SoxSail wrote:

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Sibby Sisti wrote:

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Nice start for our guys in the AFL; particularly Jose Iglesias, in his professional debut, at an early age. Lets hope he develops his offense this Fall and continues through ST. There doesn't appear to be anybody ahead of him at SS in the organization at this point, given Lowrie's lingering wrist injury.

Yeah, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Sox won't put themselves in a position where they're relying on a combination of a FOB 19-yo, and a balky wristed Lowrie for 162 games. They're going to bring in a Gonzalez or other veteran who can make the plays, and who will hopefully give them at least a .310 OBP. If Iglesias is that good, he can sit at Pawtucket and work on his hitting, learn the area and the language, etc. Heck, he's never even lived in a capitalist country before, so even if the baseball is there, it's going to be a little bit of time before he's completely ready to go. More likely, his hitting isn't ready for him to be MLB protection yet, and he starts below AAA.

I should have been more complete in my posting. By "there doesn't appear to be anyone ahead of him at SS in the organization", I meant that he appears to be on a fast track to Boston, not that he'll compete with Lowrie for a starting position. SP has him penciled in at AA Portland to begin his career, skipping over the lower minors where most 19 yr olds are initially assigned. So the FO must have some confidence in his ability to perform at a high level.

SP has Yamaica Navarro, previously our top rated shortstop, at 3B to make room for Iglesias at SS. Also, I don't think his lack of knowledge of the area or the language is an impediment. Most teams have an abundance of Spanish speaking staff. His ascendence through the ranks will depend upon his ability to handle higher level pitching and his continued stellar fielding prowess.