Zolak & Bertrand: Triston Casas wrong for questioning the Red Seat?

On Monday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, the crew dives into whether Triston Casas actually hit the Red Seat at Fenway Park. Casas questioned whether the legendary Williams' homer was a myth after Saturday's game.

Joe Murray: I put respect on Ted Williams name. I believe the ball was hit up there, whether he did it or not.

Marc Bertrand: All right. Let's say it's fudged a little bit. I bet Milliken's a Ted Williams truther. So, Casas hit one 429 FT. That's how far he hit the ball. And let's say 502 FT is wrong. They fudged it for Ted Williams a little bit. Ted Williams being the greatest hitter that ever lived. So what was it then? He thinks Ted hit it 429 FT? He thinks he beat Ted Williams over the weekend?

Joe Murray: I agree with that one.

Marc Bertrand: Because I would say, kiss my ass, Casas. What are you talking about? All right, so he didn't hit it 502. He hit it for 490 FT. He hit 485 FT. I can tell you this. You didn't come close. So shut your mouth, Casas. And don't start picking a fight with the legend of Ted Williams. Don't do that. That's stupid. Idiot.

Joe Murray: Triston Casas shouldn't be talking about how far his home runs go. That's the point of all this.

Marc Bertrand: Bingo. That's kind of my point. If you don't think it was 502 FT, you think you beat him over the weekend, pal. You thought that Ted Williams was 425 FT? By the way, I fully believe that Ted Williams could hit the ball 500 FT. I don't know if the seat is legit or not, but I'll tell you what. If it's not legit, he came close.

It’s been an infuriating week for many Red Sox fans, so it feels like a perfect time to dive into how the farm system has started in 2024. All eyes will be on the Big 3 of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kyle Teel since their development is at the heart of the organization’s next competitive window. The trio has turned the Portland Sea Dog into almost must-watch TV after Baseball America ranked them as the second most talented team throughout the minors.

Entering 2024, the Red Sox had taken a step back in farm system rankings with the likes of Triston Casas graduating, Marcelo Mayer and Miguel Bleis’ both enduring injury riddled seasons, and the lack of pitching prospects becoming more apparent. Baseball America placed them 13th on their organizational rankings and MLB Pipeline was one spot lower at 14, with both featuring 4 entries on their Top 100 prospects list. Keith Law was the highest on the Red Sox farmhands, as he ranked them at 8 and showed a lot more love to Ceddanne Rafaela than other publications.

There isn’t a huge sample size for any of the guys mentioned below, so I wouldn’t formulate any significant takeaways from the results so far. Yet, if certain guys like Mayer were off to a slow start, you’d be hearing about it rather quickly. So, let’s check-in on the future of the franchise and whether there’s a reason for fans to be hopeful moving forward.

For those worried about Mayer’s shoulder after it derailed his 2023 season, you can finally exhale. He’s looked a lot more comfortable in his second stint at Double-A, slashing .348/.385/.522/.906 with a 149 wRC+ in 6 games. It was impressive to see him smoke a 427 FT laser to center field on an offspeed pitch, which was something he struggled with last season.

The consistency we’ve seen from Mayer is what excites me the most, as he’s currently rocking a 6-game hitting streak. It felt like he never was able to find that kind of footing a year ago, which led to some starting to question the quality of his hit tool. If he keeps this up at the plate, all those rankings that dropped him over the winter will be bumping him right back up in a heartbeat.

Anthony has become the most consistent choice for the #1 spot in the Red Sox farm system and he’s done nothing to change that so far. While it took a few games for him to find his power stroke, he had no problem launching a couple of homers yesterday. That’s led to him hitting .303/.385/.708/1.093 with a 196 wRC+ so far in 6 games, but with his fair share of strikeouts as well.

For those who thought Anthony might be a one-year wonder, he’s showing that the hype is very real. It’s insane to think he’ll still be a teenager for another month. If Double-A doesn’t prove to be much of a challenge to him, with him now reaching base in all 16 games he’s played at the level, there’s a real chance he gets a cup of coffee in September.

