Thread of future Red Sox superstar Triston Casas

Baseball and food are his life. He loves to cook.

“I don’t really have any hobbies or talents,” says Casas, 23, who was ranked the top Red Sox prospect in 2021, according to Baseball America.

He can play the piano and enjoys bass fishing, but there is little time for that now.

“I’ve heard it from a couple of guys,” he says. “But that’s OK. I’m comfortable with my own skin. I don’t resent them for making fun of me because they aren’t on the same level of connectivity with themselves as to put themselves out there and be vulnerable to criticism.”

pic.twitter.com/bMGFEduQg4

— ash (@ashleyherman_) March 2, 2023

Oh trust me notifications are on for that account

https://i.imgur.com/swJOxlS.jpg

i mean

Who will hit the first Red Sox home run of the season?? via @RedSox

I’ll start: Easy answer Raffy but to switch it up I’ll say Duvall pic.twitter.com/kPBX7d8fei

— Jake “Iggy” Ignaszewski (@JakeIggy) March 15, 2023

i’m gonna go with eovaldi, he’s always seemed like a bit of a diva to me

Injured!

From Red Sox:

Triston Casas was scratched from todays game with left 5th finger pain. He is day to day.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) March 21, 2023

well duh it was unprotected by varnish

Bobby Dalbec got the start at 1B yesterday, batting 9th. 0-4 with 3 strikeouts and 3 LOB 😭

Triston Casas is back in the #RedSox lineup.

Duran CF, Casas 1B, Dalbec 3B, Palka RF, Alfaro C, Goodrum SS, Allen LF, R. Hernández DH, Yorke 2B, Winckowski P

— Mac Cerullo (@MacCerullo) March 23, 2023

Out there with the spare parts!

Cmon, you know our guy doesn’t care about that. He just wants the bat in his hand and the sun on his forehead!

https://i.postimg.cc/6q0k6FwF/42-D2-E256-ACFF-4037-B376-D4314-D5-F1615.jpg

Dear Tracer, this thing just won’t go away?

Triston Casas might be your 2023 Boston Red Sox leadoff hitter pic.twitter.com/vtzJolK8xx

— Jared Carrabis Podcast (@carrabispod) March 23, 2023

Triston Casas off of Duane Underwood Jr.

EV🔥: 107.8
Launch angle📐: 5.0 degrees
Pitch type🎨: Cutter
Pitch speed🚄: 91.6 mph
Distance📏: 115.0 ft.
Outcome🙋: Double

Boston Red Sox(0) @ Pittsburgh Pirates(0)
Top 1 1 Out pic.twitter.com/wdmaQT6s03

— Well-Hit Bot (@MLBWellHitBot) March 23, 2023

hell yes

the betts/bogaerts era already feels nine million years ago

I mean don’t count your Casas before he’s smashed, but yes, he seems to be having a great spring!

Who knew he inspired the Daniels?!

Everyone wants to take photos of the back side of Triston Casas’ hands (nails). I was more interested in the other side. This is what no batting gloves in BP looks like. pic.twitter.com/vAF3DKaJs5

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) March 21, 2023

Holy moonshot to walk it off for the Red Sox pic.twitter.com/GyLG2ZClP4

— Dillard Barnhart (@BarnHasSpoken2) March 25, 2023

I don’t love that swing.. he’s flying open too quick, opening his shoulders up too quick.. can’t argue with the result though

Another bomb yesterday off Charlie Morton btw

Triston Casas - Boston Red Sox (4)* pic.twitter.com/aWt6gTZyFm

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) March 28, 2023

Youk is such an upgrade on Eck in the booth it’s not even funny

sorry for posting to this thread when Triston isn’t playing ;_;

It’s ok, big boy sits for left handed pitchers

He came on to pinch hit and he did!

Rookie Triston Casas extends the lead for Boston pic.twitter.com/IHMQSS4oVF

— Pack the Brew (@PacktheBrew) April 2, 2023

It’s ok, big boy sits for left handed pitchers

I hope and expect for this to change

Extremely satisfying single there

My large meathead son

https://i.postimg.cc/PxRcd55P/5-CEECBF9-4-ED8-46-D7-ABA2-2-EC89-BCFC06-B.jpg

Has he quite possibly spliced a load of quotes from different properties and attributed them to a fourth? I believe he has!

