Wilyer Abreu a ‘fire hydrant’ jumps to No.6 prospect in the Red Sox system according to Baseball America
Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu made his major league debut this season and immediately impressed people in the organization.
The 24-year-old enjoyed a strong first season for the WooSox. Abreu is batting .274 with 11 doubles, one triple, 22 homers, 65 RBIs, and a .929 OPS in 86 games. Abreu has posted an impressive 16.3% walk percentage, walking 59 times this season.
Those numbers thrust the rookie into the Red Sox lineup and he will battle for a roster spot in 2024.
“Abreu should compete for a big league roster spot out of the gate in 2024. If he can remain healthy, he has a solid baseline as at least the strong side of a platoon and possibly an everyday player,” wrote Baseball America.
The Venezuelan native offers a compact swing and an above average eye for the strike zone. His judgement for understanding the strike zone yielded him 59 walks (16.3%) in 299 Triple-A at-bats.
Last season, Abreu drew 124 walks in 2022 between his two minor league clubs for the Astros and Red Sox. Earlier in the 2023 season, WooSox skipper Chad Tracy said to Beyond the Monster this season that Abreu would likely benefit the most from the ABS system.
“He is one that I think will benefit greatly from the ABS,” said Tracy. “He has the ability to take pitches that are just off the plate that might get called with a human umpire calling balls and strikes. I think it gives himself the chance to use the eye he has and put himself in positive counts time and time again.”
Abreu swings at strikes and lays off balls, which is evident by his ability to get on base. He was one of only five minor league players to finish the 2022 season with 100 or more walks. If Abreu continues to be selective at the plate at the major league level, he will work his way into the lineup on a daily basis.
“Abreu is a fire hydrant, featuring a compact swing with barrel life on middle-in pitches, particularly those in the upper half of the zone,” wrote Baseball America.
“He struggled with his mechanics—particularly the balance in his weight transfer—early in 2023. Once he got healthy and locked in his timing, Abreu made consistently hard contact at Triple-A and in MLB, including a 49% hard-hit rate that ranked second among Red Sox big leaguers who batted least 50 times. He tended to whiff on pitches in the zone but rarely chased. In deference to a minor league platoon split, he faced few big league lefties. Abreu spent most of his big league time in center field and left field but may be best suited for right—despite below-average speed—thanks to good jumps and high-end arm strength,” added Baseball America.
Abreu’s strong arm, primarily playing in left field for the WooSox before being called up to the Red Sox. Tracy describe Abreu’s arm and accuracy from the outfield as “strong accurate arm that stays low to the ground and seems to always perfectly one hop to the base.”
The left-handed hitting Abreu will focus on getting healthy this winter and getting into a spot where he will get stronger to last a full MLB season.
“I think I need to work on my body (this offseason) to keep it healthy and to put me in a good position to succeed next year and be healthy next year,” Abreu said to MassLive. “I think that’s something that’s very important to me — to be able to be healthy the whole year.”
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
