5/7 MiL Gameday Thread: MiLB's rare triple double

James, you're one of the posters here that I look forward to read their opinions because I learn something most of the time but let's be fair here: when did I ever said he's a non-prospect?
Let's put it this way, when I raised my concerns about his k rate, he was sporting a 23-24% rate with a .130 IsoP, that's a red flag for me for someone that the organization invested considerable ressources in and who might end up in the OF. If he was, say putting Cecchini's k%/IsoP in A+, I wouldn't be "bitching" about this. Now if he keeps hitting bombs and striking out at 22-23% clip, I'll be cool with that too.
Anyway, the guy has so much talent that I hold him at some very high(impossible?) standards.
Maybe I went over the top by mentionning those Ks multiple times and rubbed people here the wrong way and if so, I apologize for that.
And hey! We're all Sox fanatics here, it's not like we're rooting against our spects here William Cuevas aside of course.

You did, but it's all good. Happens to us all every so often, sometimes without realizing it.

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Anyhow, today marked the one month mark in the season. My takeaways thus far:
-The Red Sox have never had a second-best prospect as good as whoever you think is their second best prospect right now. Debating Moncada vs. Benintendi kind of misses the bigger picture of holy cow we get to follow both Moncada and Benintendi on a daily basis this is amazing.
-Backwards-seeming year for the 2015 graduates. Rodriguez hasn't debuted in the majors yet, Swihart played poorly and is now kind of in a strange place position-wise, Owens major league time was pretty much worst case scenario given the strengths and weaknesses he'd shown in the minors, Barnes has been very inconsistent (though better recently). On the other hand, the prospects who graduated in 2015 who were never in the Top 5, Shaw, Wright, and Hembree, have all been quite good. The two former being truly key pieces in the team's success.
-The strong play out of the tier of prospects in Greenville has probably been the most encouraging thing in the system. We all were pretty sure that Benintendi and Moncada were studs, but the steps forward from Chavis, Washington, Ockimey, and Luis Alejandro give the system a feeling of depth that wasn't there before the year. I thought entering the season that the team was weaker than usually in the 15-40 range, and I don't necessarily feel that way now. I know it's a small sample, so I haven't necessarily changed my opinion much on any individual players, the volume of positive feedback at that level makes me feel a lot better that there are a couple guys who are for real.
-This was brewing last year, but Roniel Raudes is my new player to be irrationally excited about. I am going to talk about his obedient curveball more than is appropriate.

Furthermore, the SA is miscalculated. He's .381 / .500 / .952 in this stretch.

And I don't believe that high K rates when accompanied by high BB rates and high Iso are a negative indicator. After all, team SO rate is positively correlated to RS, because at the MLB level it tends to be correlated with both of those.

Moncada does rank about 144th out of 244 high-A qualified hitters for good K rate.  But he ranks 8th in BB rate and about 27th in Iso (and 14th in BABIP).

This isn't all that rare. Coming into today there were 18 players in high-A with wRC+ of 170 or better. Moncada actually had the 8th best K rate, along with the 2nd best BB rate, for the fourth best K-W. His control of the strike zone is actually a significant strength, not a weakness, relative to other elite high-A hitters.

Jeez, he's like a single or so away from a .400/.500/1.000 and that doesn't even include the runs production stuff which was also pretty much off the charts.

He has plenty of power and walks to more than make up for the strikeouts.  I mean I guess there is proof that he's not going to be like a combination of Barry Bonds and Wade Boggs, but that's the only concern right now.

Well, that and his defense ... he's fine offensively, but he really needs to work on his defense.

I'm curious what people think the odds are that Moncada is an infielder when he reaches the majors? I'm thinking something like 20%.

And with his speed, I think he settles in as a plus outfielder able to play all three outfield positions.

As for his offense, I'm not concerned at all with the strikeouts because there has been so much chatter about him working on his approach, taking more pitches, and working the count. His walks have improved tremendously and now hes showing the very obvious plus power he has. All while keeping his Ks at a reasonable level.

I don't know about center field with JBJ and Mookie on board, both of whom have proven they can play a plus center field. I really like Moncada's profile as a right fielder. He has the tangibles to play there with his athleticism, speed, and arm strength. We don't know about his instincts at the position, of course, which is crucial for any outfield spot. But if he winds up in the outfield, I think it will be in right field based on his skill set as well as the current roster construction in Boston.

I think he'll stay. He's got the tools to be an infielder, he just needs to get more consistent and precise. Extreme small sample, of course, but in the one game I saw he looked fine on catching ground balls, seemed quick and smooth, but needed a little bit better concentration. He was a horror show receiving throws at second and an adventure in coordinating with other fielders on pop ups and cut-off plays. All fixable stuff, just needed some more concentration and a little practice around the bag.

But I dunno, maybe I'm talking myself into third base ... he'd be great coming in on bunts there; he's explosively quick. Whatever, they have time to figure that out, but I think he can stay on the dirt. I'd put it at 60-70%.

I dunno, instincts are often indistinguishable from experience when it comes to stuff like this, at least to me ... I'm pretty confident that he'd get better at all of these things. And he's fast, sure, but he's also really, *really* quick. His short-area burst is the most impressive physical attribute I saw. He'd rock the shuttle drill at the NFL combine. I mean, there's still a 30-40% chance in my prediction that he'll end up in the OF; he has some developing to do, for sure. But there's no intrinsic reason he won't get there, imo.

Although I do agree with you that he has the athletic traits of a great outfielder, so it's not the end of the world if he doesn't.

Welcome to the forum Virginia neighbor.