MLB Prospect Watch

Jose Iglesias Isn't Playing

The Red Sox are being coy about the matter, but the facts are that Jose Iglesias is not injured, but hasn't played the past two nights, Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald points out.  This comes after he was removed from Saturday's game.

His Triple-A coaches are saying that he needed a couple of days "to regroup," but failed to say whether or not that was due to disciplinary reasons or because of his struggles since returning to the minors.  After a hot start in the majors before Stephen Drew returned from injury, Iglesias has struggled in the minors this season, hitting just .235.  

He is, however, hitting for more power, and actually has an OPS of .675, above his minor league career numbers.  Despite the low batting average, Iglesias has already more than doubled his career minor league home run total, entering the season with two in his career, but hitting three so far this season, and his isolated slugging percentage of .162 is a career high.  

Major league manager John Farrell was quoted as saying that Iglesias needs to "get back to what has allowed him to be a very good player and experience success," but this version of Iglesias, with a lower batting average and more power, is actually a more productive offensive player.  The Red Sox would (or at least should) definitely take a .235 average if it meant 10-15 home runs per season, especially when coupled with Iglesias' defense, but perhaps they are displeased with his new approach at the plate and are giving him the Willie Mays Hayes treatment.

Regardless of what they're saying, the move indicates that there's something more at play here than on-field struggles.  Whether it's his approach at the plate or something off the field, the Red Sox clearly aren't pleased with something Iglesias is doing lately.

Prospect Moves: Iglesias, Soler, Dahl

Iglesias Sent Down

We all saw this coming once Stephen Drew returned, but the Red Sox have sent shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias down to Triple-A, reports Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald.  Iglesias hit .450 while serving as the Sox starting shortstop in the first week of the season.

The offensive production from Iglesias was a bit of a surprise, but it just proves that anything can happen in the short time span of one week of baseball.  Despite the hot week, Iglesias needs more time to work on his offensive approach, and that will best come in Triple-A.  He's already proved he's ready for the majors defensively, but his career .626 minor league OPS means he isn't ready for the majors, and one hot week in April doesn't do anything to change that.

Iglesias will continue to serve as a security blanket for Drew for this season, and given Drew's injury history, there's a good chance we see Iglesias back in the majors at some point.

 

Soler Suspended

For his actions earlier this week, which included reportedly attacking the opposing dugout with a bat, Cubs prospect Jorge Soler has been suspended for five games by the Florida State League, reports MiLB.com.

The details of this incident have been pretty well documented, so I won't hash them out here, other than to say that it feels like Soler is fortunate that he only got five games.  Brawls happen in the minors all the time, and the suspensions aren't typically much less than the five games Soler received, so the league must have deemed that whatever he did wasn't significantly worse than most incidents.

Having not been there or seen video, I can't judge whether or not the suspension is an appropriate length, but given the attention it received for being different than most fights, it seems shorter than I had expected.

 

Dahl Removed from Team

David Dahl, the Colorado Rockies first-round pick in 2012, was removed from the Low-A Asheville Tourists roster last week after just one game with the team, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post.  The Rockies wouldn't comment much, other than to say that the move was not baseball related.

It's easy to forget when following prospects that we are dealing with teenagers who make off-the-field mistakes.  Whatever Dahl did, it doesn't appear to have been law-breaking, so it seems like something the Rockies are planning to deal with internally, which is probably the right decision.  And give them credit for making a strong point with a top prospect, something many teams look the other way on.

There is no timetable for his return, but given his domination of short-season ball last year, it would seem unlikely that Dahl returns to action in any place lower than Asheville, even if the Rockies do want to keep an eye on him, as the Arizona Rookie League would provide him little challenge.

Blocked Prospects - Jose Iglesias

With their signing of free agent short stop Stephen Drew, the Boston Red Sox have effectively blocked the path of Jose Iglesias to the majors, at least for the 2013 season.  Given Iglesias' developmental struggles at the plate, however, that may not be the worst thing in the world.

Drew is signed to a one-year deal, so the roadblock is only temporary, but before the signing, it was thought that Iglesias would have a shot to earn a starting role with the Red Sox.  But with Iglesias bat failing to develop, the additional at-bats in the minors may be the best thing that could happen to him.

There is no questioning Iglesias' glove. He's been ready to play shortstop in the majors since the Red Sox signed him 2009 and upon his permanent arrival in the majors, he will immediately become one of the best, if not the best, defensive shortstops in the majors.

But he can't hit.  At least not yet.

Iglesias will never be a good hitter, and probably won't even get to the point where he's league average offensively, but any improvement would be better than where he is now.  If he got a full season of at-bats in the majors this season, he would likely be among the worst offensive qualifiers in the league.

But Iglesias is just turning 23 and still has a chance to make some improvements as a hitter.

If Iglesias can take any kind of significant step forward, he has the potential to be a league-average shortstop.  Heck, if Rey Ordonez can have a 3-win season than so can Iglesias, because he's in that defensive class.

