Sam Travis

Boston Red Sox prospect Sam Travis has been named MLB's 10th best first base prospect by MLBPipeline.com. (365DigitalPhotography.com)

Perhaps a Red Sox prospect will take the fast track through the minor league system during 2017, making his way from High-A Salem to Boston.

It happened during 2016. Both Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada began with Salem, earned midseason promotions to Double-A Portland and eventually skipped Triple-A Pawtucket, jumping straight to the majors.

Benintendi proved ready for the majors. Moncada did not and he likely will begin 2017 with Pawtucket. Still, MLB.com recently named Moncada along with Benintendi as one of five early candidates for the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year. (A player has to exceed 130 at-bats in one season to no longer be considered a rookie. Benintendi and Moncada did not reach that total in 2016.)

While a prospect may take a similar rapid path like Benintendi and Moncada did, let's identify six Red Sox minor leaguers at the higher levels who are potential candidates to make their major league debuts in 2017:

Kyle Martin: The Red Sox on Friday added Martin, a 25-year-old right-handed reliever selected in the ninth round in 2013 out of Texas A&M, to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Once a prospect is added to the 40-man, he's considered major league depth and could make his big league debut at any time.

A taxed big league bullpen can result in a reliever who isn't even quite ready for the major leagues to be promoted.

For example, Pat Light received a promotion to the majors when he could have used more time at Pawtucket during a stretch in April 2016 when the Red Sox bullpen was extremely taxed. Light had been added to the 40-man roster that previous November to protect him from the December 2015 Rule 5 Draft.

Martin posted a 3.38 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 36 outings (66 2/3 innings) for Pawtucket during 2016.

Luis Ysla: The Red Sox also added Ysla, a lefty reliever, to the 40-man roster on Friday.

So the same as with Martin: Ysla could be promoted at any time next season out of pure necessity.

However, Martin, at least at this point, is more big league ready than Ysla who throws hard but still must improve his secondary pitches.

The 24-year-old Ysla, who Boston acquired from the Giants in August 2015 for Alejandro De Aza, posted a 4.07 ERA and 1.46 ERA in 39 outings (55 1/3 innings) at Portland during 2016. He pitched one scoreless inning of relief for Pawtucket.

Righties batted just .228 against him compared to lefties hitting .316 against him in his 39 outings at Portland this year. So he's a reverse-split lefty.

Sam Travis: This 23-year-old, who the Red Sox drafted in the second round in 2014 out of Indiana, tore his ACL on May 29 and missed the remainder of the 2016 season.

Travis, who is not on the 40-man roster, impressed many as a non-40-man roster invitee to big league camp during 2016 spring training where he slashed .469/.429/.719/1.147 with two homers, two doubles and 13 RBIs in 18 games (32 at-bats).

One scout told MLB Network's Jon Heyman during spring training that Travis could be the next Paul Goldschmidt, the Arizona Diamondback slugger who finished second in the NL MVP voting both in 2013 and 2015.

He was considered depth at first base for Hanley Ramirez in 2016 before suffering his season-ending injury.

The right-handed hitter finished with a .272/.332/.434/.765 line, 10 doubles, six homers and 29 RBIs in 47 games for the PawSox.

Michael Kopech: The 20-year-old fireballer, who reached 100 mph five times during the Arizona Fall League All-Star game, will start 2017 at Portland but he has the type of elite talent to make the jump right to the majors as Benintendi and Moncada did.

Kopech went 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, 26 strikeouts and eight walks in six starts (22 1/3 innings).

The 2014 first-round pick went 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 82 strikeouts and 29 walks in 11 starts for Salem this past season after missing the first couple of months with a broken hand.

"Triple A is very important, too; I just think when you have talented, extremely talented players, that they have a chance to move quickly through an organization," Dombrowski told MassLive.com. "And I have seen pitchers and positional players both be successful going from Double A (to the majors)."

Mauricio Dubon: The 22-year-old native of Honduras, who is not on the 40-man roster, has come a long way since the Red Sox drafted him in the 26th round in 2013. He's now a top-10 prospect in the organization.

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Dubon is expected to begin 2017 at Pawtucket.

He's a slick defensive shortstop who also played center field in the Arizona Fall League where he had seven extra-base hits (three homers, one triple, three doubles) in 18 games.

Dubon slashed .339/.371/.538/.909 with six homers, six triples, 20 doubles and 40 RBIs in 62 games for Portland during 2016 after a midseason promotion from Salem.

Chandler Shepherd: The 24-year-old is not on the 40-man roster. He posted a 2.81 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 62 strikeouts and 18 walks in 40 relief outings (64 innings) combined between Portland and Pawtucket in 2016.

The Red Sox selected him in the 13th round of the 2014 draft out of Kentucky.

Ryan Hanigan, who saw him while rehabbing in Pawtucket this past season, said Shepherd has a good curveball and an explosive fastball.