The Boston Red Sox called up Yoan Moncada, 20, for Wednesday's exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

John Farrell tried to downplay the presence of the Cuban infielder.

"This is an opportunity for some young players to come over and get some exposure to this environment, the game at this speed, the strength," Farrell said. "Today's another one of those games for him. I know we're trying to make something out of this day, but we're really digging deep right now."

However, Joe Kelly had no issue hyping the 6-foot-2, 215-pound athlete.

"Look at him in the [batter's] box, you expect him to be a corner outfielder or a friggin' inside linebacker for the San Diego Chargers," Kelly said. "He's just physically bigger and stronger than anyone I've ever seen at that age. It's ridiculous. Just because of how big he is, on plays like that, just in my head I was like, 'There's no way he could get to them.' But his range and his explosive quickness, I just underestimated him. It's way better than I imagined.

"There's nobody in the history of all of baseball that's ever been that strong and that big. I work out in the offseason with NFL players -- receivers, defensive backs, combine guys -- and he's bigger and stronger than all the NFL guys. But I wanted to see him move, and I saw him move today. Before I ever saw him play, I'd be like, 'He's going to move to the outfield one day. Out of like lateral movements he's like 5 out of 10.' He's like friggin' 9 out of 10. He was explosive today. It was pretty fun to watch, honestly."

The Red Sox invested $63 million in Moncada ($31.5 million signing bonus and a matching tax to Major League Baseball for exceeding their international bonus allotment) last spring.

Moncada batted .278 with eight homers, 49 stolen bases and an .833 OPS at low-A Greenville last season and is expected to open this year at high-A Salem.

"How old is he? 20?" Travis Shaw said. "Yeah, he's pretty good for 20 years old. His body speaks for itself how big he is. He's still very raw, but he's got just unbelievable upside."