There's not going to be a ton of improvement in Iglesias' bat, but if he can get himself into the .700 OPS range, Iglasias has the potential to be a valuable player for the Red Sox.  If he had become their starting short stop this season and stuck in the majors, he likely would never have made that development.  He still may not, but another season of at-bats in Triple-A, where he has a career OPS of just .589, certainly can't hurt.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Flores, Green, Iglesias

• The positional future is still up in the air for Wilmer Flores, and Toby Hyde of MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com takes a look at how the Mets might use their top position prospect next season.  Flores had his best offensive year in 2012, finally demonstrating the power that scouts have been expecting for years.  Third base is likely the best destination for Flores (unless he outgrows that too and has to move to first), but with David Wright currently blocking his path, the Mets must explore all other options for Flores before making a decision.
• AthleticsFarm.com has an interview with A's Director of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi, discussing the development this season of prospects Grant Green and Dan Straily.  Green's future position in the field is even more up in the air than is Flores', as he saw more than 10 games at second base, short stop, third base, left field, and center field.  Drafted as a shortstop, the A's have all but decided that Green is not cut out to play that position full-time, and an attempt to play the outfield didn't go as well as expected.  Second and third base, however, appear to be more viable options, although his future with next year's club will likely be dictated more by their needs that what is best for Green.
• Jose Iglesias finally gave the Red Sox and their faithful something to cheer about offensively, says Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald, as the light-hitting rookie shortstop hit his first career home run on Thursday.  As I discussed earlier this week, however, much ado is being made out of Iglesias down the stretch (and with little other reason to watch the Red Sox, understandibly so) when the reaity of the situation is really whether or not the make up of next year's team can handle a defense-only shortstop.

 

Unnecessary Attention to Jose Iglesias' At-Bats

Jose Iglesias can't hit.  Not even a little bit.

Much is currently being made about Iglesias and his struggles in Boston since being called up a few weeks ago, and with his batting average currently sititng at .067 (2-for-30), it's understandable.  Furthering the discussion are moves like the one Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine made on Sunday, in which he pinch-hit for Iglesias in the middle of an at-bat (with a 2-2 count, nonetheless) because a runner had advanced into scoring position during the at-bat.  Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald has more on Valentine's reaction to questions about the move after the game, in which Valentine continued his crazy-person act by pretending like this is something that happens all the time.

Not that the move was wrong.  Again, Iglesias can't hit.  Which is problematic for any player labeled as the <fill in the blank> of the future for any team, but even worse when the blank is shortstop and the team is the Red Sox.

The common stance on the Iglesias matter is that his future is tied to his bat, which Jeff Louderback of BoSoxBanter.com points out in a recent article, but I'll argue that that is an optimistic statement in and of itself.

That was the statement when Iglesias signed out of Cuba with a reputation as a defensive wizard but questions surrounding his bat.  It's also a living testament to the need for scouts, who nailed the book in Iglesias.

But that can't still be the question unless you think Iglesias will turn things around with the bat, which is a hope dripping with naive optimism.

It's not just that Iglesias has been disappointing with the bat.  He's been horrible.  His best season offensive season was his first in which he hit an empty .285 as a 20-year-old in Double-A Portland with no power, no on-base ability and a .672 OPS.  It's been much of the same since then, with a .589 OPS in 189 career games in Triple-A over the past two years.

Which is why his at-bats this fall just aren't as important as they are being made out to be.  Is Iglesias a .067 hitter at the major league level?  No, but he's not going to be too far above .200.  But more important is his plate discipline.  Batting averages fluctuate, and with regular at-bats over the next ten years, Iglesias will probably turn in seasons in which he hits everywhere from .215 to .275 while being the same exact hitter the entire time.  But what could make him passable at the plate is the ability to just not be an automatic out, which he demonstrated improvement in this season in Triple-A.

Repeating the level, Iglesias raised his walk rate slightly (to just 6.8% which is still too low) and lowered his strike out rate to 11.6%.  If he can continue improvement in that regard, he's got a shot to at least be a regular.

But what the Red Sox really need to do is make a decision on Iglesias based solely on what they know now, because realistically, there's not much improvement left to be made with his offensive game.  Luckily for both Iglesias and the Red Sox, Iglesias is one of the few players in the game who can make a justifiable argument for playing time despite not being able to hit.

Iglesias' abilities at shortstop are so stellar, and he's doing it at one of two positions where defensive ability can possibly outweigh offensive inability (the other being catcher), that he may be worthy of regular playing time despite his offensive limitations.  If nothing else, he's worth a shot for one year to see just how good he can make a team with just his glove.

The question for the Red Sox is whether or not they can be that team.  If you're going to feature a lineup with a virtually automatic out in it in order to play a defense-only player, he must be surrounded by above-average offensive players in a number of other places.  The Mets made deep playoff runs in 1999-2000 with Rey Ordonez* getting significant playing time at shortstop because they surrounded him with Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura, Edgardo Alfonzo, John Olerud and others.  The Red Sox may not have that kind of lineup around Iglesias next season, in which case, he may not be the best fit for their immediate plans.  Those are the questions that remain for this off-season.

*Ironically, Ordonez is the player Iglesias is most often compared to, and with good reason given their similar skill-set and Cuban heritage.  Unfortunately for Red Sox fans, Ordonez's minor league numbers are significantly better than Iglesias', and we know what kind of hitter he turned out to be.

The bottom line for the Red Sox and Iglesias this off-season does not come down to what he does in twenty more at-bats this fall, but what type of team they end up building for next season.  If they add a bat or two and feel like they can afford to have Iglesias in their lineup, then that's exactly what they should do.  If they feel they want to build around pitching and defense, then they'd be hard pressed to find a better shortstop to help out their pitching staff.  But if they feel they need more bats, then Iglesias can't be an option, unless that option is to trade him for a shortstop that can hit.