Boston Red Sox: Will Bobby Dalbec walk the same path as Michael Chavis?

After a season mostly lost to injury, can former top 5 prospect Bobby Dalbec climb back up the rankings?  Michael Chavis may have shown him the way.

2017 was a fascinating year for Boston Red Sox fans for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, not a lot of them happened on the farm. For all of the success at the major league level and all of the exciting players who spent the year at Fenway, the minor league depth chart had been horribly thinned out through trades and graduations.

The system’s top prospect, Rafael Devers, rocketed through AA and a brief stop at AAA Pawtucket before ascending to his rightful place manning third base with the Green Monster looming in the distance. After that, it was mostly disappointments like Jay Groome’s inconsistency and injury issues or the tragic passing of Daniel Flores.

One of the few bright spots was Michael Chavis who was selected 26th overall by the Red Sox in the 2014 draft. He spent the following two seasons either injured or underperforming and was mostly written off as a bust. But 2017 was a different story.

Chavis posted a .318/.388/.641 slash line in high-A Salem with 17 home runs in just 59 games. After a promotion to AA, he clocked another 14 bombs putting himself back on the radar. With spring training winding down, who could be that guy in 2018?