Red Sox Call Up Yoan Moncada, Baseball’s Top Prospect

So far, Yoan Moncada has lived up to the hype. That hasn’t been easy to do, given the expectations the international scouting community has had for him since he was 16, or from the public after the Red Sox signed him last year for a $31.5 million bonus, with the Red Sox paying $63 million total between the bonus and overage tax for exceeding their international bonus pool.

Now, Moncada, 21, is the No. 1 prospect in baseball, as of our Midseason Update. Moncada started the year in high Class A Salem, where he batted .307/.427/.496 in 284 plate appearances. After getting promoted to Double-A Portland, Moncada hit .285/.388/.547 in 202 plate appearances for the Sea Dogs, with a combined 45 stolen bases in 57 attempts (79 percent).

SCOUTING REPORT

Built like a running back at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Moncada is an explosive athlete with true five-tool potential. A switch-hitter, Moncada has electric bat speed, which combined with his strength allows him to smash hard line drives all over the field. He has at least plus raw power, with that power starting to translate more in games thanks to mechanical adjustments he’s worked on this season. Moncada had a tendency to cut off his swing rather than stay through the ball, with a bat path that resulted in more topspin line drives than loft. The adjustments are taking shape now, with Moncada hitting more home runs in Double-A (11) than he did in high Class A (four) despite 80 fewer plate appearances in Double-A. At his prime, Moncada has a chance to hit 25-30 home runs.

Beyond the pure power, Moncada has shown the attributes of a good hitter, even if his strikeout rate jumped from 21 percent in high Class A to 31 percent in Double-A. Moncada is an aggressive hitter, and with Double-A pitchers throwing him more offspeed pitches, Moncada has shown more swing-and-miss in the Eastern League. Some of his struggles have come against changeups—a pitch he didn’t see often in Cuba—so if teams have done their homework, expect major league pitchers to feed him a lot of offspeed pitches early in the count and in hitters’ counts. Moncada should eventually be able to adjust to that, and he does show good strike-zone discipline, laying off close pitches outside the strike zone and drawing walks in 15 percent of his plate appearances this year. He’s a more advanced hitter from the left side, where his swing is more compact than he is hitting righthanded.

Moncada is also a plus-plus runner who has shown an advanced ability to read pitchers and know when to steal, giving him a chance to steal 40 bases over a full season. While Moncada’s speed makes him a weapon as a pinch-runner in September, he sprained his ankle on Aug. 5 sliding into third base and has only played in 10 games since then. He has attempted just two stolen base attempts during that time despite plenty of opportunities to run, with his ankle noticeably bothering him last week when he slid into second base to break up a double play.

The Red Sox put Moncada at second base when he signed, but he has played the last nine games at third base. It’s a position Moncada has some background playing in Cuba, and it’s a spot he has the athleticism and tools to play. He has excellent first-step quickness, range and body control, with an arm that earns 60 to 70 grades on the 20-80 scouting scale. As a second baseman, Moncada was prone to errors on some of the routine plays and the usual concentration lapses with young infielders, but during his brief time at third base he has made a handful of impressive plays already.

WHAT TO EXPECT

In terms of long-term potential, Moncada is a better prospect than Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi, but he’s not as polished as a hitter as Benintendi right now, with Benintendi showing better bat control and offspeed pitch recognition. Don’t expect Moncada to make quite as smooth of a transition to the majors, but he has the type of talent, athleticism and knack for making adjustments that should allow him to get even better in a hurry. Depending on what type of role the Red Sox give Moncada and how much playing time he gets, expect to see him crush a few fastballs, overswing through some offspeed stuff in the zone and make a handful of plays in September—be it with his speed, power, athleticism or arm strength—that will show flashes of what the excitement surrounding him is all about.