10 replies to this topic

[The Gray Eagle]

Well what do we have here?

The son of former big league pitcher Jeff Shaw, Travis Shaw was drafted out of Kent State in the 9th round by the Sox in 2011. (And they also took him in the 32nd round in 2008 but he didn't sign.)

He's a big 6'4" LHH first baseman, born 4/16/1990, so he's in his age 22 season.

In 57 games with Lowell at age 21 in 2011, he hit 262/371/446. (He also got 9 plate appearances with Greenville, and had 3 hits.)

So far in High A ball in 2012, he's at .312/.406/.546, with 12 HRs and 63 RBIs in 81 games.

He's got a nice 45 BB/63 K ratio. He's 8 for 9 in stolen bases, despite being a 6'4" first baseman.

And the best part IMO is his line against lefties: .357/.415/.679 in 84 at-bats this year. Pretty great for a young LHH power hitter.

I haven't seen much hype about this guy, but he seems pretty promising.

Here's his scouting report from Sox Prospects:
Scouting Report: Left-handed corner infielder, with filled out frame. Not overly athletic. Displays strong plate discipline and advanced approach. Sweet spot for pitches down and in due to upward swing path. Average batspeed. Needs improvement covering outer third. Can be long with his swing, but stays back to hit inside of the ball. Gap-to-gap hitter. Solid-average power potential. Strong pull power into right-centerfield gap. Plays both third and first base defensively. Not enough range and quickness to play third. Learning how to play first base. Shows skills to handle position, but feet are on the slow side. Hands are not overly soft. Son of former major league pitcher Jeff Shaw. Previously drafted in the 32nd round in 2008 by the Red Sox, but elected to attend Kent State instead. Excellent work ethic and makeup. Student of the game. Batspeed will be tested in upper levels. Ceiling of an average regular on a second division team.

Some nice Advanced numbers too:
http://www.fangraphs...=1B/3B#advanced

.426 wOBA and a .234 ISO.

I love that he's wrecking lefties and even stealing bases. Might he be boosted up to Portland this year?

[smastroyin]

He should be promoted until he can't hit. He's too old already to really worry about screwing him up by advancing him too quickly. If he has a long loopy swing (and it sounds like he does), then he needs to find the wall, hit it, and see if he can climb it as fast as possible. I doubt however that he gets more AB in a Red Sox uniform than say Lars.

[Joshv02]

He's started at 3B three or so times in the last two weeks (now about a month since this story). He virtually skipped low A after playing a handful of games after short-season ended in 2011, so there is not really a rush to move him up - especially if he is working with certain coaches on learning how to play 3B effectively. Being a 23 at AA and 24 at AAA is no sin.

[The Gray Eagle]

Shaw promoted to Portland.


Interesting story on how his dad gets a little frustrated because he walks so much.


He's at .305/.411/.545 on the season, so it's a well-earned promotion. Still has an OPS over 1.000 against lefties, and now at 16 HRs and 73 RBIs on the year.

Statisctics.

He'll probably be playing mostly first base at Portland, but I hope he keeps playing some third too.

Edited by The Gray Eagle, 06 August 2012 - 12:57 PM.

[OCD SS]

Alex Speir interviewed both Travis and his Dad about Travis's approach and career on his Minor Details podcast (part of the WEEI podcast family).

[The Gray Eagle]

Shaw's slumping for the last week or so-- 2 for his last 26. His numbers for Portland aren't very good now. Hopefully he'll adjust and get back to raking, like he was when he first came up.

[The Gray Eagle]

Shaw bounced back with a decent OBP for the rest of the season, but his slump hurts his overall Portland numbers. He hit .227/353/427 overall in 110 ABs in AA, which isn't too bad really.

He turns 23 in April. He'll probably start the season in AA again. His combined numbers at both levels are good: 287/397/517, but obviously most of the mashing was done in A ball.

[Plympton91]

Starting the year in AA as a 23-year-old for the entire season, as you said last spring, is actually not a bad progression at all. Given his ability to draw a walk, his power, and the chance that the Red Sox will need first-base depth this season, I wonder if Shaw shouldn't be considered one of the more underrated prospects in the system right now. With the rumors of the Red Sox looking at Mike Carp, a strong spring training might propel Shaw to the doorstep of the major leagues.

A fluff NESN video from November

http://nesn.com/2012...-baseman-video/

Edited by Plympton91, 18 January 2013 - 11:00 PM.

[The Gray Eagle]

After 10 games, Shaw is hitting .297, with 6 doubles and 9 walks. He's got a .435 OBP and is slugging .459.

 

His 23rd birthday was yesterday.

[The Gray Eagle]

Shaw played third base last night.

 

From the minor league roundup 5/7 post: "Reading wasted no time in testing Shaw at third base; Albert Cartwright bunted the game's first pitch but Shaw charged, gloved the
ball and made a strong throw to first. "It felt good to get the first one out of the way," said Shaw, who played third base at Kent State but only once at the position for the Sea Dogs last season."

 

I like that he is playing third, hopefully he will play more there and show that he can field the position competently. If he could cover both corner spots, that makes him a more valuable player and could help him get to the big leagues faster.

 

He also hit his first HR of the season last night. On the year, he's at .250/.406/.360 in 100 at-bats. Sweet OBP, but really low slugging, so it's good to see the HR finally come. He'd gone 2 for his last 21 before last night, but now has hits in 3 straight games, so hopefully the slump is over.

[The Gray Eagle]

Shaw is really struggling, going 3 for his last 34, dropping his season line all the way down to .219/.355/.343. He's 0 for his last 10 with 5 whiffs in that stretch. Yikes. He's still walking a lot on the season but lately he hasn't been, as he has fanned 12 times since his last walk.