Call to the pen
Fansided

Boston Red Sox farm system is in big trouble

By Damian Dydyn

PORTLAND, ME - APRIL 19: Sea Dogs firstbaseman Josh Ockimey, right, celebrates with teammates Jeremy Rivera, Cole Sturgeon and Esteban Quiroz after driving them home with a grand slam in the seventh inning against the Hartford Yard Goats on Thursday at Hadlock Field. (Staff photo by Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, ME - APRIL 19: Sea Dogs firstbaseman Josh Ockimey, right, celebrates with teammates Jeremy Rivera, Cole Sturgeon and Esteban Quiroz after driving them home with a grand slam in the seventh inning against the Hartford Yard Goats on Thursday at Hadlock Field. (Staff photo by Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 10
Next
Red Sox
FT. MYERS, FL – FEBRUARY 16: Michael Chavis of the Boston Red Sox poses for a portrait during a team workout on February 16, 2018, at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

Michael Chavis has been suspended, and Jay Groome is out for the year with Tommy John surgery. It can’t get much worse for an already thin farm system, right? Well, about that…

Over the winter, fellow Call To The Pen writer Benjamin Chase put together his top 10 list for the Boston Red Sox. A quarter of the way through the season felt like a good time to take stock of what those ten prospects have accomplished.

Imagine my surprise when I realized that every single one of them has taken a step back. In some cases, a significant step back.

There was a reason for hope that the Red Sox would go from one of the worst systems in the game to something middle of the pack. That improvement hinged on the bright spots from 2017 continuing to shine — not to mention some growth from some new additions to the organization.

Names like Michael Chavis, Mike Shawaryn, Roniel Raudes and Brayan Mata took impressive steps forward in 2017. They were expected to continue moving in the right direction.

New additions like Tanner Houck, Alex Scherff, and Cole Brannen could have started rocketing through the system with strong starts. None have done so.

The real purpose of a farm system.

A farm system exists for mostly two reasons. To produce cost-controlled young talent for the major league roster. And to develop chips to be used in trading for needs for the major league roster. Having a top-ranked farm is wonderful, but at the end of the day, there is no trophy for best minor league system.

The goal is to win games at the primary league level. Promotions and trades are the two main ways a farm system can contribute to that goal.

When a system that started out thin in the first place scuffles so comprehensively, it can actually have an immediate impact on the major league team’s ability to win now. Such is the case with the Boston Red Sox.

Under General Manager Dave Dombrowski, they have leveraged a great farm system to maximize a competitive window over a three-year span stretching from 2017-2019. Part of that plan was to continue using prospects to plug holes in-season. At the moment, the ability to do so has been significantly compromised by the performances of the top 10. How bad has it been? Well…

Home/Boston Red Sox