Grade Change: Jose Iglesias

by John Sickels on Jan 15, 2026 1:00 PM EST

The final grades for the 2012 Baseball Prospect Book are locked down. I could tinker with these forever but Jeri will hit me in the head if I don't turn the final list over to her.

The main change today is moving Boston Red Sox shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias from a Grade B- down to a Grade C+. He doesn't hit enough to justify the higher grade at this time.

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Read More: Jose Iglesias (SS - BOS), Boston Red Sox

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by SandalsNoPants on Jan 15, 2026 1:04 PM EST reply actions 3 recs

+1

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by Ray Guilfoyle on Jan 15, 2026 1:23 PM EST up reply actions

+1

by auclairkeithbc on Jan 15, 2026 9:05 PM EST up reply actions

Iglesias is a higher rated version of Padres Beamer Weems...

Seriously, what do you do with these guys?

http://www.friarhood.com/padres-info/2012/1618-padres-future-shortstop-beamer-weems.html

-peter

by PeterF on Jan 15, 2026 1:24 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions

Catricala?

Any chance fir a grade change?

Ride the tiger...You can see his stripes but you know he's clean.

by James Westfall on Jan 15, 2026 1:48 PM EST reply actions

no

I can’t change anything else at this point without Jeri’s wrath

by John Sickels on Jan 15, 2026 2:17 PM EST up reply actions

I live by one simple principle which most would agree with.

“Happy Wife, Happy Life”

Ride the tiger...You can see his stripes but you know he's clean.

by James Westfall on Jan 15, 2026 3:08 PM EST up reply actions

Seems about right

Not only is the bat suspect, but we’ll never be able to be entirely sure about his age due to his Cuban origin.

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

by Fla-Giant on Jan 15, 2026 2:12 PM EST reply actions

Everything I've read about jose

Seems to say he’s Rey Ordonez 2.0. That’s a C prospect to me.

by 96mnc on Jan 15, 2026 2:46 PM EST via Android app reply actions

the difference I see is that Iglesias is only 22 now whereas Ordonez started his minor league at 22. I think Iglesias wll be able to hit a bit better than Ordonez.. Probably won’t be more than a 670-.720 OPS guy, but that has value if you can field well.

Adoptive father of 18th round draft pick and future ace, BRANDON ALLEN

by Nnamdi Asomugha on Jan 15, 2026 3:52 PM EST up reply actions

disagree

Ordonez had a long and successful career, although it was far from exciting. Grade C prospects are not supposed to be able to do that. I think C+ is fitting, but C is unfair.

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by The Congo Hammer on Jan 15, 2026 4:25 PM EST up reply actions

Ordonez had a successful career based on Web Gem appearances. That's it.

During his “prime” from 96-02, even after adding a bonus for baserunning(which isn’t included in Fangraphs WAR over most of the years Ordonez played) he was worth less than 1 WAR/600. His career WC+ was 53…even great defense at a premium position can’t make up for that.

I completely agree with this grade change.

P.S. If you are the type of person who is going to reply to this with WAR doesn’t account for player like Ordonez or some similar speculation, than please go to the trouble of comparing WAR totals for Mets during this time period to actual Mets wins ( Met’s win ~ WAR batters + WAR pitchers + 43) and demonstrate that Mets actually did out perform their WAR totals. It’s that simple.

by silverbook1 on Jan 15, 2026 5:50 PM EST up reply actions

Well

Ordonez’s career was cut kind of short because of that arm injury in 2000. But your point still stands.

At this point its personal projection. I personally believe Iglesias is capable of improving offensively to a level above Rey Ordonez. Ordonez’s career OPS was .600, I think Iglesias will be a .670 OPS hitter in the majors. That has a good amount of value, probably a 3 WAR player with good defense.

Adoptive father of 18th round draft pick and future ace, BRANDON ALLEN

by Nnamdi Asomugha on Jan 15, 2026 7:02 PM EST up reply actions

Don't forget the different run environment

Ordonez’s .600 OPS, while still awful, wouldn’t look quite as awful in the low run scoring environment we’re currently seeing as it did in the late 90s and early 2000s.

by nixa37 on Jan 15, 2026 7:17 PM EST up reply actions

Most "C" level prospects, at or around the AA level

usually aren’t really of much interest, and don’t become too much. If Iglesias plays in nearly 1000 games over a 9 year career like Ordonez did, I think I’d be pretty happy with that.

