Time to bring Xander Bogaerts up - 美國職棒

幾天前在Over the Monster的文章 解釋為何現在該是要升上Bogaerts以及為何不該升
Will Middlebrooks(雖然為何不升中川原因沒講清楚)

If you had asked four months ago, I would have said Xander Bogaerts wasn't
even a lock for a September call-up. Two months ago, and there would be
stipulations--only if two of Will Middlebrooks, Jose Iglesias, and Stephen Drew
are hurt. Even ten days ago I probably would have erred on the side of Xander
remaining in Pawtucket until rosters expanded.

Now, however, things have changed. Jose Iglesias is no longer a member of the
Boston Red Sox, sent to Detroit as part of the Jake Peavy trade, and there is
a hole that needs filling at third base.

For the last week, it's been Brandon Snyder and Brock Holt taking the playing
time at the hot corner. Through a combined 86 at bats, the pair is hitting a
dismal .244/.277/.372, with Snyder's defensive deficiencies being exposed with
some regularity. The Red Sox are winning games, but it's in spite of this pair, not
because of them, and over the course of the next month they will likely end up
losing at least one game they should not have by virtue of having them aboard.

If Will Middlebrooks seemed ready, there might be no need for Xander to take
their place just yet. In fact, when Iglesias was first sent to Detroit,
Middlebrooks seemed the obvious choice for a call-up. After all, at some point
the Red Sox had to find out what they had on their hands there, if only to plan
for 2014, and sometimes the minors just don't bring out the best in a player.
It's tough to imagine, however, that the man we saw swinging helplessly at
outside junk against the Buffalo Bisons time and again (even in the process
of getting a pair of hits) will not be completely dominated by teams with
access to plentiful advanced scouting. Will's problems persist on a fundamental
level, and until he has fixed them, there's just no reason to think a
promotion will help. Likely that's the very reason why we haven't seen one yet.


So that leaves Bogaerts, and Bogaerts alone. Bogaerts, who looked so much
better than Middlebrooks did that night. Bogaerts who, since the All-Star
Break, has been hitting .301/.400/.479. Bogaerts whose plate discipline took
a tremendous step forward this year and, perhaps most importantly of all, did
not fall off in the slightest upon promotion to Triple-A Pawtucket. In fact,
while his overall numbers are down to a simply-good .277/.373/.469 in
Pawtucket, his strikeouts have decreased and walk rate remained steady while
his homers have gone up.


The Red Sox may be thin on the left side of the infield, but on the mound
ther's plenty of options to choose from.The hope is that Bogaerts will come
up and hit like Middlebrooks did last year, but that's not what needs to
happen to make calling Xander up now the right move. All the Red Sox need
from him is to be decent. Combine the occasional pop of Brandon Snyder with a
more disciplined approach at the plate, and maybe we'll end up with a
.260/.330/.420 line from a third baseman who, if he lacks ideal experience
and familiarity with the position, should at least have the physical skills
to handle the role better than Snyder has. Brock Holt can stay on as a utility
infielder, maybe taking the occasional start against a right-handed starter.

Ideally, Will Middlebrooks would be ready to try and provide that, and Xander
Bogaerts could stay in the minors until the Red Sox were completely sure he
was ready to make the jump both offensively and defensively. But this is one
tight race we have in the AL East, and at some point an abundance of caution
becomes an overabundance. This Red Sox teem doesn't need a huge contribution
from their top prospect, but they should take whatever he can give them.


然後補上John Sickles講的
Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts went 5-for-7 in a double-header for Triple-A
Pawtucket yesterday, moving his line there up to .291/.380/.476 and
.301/.395.490 overall on the season. His 60/86 BB/K ratio in 408 at-bats is
particularly attractive, and his wOBA+ of 115 in Triple-A is really good at age
20. He seems ready for a major league trial to me.


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秦仲海 ：加里拉歪歪兒!!!!!!!!!!

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