Injured Red Sox prospect Triston Casas started his hitting and fielding progression in Fort Myers on Monday and is ‘moving along well,’ according to the Boston Herald’s Steve Hewitt.
Casas sprained his right ankle on the basepaths at Polar Park on May 17 and has not appeared in a game since then. The 22-year-old first baseman was placed on Triple-A Worcester’s injured list on May 22 and has been rehabbing in Fort Myers since early June.
Initially, the Red Sox did not anticipate that Casas would be sidelined for too long. Due to the nature of his injury, however, the left-handed hitter could not swing a bat pain-free on account of the amount of stress he places on his landing foot.
It was only just recently that Casas was able to start swinging a bat again, Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham tells The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith adds that the 6-foot-5, 250-pound slugger has begun hitting off a Tee.
Originally selected by the Red Sox with the 26th overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft out of American Heritage High School (Plantation, Fla.), Casas is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 18 prospect in all of baseball.
In 36 games with the WooSox this season, Casas has batted .248/.359/.457 (115 wRC+) with nine doubles, six home runs, 22 RBIs, 22 runs scored, 23 walks, and 35 strikeouts across 156 trips to the plate.
As of this moment, there is no definitive timetable for when Casas could return to Worcester’s lineup. That said, the Pembroke Pines native will likely need to complete a brief rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League before he is cleared to suit up for the WooSox again.
(Picture of Triston Casas: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)