With half the season over, the Portland Sea Dogs sit at the bottom of the Eastern League’s Eastern Division. At 13 games out of a playoff spot, Portland is a very long shot to play in the post-season, much like the Red Sox, for whom these minor leaguers are striving to play.
Unless both Portland and Boston spring to life soon, both teams will watch the playoffs at home on TV, just like the rest of us.
But, as the saying goes, the minors are all about “player development;” winning at this level is secondary to building solid players for the parent team.
And with development in mind, the Red Sox have promoted a pair of players to Portland, just two steps below the Big Leagues.
First to arrive, on June 20, was Manuel Margot, a 20-year-old international free agent from the Dominican Republic. After batting .282 at High A Salem, with a .420 on-base percentage and 20 stolen bases, 17 walks and only 15 strikeouts in 46 games, Margot has taken over center field for Portland.
The speedy outfielder is rated by Baseball America as Boston’s No. 7 prospect; the 6-foot, 170-pound Margot is rated as the fastest runner and best defensive outfielder in the Sox system.
In six games with the Sea Dogs, Margot has slipped a bit as he adjusts to the higher level of players in Double A, hitting .240, with a double and one home run; he is two-for-two in stolen bases.
In just his second season as a professional, Margot has been selected to play for the World Team in the 2015 All Star Futures Game on July 12 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, also the site of the Major League All Star Game.
Margot joins former Sea Dogs Henry Owens, Will Middlebrooks, Clay Buchholz, Kevin Youkilis and A.J. Burnett, among others, as selections for this prestigious game.
Also arriving in Portland in June was first baseman Sam Travis, the Red Sox second round selection in the 2014 Draft. Travis, at 6-feet and 210 pounds, is considered small for the position. But what he lacks in size, he makes up for in consistency. In 52 games at Greenville, Travis reached base safely in 47.
Although Travis is averaging just .111 so far as a Sea Dog, the Carolina League All Star is expected to adjust quickly to Double A. After all, this is the 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year, Boston’s 12th ranked prospect, and a key starter on the 2013 Indiana University team that made its first-ever appearance in the College World Series in Travis’ sophomore season.
Ryan Hanigan, on rehab assignment for the Boston Red Sox, strikes out, but with grace and style.Photo by Tom Keene
New Sea Dog first baseman Sam Travis takes a pick-off throw during Portland’s recent home stand.Photo by Tom Keene
Manuel Margot launches his first Double A home run last week, a blast which gave the Sea Dogs a brief lead in an eventual 8-5 loss to the Reading Phils.Photo by Tom Keene
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