Just because Yoan Moncada has struggled to make contact with the baseball in his first few major league games doesn’t mean that’s the player he’ll be for his entire career.
The Boston Red Sox third baseman has been striking out a lot in his first four big league games — seven times in his last seven at-bats, to be specific — and for that reason Travis Shaw started at third Wednesday against the San Diego Padres. But Red Sox manager John Farrell made it clear Wednesday on WEEI’s “Dale & Holley” that Moncada isn’t a lost cause.
“I don’t know that we can sit here (Wednesday) and after what’s it been, 15 at-bats, that this is who he’s going to be,” Farrell said. “There’s always a transition period for young players coming to the big leagues, and you know what? He’s right in the midst of it. So he’s not in the lineup (Wednesday night), which you kind of give guys a little bit of a breather, kind of regroup somewhat, and that’s the case for Yoan tonight. But I wouldn’t say what he shows you or has shown us in the three or four games he’s played is who he’s going to be over the course of a long major league career.”
Farrell pointed out that Moncada is far from the first Red Sox prospect to go through growing pains, and it’s not entirely surprising that the 21-year-old isn’t immediately living up to the hype.
“I think we’re all understanding that with any young players, talented and as talked about as they might be, there’s going to be some ups and down with young players,” Farrell said on WEEI. “And you know what, we’re still seeing that with the likes of Travis Shaw or at times Xander Bogaerts or for any player. Even into their first couple of years there’s going to be some ups and downs. They might not be as spiked as a guy in his first couple of months, but I think you’re always accepting that there’s going to be some of that learning curve that goes on, and Yoan is no different.
“When a lot of the publicity arrives before the player does, I don’t know that there’s many times the player outlives the expectations. It’s probably always the other way around.”
Thumbnail photo via Jake Roth/USA TODAY Sports Images