Jason

Place

The Red Sox will hope Place can develop into a 30-homer guy. He has the skills to turn into a quality defender in right field. Whether he’ll have the on-base skills to emerge as a regular is the biggest question.

Unfortunately, he struck out in his other three at-bats. Still, even with 17 K’s in 38 at-bats, he’s hitting .263/.378/.526 as a 19-year-old in a pitcher’s league. The Red Sox knew he was a project when they drafted him, but they thought his upside was worth it.

The Red Sox took a chance on a very raw outfielder with the 27th overall pick in last year’s draft, but he seems to be making progress. After hitting .179 with a 35/7 K/BB ratio in April, he improved to .247 with a 29/11 K/BB ratio in May and he’s already drawn eight walks this month. He’s also 5-for-6 in steal attempts in June after going 3-for-5 the first two months. The Red Sox see him developing 30-homer power, so if the on-base skills come, he may have All-Star potential.

All four homers have come in Lancaster’s ridiculous hitting environment, but the Red Sox still have to be pleased with the progress the 2006 first-round pick is making as a 20-year-old in high-A ball. He’s gone from hitting .169/.280/.225 in April to .228/.296/.447 in May to .469/.564/.906 in 32 at-bats so far this month.

Place hasn’t built on a somewhat encouraging Hawaiian Winter League showing with his 464 OPS this season. He has a 26/8 K/BB ratio in 78 at-bats. He doesn’t turn 20 until next week, so he is quite young to be playing in the California League. However, his tools just haven’t made him a baseball player yet.

Place, the 27th overall pick in last year’s draft, flashed his potential yesterday, but he’s already struck out 21 times in 48 at-bats this year. As raw as he is, it’s probably going to be a couple of years before he begins putting up strong numbers in the minors.