Nail update:

Triston Casas Opening Day nails pic.twitter.com/CE5hSasBIn

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) March 30, 2023

Literally rookie errors from our boy; learning curve! However that first home run of the season was pretty great. And it seems like his bat has started to wake up?

Hahahaha

Quite an at bat for Triston Casas, who fouls off eight pitches and draws a 14-pitch walk. Flips the bat at the end, which, honestly, he kind of earned.

— Mac Cerullo (@MacCerullo) April 13, 2023

I love this fucking moron

Triston Casas celebrating his 14-pitch walk, I LOVE IT.
pic.twitter.com/IZ3qu8Iyt1

— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) April 13, 2023

was not expecting the scream there

There’s a great clip where they cut to the dugout and Cora is laughing, like, what an absolute freak but can’t hate

The lhp threw four straight balls to Bobby Dalbec and ended up having to come out right after, love a good ab duel like that

Triston struck out 4 times today ;_;

If he can't learn to handle breaking stuff or offspeed stuff when it's down and in his MLB career is going to be very cruelly foreshortened imo

I think that’s premature.

Well that’s the book on him and it’s working like a dream so far. This is his challenge. He either figures it out or hangs it up. He’s got a good enough eye that I think he does figure it out, but he needs to do it either 1) quickly or 2) in Worcester

BA still dire and still a pretty small sample size but there’s a lot of good signs - walking a lot more and has also had some bad luck with strike calls & catches. This walkless streak has now ended so his on base numbers are going up and he just has to get the hitting squared off.

https://i.postimg.cc/3JwWx535/2-F043-D1-E-4769-4-BB5-86-DB-14-F8-C19-CFBAF.jpg

Intrigued by this thread also

Over the last 2 weeks Casas has a 24% walk rate and these are his batted balls. Enough to drive someone crazy, but as long as he sticks with his process, he's going to be fine. pic.twitter.com/Ool9IYPKDl

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) April 24, 2023

A 426 foot beauty from Triston Casas. pic.twitter.com/fGPASZ3bu6

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 24, 2023

Such quick hands. Crazy.

0-3 with a walk getting to be a very familiar stat line for our young himbo. I feel for him. He looks miserable!

Yeah you read that piece in the Athletic? It’s just pretty joyless grinding atm but they say they’ve seen enough to bench him if needed cos they want him to tackle major league pitching. I think he has enough confidence to work through this slump but it’s tough to watch.

Btw I saw a clip of him making a pick from short and he was almost doing the splits to do so 😵‍💫

lmao his face at the end in the replay. I hope the boys are looking after him

https://www.mlb.com/video/danny-jansen-grounds-out-shortstop-enrique-hernandez-to-first-baseman-tri

btw I love Kiké as you know but honestly he is all over the place with his fucking throws???? He made one soon after this that was into the lights, went about a mile over Casas.

Yeah it's like he's got the yips. For every one of those diving stops he gives away a couple on bad throws

Casas a very natural fielder imo, always feel good when he's out there

I think based on his PAs I’ve seen he’s getting closer to where he needs to be. He seems to make a lot of hard contact but it gets caught a lot - probably mechanical as much as deciding to swing. Have seen people say he always takes a while to adjust every time they come up a level and the team is clearly pressing him to work it out - can be rough to watch. As I mentioned upthread, he’s got a lot of confidence and young players need that to keep pushing themselves on. Plus also it seems like some of his problems are classic overthinking at the plate? Idk, I hope he starts doing better soon for his own sake, your fans seem kind of awful. Also for our sake so he can start using his Twitter account again ofc

Casas' bases loaded warning track fly out is a homer 87% of the time, with a .917 batting average. pic.twitter.com/dgT6ZpqsIt

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) May 4, 2023

The only king I care about is king of the himbos Triston Casas. 4 hits in his last two games, hopefully he has turned a corner.

Unreal pic.twitter.com/BHIWapDa8o

— Joey Copponi (@JoeyCopponi) May 5, 2023

I asked Casas about this. He said he was using the injury on the field as his time to visualize some things in the batter's box. With the pitch clock, he noted, you don't have time to do that.

He's the gift that keeps on giving. https://t.co/xsa4TawOfN

— Julian McWilliams (@byJulianMack) May 5, 2023

Obviously, he's not two different people. Obviously, the behaviours/achievements are not mutually exclusive.

