Moncada has an .935 OPS in 44 games with Portland (AA). His combined stats (Salem (A) and Portland): .298 batting average with 31 doubles, six triples, 15 homers, 45 stolen bases, a .411 on-base percentage and a .928 OPS in 400 at-bats. (He's not only Boston's top prospect, but has been at or near the top of the list for all MLB prospects.)
WEEI's Rob Bradford explains what you should know about the promotion: "As Red Sox manager John Farrell stated Wednesday morning, one could draw a 'direct comparison' to what Moncada might do for the 2016 season and the boost given to the '07 club by Jacoby Ellsbury and Xander Bogaerts' impact in '13."
Moncada signed last year as a second baseman but was moved to third base earlier this year. The Red Sox have received very little production from their third basemen this year: .248/.312/.393, with an OPS of .704, which is 14th in the American League (Cleveland is a hair worse, at .703), and those numbers are even worse recently: .225/.284/.326 since June 5. In particular, Travis Shaw has been dismal: .167/.250/.292 in 26 games in August.
Portland manager Carlos Febles told ESPN that Moncada is the most talented all-around player he has been around at the AA level since Carlos Beltran. (Febles and Beltran were teammates in the Royals organization.)
If a guy was 1.3 [seconds to the plate], Beltran would not go. Moncada's the other way around. He says, '1.3? I'm going.' Moncada's more aggressive than Beltran. But I think if you watch Beltran hit and Moncada hit, they both kind of have the same setup at the plate. It's a very, very similar kind of guy. Carlos was fast, great arm, power. The guy could do it all, and he just kept getting better and better and better every year. You see Moncada with the same kind of tools that Beltran had. He's a guy that can go to the big leagues and hit 20 homers like Carlos did at the beginning of his career and steal more bags than Carlos. I mean, why not think about that?
Boston's 3Bs since the ASB: .187/.265/.308.
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