2019."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Red Sox StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Red Sox NewsYahoo Red Sox Team PageYahoo Red Sox ReportYahoo Red Sox Depth ChartYahoo Red Sox TransactionsYahoo Red Sox PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub  Sox MinorsRed Sox Top Prospect Voting: Travis Lakins looks to take the final stepNew Randy Jones Jersey ,7commentsThe right-handed reliever should get a real chance to contribute in 2019.EDTShareTweetShareShareRed Sox Top Prospect Voting: Travis Lakins looks to take the final stepTravis LakinsKelly O¡¯Connor; sittingstill.smugmug.comAfter an incredibly close vote to determine the last spot in our top prospect list, the vote for the number 15 spot was an absolute runaway. It¡¯s no surprise as, after Jarren Duran just barely squeezed out a victory for the 14th spot, the man he was racing there took the 15th spot with ease. That would be Travis Lakins, who received 19 of 33 (58 percent) of the votes. Lakins had a bit of helium heading into the spring of 2015 at Ohio State as he was poised to be one of the best pitching prospects that school had produced in recent memory. The righty impressed scouts in the previous summer and fall, and everyone was ready to see how it would translate in the real games. Things didn¡¯t go according to plan, though, as the stuff wasn¡¯t as sharp and his velocity had dropped somewhat significantly, knocking his stock a bit. Between the drop in stuff and his small stature that had many worried about how he¡¯d hold up in a starter¡¯s role, Lakins fell to the fifth round, where the Red Sox scooped him up. He would toss a couple innings in Lowell and a few in the GCL playoffs that season, but for the most part he didn¡¯t get his career started until 2016.What we saw from Lakins over the next couple of seasons showed some of the concerns scouts had heading into that 2015 draft. Specifically, he just couldn¡¯t stay healthy as a starter. Listed at 6¡¯1¡± 170 pounds, his body was having trouble holding up over a full season. In 2016, he made 19 appearances (18 starts) and tossed 91 innings before suffering a stress fracture in his right elbow, which ended his season prematurely. He¡¯d come back after a late start in 2017 http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , but after only 15 starts he suffered another fracture and for the second straight year his season ended prematurely. On top of the injuries, the numbers weren¡¯t great with his only strong showing coming in seven starts in High-A in his second full season. For a college pitcher, you hope to be beyond that point by your second season. So, heading into 2018 there were some questions. Despite some poor results in the pros ¡ª Lakins pitched to a 5.93 ERA in 2016 and to a 6.23 ERA in eight starts with Portland in 2017 ¡ª there were some flashes and still some hope the former Ohio State ace would develop into something useful in the future. Sure enough, the Red Sox decided to change course. His 2018 was delayed as he recovered from the previous year¡¯s injury, and once he came back he did make a few starts. However, each only lasted three innings, and after that he was shifted into a full-time relief role. From here, he took off. Lakins made 20 relief appearances with Portland and pitched to a ridiculous 0.86 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 21 innings. Then, after a promotion to Pawtucket, he pitched to a 1.65 ERA in Triple-A over 16 2â�? innings with 15 strikeouts. Many, myself included, wanted to see him get a chance in September, but Lakins is still waiting for his major-league debut.Travis LakinsKelly O¡¯Connor; sittingstill.smugmug.comThe righty is not really the type of reliever we¡¯ve gotten used to around the league over the last few years. Instead of pairing a huge fastball and a devastating breaking ball, Lakins boasts four pitches that could be average or better. One of those is a big fastball that can get up to the upper-90s in shorter stints. Beyond that he throws both a cutter and a slider, which share similar movement but come in at different speeds Wil Myers Jersey , as well as a curveball and a changeup that may be scrapped. The repertoire was never the issue for starting, and it carries over to his relief profile. However, the arsenal is not a finished product, as he needs to work on commanding all of his pitches in any situation. Lakins is on the 40-man roster and was in major-league camp, but recently got demoted back down to Triple-A. That is where he is going to start the 2019 season, and he¡¯ll use the first few weeks to jockey for position on the depth chart. Eventually, the Red Sox will need help in the bullpen, though, and as long as he can stay healthy there is a good chance Lakins will get a chance to perform and stick in the majors.Here is our full list so far:Michael ChavisDarwinzon HernandezTriston CasasBobby DalbecJay GroomeTanner HouckDurbin FeltmanBryan MataAntoni FloresMike