Mookie Betts to be promoted to Pawtucket

SoxProspects.com Executive Editor Chris Hatfield has learned that top Red Sox prospect Mookie Betts will be promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket imminently, perhaps as soon as Tuesday's game in Durham. The move will cap what has been an impressive run at Double-A for the second-baseman-slash-center-fielder.

Update (1:55 PM): Hatfield reports that the Portland Sea Dogs have confirmed that Betts will be promoted today. Kevin Thomas was the first to report this.

Betts, 21, has more than earned the promotion, hitting .355/.443/.551 across 253 plate appearances spanning 54 Double-A contests. He recently started seeing game action in center field, shortly after his streak of reaching base in 71 consecutive game came to an end. Betts currently leads the Eastern League in batting average, runs scored, and hits while landing in the top five in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, walks, and total bases. His 22 stolen bases currently rank second in the Eastern League as well.

Betts spent all of 2012 with Short-Season A Lowell, but has since seen time at two levels in each subsequent year. He split time between Low A Greenville and High A Salem in 2013, hitting .296/.418/.477 in 76 games during his time with the Drive. After his promotion to Salem, Betts continued his torrid pace, hitting .314/.414/.551 for the High A ballclub. Across four minor league seasons, Betts has hit .311/.406/.463.

He entered the 2014 season as the 10th ranked prospect in the system according to SoxProspects.com, but has risen rapidly this season. A fifth-round draft pick in 2011 from John Overton HS (TN), he is currently ranked as the system's top prospect.

Photo credit: Mookie Betts by Kelly O'Connor

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