Long before there was Roman Anthony, Mookie Betts, or even Xander Bogaerts atop the Boston Red Sox prospect rankings, there was third baseman Will Middlebrooks, a 2007 fifth-round pick from Texas who found himself as the No. 1-rated prospect in the Boston organization by the 2012 season. On Thursday night, the now 38-year-old broadcaster will be inducted into the Portland Sea Dogs Hall of Fame. 

Middlebrooks arrived in Portland in 2011 as the No. 10-rated prospect in the Red Sox organization, according to MLB Pipeline. In 96 games for the Double-A Sea Dogs, he hit .302/.345/.520/.865 with 18 home runs, 25 doubles, and 80 RBI. Middlebrooks earned both midseason and postseason All-Star honors, while his big season led to him being Boston’s representative at the 2011 Futures Game. 

Middlebrooks made his major league debut with the Red Sox on May 2, 2012 at third base. In 75 games in his rookie campaign, Middlebrooks hit .288/.325/.509/.835 with 15 home runs and 54 RBI. The then-23-year-old finished top 10 among a loaded rookie class in batting average (T-9th), slugging percentage (4th), home runs (T-6th), weighted runs created plus (122, 6th), and fWAR (2.0, 8th). 

Middlebrooks returned to Boston for the 2013 campaign as the starting third baseman, where he put together a less impressive sophomore season, hitting just .227/.271/.425/.696 with 17 home runs and 49 RBI in 94 games. His struggles at the plate caused him to be sent down to Triple-A Pawtucket a number of times. By the time the playoffs rolled around, Middlebrooks found himself splitting time at the position with 20-year-old rookie Xander Bogaerts. 

Middlebrooks struggled in the Red Sox World Series winning run, hitting just .160/.250/.240/.490 in 10 games, and perhaps, he became best known for an obstruction call against him in Game 3 of the World Series that handed St. Louis a walk-off win. 

Middlebrooks' final season in Boston was an injury-riddled 2014 campaign in which he played just 63 games and hit .191/.256/.265/.522. He was dealt to the San Diego Padres in Dec. 2014 in exchange for backup catcher Ryan Hanigan. 

Because of injuries and underperformance, Middlebrooks couldn't return to his rookie-season form, playing just 115 games at the big-league level from 2015 to 2017 and hitting just .203/.238/.341/.579 with San Diego, Milwaukee, and Texas. After suffering a severe broken leg in a Spring Training game with the Philadelphia Phillies, Middlebrooks missed the entire 2018 season, later announcing his retirement in 2019. 

The 38-year-old can now be heard calling Red Sox games on both WEEI’s radio call alongside Will Flemming and NESN’s television broadcast alongside Dave O’Brien. 

Middlebrooks will be inducted into the Sea Dogs Hall of Fame alongside former Sea Dogs Chairman Bill Burke and former treasurer Sally McNamara ahead of Thursday night’s game against the New York Mets’ Double-A affiliate from Binghamton. As noted by Portland’s Twitter/X account, fans in attendance will have the opportunity to meet the 2013 World Series Champion. 

Meanwhile, back in Boston, the Red Sox will have a much-needed off-day before opening a three-game set with the Kansas City Royals on Friday night at Fenway Park. Sonny Gray (17-4, 2.69 ERA) will get the start for Boston in the series opener opposite Seth Lugo (6-8, 5.04 ERA) for Kansas City. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.