Red Sox Prospect Watch: New names accompany new week
The Boston Red Sox minor league players continue to showcase they have more talent than many believe. Who’s at the head of the charge this week?
Another week in, and a lot of the same players are producing strong numbers in the Boston Red Sox organization. That being said, there are a few new names to talk about as well.
Although a lot of these players have flown under the radar to this point in their careers, things can change. Some players put together great seasons and boost their status, or struggle mightily and dip in the rankings. Meanwhile, others straight up lose their prospect status thanks to a long enough Major League stint.
That’s why it’s great to keep tabs on prospects. Things are constantly changing and you never know who’s going to be thrust into the limelight. Who’s going to all of a sudden be seen as one of the best prospects in an organization, or even the entire MLB?
For proof of how quickly a prospect can rise just look at Tzu-Wei Lin. At the start of the 2017 season, he wasn’t even in the Red Sox top-30 prospect rankings. An incredibly strong start to the season (and not wanting him to be Rule-5 eligible) led to a call-up midseason though. Not only was Lin giving a little time in the Majors, but he cracked the Boston top-30 list.
Soon he’ll no longer be prospect eligible though, which means someone will be taking his spot.
See how I did that? It all came full circle. Not long ago, Lin was buried in the Red Sox system. Now he’s someone all the fans are interested in, even when he’s not in the Majors. Who’s going to take his place? Quite a few people are vying for the spotlight.
Guess who leads the Pawtucket Red Sox in batting average (.326) and doubles (9). I’ll give you a hint – he also leads the team in steals (4), as well as runs batted in (11) and runs scored (11). That’s right, it’s Rusney Castillo. Like I said, it will be hard for me not to mention him because of the precarious situation.
Castillo has been nothing short of spectacular in the minors these last two seasons. His massive contract is keeping him there though, so for now anyone who frequents Pawtucket games gets a treat.
After him however, the Triple-A squad is filled with ice-cold players. Sam Travis has seen his average dip to .292 and still hold on to those eight RBI and one home run from last week.
The other big name here is Chad De La Guerra. DLG hit his first homer of the year last Monday in a 2-for-3 day. He’s gone 0-for-15 since then though. The switch-hitter is now slashing .125/.155/.214 on the year. Again, it’s still April though – give him time.
On the pitching end, Jalen Beeks is as dominant as ever. He holds a 1.37 earned run average over 19 2/3 innings. In that time he’s struck out a ridiculous 37 batters and holds a 0.97 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP).
Bobby Poyner meanwhile holds a 2.70 ERA over 3 1/3 innings. Honestly, his stats don’t matter too much though. The left-hander proved he’s a commodity in the Majors already. Boston simply has no spot for him at the moment, his main goal should be to stay healthy.
Fellow left-hander Robby Scott has looked strong as well (1.17 ERA over 7 2/3 innings). He’s another player who’s shown he can handle big league hitting. This once again shows off the Red Sox have a lot more depth than some people realize.
Finally, both Williams Jerez and Kyle Martin have 2.25 ERAs. Jerez has done it over eight innings, while Martin has pitched 12. The main difference between the two is that Martin has appeared in the Majors before.
However, both are deep depth options that the Red Sox should be happy to have in-case of emergency.
Cole Sturgeon is, uhm, hitting. The Portland Sea Dogs outfielder has a ridiculous .369/.447/.569 slash line on the year. He’s hit three homers and driven in nine runs, while scoring 10 more. If none of that’s enough, he’s a perfect 5-for-5 on steal attempts.
Fellow outfielder Tate Matheny has seen a dip in numbers, but his .288 average is still solid. He’s scored 10 runs and stolen two bases as well.
Josh Tobias seems to be figuring out Double-A life. The infielder has a .311 average with nine runs scored. While he isn’t hitting for much power or driving in runs, he’s giving others golden opportunities to drive in runs behind him.
Esteban Quiroz has been the breakout star so far though. He’s now on the disabled-list and hasn’t played since April, 23 though. Nevertheless, he still leads the team in a ridiculous amount of offensive categories. Those include slugging percentage (.604) as well as doubles (4) and home runs (4). He’s also the leader in runs scored (11) and RBI (13).
Speaking of the disabled-list, Josh Ockimey has slumped since returning from the DL. The first baseman is hitting .219 with one home run and five RBI. It’s important to remember he has just 32 at-bats on the year though.
More from Red Sox Prospects
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Danny Mars is slumping as well (.180 average). The man has a proclivity for multi-hit games though so an 11-for-61 start isn’t something he can’t dig himself out of. On the positive side, he already has three steals despite his low average.
