Like many fans, I spent the majority of the summer clamoring for the Red Sox to call up Connor Wong. The old saying is that the grass is always greener on the other side, but when the grass you have is Kevin Plawecki and his .220/.286/.286 slashline, the other side looks pretty damn appealing. As Plawecki struggled to hit the ball to the outfield, Wong was having his best season yet at Triple-A Pawtucket, slashing .288/.349/.489 with fifteen home runs.
Our calls were finally answered in early September, when Wong was recalled from the minors and Plawecki was DFA’d to open up everyday at-bats. The results, however, did not come close to matching the hype. Wong was only able to put up a .175/.283/.325 slashline with a single home run in 22 games. His swing-and-miss problems that were manageable in the minors spiked to a 28% strikeout rate in the majors, and he ended the season in a 2-for-21 rut.
Obviously, it’s unfair to judge anyone based on a month of action, but at a certain point, you have to ask yourself where the upside is. At 26, Wong is no longer just some prospect you can dream on but rather a player who is closing in on being a finished product. Wong’s biggest calling card is his unique athleticism for a catcher, which allowed him to steal 26 bases in 2018, and according to Soxprospects, he grades well in terms of framing and rapport with pitchers.
That alone should be enough to keep Wong on big-league rosters for the foreseeable future, but it’s his bat that will determine whether he can be a true contributor or a run-of-the-mill backup. Over the last two seasons, Wong has a career .276/.327/.471 slashline at Triple-A ,which is pretty underwhelming for a guy in his mid 20s. He doesn’t walk often, have a great hit toot, exceed against left-handed pitchers, or project to have anything more than league average power. In other words, he looks a lot like a backup catcher.
Keep in mind, a backup catcher looks like a median projection for Wong. It’s entirely possible that Wong just isn’t able to hit big-league pitching, and his solid defense isn’t enough for a team that needs offense. The signing of Jorge Alfaro to a minor league deal puts the pressure on Wong, and I project that by midseason Alfaro, whose .773 career OPS suggests he can perform a strong platoon with Reese Mcguire, takes over the reins from Wong.
Stat Predictions: .226/.284/.363 73 games 5 HR 27 RBI 0.1 WAR
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