ShawarynC.J. ChathamNick DeckerBrandon HowlettJarren DuranTravis LakinsNow, you can head down into the comments and vote for the number sixteen. As a reminder, to do this you go down below and find the comment from me corresponding with the player for whom you¡¯d like to vote. When you find said player, just click the ¡°rec¡± button, and that will count your vote. To do this, you will need to be logged in as a member of the site. If you¡¯d like to vote for a player who is not listed, just leave a comment saying ¡°Vote for ___ here¡± and I¡¯ll rec the comment to count your vote. Until next time... KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ¡ª With Kevin Pillar down in the count 0-2 with two outs in the eighth inning Rickey Henderson Jersey , Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez went out to talk to reliever Blaine Boyer.Whatever they discussed did not work.Pillar hit a two-run homer on the next pitch to lift the Toronto Blue Jays over the Royals 6-5 on Tuesday night.¡°You fall behind, it¡¯s the eighth inning,¡± Pillar said. ¡°He probably tells him don¡¯t give me anything to hit, but that¡¯s the beauty of baseball. You¡¯ve still got to execute pitches.¡°The only thing that threw me off a little is after the meeting they kind of shifted their infield back to the right side, so I figured I was probably going to get something away or something soft to see if I would chase. I didn¡¯t overthink the situation. I just told myself to stay ready.¡±Boyer (2-1) retired his first two batters before walking Aledmys Diaz. Pillar hit the next pitch over the wall down the left field line.Ken Giles worked a perfect ninth for his 14th save and second with the Blue Jays since being acquired from Houston on July 30.Perez and Jorge Bonifacio hit back-to-back doubles in the seventh off Jake Petricka (2-1) to give the Royals a short-lived 5-4 lead.Adalberto Mondesi had a career-high four hits, including two doubles, stole three bases, drove in a run and scored a run for Kansas City.¡°That¡¯s the way I play the game,¡± Mondesi said. ¡°I just got to keep working hard and keep doing my thing, so I can go out and show the fans what they want to see.¡±The Blue Jays, who had scored four runs in their previous four games total, jumped to a 3-0 advantage. Teoscar Hernandez and Kendrys Morales walked to lead off the second and both scored. Pillar contributed a two-out RBI single, while the other run scored when Diaz grounded into a double play.Heath Fillmyer walked two more Jays in the third and hit Russell Martin with a pitch with the bases loaded for the third run.The Royals answered with three runs in third, which included Perez¡¯s run-producing double and Whit Merrifield and Alex Gordon adding RBI singles.Danny Jansen put the Blue Jays ahead 4-3 in the fourth with his first big league home run in his second game.The Royals quickly tied it with Mondesi¡¯s two-out single scoring Alcides Escobar, who had doubled.Fillmyer left after five innings and 93 pitches, allowing four runs http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , five hits and five walks.¡°I fell behind a lot of counts and ended up walking them and three of them ended up costing me,¡± Fillmyer said. ¡°When you get yourself in trouble, it¡¯s never what you want to do.¡±Blue Jays starter Ryan Borucki was pulled after four innings, yielding four runs, six hits and four walks.¡°It was a tough one for him,¡± Toronto manager John Gibbons said. ¡°His command was definitely off. His big pitch, his changeup, was missing. He developed a pretty good blister on his (right) foot and I know that was tender. I felt after four it was probably enough.¡±Borucki said he initially felt the blister in the third inning.¡°In the fourth I felt it kind of split open,¡± he said. ¡°It was kind of tough to push off at the end.¡±The Royals have lost 10 of 12.Rain delayed the start of the game 31 minutes.ROYALS RECALL LOPEZThe Royals recalled RHP Jorge Lopez, who was acquired from the Brewers on July 27 as part of the Mike Moustakas trade, from Triple-A Omaha after the game. He will start Wednesday. The club will make a corresponding before the game to make roster space for Lopez.DOUBLES FOR ESCOBAREscobar¡¯s sixth-inning double was the 200th of his career. He is the 11th Royal to reach that milestone.JAYS ACQUIRE BAKERThe Blue Jays acquired minor league RHP Bryan Baker from the Rockies as the player to be named in a July 26 trade that sent RHP Seunghawan Oh to Colorado. Baker posted a 3.80 ERA in 43 relief appearances with Class A Lancaster.TRAINER¡¯S ROOMBlue Jays: Boyer was making his first appearance since April 29 and missing 61 games with a back strain. ¡­ RHP Aaron Sanchez (bruised right index finger) will make a rehab start Wednesday for Class A Dunedin in the Florida State League.UP NEXTBlue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (5-9, 4.84 ERA) will start the third game of the series.Royals: Lopez will replace RHP Burch Smith in the rotation and make his Kansas City debut.