Tag: devlin granberg

Red Sox outfield prospect Devlin Granberg leading off in debut for Triple-A Worcester

Devlin Granberg will bat leadoff and start in right field in his Triple-A debut for the Worcester Red Sox Friday night at Polar Park.

The Red Sox assigned Granberg to Worcester from Double-A Portland on Thursday. However, SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield noted that this might not necessarily be a promotion for the 26-year-old and instead a temporary move since the WooSox have a thin outfield with both Jarren Duran and Rob Refsnyder on Boston’s big-league roster.

Regardless of that, Granberg has had a fine season with the Sea Dogs to this point and one that is worthy of a promotion. In 40 games for Portland, the right-handed hitting outfielder slashed .304/.427/.467 with 11 doubles, four triples, one home run, 10 RBIs, 25 runs scored, four stolen bases, 20 walks, and 22 strikeouts over 164 plate appearances. He has not played since June 4 due to an unspecified injury that led to him being placed on the 7-day injured list.

Among qualified Eastern League hitters, Granberg ranks 23rd in walk rate (12.2%), first in strikeout rate (13.4%), fifth in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage, 20th in slugging percentage, ninth in OPS (.893), 17th in speed score (7.1), and seventh in wRC+ (154), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Granberg has seen all his playing time this season come in the outfield. The 6-foot-2, 225 pounder has logged 35 innings in left field and 268 1/3 innings in center field. He also has prior experience at first base and unsurprisingly in right field.

The Red Sox originally selected Granberg in the sixth round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Dallas Baptist University. The Colorado native signed with the club for only $40,000 and is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the 56th-ranked prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Granberg, who turns 27 in September, can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft later this winter if he is not added to the Sox’ 40-man roster by the November deadline. An extended look at Triple-A could help with determining his future value moving forward.

(Picture of Devlin Granberg: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox outfield prospect Devlin Granberg batting .367 to begin season with Double-A Portland

In Double-A Portland’s doubleheader sweep of the Reading Fightin Phils at Hadlock Field on Thursday night, Red Sox outfield prospect Devlin Granberg went 3-for-5 with one triple, one RBI, one run scored, one walk, and one strikeout while batting third and starting in center field for both contests.

After beginning the season on the injured list, Granberg made his 2022 debut on April 16. Since then, the right-handed hitter has batted a stout .367/.475/.531 to go along with four doubles, two triples, three RBIs, eight runs scored, three stolen bases, eight walks, and five strikeouts over 14 games (59 plate appearances) with the Sea Dogs.

Among Eastern League hitters who have made at least 50 trips to the plate this year, Granberg ranks tied for first in strikeout rate (8.5%), first in batting average, first in on-base percentage, 12th in slugging percentage, sixth in OPS (1.005), 18th in speed score (7.6), and sixth in wRC+ (185), per FanGraphs.

If there were any reason to be concerned about Granberg’s offensive production thus far, it would have to do with the fact that he is pulling more than 54% of the balls he is putting into play while also hitting groundballs at a 51.2% clip.

Defensively, the 6-foot-2, 224 pounder who once came up as a first baseman/corner outfielder has seen all of his playing time this season come in center field. Coming into play on Friday, he has logged 120 innings at the position and has yet to commit an error there.

Granberg, 26, was originally selected by the Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Dallas Baptist University. As a college senior, the Colorado native signed with the club for just $40,000 and made his professional debut for the Lowell Spinners that summer.

Nearly four years to the day after making his pro debut, Granberg earned a promotion from High-A Greenville to Portland last June. Since that time, he has slashed .299/.356/.479 with a 129 wRC+ in 83 games (340 plate appearances) for the Sea Dogs while playing first base and all three outfield positions.

Granberg, who turns 27 in September, is not regarded by any major publication as one of the top prospects in Boston’s farm system, which is understandable given his age. That said, he has drawn some attention on account of his unique approach at the plate and could be working his way towards a promotion to Triple-A Worcester at some point this summer. Only time will tell.

(Picture of Devlin Granberg: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Don’t forget about Red Sox prospect Devlin Granberg

Even with the ongoing lockout delaying the start of the 2022 Major League Baseball Season, the 2022 minor-league season remains unaffected. And while prospects on the 40-man roster are still impacted by the work stoppage, all other Red Sox minor-leaguers begin their version of spring training this Sunday.

Out of the dozens of players who have been and who will be pouring into the Fort Myers-area in the coming days, one name to watch for is first baseman/outfielder Devlin Granberg.

Granberg, 26, is admittedly older for your prototypical prospect. The Sox originally drafted the Dallas Baptist University senior in the sixth round of the 2018 amateur draft and later signed him for just $40,000.

After beginning his professional career with the Lowell Spinners and splitting the 2019 campaign between Boston’s two Class-A affilates, Granberg was met with somewhat of a roadblock when the 2020 minor-league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He did not receive an invite to the Red Sox’ alternate training site that summer, nor did he participate in the team’s fall instructional league. Still, according to director of player development Brian Abraham, Granberg was one of several players who came into camp last year and “immediately impressed with the strides they’d made during a year away.”

