The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Lucius Fox was featured in the annual showcase of Major League Baseball’s top minor league prospects during the midseason All-Star Classic.

Fox drove in one RBI, but his Futures World team fell one run short in their rally in 7-6 loss to team USA at the 2017 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, hosted Sunday afternoon at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida.

He entered the game in the bottom of the fifth inning and the sixth inning, ground out to third baseman Bryan Reynolds to score Franciso Mejia.

Fox is currently ranked as the No.14 prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays organisation. Brent Honeywell, the Rays No.2 became the first pitcher to earn Futures Game MVP honours and the Larry Doby trophy.

The US team built a 7-0 lead before team World began to mount a comeback with a four-run outburst between the fifth and seventh innings.

Fox discussed his future with Brett Phillips of draysbay.com and gave a timeline for when he expects to make his break into the Major Leagues.

“Two years,” he said.

Fox was traded to the Rays along with Matt Duffy and Michael Santos in the deal which sent left-handed pitcher Matt Moore to the San Francisco Giants. He was limited to just a single game in the Instructional League with the Rays before he was sidelined with a foot injury.

“Moving from the Giants to the Rays the coaches were just like one . . . I dunno, I think there’s something about me that works well together with them. We gel.”

Through 69 games with the Bowling Green Hot Rods in Single-A, the 20-year-old shortstop is hitting a career-best .279 and ranks third in the Midwest League with 26 stolen bases. He also ranks second on the team with 42 runs scored, collected 26 RBI and sports an impressive .361 OBP and a .718 OPS.

He began the season 1-14 at the plate with nine strikeouts through four games. He responded by recording hits in five of the next six games. He also recorded three multiple-hit games during a six-game hitting streak in late April and in May, has posted “three-hit” games in three of his next four outings. During a six-game hit streak, he hit his first home run of the season on May 13.

Fox has increased his productivity since the calendar flipped to May and over the course of the last two months has hit .300 with two home runs and 10 stolen bases in 21 games.

Fox is competing in Single A ball for the second consecutive season in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division. He made his much-anticipated pro debut last season for the Giants with the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic Class A League. In 75 games, Fox hit .207 with 46 runs scored, 25 stolen bases, slugging .277, an on-base percentage of .305, an OPS of .582, two home runs, four triples and six doubles.

Since 1999, the Futures Game has served as a showcase for the top minor league prospects during the league’s midseason classic, framed in a “USA” vs “The World” format.

Former Marlins World Series hero Edgar Renteria managed the World Team roster. Their roster featured 12 of MLBPipeline.com’s Top 100 prospects on the squad. A dozen countries and territories outside the United States were represented.