This Boston Red Sox Prospect is Giving Depth at a Much Needed Position

After being a fifth round draft pick in 2021, Nathan Hickey is showing the upside the Red Sox knew he had in him.

As the 2022 baseball season comes to a close, Red Sox fans can finally take a sigh of relief. Sitting in last place, there hasn’t been much to cheer about this year for the big league club. Most of the bright spots have come from down in the system, where a few prospects have seen their stocks rise quite a bit. One of those prospects is at a position where the Red Sox have lost a couple of key players on the MLB level.

No other position has suffered the amount of turnover on the Red Sox this year than at catcher. Christian Vazquez and Kevin Plawecki were the two catchers to start the year with the Red Sox, and both are gone before the season has even ended. That has left the team to fill the two spots via trade and a call up. Now that Connor Wong has essentially earned a look in the majors splitting time with newly acquired Reese Mcguire, the catching prospect group has taken a hit. Ronaldo Hernandez, the other bright spot in AAA who has been raking this year, has no options remaining as well, thus draining the farm group even more.

That is where Nathan Hickey comes in on the prospect rankings. Currently sitting at #20 according to SoxProspects, Hickey has seen a pleasant rise this year while raking his way in Salem and Greenville. The 22 year old catcher put himself in a prime spot to start the 2023 season in AA Portland after showing he can hit all throughout the A ball level.

Hunter Noll @Hunter_Noll

Nathan Hickey has ruined some kid in the stands night. The Boston Red Sox catching prospect with his second homer of the night. His eighth in High-A and 15th total on the year. Hickey is 4-for-5 with two homers tonight. He hit one to right and one to left.

Hunter Noll @Hunter_Noll

Nathan Hickey went 4-for-5 with two home runs last night. He’s 2-for-3 with another homer tonight. The Boston Red Sox catching prospect has nine bombs in High-A and 16 total this season!

With the promotions of Wong and likely Hernandez soon, the Red Sox find themselves in a bit of an internal hole with catchers. Hickey has the chance of being the next guy up if he can continue his current pace at AA Portland to start the 2023 season. The next catcher behind Hickey is Brooks Brannon, who is only 18 years old after being a ninth round pick this year. After Brannon, there is isn’t a single catcher listed other than Hernandez.

With Christian Vazquez gone as of now, the Red Sox will be looking for their guy to take the dish for the next decade just like Vazquez had done. Nathan Hickey will be a suitable option once he is ready.

Photo via Kelly O’Connor