Triston Casas is not only one of the top prospects on the Red Sox but also one of the top 25 prospects in all of baseball. The Boston first baseman was drafted in the first round in 2018 and made his MLB debut last year.
Casas was ranked as the 77th prospect by Major League Baseball in 2020 and skyrocketed to 16th last year. He’s now settled as the 23rd-best prospect in the game, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo.
The slugger quickly worked his way through the minor leagues with double-digit home run totals every year. He hit five home runs in 27 games after being called up last season and has one homer in five games so far in 2023.
Casas joined WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Audacy Original Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” to talk about life as a top prospect and what kind of pressure he’s dealt with.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that I would go out there knowing that there was a target on my back or knowing that the pitcher knew who I was or expecting anything special treatment on the field at least or think of myself as any different from anybody else on the team,” Casas said (10:45 in player above). “I would just think that there’s a little more expectation for me to do well than other people which I’ve been dealing with my whole life.
“It’s one thing to prove somebody wrong but I think it’s a lot harder to prove somebody right. So when everybody expects you to do well and you do well, you’re supposed to do well so you don’t need a lot of credit. But for the people who don’t have that expectation to do well, it’s a little less pressure.”
Casas knew he’d be someone that would get the expectations to succeed at the highest level as a top prospect. Casas made his MLB debut at 22 years old and just turned 23 in January. Some players don’t break into the big leagues until their mid-20s.
“I just try to block all that out and when I step into the box just compete my butt off and be a good teammate,” he said. “I think earning everybody’s respect has been my goal here and you do that by one, playing well, hitting, and two, being a good guy off the field. Being accountable for your mistakes and getting along with the teammates and getting along means so many different things but at the end of the day just picking each other up and being there for one another is what I’ve been trying to work on.”
Casas’ pregame ritual drew the ire of some veterans, according to reports, but it sounds like he’s moving past that and focusing on being a great player and an even better teammate this season.
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