The Red Sox are promoting outfield prospect Matthew Lugo from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester, as was first reported by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Lugo, 23, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 50 prospect in Boston’s farm system after beginning the year unranked. The right-handed hitter batted a stout .315/.405/.664 with 10 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs, 35 RBIs, 27 runs scored, nine stolen bases, 20 walks, and 36 strikeouts in 43 games (171 plate appearances) for Portland this season.
Among 88 qualified hitters in the Eastern League, Lugo leads the way in total bases (97), batting average, slugging percentage, OPS (1.069), and isolated power (.349). He also ranks fifth in on-base percentage, 31st in walk rate (11.7 percent), and 28th in strikeout rate (21.1 percent), per MiLB.com’s leaderboards.
Defensively, Lugo has seen the majority of his playing time this season come in left field, where he has committed two errors and has recorded two outfield assists over 318 innings. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder has also made one start in center field and has prior experience at every infield position besides first base.
A former 2019 second-round draft selection out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico, Lugo was trending in the wrong direction coming into the 2024 campaign. He was ranked by Baseball America as the Red Sox’ No. 18 prospect around this time last year after receiving a non-roster invite to major-league spring training. But he struggled to a .242/.297/.381 slash line over 83 games (318 plate appearances) with Portland in 2023 and saw his stock plummet as a result.
As noted by Speier, though, Lugo worked diligently this past offseason to improve his approach at the plate. Those efforts have seemingly paid off thus far, as Lugo has nearly doubled his walk rate from last year while lowering his strikeout rate by almost six percent. With that, it will be fascinating to see how Lugo fares against more advanced pitching in Triple-A.
Lugo, who just turned 23 last month, is likely to see time in both the infield and outfield with Worcester, according to Speier. He can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter, so this promotion should serve as a new challenge of sorts while the Red Sox determine what kind of role he will play in the organization moving forward.
(Picture of Matthew Lugo: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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