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Red Sox minor lines: The post-promotion Xander Bogaerts

Xander Bogaerts hasn't exactly been killing it since being promoted to Triple-A, but all the right signs are there.

By Ben Buchanan
USA TODAY Sports

Lots of rain outs today, so let's take the opportunity to go a bit deeper...

Pawtucket W 1-0

Box Score

Jackie Bradley Jr.: 0-4, K
Xander Bogaerts: 1-2, BB
Brock Holt: 0-3

Xander Bogaerts' post-promotion performance has been something of a mixed bag, but with good signs in most of the right places, much like we saw from him before he truly exploded in Double-A (where he finished with a line of .311/.407/.502 in 2013).

For instance: a walk-rate over 10%, suggesting that Bogaerts' improved discipline has carried over nicely to the more advanced level. A strikeout rate which, if a bit high, is not unreasonable for a power hitter. And a low BABIP (.267 by my calculations) which can explain away a decent portion of the 138 points of OPS lost since the promotion. Really the primary difference between how Xander started the season in Portland and how he's started his time in Pawtucket is the early power show, with four homers in 17 games.

Salem L 1-8

Box Score

Henry Ramos: 2-3, 2B
Deven Marrero: 0-2, BB, K
Keury De La Cruz: 1-3, K
Brandon Jacobs: 1-3, K
Blake Swihart: 0-3
Cody Koback: 0-3

Recapping June for the surging trio...

Brandon Jacobs: .264/.366/.494

Keury De La Cruz: .387/.415/.523

Henry Ramos: .326/.400/.537

Before this all went down, the hope was that one of them would pan out, perhaps gaining some trade value before July 31st. Of the three, Ramos is the only one who is not Rule-5 eligible, though at the moment it's hard to imagine either Jacobs or Keury being picked in the major league phase, and there's almost certainly room enough for both on the Triple-A reserve list, so they don't exactly have to ship them out or lose them.

It is worth noting that both Jacobs and De La Cruz enjoyed some massive BABIPs, making Ramos the only one of the three really likely to come close to maintaining their pace, but if the Sox can swing Jacobs or Keury to someone for a middle reliever, then this month will turn out to have been pretty valuable.

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