There aren’t a lot of minor league SS’s with his potential D, anything he does with the bat is gravy. I think he could improve with the bat still too, but I don’t know if he’s the type of guy Red Sox fans will like out there, b/c the impact bat potential isn’t there. But, the Red Sox lineup is generally deep enough to have a beast defensive SS in the lineup without doing too much harm to their ability to score runs.

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by SoCalSoxFan on Jan 15, 2026 11:52 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, even with the amazing defense, I don't see how that bat could be a regular in Boston.

And I’m not even talking about fans.

by SandalsNoPants on Jan 16, 2026 12:01 AM EST up reply actions

I think the bat actually has a better argument for a place in Boston...

… which can presumably accept subpar production at the bottom of its line-up given presumed above-average production in other places. I’m not saying its a particularly good argument for Iglesias’s grade, but it does argue for a potential actual ML career.

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by nuthinboutnuthin on Jan 17, 2026 4:47 PM EST up reply actions

no I can sleep tonite.

;-)

by ThnkGoodnessforHowieRose on Jan 15, 2026 5:53 PM EST reply actions

now...

by ThnkGoodnessforHowieRose on Jan 15, 2026 5:53 PM EST reply actions

No change to Tim Beckham or Adeiny Hechavarria’s grades?

by gabrielsyme on Jan 15, 2026 7:49 PM EST reply actions

What changes do you think should be made?

by SandalsNoPants on Jan 15, 2026 7:50 PM EST up reply actions

Aren't they both C+?

His 2011 wRC+ is 26

by Pikachu on Jan 15, 2026 9:30 PM EST up reply actions

I think

you’ll regret this John. Iglesias’ xBABIP is way better than his BABIP and he was really young for his level, and he’s the only 80 grade shortstop in the minors. He definitely deserves a B-, if not a B for me.

by Bososx13 on Jan 15, 2026 9:39 PM EST reply actions

Regret it because no one will buy his book again due to the difference between a B- and C+ ranking?

Not sure why else he would regret it. I don’t think he’s got anything to worry about. He listened to constructive criticism from the community, and he made an educated decision. Nothing wrong with the process behind this one.

by SandalsNoPants on Jan 15, 2026 10:37 PM EST up reply actions

really unclear that xBABIP has any predictive value whatsoever for minor leaguers

by Lucretius on Jan 15, 2026 10:43 PM EST up reply actions

Thank you!

To elaborate, xBABIP for minor leaguers is, at best, misleading to completely useless.

by mswift on Jan 16, 2026 8:36 AM EST up reply actions

And he's a top 100 prospect

to you right?

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by dbacks25 on Jan 15, 2026 11:36 PM EST up reply actions

lol

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by doublestix on Jan 16, 2026 12:13 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

He isn't being sent to prospect hell

Never to return, unless of course John has a larger hand in the Sox farm system than I thought. He could turn it around, but he entered with questions and in two seasons the results have only made us ask more. When he first signed, I was pretty comfortable labeling him our SS of the future, and after two season I’m not comfortable with him being ‘the plan’. He isn’t a complete player so far.

I am Sandy's bitch.

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by Rogue Nine on Jan 16, 2026 12:18 AM EST up reply actions

Do you have him graded higher or lower than Montero?

by Vegasexpat on Jan 16, 2026 12:53 AM EST up reply actions

Before or after the trade?

by MjwW on Jan 16, 2026 1:00 AM EST up reply actions

BA doesn’t even think he’s the clearcut best defensive SS in the minors..and I’m a sox fan.

by WrenFGun on Jan 16, 2026 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

He seems like a Little Nicky PUNToh

to me. Just with a better glove and worse bat.

by TheHughesUnit on Jan 16, 2026 10:59 AM EST reply actions

Glove

Iglesias has an 80 glove at shortstop. I think that alone will carry him to a lengthy big league career. Scouts seem convinced that his bat will come around, and that’s enough for me to shade him to a B-. I do think there’s some Boston hype involved here, but I think that Iglesias’ bat will come around enough to be worth it.

I think Ordonez is a very poor comp. I think Mark Belanger is far more appropriate.

by GuyinNY on Jan 16, 2026 1:17 PM EST reply actions