It appeared like yearly one thing all the time got here up and disrupted Triston Casas’ season.
In 2020 it was the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 it was the Tokyo Olympics. Last 12 months Casas obtained damage, lacking practically two months with a badly sprained ankle.
This 12 months, heading into his first full season within the huge leagues, Casas set a selected purpose. Not to win Rookie of the Year or hit a sure variety of residence runs, however to play 150 video games. He would put up day by day, stay out there and be somebody the membership might depend on from begin to end.
He didn’t fairly attain 150 — after being shut down with shoulder irritation he’ll wrap up the season having performed 132 video games — however general Casas feels he completed what he got down to do.
“That was the whole mindset behind the 150 games, not having any interruptions and up until the shoulder I really didn’t,” Casas stated. “Overall I learned a lot throughout this year, first big league season was everything I thought it would be. A lot of ups, a lot of downs, it didn’t end how we wanted to as a team and an organization, but me personally I think I made a lot of strides as a ballplayer and as a person.”
By all accounts Casas’ rookie season was a powerful success. After getting off to a depressing begin, the 23-year-old turned issues round and by the second half emerged as one of the crucial impactful hitters within the sport.
The first baseman finishes the season with a .264 batting common, 24 residence runs, 65 RBI, an .856 OPS and a pair of.3 wins above substitute, and from the All-Star Break onwards he batted .317 with 15 residence runs and an eye-popping 1.034 OPS over his last 54 video games.
Things might have performed out a lot in a different way contemplating Casas was batting solely .176 as late as May 22, however the rookie hung powerful and didn’t let the struggles overwhelm him.
“I’m happy I stayed with my process and I knew eventually it would work,” Casas stated. “I got to the middle months of the season and I started missing less pitches and playing better defense and that’s what production is about. I had a good mindset throughout it all, which is what I’m most proud of myself about.”
Once issues lastly clicked, Casas started growing into the center of the order menace the Red Sox all the time believed he could possibly be. His greatest recreation got here on July 22, when Casas homered twice towards then-New York Mets ace Max Scherzer, an expertise the rookie referred to as the spotlight of his season.
“That was pretty awesome getting to do that against a future Hall of Famer,” Casas stated. “Just stepping into the box was pretty remarkable, he’s somebody that I’ve grown up idolizing, just the way he’s competed and gone about his career.”
Casas’ season got here to an abrupt finish final week after he developed irritation in his shoulder, and with the Red Sox already out of the hunt, the membership determined there was no level in pushing him. The excellent news is testing over the weekend revealed no tears or structural harm, so he and the membership are optimistic he’ll be again to full well being quickly and will be capable to take pleasure in a standard offseason.
And as soon as the shoulder situation is behind him, Casas stated he has huge plans for subsequent 12 months. Now that he’s gotten to spend a whole season immersed in an enormous league clubhouse, he has a significantly better understanding of what it takes to succeed at this stage, and he’s excited to place these classes to good use.
“That’s the beauty of baseball, you can never perfect it but you can always break a new parameter, you can always get stronger or faster, develop a better first step and develop better pitch recognition and really hone in on the small details and keys that make a great player a great player,” Casas stated. “I really observed my teammates, my peers, as to what I think a respectable at bat looks like, what a respectable player in the league looks like, so I’m going to go into this offseason having learned a lot and thinking about what I want to accomplish.”
Minor league awards
On Monday, the Red Sox introduced their 2023 Minor League Awards, recognizing a number of of the farm system’s prime performers for his or her efforts and enchancment over the course of the season.
- Offensive Player of the Year: OF Roman Anthony
- Defensive Player of the Year: INF David Hamilton
- Starting Pitcher of the Year: RHP Wikelman Gonzalez
- Relief Pitcher of the Year: RHP Luis Guerrero
- Baserunner of the Year: INF/OF Ceddanne Rafaela
- Latin Program Position Player of the Year: INF Yoeilin Cespedes
- Latin Program Pitcher of the Year: RHP Gilberto Batista
In addition, left-handed pitcher Brandon Walter is being acknowledged because the recipient of the Lou Gorman Award, offered yearly to a Red Sox minor leaguer who has demonstrated dedication and perseverance in overcoming obstacles whereas working their solution to the MLB workforce.
The Minor League Awards are chosen by Red Sox baseball operations officers and roving minor league instructors. This 12 months’s recipients will probably be honored throughout a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park previous to Tuesday’s recreation towards the Tampa Bay Rays.
Spoiler alert
The Red Sox (76-80) are out of the playoff hunt and more likely to end under .500, however the membership nonetheless has an opportunity to make an affect on the playoff race.
Boston’s final six video games will come towards the highest two groups within the AL East, beginning with two video games towards Tampa Bay at Fenway Park on Tuesday and Wednesday earlier than the Red Sox end the season with 4 video games in Baltimore over the weekend.
Entering the week, Baltimore has a 2.5 recreation lead over Tampa Bay within the AL East hunt with six video games to play, so relying on how issues play out the Red Sox might both end the Rays off or knock the Orioles on their heels, opening the door for Tampa Bay to make one final push for the division crown.
Source: www.bostonherald.com