Red Sox Diaries

On May 4, 2009, left fielder Matt LaPorta of the Cleveland Indians, formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers, hit his first major league home run after his debut the day before. This has almost no direct impact on the Red Sox, until you consider the fact that in 2006, he was drafted 433rd overall in the 14th round by Boston. The Boras client could not come to terms on a signing bonus with management (he ultimately received over $2 million for signing) and returned for his senior year of college ball (in which he hit .402 with 20 jacks in the SEC for the Gators.) The following year, he found a home in Milwaukee after being selected 7th.

His scouting report lists him as a plus-plus power hitter, a guy built for hitting home runs. His knock has always been his ability to hit for an average, but not all of us can be Albert Pujols. In his largest sample, the year he played 84 games with the Brewers’ AA affiliate, he held an .ISO of .288. The power is no doubt there. (Think Carlos Pena.)

Obviously it is fun (and ceaseless) to go into what-if scenarios, but LaPorta would have given the Sox legitimate options at first and in corner outfield spots. The biggest positive LaPorta would bring about for the Red Sox is flexibility. With Jacoby Ellsbury making sporadic appearances (he started the year hitting .217 until he turned it around mid-April), J.D. Drew prone to disappear haphazardly (see .250 avg) and David Ortiz mired in possibly the worst slump of his career, (not to mention Mike Lowell’s injury concerns) LaPorta would have been an added dimension to the Sox bench and even given them platoon possibilities.

In recent history, the Sox have yet to develop a young power bat that can sit at a power position like first or left for years to come. Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Van Every and Josh Reddick (who's still in the minors) all fit the mediocre power, quicker athlete mold. Sure, Youkilis and Bay can hit 25-30, but without Ortiz in the lineup giving you 40 home runs a year, there is a sore lack of pure muscle in the middle. Lars Anderson may be the answer in the near future, but LaPorta would have been now, half a season after the departure of Manny and the realization that Ortiz is no longer the beast he was.

Now that we’ve gone through the what-if, it’s time to take a lesson from the whole situation. Next time you’ve got a highly touted power prospect sitting pretty at pick 433, throw him a bone and give him some cash! (The Giants did it with Caribbean power prospect Angel Villalona and he was much less battle-tested and proven than LaPorta.) If the Sox were willing to spend over $4 million on Craig Hansen, why couldn’t they pay half that for LaPorta?

So where does that leave Sox fans? Praying for the arrival of the Messiah. Or just Lars Anderson.

--Orangeandblack6