Red Sox Prospect Watch: Strong early impressions made

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 6: Kyle Martin
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 6: Kyle Martin
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Boston Red Sox
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 08: Hanley Ramirez

Greenville Drive (Full-A)

A healthy C.J. Chatham is looking ridiculously promising. The shortstop has a .381/.413/.476 slash line in 10 games. He doesn’t have exceptional power or anything, but Chatham is such a fantastic well-rounded player. This could be the year a lot of it comes together for the 23-year-old.

Okay, so Victor Acosta can hit. Last season the outfielder slashed .310/.368/.419. This year, he’s slashing .345/.424/.414 with two RBI and two runs scored. The 21-year-old right-hander is in his first Full-A season and should expect to see more at-bats as the year progresses.

Last week I announced Michael Osinski as the newest member of my Paul Heyman clientele. He’s still raking.

The 22-year-old holds a .333/.419/.444 slash line over 15 games. He has three doubles and one home run in that time. Most impressive is the 13 RBI and seven runs scored for the right-handed hitter though.

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He’s also picked up first base this year. Add that to third and shortstop. Osinski is becoming versatile, only adding to his value.

Cole Brannen‘s slash line still isn’t pretty. It’s moving in the right direction though. Last week he held a .139/.244/.222 line. That’s moved to a .185/.274/.262 line. Again, it’s all about the speed for him. The 19-year-old has five steals, and 10 runs scored on the year. Meanwhile, he’s picked up three doubles and one triple. Straight wheels.

Devon Fisher is in his inaugural Full-A season. The right-handed reliever has a 2.89 ERA over 9 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting just .188 on the 21-year-old and he has a 0.86 WHIP.

Marcos Lantigua can be given the same first two sentences as Fisher. The 22-year-old has a 0.96 WHIP though as opponents are hitting .156 against him.

Finally, there’s Lukas Young. The 21-year-old has allowed one earned run over six innings (1.50 ERA) so far this year. He’s struck out 10, while posting a 1.50 WHIP. Opponents are hitting decently off the right-hander (.240) but most of that came from one outing. Young came into the year with just 30 1/3 professional innings pitched. It will be interesting to see how he grows this season.

Next: Alex Cora's historic start for rookie manager

Okay, so I kept the Paul Heyman and Breezango references to a bare minimum this time around. I thought I’d ease you guys into it. Just like a lot of these prospects, expect me to produce a lot more in the future.

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