Teel, like the other two members of the Big 3 has come out swinging to start the season. He hasn’t gone deep like Anthony and Mayer, but has put together a quality slash line of .333/.444/.400/.844 with a 160 wRC+ in 4 games. On the defensive side of things, he’s thrown out 1 of 8 attempted base stealers so far and allowed one passed ball.

Something I’ll be looking to hear more about? Hopefully, the continued praise of his work with pitchers and the development of his game-calling ability. Seeing how much the front office emphasized defensive depth at the position over the offseason, it’d go a long way for Teel to learn from someone like Roberto Perez before having to handle a big league pitching staff.

If Hickey is going to have a lengthy big league career, his bat will have to carry him. So far in his first taste of Triple-A, his power is playing with 3 homers over 10 games. He’s hitting .250/.325/.500/.825 for a 111 wRC+ across 40 plate appearances.

Hickey has been striking out (40% K%) a ton to start the season, but he’s still drawing walks (10% BB%) despite facing a lot of new arms for the first time. That’s something to watch for since he struck out at a 27.2% clip in 80 games at Double-A last season. On the defensive side of things, he’s DH’d in 70% of his games because of his shortcomings behind the plate, so hopefully he starts to get some work at first base and left field to expand his versatility.

It’s fair to argue that Garcia has been the hottest hitter in the Red Sox farm system to start the season. After a rough 15-game cameo with the Salem Red Sox in 2023, he’s hitting .409/.500/.773/1.273 with 2 homers and 2 doubles in 26 plate appearances to start 2024. That’s much closer to the guy who tore up the Florida Complex League with a .904 OPS last summer and solidified himself as a top 20 prospect in the system.

While some physical concerns exist about Garcia’s body behind the plate, he has a strong arm. He’s only thrown out 1 of 13 attempted base stealers this season across 5 games, but it’s tricky to lean on those numbers too much at a level like Single-A. Hickey is a perfect example of an intriguing bat that likely won’t stick at catcher due to defensive limitations, but if Garcia can find a way to do so, he has a chance to be one of the more interesting prospects in the system.

Is Campbell going to be the 2024 version of Roman Anthony? At the moment, his slash line isn’t anything to write home about at .182/.308/.409/.717, but smoking a home run with a 113 MPH exit velocity will get you on people’s radar. So will sharing time between center field and second base while making rangy plays like this.

It was fascinating to hear on the latest Sox Prospects Podcast that someone in the front office believes he’ll be a top 5 prospect in the system by the end of the year. The 2023 4th-round pick is currently ranked at #22, but for him to be generating this kind of buzz despite very little time in pro ball is notable. Red Sox Stats had a fantastic comparison of Campbell’s hitting mechanics to Hunter Pence the other day, which makes a ton of sense with his bat to ball skills and ability to spray the ball all over the field.

Early was drafted right after Campbell in 2023, but only started 1 game for the Salem Red Sox before being shut down last year. He’s already doubled that total so far in 2024, with 9 IP over 2 starts and just 1 ER allowed. That also includes 13 strikeouts and only 2 walks, which is a nice sign for a lefty without overpowering stuff.

Looking at the new pitching infrastructure, I have hope that Early will get to see his arsenal maximized instead of being a finesse lefty that gets smacked around as he gets closer to the big leagues. There should be more room to add velocity with his 6'3 frame. That should only better his changeup, which profiles as his best secondary right now, with a slider and cutter that are both still inconsistent.

It feels wrong to judge Penron off 1 start, but it’s starting to feel like the Red Sox discovered a real gem. In 2023 alone, he went from indy ball to dominating at High-A and then the Arizona Fall League. He’s already 27, but to see him go 5 scoreless innings and strike out 8 without any walks in his first Double-A start only adds to the hype.

Does that mean he’s going to be a big league starter? No, I’m not going that far, but with his velocity and ability to miss bats from the left side, it becomes a very interesting profile. Sox Prospects believes his arsenal could include two above-average secondaries with an average fastball, which points to a starter mix, yet the thing to keep an eye on will be his inconsistent command/control.

Fortunately, Penrod checked that box off perfectly in his first start of 2024.