Red Sox Prospect Watch: Change to top-30 list highlights new week

The Boston Red Sox prospect watch is starting to get really interesting thanks to the first change to their top-30 prospects list this season.

2018 has already produced quite a few interesting storylines for some Boston Red Sox prospects. The first major shakeup happened over the last week though, as Tzu-Wei Lin graduated from prospect status.

That means there’s a new member of the top-30 prospect list. I’m not giving anything away here though. If you want to find out who it was, you’ll have to read the article. I mean, I guess you could just go look at the Red Sox top-30 prospect list. Come on though, reading the article’s more fun.

Lin started the year in Triple-A but was quickly recalled following a Xander Bogaerts injury. He remained in the Majors once Bogaerts returned due to Brock Holt being sent to the disabled list as well.

So far this season, Lin is one of two players to appear in the Majors for the Red Sox while on the top-30 prospect list. The other was Bobby Poyner, who was sent to the minors after a DL stint thanks to the return of Drew Pomeranz.

Meanwhile, Austin Maddox is the next closest player on that list to rejoining the Red Sox. The reliever broke into the Majors last season and was utterly dominant over a 13-game stretch. He threw 17 1/3 innings, allowing just one run (0.52 ERA) while posting a 0.87 WHIP.

Due to those ridiculous numbers, you’d have to expect he’s very close to the Majors again. In fact, if he didn’t get hurt, he probably would’ve made the Opening Day roster. Once Maddox comes off the DL, it will be interesting to see where he goes. If he goes to the minors, common sense would dictate he’d be one of the first players called up should Boston need someone.

Rusney Castillo doesn’t have a home run yet this season. I say this because it’s the only thing I can really critique him on at the moment. The outfielder leads the Pawtucket Red Sox in nearly every offensive category. He has a .325 average with nine doubles. Meanwhile, he’s driven in 13 runs and scored 12 more, while stealing four bases. That pesky contract though.

The next big name in Triple-A is Sam Travis. He’s on the disabled list though and hasn’t appeared in a game since the last article. While he’s learning more positions other than first to improve his versatility, he’s still pretty buried at the moment.

Jordan Betts (no relation to Mookie) has stepped up in his absence. The 26-year-old was struggling in Double-A but has a .289/.340/.578 slash line in Triple-A. He has three homers to accompany 11 RBI in that time and could be on his way to a breakout campaign.

Chad De La Guerra‘s struggles continue, as his slash line now sits at .137/.158/.205. DLG has shown in the past that he can get extremely hot for a long period of time though. With that in mind, he can definitely still turn things around.

Now it’s time for the weekly Jalen Beeks is good portion of the article. The left-handed pitcher has a 1.71 ERA over 26 1/3 innings. In that time he has a 0.95 WHIP and 46 strikeouts. Jalen Beeks is good.

Bobby Poyner is showing that he belongs in the Majors, with a 1.69 ERA over 5 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, Kyle Martin clearly still wants to go back there with a 2.16 ERA over 16 2/3 innings.

Ty Buttrey sits at number 28 on the Red Sox prospect list. He has a 3.86 ERA on the year. Most impressively though is his 25 strikeouts over 14 innings.

Cole Sturgeon is batting .378, that’s a very real thing happening right now. The outfielder has a .378/.446/.602 slash line for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. He leads the team in all those categories. Meanwhile, he leads them in doubles (7) and home runs (5), as well as steals (5). The 26-year-old is only second on the team in RBI (13) and runs scored (13) though.

Tate Matheny‘s strong season continues as well. He holds a .304/.411/.342 slash line, and leads the team with 15 runs scored. Throw in three steals and the 24-year-old is clearly on his way to the best season of his career.

Esteban Quiroz still hasn’t played in a game since April 23, due to injury. He’s still second on the team in homers (4) and RBI (13), as well as fourth in runs scored (11). When he’s healthy keep an eye on him.

Josh Ockimey and Danny Mars are both looking to turn things around.

Ockimey recently had a two-hit day that included a home run and three RBI. In 17 games he holds just a .211 average and two home runs, but already has nine RBI to his credit.

Mars, on the other hand, has had two recent two-hit days and has raised his average to .203. While that’s still low, I’ve mentioned before he can get on a tear. A few multi-hit games suggest that tear could be coming. He also has four steals early on in the season.

Finally, catcher Jhon Nunez appears to be fitting into Double-A life just fine. Getting his first action above Advanced-A, he’s helping the Sea Dogs catchers’ abysmal offensive numbers.

