PAWTUCKET — Consider one particular evaluation from Bruce Crabbe when attempting to project the current members of the Red Sox farm system.
It concerns a player who was drafted in the fifth round out of a Tennessee high school in 2011. Mookie Betts started his professional career in the Gulf Coast League and played 71 games with short-season Class-A Lowell in 2012.
"I’d have never said at this time when Mookie was 20 years old in Lowell that he was going to be [...]
PAWTUCKET — Consider one particular evaluation from Bruce Crabbe when attempting to project the current members of the Red Sox farm system.
It concerns a player who was drafted in the fifth round out of a Tennessee high school in 2011. Mookie Betts started his professional career in the Gulf Coast League and played 71 games with short-season Class-A Lowell in 2012.
"I’d have never said at this time when Mookie was 20 years old in Lowell that he was going to be who he is right now," Crabbe said this week. "I probably would have said no, he’s not going to be an everyday player on our team when I first saw him.
"He was a good player and athletic, but I never thought he would be where he is today."
Betts wound up rushing through Boston’s system, playing just 54 games with Double-A Portland and 45 games with Triple-A Pawtucket. He debuted with the Red Sox in 2014 and never looked back, developing into a World Series champion and an American League Most Valuable Player. His contract extension with the Dodgers, a 12-year deal for $365 million, made Betts one of the game’s richest players.
Now in his 16th year with the Red Sox organization, Crabbe has served on staffs from the Spinners to Triple-A Pawtucket. This is his seventh season as the bench coach with the PawSox, and he’s currently working with members of Boston’s player pool at the alternate site.
Red Sox fans will increasingly turn to McCoy Stadium in search of help if the current dismal trend in the big leagues continues. Boston is off to a 6-14 start and looks hopeless, a full five games behind the Blue Jays for last place in the A.L. East. It’s the worst beginning authored by a Red Sox team since going 4-16 in 1996.
According to SoxProspects.com, eight of the top 17 players in Boston’s system are currently working in Pawtucket — Jeter Downs, Bryan Mata, Bobby Dalbec, Jarren Duran, Jay Groome, Tanner Houck, C.J. Chatham and Connor Wong.
Crabbe and PawSox manager Billy McMillon are in charge of day-to-day simulated games and workouts. They currently count a valuable asset among their players in Jonathan Lucroy, an 11-year veteran who was outrighted to the alternate site on Aug. 1.
"I’ve been blessed to be in the game for a long time," Lucroy said. "I’ve been around a lot of really, really good players. Great players — Hall of Famers. Just trying to help these guys here and, really, anybody."
How much assistance could Boston receive from its system in the next few years? Baseball America ranks the Red Sox system 23rd among the game’s 30 franchises. But as Crabbe’s initial evaluation of Betts should remind you, growth among certain players isn’t linear.
"What role, who’s to say," Crabbe said. "But I believe a kid like Jeter Downs could turn into an everyday position player on the Red Sox team. And I hate just singling out Jeter, because I think there’s a lot of potential.
"I think there are a couple of pitchers down the road who could fit in. I like Connor Wong behind the plate. I think (Jhonny) Pereda has shown me something behind the dish — another new acquisition. I think Bobby could fill in at a corner spot.
"I couldn’t say when. There’s some youth here that projects."
Downs was the 32nd overall pick by the Reds in 2017 and was traded twice before his 22nd birthday. Betts, David Price and $48 million went to the Dodgers for Downs, Wong and Alex Verdugo in a February blockbuster. Downs, a middle infielder, totaled 24 home runs, 35 doubles and 24 stolen bases across two levels in 2019.
"We still have our differences," Crabbe said. "I think he feels like I jump him a little bit more than others. He knows that it’s well meant when I do let him know what he did wrong — as well as when he does right."
Dalbec tested positive for COVID-19 and was late reporting to Summer Camp, perhaps missing a chance to make the 30-man roster for Opening Day. He reached Triple-A for the first time last season and has homered a combined 59 times over the last two years. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder projects as a corner infielder.
"I think Bobby is one of the more refined position players from the young kids that are here," Crabbe said. "He’s got the actions that show both at third and first."
Duran could be seen as the most similar to Betts in terms of his background. The seventh-round pick out of Long Beach State in 2018 transitioned from second base to the outfield thanks to his raw athleticism and speed. Duran has racked up 21 triples and 43 doubles in 223 professional games.
"I’ve seen potential with the bat and the way he runs," Crabbe said. "He’s got all the tools to have a position in our outfield in the big leagues in the future. Not saying how soon, but there’s some room for him to be pretty good."
Boston pitching entered Saturday with a 5.86 earned-run average — only the Phillies (5.95) were worse. The Red Sox used 10 starters through their first 20 games, and Nathan Eovaldi remains the only one to finish six innings. Houck reached the PawSox for the first time in 2019 while Mata made his final 11 starts with the Sea Dogs.
"We’ve just got to be more consistent with throwing strikes and getting ahead in the count," Lucroy said. "The most basic analytic you can have is throwing strikes and getting ahead in the count.
"Strike percentage is a huge part of being successful. Being able to locate in counts and execute and expand in certain counts when you can, whether you’re going for a punchout or weak contact."
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25