The Red Sox farmhands are finally getting back on track after a couple of shaky weeks. Pitching prospects Allen Webster and Anthony Ranaudo came back from some shaky performances while top hitting prospect Xander Bogaerts continued his torrid pace. Ranaudo and Henry Owens also earned promotions to Pawtucket and Portland, respectively, in a generally strong week.
The Pitchers:
Jun 28, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Allen Webster (64) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY SportsHenr
- Allen Webster had terrible struggles in a brief stint with the Red Sox and carried those struggles down to Pawtucket the last few weeks. However, he really shook that off this week with a dominant start on Tuesday. In this outing, he threw 6 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits, 1 walk, and an absurd 12 strikeouts. Even with his recent struggles, Webster has had a good season in Pawtucket– he has a 4.04 ERA and 10.47 K/9– hopefully he can harness his stuff with the Red Sox soon.
- Henry Owens has pitched himself to a recent promotion and the young lefty was dominant in his first start with Portland. He went 6 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and walking 2 while striking out 11 batters. Owens had a 2.92 ERA and 10.58 K/9 rate in Salem, and he hopefully will continue that success in Portland.
- Anthony Ranaudo also pitched himself to a promotion to Pawtucket and he made his Triple-A debut today. He was very strong in that outing, tossing 6 shutout innings as he allowed 4 hits and punched out 5 batters. Ranaudo held a 2.95 ERA and 106:40 K:BB ratio in 109.2 innings in Portland, and now he is just a step from the big leagues.
The Hitters:
- Xander Bogaerts is finally seeing his numbers get back to his career levels as he had himself quite a week here. This week, he batted .308 with 3 doubles and 2 walks. Despite being the youngest player in the International League, Bogaerts has a very respectable .283/.371/.474 slash line and could be in Boston awfully soon.
- Blake Swihart shook off some recent struggles of his own to have a hell of a week here, hitting safely in every game he played. He batted .412 with a double and a walk. Swihart still is not showing a ton of power, but there’s nothing wrong with a .281/.357/.410 slash line considering what else Swihart, a 21 year old switch-hitting catcher, brings to the table.