On the heels of such an impressive spring, Granberg opened the 2021 minor-league season with High-A Greenville. The right-handed hitter got off to a scorching start for the Drive, batting .326/.416/.642 (174 wRC+) with seven doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 29 RBIs, 21 runs scored, one stolen base, 12 walks, and 16 strikeouts over 27 games (113 plate appearances) before earning a promotion to Double-A Portland on June 16.

Upon arriving in Portland, Granberg picked up right where he left off in terms of offensive production. He cooled down for a bit in August, but rebounded in September to end his year by slashing .286/.331/.469 (117 wRC+) with 16 doubles, one triple, 10 homers, 45 RBIs, 48 runs scored, four stolen bases, 11 walks, and 54 strikeouts across 69 games (281 plate appearances) with the Sea Dogs.

In a conversation with FanGraphs’ David Laurila last July, Granberg described himself as “immobile” and his short, compact swing as “one of the more interesting swings out there” since it is unconventional.

“I would say it’s pretty rotational, yet not totally rotational,” he said. “It’s kind of like those combo swings — not too crouched, maybe a little bit open, and then I stride into it. I’m trying to hit the ball middle/opposite field most of the time.”

Defensively, Granberg saw playing time at four different positions between Greenville and Portland in 2021. The 6-foot-2, 224 pounder logged 138 innings at first base, 194 innings in left field, nine innings in center field, and 303 1/3 innings in right field while recording a total of two outfield assists.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Granberg “has more defensive upside at first base” than he does in the outfield since he possesses fringe-average arm strength and average range.

Granberg, who does not turn 27 until September, is not regarded by SoxProspects.com as one of the top prospects in Boston’s farm system. The Colorado native is currently projected by the site to begin the 2022 season where he left off in 2021: Portland.

That being said, Granberg is still eligible for the Rule 5 Draft since he was left off the Red Sox’ 40-man roster in November. On Friday, Baseball America’s Josh Norris reported that the Rule 5 Draft “is expected to take place a week after a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place,” though it could end up getting cancelled if the lockout continues to drag on.

(Picture of Devlin Granberg: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox prospect Devlin Granberg lighting it up at the plate since promotion to Double-A Portland

Chris Sale understandably stole the headlines in Portland on Sunday afternoon, but it was Devlin Granberg who ultimately played the hero for the Sea Dogs in their 6-5 walk-off victory over the Harrisburg Senators at Hadlock Field.

As part of a 3-for-5 day at the plate, Granberg reached base on a fielding error in the third inning and ultimately came into score on a two-run home run off the bat of Tyreque Reed, laced an RBI single in the fifth that at the time gave the Sea Dogs a 5-3 lead, and came through with the hit of the game in the bottom of the 10th.

There, with no outs and the automatic runner at second base to begin each extra inning in a 5-5 contest, Granberg wasted no time in sending that runner home.

Matched up against Senators reliever Jhon Romero, the right-handed hitter ripped the game-winning single to right-center field that drove in Pedro Castellanos and sealed a 6-5 win for the Sea Dogs to mark their third straight walk-off victory.

In racking up three more hits on Sunday, Granberg bumped his batting line on the season with Portland up to an impressive .345/.363/.564.

Granberg, 25, was originally selected by the Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2018 amateur draft as a senior out of Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas.

The 6-foot-2, 225 pound first baseman/outfielder opened the 2021 minor-league season with High-A Greenville and tore the cover off the ball, slashing .326/.416/.642 (178 wRC+) to go along with seven doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 21 runs scored, 29 RBI, one stolen base, 12 walks, and 16 strikeouts over 27 games (113 plate appearances) for the Drive before earning a promotion to Double-A Portland on June 16.

Sunday marked Granberg’s 28th game with the Sea Dogs, and the level of production the soon-to-be 26-year-old put up while in Greenville has hardly dropped off at all since he moved up the minor-league ladder.

As previously mentioned, the Hudson, Colo. native is now hitting .345/.363/.564 with seven doubles, one triple, five homers, 21 runs scored, 22 RBI, three stolen bases, three walks, and 22 strikeouts as a member of the Sea Dogs. In the month of July alone, he has posted a slash line of .370/.395/.616 and has hit four of his five home runs within the last 25 days.

To put it simply, Granberg is enjoying a breakout season of sorts in his second full year of pro ball. He may not be regarded as one of the top 30 or so prospects in Boston’s farm system, but he has caught the attention of some within the industry, such as FanGraphs‘ David Laurila.

In a conversation with Laurila earlier this month, Granberg delved into several aspects of his approach at the plate, including his unique swing that SoxProspects.com describes as short and compact as well as very direct to the ball.

“I’ve got one of the more interesting swings out there,” Granberg said. “It’s not very conventional. I would say it’s pretty rotational, yet not totally rotational. It’s kind of like those combo swings — not too crouched, maybe a little bit open, and then I stride into it. I’m trying to hit the ball middle/opposite field most of the time.”

Granberg, who turns 26 in early September, can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career this winter if he is not added to the Red Sox’ 40-man roster by the November 20 deadline.

(Picture of Devlin Granberg: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)