Red Sox infield prospect Yoeilin Cespedes has been named the Florida Complex League Player of the Week for the week of June 3-9, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.
Cespedes, 18, appeared in four games for the FCL Red Sox last week. The right-handed hitter went 7-for-16 (.438) with two doubles, two home runs, six RBIs, six runs scored, three stolen bases, one walk, and one strikeout. He homered in back-to-back games (June 4 and 7) and is now riding a seven-game hitting streak as well as a 10-game on-base streak.
On the 2024 season — his first in the United States — as a whole, Cespedes is batting a stout .315/.393/.616 with eight doubles, one triple, four homers, 22 RBIs, 16 runs scored, three stolen bases, nine walks, and 13 strikeouts over 20 games (84 plate appearances) for Boston’s rookie-level affiliate.
Among 81 qualified hitters in the Florida Complex League coming into play on Monday, Cespedes ranked 12th in strikeout rate (15.5 percent), 14th in batting average, 29th in on-base percentage, second in slugging percentage, fifth in OPS (1.009), third in isolated power (.301), and 10th in wRC+ (157), per FanGraphs.
On the other side of the ball, Cespedes has effectively seen his playing time split between second base and shortstop so far this year. The 5-foot-10, 181-pounder has made five starts at the former and seven at the latter, committing three errors (all at short) and turning three double plays. He has also started eight games at DH, though five of those starts came in the early stages of the FCL season since he was still working his way back from a quadriceps strain.
Cespedes, who does not turn 19 until September, is currently regarded by both Baseball America and SoxProspects.com as the No. 6 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The Dominican Republic native originally signed with the Red Sox for $1.4 million as a highly-touted international free agent coming out of Azua in January 2023.
As part of his professional debut last season, Cespedes was named a Dominican Summer League All-Star and the Red Sox’ Minor League Latin Program Position Player of the Year. He is not yet viewed as a top-100 prospect in the sport but may not be too far off from garnering that kind of consideration.
Unlike past years, the 2024 Florida Complex League season will end in late July as part of a new scheduling quirk. Even if it looks like he is ready for a new challenge, the Red Sox will be sure to exhibit patience when it comes to Cespedes’ development. Still, it will be interesting to see if he makes the jump to Low-A Salem — and therefore gets his first taste of full-season ball — before or after the FCL Red Sox play their final game of the summer.
(Picture of Yoeilin Cespedes: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
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