my career. It’s part of not attacking the zone as much as I should have. It’s as simple as that.”
Wong’s parting shot
Following Tuesday’s game, Red Sox catcher-infield prospect Connor Wong was optioned to the alternate training site along with righties Eduard Bazardo and John Schreiber.
But Wong provided a moment to remember in his final game this spring on the Major League roster, obliterating a homer to the deepest part of JetBlue Park, near the 420-foot sign in right-center.
Wong, Boston’s No. 17 prospect, was the third player the Red Sox acquired along with Alex Verdugo and Jeter Downs in exchange for Mookie Betts and David Price.
“I think yesterday he hit a ball like 112[-mph exit velocity] in the simulated game, so I heard about that one,” said Cora. “Good quality at-bats, he controls the strike zone, compact swing, strong kid. And I’ve been impressed. Behind the plate, he’s very solid, there’s a calmness about him that managers like, and we’re very happy.
“Last year, he’s part of the big trade and I bet everything was going so fast for him and now for him to slow everything down and being able to work, it’s a testament to who he is as a person, as a player and obviously he’s somebody that we’re counting on in the future.”
Off-day plans
Though the Red Sox have their second and final off-day of Spring Training scheduled for Thursday, there will be some activity that day at JetBlue Park.
Righty Garrett Richards will pitch in a simulated game to stay on turn in the rotation. Xander Bogaerts and Franchy Cordero will be among those who take swings in that game.
“Yeah, we have a shortstop looking for at-bats,” said Cora. “He says that he doesn’t need off-days, he’s taken too many of them. Obviously Franchy [needs at-bats], and I think the catchers are a little bit behind at-bat wise.”
Up next
Staff ace Eduardo Rodriguez is set to make his third start of Spring Training for Wednesday’s home game against the Twins. Rodriguez is on track to pitch Opening Day for the first time in his career, though Cora hasn’t announced that yet. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the Red Sox will wear green jersey tops. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET. Listen live on MLB Gameday Audio.