Is Jose Iglesias ready?
There is no question that Iglesias is ready to start defenisively. Every scouting service and grading scale has him as high as possible. The MLB scouting index which grades on an scale with 80 being the maximum (you can't make this shit up) has Jose ranked a full 80 on the defensive side. In comparison Vlad Guerrero's arm in his prime was rated an 80. Yeah, that's how good Iglesias is.
Hitting? Let's see what the scouting report has to say:
Plus bat speed accented by quick wrists. Low maintenance, compact swing. Little lower body in swing mechanics. Pulls ball hard, but struggles driving the ball the other way. Minimal power projection. Can evolve into a plus hitter and show doubles power as he matures. Small frame with not much more room to pack on muscle. Extremely impatient approach. Making strides and improving with understanding of his strike zone, but inexperienced professionally and very age advanced. Above-average speed. Projects as #9 hitter in first division team's lineup, with ceiling of #2 hitter as he approaches his late-20s. Due to advanced defensive skills will most likely learn to hit at the major league level and slowly ramp into becoming more proficient at the plate over the course of big league career.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement but I'll take it! We don't need an elite hitter at the shortstop position. Where most teams sacrifice at second - we have Dustin Pedroia who offensively is a top 5 shortstop. At the corners? Absolute studs (when healthy) in Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis. Both of the World Series the Sox won in the 2000's were won with below average offensive shortstops in Orlando Cabrera and Julio Lugo. With a 180 million dollar payroll there should be enough fire power in the rest of the order to deal with someone learning how to hit consistently at the big league level.
Although it may appear that Iglesias is not as far off as initially expected. Even though he has only had limited at bats this spring he has gone 3-10 with 3 rbi's. But the real progress has been mostly in the cage with hitting coach Dave Magadan. With Iglesias, the problem doesn't seem to necessarily lay with his mechanics as much his overall approach at the plate. Valentine, however, seems impressed by the progress that Iglesias has made.
“What I heard (before spring training) wasn’t good, and what I saw wasn’t good, and what I was hoping for him to do was make necessary adjustments, and I think he’s made them,” Valentine said. “His cage session today, if he can take that cage into a game, I think that he’s an offensive player. His approach is now balanced. It’s correct mechanically. The only thing it’s lacking now is proper timing. Once he really gets accustomed to his swing and figures out when to start it, I think he has a chance at being an offensive player.”
I think the kid deserves a shot.
With Punto as a solid back up and Pedroia to teach him the ropes a little bit, which reportedly he's already been doing, there's no reason Iglesias can't be functional at the plate and provide the Sox with lock down defense which they've so lacked on the left side in the past few years.
Not that Youkilis is a terrible 3rd basemen but he is a much, much better first basemen and while Marco Scutaro was adequate defensively I don't think he was going to wow anyone with his range or arm.
It's time the Sox showed that they have confidence in the guy who has been slated to be the starting shortstop of the future for a while now.