Teddy Stankiewicz once again lowered his ERA in an appearance, dropping it to 7.45. It’s hard to brag about that, but major improvements are clearly being made.
Travis Lakins meanwhile made his first appearance of the year, going three innings and not allowing an earned run. Monitor him closely as he should be an interesting person to watch this year.
Mike Shawaryn turned out another solid performance, and he holds a 2.91 ERA over 21 2/3 innings on the year. If this continues a move to Triple-A in the soon-ish future isn’t out of the question by any means.
Then there’s Matthew Kent and Jake Cosart. Both still haven’t given up any earned runs on the year. That being said, neither of them appeared in a game between the last article and this one.
More returns as Roldani Baldwin returned from injury this week. The catcher made an immediate impact for the Advanced-A Salem Red Sox. In fact, he impacted Double-A as well.
Baldwin is 4-for-14 (.286) with a double and two RBI already on the year. He’s even thrown in two runs scored and a steal for good measure. He gives Salem another intriguing player.
Meanwhile, his return pushed Jhon Nunez to Double-A Portland. Nunez has yet to appear in a game there, but he hit .286 with seven RBI and four steals in Advanced-A. He’ll bolster a catching corps in Double-A that has been absolutely void of hitting.
Speaking of hitting; Jerry Downs is doing it – a lot. The left-handed hitting first baseman has a .337 average on the season. He’s mashed six doubles and two home runs, driving in 11 runs and scoring 10 more. Over his last 13 appearances, the 24-year-old has more three-hit games (3) than no-hit games (2).
Tyler Hill meanwhile is bringing his bat around. The outfielder has boosted his average from .255 to .281 (.418 OBP) since the last article. With that he’s gone from one extra-base hit, to four. His speed hasn’t seen a decrease either as he’s now 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts.
Finally, there’s Bobby Dalbec. The average saw a tiny bump from .211 to .215. It’s the seven doubles and five home runs that have people talking though. He’s driven in 18 runs and scored 14 more, while adding one steal. The run production is there, now image if he can boost that average.
For the pitchers, the headliner is clearly Bryan Mata. He refuses to look like the youngest player in the Carolina League. Through 17 1/3 innings, the 18-year-old has a 1.56 ERA and opponents are hitting .182 against him. He still has a few kinks to work out (like walks) but the right-hander clearly has something special.
Matthew Gorst has been pretty fantastic. The 23-year-old is 2-for-2 on save opportunities and boasts a 1.54 ERA (0.86 WHIP) over 11 2/3 innings.
Amazingly those numbers don’t look that good if you compare them to Jordan Weems. The 25-year-old holds a 0.68 ERA over 13 1/3 innings. In that time he’s struck out 17, and opponents are hitting .073 against him (0.83 WHIP).
Roniel Raudes threw another gem, and now has a 2.92 ERA on the year. Meanwhile, Daniel Gonzalez and Darwinzon Hernandez continue to look extremely strong in the early parts of the season.
Ricardo Cubillan has arrived in Full-A ball. He hasn’t had many opportunities yet, but the 20-year-old shortstop is off to a promising (4-for-9) start.
C.J. Chatham holds a .351/.377/.491 slashline. I’m interested to see how long he’s in Full-A, as he’s showing that when healthy he’s going to do nothing but rake. The arrival of Cubillan could give Chatham the opening to move to Double-A.
Meanwhile, Victor Acosta went from a .345/.424/.414 slash line last week to a .352/.417/.481 line this week. He hasn’t produced many runs, but that line is incredibly hard to ignore.
Michael Osinski‘s strong start has been momentarily derailed by an injury and subsequent trip to the disabled-list. It will be interesting to see how he returns. Hopefully the stint won’t cool him off.
Cole Brannen‘s bat is still somewhat of a question mark. He holds a .169/.281/.229 slash line at the moment. The speed isn’t in question though. Despite barely getting on base, he’s already stolen seven bases and scored 13 runs. He’s got the potential to be ridiculously dangerous. It’s also important to note, he’s 19 – give him time.
Enmanuel De Jesus got his first appearance of the season under the belt this week. He threw four shutout innings, allowing three hits and eight strikeouts. The 21-year-old has struggled in Full-A in the past. Maybe this is the year he’s got it all figured out.
Next: Red Sox Prospect Watch: Strong early impressions made
Marcos Lantigua allowed three runs combined in his first two appearances (3 2/3 innings). Since then, he’s thrown 11 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run. He has a 1.80 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. In 15 innings opponents are hitting .189 against the right-hander and have struck out 12 times.