"What if I don't hit by May 3?" - Triston Casas when told of the Dustin Pedroia story on April 24 https://t.co/gMl9X9xL8n

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) May 4, 2023

Yep, Bradfo backed him up very well with his answer. The red flag was all in the question, and I wondered how pervasive that kinda condescending tone had followed him.

thanks for that! i've been very interested in Casas for his potential and his personality, helped by yourself and this thread. i really hope he continues to live up to that potential - a very easy guy to root for, which means a lot coming from a Blue Jays fan!

I had suspected there was a tonal shift as he proved himself, and agree that it's bs to have to succeed to be accepted as an individual.

Thank you, I think just Tracer Hand and I really follow/pay attention to him, he’s a fun/unusual personality and character for baseball, and if you haven’t read the interview with him towards the beginning of the thread where he cooks for the reporter, it’s a really nice piece and he talks about the nails etc. His Fangraphs interview where he talks about hitting is also a really interesting read, he has a very mature (!?) approach to the plate.

Also, that video of him micd up talking to Braves players is sweet 🥲

Oh yeah that article is paywalled, well not here it isn’t.

I'm going through Casas withdrawal already, I can't deal

don’t

When I started this thread I thought it might be fun to follow this weird kid over the season.

This article with its quotes from/about multiple teammates is so sweet!

JT is A Guy:

Turner, who played with the Orioles and Mets in the early years of his career, credits players such as Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Ty Wigginton and David Wright for instilling the idea of a mutually respectful relationship between teammates, regardless of age. Rather than following the concept of “making them earn it,” Turner believes in embracing rookies and making sure they’re comfortable.

“I always say I’m like the bumpers on a bowling lane,” Turner said. “I don’t want to interfere with them or stop them from doing anything, I just want to keep them moving in the right direction, make sure they don’t wind up in the gutter.”

Outside of the meticulous gameplan Casas follows, the rookie’s confidence not only in his routine but in the way he carries himself has stuck out to some veterans. Jansen saw that confidence firsthand one night after a game when he and Casas were the only two left in the clubhouse.

As they sat eating in silence, the 23-year-old rookie turned to a 35-year-old Jansen and asked, “Hey, do you have a problem with me?”

“He kind of called me out,” Jansen said. “Not called me out, but was like … ‘I have a sense that you don’t like me.’”

Though Casas noted that techniques such as grounding have been “in the works long before (he) came on this earth,”

not only have his teammates accepted Casas’ routine, some have tested it for themselves. Among those players who have joined Casas in the grass pregame? Devers, fellow rookie Yoshida and Nick Pivetta.

“I think you might see a couple guys over the next couple years do it,” Casas said. “I feel like I'll be here for a while, so I'll definitely keep doing it.”

Tracer Hand, this is the Fred Lynn interview.

“It was nice to see somebody in the Major Leagues make an adjustment, because I see a ton of them just do the same thing over, and over, and over,” the nine-time All-Star said with a chuckle.

“Back then, we didn’t even see what we were hitting until Sunday when the averages came out,” Lynn recalled of having to get the newspaper just to know how everyone was faring. “It was easy to just play the game and not be overwhelmed by all the other stuff. Today’s players, they can’t do that. I don’t know how they do it, to be honest, because they can’t get away from all that chatter.”

he is unreal

Brennan Bernardino, Triston Casas, Chris Murphy, and Brandon Walter spreading holiday cheer with the 2023 Holiday Caravan! pic.twitter.com/AKF1yH9HP3

— Red Sox (@RedSox) December 7, 2023

⚠️Warning⚠️

The contents of this video are HOT. pic.twitter.com/nAUgjmBrey

— Red Sox (@RedSox) December 7, 2023

DUDE

His laugh at the end 💀💀💀💀

He’s so sweet

https://archive.is/hXmnm

Casas hopes to use his experience not only to help teammates but also the region. His participation alongside teammates Brennan Bernardino, Chris Murphy, and Brandon Walter in the Red Sox’ holiday caravan — with visits to hospitals and charitable programs — represented an interest in becoming more deeply invested in the community.

“Baseball is great, hitting home runs is good, and winning World Series is even better, but giving back to the community and somehow making an impact in somebody’s life is better than those things,” said Casas. “I struggle sometimes with knowing my purpose in life and what this all means, being a baseball player compared to a workforce member or a teacher or a firefighter. We get so much attention and compensation that sometimes I’m confused about the dynamic of the world.

