The rich get richer. If there's one hot takeaway from the 2016 MLB All-Star Futures Game, that's it.
We're talking, of course, about the Boston Red Sox, a club already loaded with young position-player talent.
Boston fans got a preview of another blockbuster coming attraction on Sunday in San Diego, and they had to be elated with what they saw.
Infielder Yoan Moncada launched a go-head, two-run home run in the eighth inning before the World team poured on seven runs in the ninth en route to an 11-3, come-from-behind win over the U.S.
In case you missed it, here's the homer in question, courtesy of MLB Network:
Overall, the 21-year-old Cuban phenom went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a stolen base and took home MVP honors. Suffice it to say, it shouldn't be long before he's plying his trade in Beantown.
This is the kid who Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan called, "the closest thing to [Mike] Trout I've seen." An athletic specimen who landed a record-smashing $31.5 million signing bonus from the Red Sox in March 2015. A legitimate blue chip who has shot through the minor league ranks and owns a 1.023 OPS with five home runs in 16 games at Double-A Portland.
"I'm not sure we've ever had someone quite like him physically in our system," said general manager Mike Hazen, per Bleacher Report's Bill Speros. "Bo Jackson was a guy built that way. Of course, he played football, too."
So, yeah—somewhere on the old Mike Trout/Bo Jackson spectrum. And Moncada just reached legal drinking age on May 27.
When he reaches the big leagues, he'll join a team that already features a trio of recently minted All-Stars in 23-year-old shortstop Xander Bogaerts (.329 average, 10 home runs, .863 OPS), 23-year-old right fielder Mookie Betts (.304 average, 18 home runs, .869 OPS) and 26-year-old center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (.296 average, 14 home runs, .926 OPS).
Drop Moncada into the mix, and you're talking about four homegrown, cost-controlled talents who could anchor the lineup for years to come.
Moncada is technically blocked at second base by veteran Dustin Pedroia, who is signed through 2021. But the youthful switch-hitter recently said he "will play any position depending on what the team wants me to do," per ESPN.com's Scott Lauber. Perhaps he could slide over to third base or find a home in the outfield.
Take another look at that easy swing and big-boy home run Moncada blasted in the Futures Game. (Seriously, we'll wait.) You find a home for a hitter like that, period.
Oh, sure, the Red Sox could theoretically dangle Moncada in a deal for an arm to shore up a shaky starting rotation. At this point, though, that seems exceedingly unlikely, even given president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski's track record of cashing in prospects.
Dombrowski himself called Moncada "a finely skilled offensive player," per Lauber, and added he'd "be surprised if he's not a really good big leaguer."
No one is a sure thing until he's proven himself at the highest level. But after earning the top spot in Baseball America's updated prospect rankings on Friday, Moncada chewed up and spit out the hype on Sunday.
The Red Sox, who are locked in a dogfight in the crowded American League East, can't count on any help from Moncada this year. He didn't even get an invite to big league camp in the spring.
At some point soon, though, Moncada and 22-year-old outfielder Andrew Benintendi—Baseball America's No. 9 prospect—appear destined to crash the party.
The issue will be finding spots on the field for all these burgeoning studs—which is pretty much the textbook definition of a good problem to have.
It's fitting, in a way, that the rise of Moncada and the big league success of the Bogaerts/Betts/Bradley triumvirate are playing out against the backdrop of David Ortiz's charmed farewell season in Boston. Out with one beloved franchise swinger, in with a gaggle of new ones.
The torch gets passed. A new leaf is turned.
The rich get richer.
All statistics current as of July 10 and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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