Once again it is collaborative post time here on Call to the Pen. This month’s topic is September call-ups. To get the ball rolling, I posed the following question to each of our Lead Writers, “Which player do you want your team to call-up in September and why?” It is a simple question but I think you will find the responses to be very diverse.
Taking the path less traveled this month, I decided to post each team’s write-up individually instead of grouping them by league or division as we have done in the past.
Representing the Boston Red Sox and BoSox Injection is the site’s Lead Writer, Brian Phair. Check out what he has to say after the jump.
Brian’s Take:
The one thing the Boston Red Sox have done plenty of this year has been call-up young players. Seemingly every day a new Sox player has been added to the DL, giving many players who would never have seen playing time the chance for a considerable amount. That being said, there are still plenty of young players in the Sox system that I would love to see get the chance in September, many of whom have not yet had the opportunity to put on the Red Sox uniform in 2010. Despite the number of options, without hesitation my #1 choice is shortstop Jose Iglesias.
Iglesias has been intriguing since he defected from Cuba before the 2010 season. He began his Red Sox career in Spring Training and every day he went out on the field for workouts and drills and received constant high praise from his teammates on both his maturity and his advanced skills, despite being just 20 years old. Giving the kid a chance to play with Boston would give the Sox organization a great read on how close he is to being an everyday big-leaguer, especially after missing some time this season thanks to a hand injury. After all, September call-ups are the perfect opportunity to see what young players can do at the highest level.
Iglesias began his career in the US with the New York-Penn League class A affiliate Lowell Spinners, where he hit .350 with 2 doubles, 2 triples and 2 stolen bases in just 13 games and it became obvious that Iglesias needed a bigger challenge. He was promoted to AA affiliate Portland Sea Dogs, but after settling in and leading the team in batting average (.306), he got hit by a pitch on his right hand and missed all of June and July. Overall in Portland, Iglesias has hit 0.294 with 13 extra base hits and 11 rbis in 52 games. With more playing time, he will only continue to develop and grow.
The main reason I want to see Iglesias on the Fenway Park field is to get him exposure to the park and atmosphere early in his career. He has the potential to be something special and by getting him more comfortable at the highest level, it builds confidence and will make his transition to the bigs easier in the future when the staff decides he is ready. Also, since the Red Sox are probably out of contention around at this point, it is the perfect chance for the Sox management to check out some of their young talent, gauge their progress and make a better estimate as to when they will emerge in the majors.
Since his signing, I have felt Jose Iglesias should be the future at shortstop for the Red Sox and my stance hasn’t changed. Why not give him a shot in September?