Travis Shaw: Sleeper First Baseman in 2016

The Boston Red Sox have a young group of players to build around for the next couple of years. One of them, Travis Shaw, isn’t even in the starting lineup.

The Boston Red Sox have struggled over the past two seasons after winning 97 games and winning the World Series in 2013. They finished last in the American League East in 2014 and 2015. However, the offense isn’t the issue. The bats are what giving this team its wins. They finished in the top five in runs, hits, RBI and batting average. While the team relied on some veteran presence, one rookie is going to make a big impact for years to come, and his name is Travis Shaw. 

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Shaw was one of three rookies for the Red Sox this season, catcher Blake Swihart and outfielder Rusney Castillo being the other two. It’s been a bit of a rebuilding period for Boston by calling up some rookies and signing big-time veteran players. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for them this season.

However, there were some bright spots for the team, and Shaw was one of them. With David Ortiz positioned strictly as the DH and trading away Mike Napoli, management needs to find a new first baseman. Shaw played in 65 games this season, 55 of them at first base. He had a .993 fielding percentage in those games.

Travis Shaw wasn’t bad at the plate either. He had 61 hits, 13 home runs, 36 RBI and a .270/.327/.487 line this season. His 13 home runs were tied for fourth with Napoli. However, the Red Sox don’t see Shaw as an everyday player.

According to their depth chart on MLB.com, the team made some movements. With the breakout season Xander Bogaerts had and the struggles Hanley Ramirez went through at shortstop at 2015, Bogaerts is the starting shortstop. The Red Sox paid Ramirez a lot of money to bring him in, so there is no way he is going to be a bench player. So, they moved him over to first base. Throughout his career, Ramirez has not played a single game at first base.

While Travis Shaw hasn’t proven himself throughout a full season, he has the talent to be a staple for this team. I wrote about Shaw being a deep waiver wire add in late August. It may not seem like a lot, but he was owned in about 30 percent of ESPN leagues at the end of last season.

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The first base position is one of the deepest in the league, so you can wait before drafting one. However, with the Red Sox likely to go with Ramirez at first base, Travis Shaw becomes a draftable player in all leagues. He should get some playing time, and the chance to start is pretty high.

Projections: 78 hits, 14 home runs, 41 RBI, .268 batting average

Draft: Round 22