/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/18094517/20130325_kkt_sv7_866.0.jpg)
Xander Bogaerts is here, and now he has 36 games to make his first impression on the league.
Or maybe he has 10. Or 20. Maybe he's only playing against lefties. Maybe as a straight platoon with Stephen Drew, or maybe just an every-once-in-a-while situation. Maybe Will Middlebrooks falls off again and Xander takes over for him, or maybe John Farrell brought him up so that they could build a shrine in the clubhouse for him, where the players will stop before every game to make ritual sacrifices and rub his head for luck.
Sorry, got lost a bit there.
The point is that, as with most prospects making a mid-season debut, the book on Xander is largely unwritten, much as it was for Will Middlebrooks when he joined the team last year. What we do know is that Bogaerts is a top-quality prospect with fantastic talent, the kind who could be the foundation for the future. And that's it. We don't know if he'll make good on his opportunity and promise. We don't know if he'll even get much of a chance given the team's current situation.
But we can guess. Every year before the season starts, we do a series of community projections here at Over The Monster. Well, we're 126 games in now (believe it or not), but this is the start of one man's season, so let's get to predicting it. How many at bats? What kind of numbers? Will he convince all voters to ignore his low at bat total in order to not only award him the Rookie of the Year award, but also name him MVP?
Xander Bogaerts
PA:
RBI:
HR:
AVG:
OBP:
SLG: