The Boston Red Sox have lost 8 of their last 13 games.
Their offence has stalled, Ryan Dempster has plunked A-Rod and has thrown Boston into chaos an well the Red Sox haven't won a series since their match up with Houston 2 weeks ago. Dustin Pedroia has been on fire but they still haven't won games. Will Middlebrooks has been on fire but they still have not won games. Stephan Drew has played terrible and the Boston Red Sox have not won.
But there is hope. All season long, we have been hearing about a guy names Xander Bogarts. He has been dubbed the greatest prospect in the game right now and one of the best that AAA Pawtuket has produced in years. Xander Bogarts is just 20 years old and now he is a Boston Red Sox.
So what can he contribute?
Well in this 2013 season alone we have all seen very well the impact of the mid-season call up (cough cough Dodgers). Aged 22, Yasiel Puig came to a struggling Dodgers ball club back on June 3rd. At that point in time, the Dodgers were 7 and a half games back of the Diamond Backs for the division lead. They were 24 and 32, none of their stars were preforming and manager: Don Mattingly was about to be fired. Until LA's version of Tebow mania came to town.
Over the next 2 and a half months, the Dodgers went 48 and 9 stringing together countless double digit winning streaks and riding their prized rookie all the way to the top of the NL West. Statistically speaking, Puig has hit .358 in 66 games this year hitting 11 home runs and racking up an OBP of .419. He has hit multiple walk offs from the plate and captivated opponents from his threatening perch in right field. Yasiel Puig has single-handedly carried his Dodgers to a perch as one of the best teams in baseball...now it's Boston's turn.
In 116 games split between AA Portland and AAA Pawtuket, Bogaerts has hit .297 with 15 home runs and 67 RBI's. In addition to that, he joined the MLB futures game back in July and excelled topping nearly every list as Baseball's top prospect. In the game he went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
"I know I'm just one call away," Bogaerts said in an ESPN interview last week "You never know when that opportunity is yours, but I just try to come to the field and try to play good. That's who I am, and I don't take anything for granted. I grind out all my at-bats and try to hit the ball good and hopefully good results happen. I'm a fighting spirit, and that's one thing I have a lot. I just come to the field, play hard and try to win."
Bogaerts will make the trip to San Francisco with the Red Sox but will likely only hit against lefty's in the coming series. This decision will probably come due to a .252 Red Sox average against left handers. Bogaerts will also probably play full time in the field.
Yasiel Puig did so much for the Dodgers and now... Xander Bogaerts has the possibility of being just as potent for Boston.
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