This week was generally a good one for the affiliates of the Red Sox. The Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox are rolling right now, with a 9-1 record and several young Red Sox players have gotten off to very fast starts in 2013. However, some prospects have also gotten off to worrisome, slow starts and in this week’s minor league update, we’ll cover both.
The Pitchers
- Matt Barnes has decidedly not been one of the fast starters in the Red Sox’ farm system. After a rough first outing where he allowed 2 runs in an inning, he started today and was awful– allowing 5 earned runs in 2.1 innings, good for an 18.90 ERA on the season. This coupled with Barnes’ fading down the stretch in 2012 is a little bit worrisome, but it’s still early and he ought to be able to right the ship in his next time out for Double-A Portland.
- Henry Owens continued to pitch well in his second outing of the season for High-A Salem, as he went 5 more innings and allowed 2 earned runs. He struck out 5 and now has a 1.80 ERA and 9 strikeouts in his first 10 innings of the season. The lanky lefty is off to a great start at Salem and hopefully 2013 can be the beginning of his transformation from a high-ceiling arm to an elite prospect.
- Anthony Ranaudo has seen his stock fall significantly since last season, but that didn’t seem to matter as he was lights out in his first start of the year in Portland. He struck out 6 and allowed just a run on 5 hits in his first 5 inning performance of the season. He was hampered by injuries and ineffectiveness all of last year so hopefully Ranaudo can get back to where he once was this season.
The Hitters
Jun 3, 2011; Austin, TX, USA; Kent State Golden Flashes infielder
Travis Shaw(left) makes a play to first base over pitcher
Kyle Hallock(right) against the Texas State Bobcats in the Austin regional of the 2011 NCAA baseball tournament at Disch-Falk Field. Kent State beat Texas State 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
- Xander Bogaerts‘ slow start at the plate has continued this week. He currently holds just a .189/.231/.189 slash line with 11 strikeouts in 37 at bats. This is nothing like the Bogaerts we saw last year, and hopefully this is just a slump and the 20 year old holds strong as one of the top prospects in all of baseball. If not, we could be blaming the WBC for one more thing.
- Garin Cecchini has continued his excellent start hitting at High-A Salem. The 22 year old is flat-out raking through his first 8 games as he holds a slash line of .387/.406/.548 with 3 doubles and 3 RBIs. If he keeps hitting at close to this pace, we ought to see him in Portland before year’s end.
- Travis Shaw drew some headlines after his fast start in Salem last year, but faded down the stretch once promoted to Portland. This year, he is getting off to a similarly fast start in Double-A, however, as he is batting at a .320/.469/.480 clip. Shaw’s pleasant mix of on-base percentage and power make him potentially an attractive option at first base in a few years.