A lot of top prospects have come through McCoy Stadium in the 2010-19 decade. Coming up with a full roster of top players is fairly difficult due to all the roster moves.
So for this exercise the minimum number of at-bats for hitters in Pawtucket is 300 and for pitchers it it is 100 IP. This would exclude players like Mookie Betts, Eduardo Rodriguez, Rafael Devers, Andrew Benintendi, and Michael Chavis.
Below is my top pick and honorable mentions by position followed by an all-decade 25-man roster.
First Base: Sam Travis
Travis has appeared in 294 games for Pawtucket since 2016 and owns a .267 batting average while belting 27 RBIS and driving in 129 RBIs in 1,074 at-bats.
Overall it has been a rocky road for Travis who was asked to go from first base to the outfield to provide additional versatility to the organization.
Honorable mentions: Lars Anderson, Chris Marrero, Allen Craig
Second Base: Marco Hernandez
Hernandez has had such a difficult road to recovery after going down with an injury in the 2017 season with Boston. Since 2015 he has appeared in 138 games with Pawtucket getting 541 at-bats and posting a .290 batting average while providing multi-positional defensive work.
Honorable Mentions: Brock Holt
Shortstop: Jose Iglesias
Iglesias has solidified himself as a Major League with over 800 big league games for Boston, Detroit, and now Cincinnati. With Pawtucket he appeared in 222 games and in 2012 provided top level defense while hitting .266 at the plate in 353 at-bats.
Since leaving Pawtucket, Iglesias has a .273 batting average in 2,706 Major League at-bats.
Honorable Mentions: Pedroia Ciriaco, Mike Miller, Devan Marrero
Third Base: Travis Shaw
Shaw appeared in 158 games for Pawtucket between 2014 and 2015. Since that time he has appeared in 592 Major League games and just signed as a free agent with Toronto.
The 29-year-old was a .261 hitter in Triple-A belting 27 home runs and driving in 104 RBIs in 735 at-bats.
Honorable Mentions: Will Middlebrooks, Jantzen Witte, Garin Cechinni
Left Field: Daniel Nava
Nava is now 36-years-old but he was a mainstay in Pawtucket from 2010 to 2015. His reliability in Pawtucket turned him into a ML player with over 500 games in the majors.
Honorable mentions: Cole Sturgeon, Bryce Brentz
Center Field: Jackie Bradley Jr.
Before becoming a Gold Glove center fielder with the Red Sox JBJ had to earn his keep in Pawtucket.
The 29-year-old appeared in 167 games for Pawtucket getting 673 at-bats and hit a respectable .281 with an OPS of .819.
Honorable Mentions: Josh Reddick, Ryan LaMarre
Right Field: Rusney Castillo
Castillo has gotten a bad rep due to his high salary which has kept him buried in Pawtucket through no fault of his own.
The 32-year-old has appeared in 467 games for Pawtucket posting a .293 batting average in 1,832 at-bats. Castillo has been a mainstay in the PawSox lineup since 2015 and has earned two post-season All-Star nods, two-mid-season All-Star, and the league batting title.
By far Rusney Castillo has been the best all-around player in Pawtucket over the past five years and quite frankly is the Player of the Decade for the PawSox.
Castillo deserves another shot at the big leagues but given his contract chances are it won’t happen anytime soon barring a major change in salary manipulation.
Honorable Mentions: Cole Sturgeon, Alex Hassan
Catcher: Ryan Lavarnway
Lavarnway was supposed to be Buster Posey, a catcher that could hit close to .300. With Pawtucket he was an exceptional offensive catcher regularly hitting near .300 since making his PawSox debut in 2011 and departing in 2014.
At the big league level it never really panned out for Lavarnway but he did have a strong 2019 in limited action with the Reds. He went 5-for-18 in 5 games in 2019 for Cincinnati.
Honorable Mentions: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Dan Butler, Blake Swihart, Christian Vazquez
Starting Pitcher: Anthony Ranuado
Ranuado in 2014 was the Ace of the PawSox rotation. He posted a 2.61 ERA in 138.0 innings pitched while posting a 14-4 record.
That season ultimately earned him a big league look by Boston and has bounced around to a multitude of organizations since. His 14 wins in 2014 are the most by a PawSox pitcher since David Pauley and Charlie Zink in 2008.
Honorable Mentions: Brandon Duckworth, Jalen Beeks, Steven Wright, Hector Velazquez, Brian Johnson, Kyle Hart, William Cuevas, Josh D. Smith, Mike Shawaryn, Henry Owens
PawSox All-Decade 25-Man Roster
Lineup:
- Jackie Bradley Jr. CF
- Rusney Castillo RF
- Sam Travis 1B
- Josh Reddick LF
- Bryce Brentz DH
- Travis Shaw 3B
- Brock Holt 2B
- Ryan Lavarnway C
- Jose Iglacias SS
Bench: Dan Butler C, Daniel Nava OF, Cole Sturgeon OF, Jantzen Witte
Rotation:
Anthony Ranuado
Jalen Beeks
Hector Velazquez
Brandon Duckworth
Steven Wright
Bullpen:
