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Travis Shaw is in his first season as the first baseman in Salem. But the Carolina League All-Star has quickly become a fixture in the heart of the Red Sox lineup.
"I couldn't have asked for a better start," the 22-year-old said. "I'm just looking to continue to drive the ball the other way, that keeps me locked in at the plate."
Shaw is batting .325 and leads the club with eleven home runs and 52 RBIs. After zero homers in April, Shaw's power numbers have heated up with the weather.
"I only had one home run through, seemed like, two months," he said. "Recently I've hit quite a few home runs and hopefully we can just keep rolling on that streak."
Shaw is a right-handed thrower but bats from the left side. He has actually been better against left-handed pitching this year, hitting southpaws at a .352 clip.
"He's a professional hitter," Salem manager Billy McMillon simply says. "He'll take a single but if they leave something over the middle of the plate he'll try to do some damage with it."
Shaw's father, Jeff , was an all-star relief pitcher during a twelve-year Major League career. Now the son has started making a name for himself.
"The last two or three weeks he's really shown that he has some power," says McMillon, who played six years in the majors. "Hopefully that will continue and he'll put himself in a position that maybe he'll get promoted [from A-ball] sometime before the end of the year."
Shaw was originally drafted by Boston in the 32nd round out of high school in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. Instead, he put together an All-MAC career at Kent State and the Red Sox took him again in the 2011 Draft, this time in the ninth round.