“But I want to use this platform for good. Any opportunity that I can get to come up to Boston or give back to the community or hopefully one day get into (hosting)charitable events and foundations, to tap into that after I’ve gained my platform, I’m here to give going forward.”

this guy

he’s back

Red Sox' Triston Casas turned 24 on Monday and enjoyed a big b-day dinner courtesy of his dad.
“My dad went to my favorite butchery shop in Miami and he got me an Australian Wagyu Tomahawk, then a separate Japanese A5 Wagyu Ribeye. So I had both of those for the birthday dinner"

— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) January 17, 2024

Him! Posted in hope a passing FrancisF might see this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iEm7ZBXhrY

There are so many shithead comments online like Ted Williams would nEvEr and bro, Teddy Ballgame wouldn’t even admit he had a Mexican mother until decades past retirement. It’s ok for players to be themselves now.

Joe Sheehan has him as the 5th best 1st-baseman in the game, behind Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson, Bryce Harper and Vladdy Jr

gyac thinks he might be better than Vladdy Jr and all I have to say about that is, it'll be interesting to watch :)

I mean maybe?????

What exactly did Sheehan say? I remember he was annoyed with some Sox fan who was complaining about Casas having a low average in May or something, after he’d started hitting, but before it showed up in his numbers. Sheehan: do Red Sox fans bother watching the games?

lol he basically just pasted what he wrote before
--
I wrote this in an email May 31, 2023 and published it in a mailbag June 21:

Casas was hideous in April, but in May he’s at .257/.338/.429 after last night’s 0-for-5. That’s also not great, but it’s progress. The K/BB is 22/9 and the K rate is 28%, not unreasonable for the profile. May xBA is .264, xSLG is .560.

I’d have understood these questions a month ago. It’s weird to get them when he’s basically playing about as you’d expect. He’s absolutely earned some patience.

Casas hit .299/.397/.556 from June 1 through the end of the season.
--

🤞🏻 for a good healthy second season (and that his hair grows back ASAP)

It’s good that Florida man wears sunscreen, but does he seriously not understand that you’re supposed to rub it in.

https://i.postimg.cc/7Z0rDWGr/IMG-6515.png

https://www.mlb.com/app/atbat/video/triston-casas-joins-mlb-tonight

Also, I love Jake Peavy so much.

"What part of that [pregame breakfast] makes you feel light for the game?"

Triston Casas: "The trip to the bathroom right before the game. That'll make me feel light. I think it's the chia seeds and flax seeds running right through me. That's the light part." pic.twitter.com/zxgpOt2wEt

— Sox & Shoes (@soxandshoes) March 7, 2024

https://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/sunbather-oakland-coliseum-triston-casas-routine-19380171.php

lol. I assume that’s an April Fool’s Day headline cos Jessica Kleinschmidt the A’s reporter (who is great!) posted it on her Twitter.

Triston Casas made it to Oakland just fine: pic.twitter.com/dBGgUxmCcl

— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) April 1, 2024

Where does outfield yoga rank amongst pregame routines? #RedSox pic.twitter.com/nHR8NMJZ02

— NESN (@NESN) March 30, 2024

Casas is so bored at dh he’s playing first from the bullpen lol pic.twitter.com/C9m6bYQeRK

— CasasTruther (@CasasTruther36) April 3, 2024

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/04/meet-the-river-monster-the-red-sox-new-on-base-celebration-for-2024.html

At some point shortly before the season on the team plane, a group of veterans were playing poker on the back of the team charter when, after someone won a hand with a favorable river card (the fifth and final community card in a flop game), gestured like a monster and said the “River Monster” had come for one of his teammates.

“It’s something to do with poker,” said first baseman Triston Casas. “I don’t play but apparently there’s something called the ‘river.’ Sometimes it frustrates players when something happens there that they lose and the other person wins. Somebody made that gesture when they were playing one day. I wasn’t there.”

…“The back of the plane card game got it going, so (Nick) Pivetta and Raffy (Devers) were doing it,” Casas said. “Someone was like, ‘I’m doing that when I get on first base.

“I don’t know how there can be a river in a card game. Those run through land, with water. I don’t understand.”

He’s an idiot i love him