Minor League Prospect Note: Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox promoted super-prospect Xander Bogaerts to Double-A Portland yesterday, and he went 2-for-5 with a homer in his debut. Previously, he'd hit .302/.378/.505 with 15 homers, 43 walks, and 85 strikeouts in 384 at-bat for High-A Salem. He ranked 10^th in the Carolina League in OPS, a fine season and especially impressive for a 19-year-old.

Although he's very young, I don't think it's a massive rush job given his performance this year. Even if he struggles, there's only three weeks left in the season and getting his feet wet in Double-A could help his development next year. In addition to the hitting, he's settled down defensively, making improvements with his reliability. His range at shortstop isn't terrific and I anticipate that he'll end up at third base in the long run, although I'd leave him at shortstop as long as possible.

I had him at a Grade B+ pre-season and see him as a Grade A- now. Depending on end-of-year reports, a straight Grade A is not out of the question. That would likely put him in the Top 10 prospects in all of baseball.