2018 MLB Draft: The Red Sox select Triston Casas with the 26th pick

With the 26th pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, the Boston Red Sox selected prep 1B Triston Casas out of American Heritage School in Florida. In recent mock drafts, Casas was unmocked by Keith Law of ESPN and went 16th by Baseball America.

In Casas, you have arguably the player with the best raw power in the class although he is almost certainly limited to first base. He currently plays third base and it is possible that with his strong arm, he could convince someone on a good day that he could stick at third. However, most think that he will be a first baseman as a pro and he has the raw power to stick there. He has a good approach, but there is some swing and miss just because there almost always is with young power hitters. Batting from the left side certainly helps his case as lefty power is very often in demand in the pros.

There is no doubting Casas’ raw power, but how often that power plays in games is the biggest question as well as his overall value given his defensive limitations. There is very real upside with his bat, but the bat REALLY has to play if he is a first baseman. As you can see from his mock draft projections, some believe in that potential more than others. However, when he is hot, there are few hitters in this draft class that are as impressive as Triston.