If any Red Sox player feels a lot of pressure heading into spring training, it has to be Xander Bogearts. A year ago, he was projected as one of the most promising infielders in the AL. But after a disastrous 2014 which saw both his hitting and fielding suffer, he is now a question mark.
Bogearts’ road to the majors was positive at every level. One of only 5 natives of Aruba to play in the majors (Sidney Ponson was the most famous), he was discovered at age 16 by Sox scout Mike Lord and recommended to Craig Shipley, VP for international scouting.
Xander made his pro debut in 2010 in the Dominican Summer League. There he impressed with a .314 average, .396 on base percentage, and .423 slugging percentage. His rbi and total bases were also impressive. The following year at 18, he spent a season at Greenville in Class A, where his stats included a .509 SLG with 16 homers in 72 games. After playing on a gold-medal-winning Dutch National Team, he divided 2012 between Single-A Salem and AA Portland, hitting .307 with 20 homers and 81 ribbies.
Heading into 2013, Bogearts was ranked as the 5th overall prospect by ESPN, which described him as “a solid shortstop with a solid walk rate, but isn’t generating the power reflected by his explosive swing.” Nevertheless, he was ranked 8th in Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list.
Bogearts’ move up the ladder continued in 2013. Between Portland and Pawtucket, he hit a combined .297 with a .477 SLG and 15 homers. His OBP remained high in both places. On August 19 he made his major league debut. Though not a regular, he appeared in 18 games, batting .250 with one homer. As part of the postseason roster, he hit .296 and helped the Sox to a World Series championship.
However, 2014 proved to be a nightmare for both Bogearts and the Sox. There had always been a question of whether short or third was his best position, and the team made the question a problem. He started the year at shortstop, taking the spot of Stephen Drew, who had not signed for ’14. But with the team struggling, management decided they needed Drew’s presence. On June 2, Drew was re-signed, and Xander was moved back to third. Strangely, the Sox announced that his regular position was still at short. Confusion seemed to reign. Drew failed to hit, and went to the Yankees in a trade on July 31.
The results of all these moves was that Bogearts faded both at the plate and in the field. In 144 games, he batted only .240, by far his lowest ever. He struck out 138 times and his OBP was an embarrassing .297. He has to go down as one of the league’s major disappointments.
Boston’s infield seems set for 2015. Bogearts is penciled in at short, with trade acquisition Pablo Sandoval scheduled for third. It seems that Ben Cherington has learned his lesson, mixing youngsters and vets both in the infield and outfield. But questions still remain. Some say he spent too little time in Triple A, which is a bigger jump than the Sox seemed to think. We will find out the answers in March and April.
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