How much attention does Boswell's Spring Training start demand?

It’s the time of year in baseball when certain players will, at least for a moment, separate themselves from the pack and have fans, coaches, and teammates wondering “is this guy legit?”

It can be difficult to discern the difference between someone who is blossoming into a breakout and a guy who just got hot for a few days. This is especially true in February with so much yet to play out.

Still, in the first handful of games, Bret Boswell has clearly turned a few heads with his 6-for-8 hitting and six RBI.

So, is this a real thing? Is he a prospect whose name you should know? Does he have an outside shot at contributing to the MLB squad this season?

First let’s get the basics out of the way.

Boswell is a 25-year old utility player with good athleticism and defense who has played middle infield and centerfield at times. He has also played a handful games at third base and left field. He bats left and throws right.

He spent three college seasons with Texas before making his pro debut in the Colorado Rockies who took him with the eighth-round pick in 2017 and immediately sent him to Boise.

He put up an OPS of .854 and launched 11 home runs in 54 games. He began 2018 in Asheville, managing an OPS of .827 before earning his promotion to Lancaster. There, he got even better with the bat, slashing .322/.388/.636 for a 1.024 OPS. Across both levels, he blasted 27 home runs.

In Low-A Asheville, he was about a year-and-a-half older than league average but by the time he reached Double-A Hartford in 2019, he was right at the league average age.

Jumping into one of the least offensive environments in baseball, Boswell hit just .219/.290/.397 over 106 games for the Yard Goats. It is crazy that in the Easter League, that is still good enough for a positive wRC+ of 101. It certainly helped that he hit 15 yakkers.

This line is oddly reminiscent of Ryan McMahon’s first year at that level.

Then it was off to the Arizona Fall League where he managed just four hits in 13 games, inspiring zero confidence in anyone just looking at box scores.

But he has clearly showed up to Spring Training 2020 locked in.

With four singles, a double, and a home run already, he leads the Rockies in most offensive categories.

He hasn’t faced especially challenging pitching yet and a couple of those singles were bouncing balls that found the right place. All the proverbial grains of salt that go with all result-oriented analysis this time of year are in order.

But Boswell appears to be solidifying a pretty interesting profile. The ability to play above average defense all around the diamond and hit with consistent power is one that could well carve out a more important role in the organization. I wouldn’t count on him to be the next fast riser out of an underrated system, but he’s gonna keep getting at-bats as long as they look like this.

It’s too early to get too excited. But don’t be fooled by last year’s batting average and the fact that he is 25 and hasn’t yet played in Triple-A. There is still a way to go, but the Rockies may have something here.