The 23-year-old is 6-for-20 (.300) with four doubles already on the year. He’s scored three runs and driven in three more while stealing one base.

More from Red Sox Prospects

• Predicting top Red Sox outfield prospect Ceddanne Rafaela’s timeline to the majors
• Predicting Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer’s timeline to the majors
• Red Sox risk repeating rookie mistake with Eric Hosmer release
• Red Sox invited group of players you’ve probably never heard of to Spring Training
• Jeter Downs’ official departure will continue to haunt Red Sox

Combined between Advanced-A and Double-A the catcher is already 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts. He had 16 steals in 2013 (his first year in the minors) but has never surpassed five since then. It’s a safe bet to assume Nunez will be passing that mark this year.

It finally happened, Matthew Kent allowed an earned run. The 25-year-old surrendered two earned runs over 2 2/3 innings in his last outing. That ballooned his ERA from 0.00 to 1.29 over 14 innings. Wow, clearly the left-hander lost it. That’s sarcastic in case you couldn’t tell, most pitchers would kill for a 1.29 ERA. Oh, and opponents are hitting .152 against him.

Teddy Stankiewicz continued his trend of lowering his ERA over the week. Allowing three earned runs over five innings, the right-hander’s ERA dropped from 7.45 to 7.03. While that’s still high, it’s a far cry from the 14.04 he held just a few appearances ago.

Jake Cosart joined Kent in the “finally allowed an earned run” group. After 11 straight innings holding a 0.00 ERA to start the year, Cosart surrendered four earned runs over two innings. His ERA stands at 2.77 now, which is still phenomenal. Like Kent, his batting average against is still ridiculously low, at .163.

Travis Lakins, on the other hand, is still boasting a 0.00 ERA. The 23-year-old made his second start of the season after starting the year on the disabled list. In six innings so far, he’s allowed zero earned runs on just five hits.

Finally, Mike Shawaryn is still having an impressive 2018. The 23-year-old starter has a 3.62 ERA over 27 1/3 innings this season.

Congratulations, you’ve arrived at the announcement of the newest member of the Red Sox top-30 prospect list. Aren’t you glad you kept reading?

Catcher Roldani Baldwin has taken up the mantle at number 30, and it’s pretty obvious why. The 22-year-old is slashing .306/.375/.556 with three doubles and two home runs over nine games. He’s scored four runs and driven in five while stealing a base as well.

Santiago Espinal has been on an absolute tear. He’s currently holding onto a seven-game hitting streak and has a .296/.366/.509 slash line on the season. The shortstop has seven doubles and two triples, as well as four home runs, with most of those homers coming recently. Meanwhile, he’s driven in 14 runs and scored 24 more, while stealing four bases.

Brett Netzer hit home run number one this week. By home run number one, I mean the first home run of his professional career. Sure, the power isn’t ever going to be special, but he still brings a lot to the table. That’s not entirely evident by his .266/.314/.339 slash line, but the 21-year-old is still a work in progress.

Tyler Hill is here to get on base and steal bags. He’s doing both of those with a .380 on-base percentage and six steals in seven attempts.

Kyri Washington, on the other hand, is expected to hit home runs. After missing most of last year due to injury, Washington started off 2018 cold. He hit his first homer of the year on May 1, and added a few more along the week. By “a few more” I mean he had a three-homer game and now has pretty impressive numbers. The outfielder holds a .253/.361/.470 slash line with four home runs and 10 RBI on the year.

Bryan Mata is still dominating. It’s almost expected at this point. He finally turned 19 (on the third of May) and holds a 1.42 ERA over 19 innings. Opponents are hitting .167 against him but he does have control problems, as he’s already walked 18 batters.

Roniel Raudes isn’t much older at 20. He’s also having a dominant season, with a 3.54 ERA over 28 innings.

Continuing the trend of going up one year, Tanner Houck is 21. His season isn’t going as well with a 5.19 ERA over 26 innings. There’s a reason he’s the Red Sox number three prospect though. His pitches have dominating potential and he should grow throughout the year.

Matthew Gorst breaks the trend as he’s 23. He’s stuffing the stat sheet like most of the others though. The right-hander has a 1.17 ERA in nine appearances this year. Over 15 1/3 innings he’s struck out 21 batters while walking just two. He also holds a 0.91 WHIP and is 4-for-4 in save opportunities.