2015 Greenville Drive Team Set

Since moving to the upstate of South Carolina from Charlotte about three years ago, I've really enjoyed following the local minor league team, Greenville of the South Atlantic League. Last year's squad was filled with prospects, some of which are now with other organizations due to trades. I picked up a team set later in the 2015 season. Not sure any future single-A squad will have this many highly regarded prospects at one time again. Andrew Benintendi didn't get a card but played in 19 games for Greenville at the end of last season, and he's a top 10 prospect in all of baseball.

It's possible some of these guys may have been traded near the trade deadline since this post was written.

We'll start with the most notable, Yoan Moncada. He started off slow for Greenville but finished nicely and is having a great season, now in Double A Portland. He's listed as the #2 prospect in all of baseball on mlb.com. He's apparently learning third base which makes sense given Dustin Pedroia is locked in at second for the near future.

Chavis has power but has struggled to get on base, particularly during last season. He's doing better his second season in Greenville. The 2014 first round pick is still a top 10 Red Sox prospect.

Devers had a great season for Greenville in 2015 and has come on recently for single A Salem. He's got power and is still just 19 years old. He's the Red Sox third prospect behind Moncada and Benintendi.

Dubon was my personal favorite from last year's squad. He's a top 10 Red Sox prospect as well who plays middle infield positions. Great contact hitter and has speed. Could be a great utility guy down the road and is having a great season, now with double A Portland.

Guerra was traded to the Padres along with Manuel Margot for Craig Kimbrel. Guerra was listed as a top 100 prospect going into the season but has fallen off that list as he has struggled at the plate in 2016. He's still just 20 years old, though.

Michael Kopech recently hit 105 mph on his fastball. He's another first round pick from 2014 who's pitched well for single A Salem.

Longhi wasn't drafted as early as some of these other guys and doesn't have the hype around him, but he's had a great minor league career thus far. The card names him an outfielder, but he played first base for the Drive last season. 

You might have seen Aaron Wilkerson's name recently when he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of the trade for Aaron Hill. He's pitched well at each level of the minors for the Red Sox since he was signed from independent league ball in 2004. 

And what can you say, Reedy Rip'It is an awesome mascot. Reedy is named after the Reedy River that runs through downtown Greenville.

While the 2016 Drive don't match up prospect-wise with last year's squad, it's exciting to see top picks and international prospects come through on their way up the minor league ladder.

Minor League Stack

I'm in on following the Braves and Red Sox minor league systems this year. The Braves because the season is already probably lost and the Red Sox because I'll be seeing the single-A Greenville Drive a handful of times this season. I also want to check on some of the guys the Braves traded most of their talent for.

And if I'm going to follow their seasons by tracking boxscores, might as well pick up some cardboard. Plus, this gives me another reason to pick up more Heritage and one of my favorite sets each year, Topps Heritage Minors. I love the team names, the logos, the mascots, everything about the minor leagues, really.

Manuel Margot is a Drive alum who's now in the Padres minor league system playing for the AAA El Paso Chihuahuas. He stole 39 bases last year splitting time between High-A Salem and AA Portland. The Red Sox traded Margot and another former Greenville Drive player Javier Guerra to get Craig Kimbrel. Margot and Guerra are listed as the top two prospects in the Padres organization per MLB.com. Really like the colors in the Margot card.

The other two on this line are Braves minor leaguers. The Braves picked up Toussaint from the Diamondbacks last summer. He is struggling so far with single A Rome but it's early.

Sean Newcomb is with AA Mississippi and has given up 4 runs in 15 innings so far and was rated the #67 prospect in baseball by MLB.com.

The Braves minor league system is loaded with young pitching talent. Hopefully a few of them have strong careers with the big league club, or they can create a balanced squad by making some moves. They seem to be set at shortstop with two top prospects there as well.

Chavis was a first round pick of the Red Sox in 2014 and is repeating at single A Greenville this year. He has good power but struggled to maintain a good average last season. He's off to a much better start this year.

Devers is one of the top prospects in baseball with High-A Salem. He is just 19 after driving in 70 runs last season for Greenville in the middle of a loaded Drive lineup.

Kopech definitely has talent but between a suspension and breaking his hand in a fight at the beginning of this year is having a hard time staying on the field. Kopech is also just 19 and was another Red Sox first round pick from 2014. He's got some growing up to do, it seems.

Sam Travis has hit for a high average at every level in the minors, and started 2016 with AAA Pawtucket. He's once again off to a great start at .327 through 13 games. It would not surprise me to see Travis have a long major league career as a starting first baseman for the Red Sox or elsewhere. This is the first card I've picked up of Travis.

Chavis I already talked about above. Glad to see him off to a good start. If it continues he'll be on his way to High-A Salem.

Was glad to pick up this Donruss insert of Devers. Yoan Moncada may be the more hyped Red Sox prospect, but I expect Devers to have a solid career himself.

Anybody else keeping up with their team's prospects this year? Anyone under the radar we should be on the lookout for?

Drive Me to the Ballpark

While opening day in the majors is a big deal, for sure, I'm even more excited with the start of minor league baseball, the Greenville Drive, in particular. The Drive, of the South Atlantic League, are the low A affiliates of the Red Sox. Since I moved to the Greenville area I've found myself following the Red Sox system pretty closely, including the major league team. While I've been an Orioles and Braves fan most of my life, I've become a fan of certain Red Sox players as well as they've moved through the minor league system.

The Drive are supposed to have a good group this year if you follow what the experts are saying. Several of the Red Sox top prospects play for the Drive, and one more, Yoan Moncada, should be joining the team in the early part of the season. He could be the best of the group.

Two of the top prospects on the team were picked in the first round of the 2014 draft. Third-baseman Michael Chavis, pick 26, is 9th on SoxProspects.com's list, while right-handed pitcher Michael Kopech, the 33rd pick, is 10th. Rafael Devers, another third-baseman and other best hitting prospect for the Drive, is 5th on the list. Devers and Chavis have been alternating between playing 3B and DH so they both get some work in the field. Nick Longhi is off to a great start to the season, as well, a 30th round selection in 2013.

April 9th couldn't get here soon enough. The Drive started off the season at home against the Augusta Greenjackets, affiliates of the Giants.

Rafael Devers started off the scoring with a sac-fly in the 3rd, while Chavis homered in the 7th. And then in the bottom of the 9th inning he broke a 2-2 tie and smacked a double off the mini-Green Monster to win the game for the Drive 3-2. Chavis has struggled a bit since that game, as he's batting just 5-30 on the season, but if I had to bet I'd say he's going to have a good career.

Recently I've picked up some cards of new Drive players and ones from last year's team.

The first is Michael Kopech's Bowman Draft card from 2014. He's off to a great start with a 1-1 records, 1.98 era and 11 strikeouts to just 2 walks in Greenville. Trey Ball was picked 7th overall by the Red Sox in 2013. After spending 2014 in Greenville he's moved up to A-Advanced Salem this year. So far he's had one great start, one ok start, and one poor start after a strong second half in 2014.

Here's the first card I've added of Michael Chavis. As mentioned above, I think this is a guy to keep an eye on as he progresses through the minor leagues.

Great way to start the season. Glad you're back, baseball.