Red Sox Prospect Watch: Two call-ups could create system changes

The Pawtucket Red Sox are enjoying the ridiculously hot bat of Tzu-Wei Lin at the moment. A seven-game hitting streak has brought the shortstop’s average up to .266. Meanwhile, he’s hit two home runs in the streak, bringing his season total up to three.

Although he’s technically not a prospect anymore, Lin is still extremely intriguing. The defense has always been there. The offense that he found last year leapt him into the conversation though. It appears he’s finding that stroke at the plate once again.

Then there’s Rusney Castillo. He still leads the team in most offensive categories. Those include batting average (.295), doubles (16), and RBI (26). He’s second in runs scored with 25, and his five steals are now in second (Aneury Tavarez leads Pawtucket with seven). The outfielder’s also found his home run swing, hitting his first two of the season over the last week.

Cole Sturgeon‘s numbers in Triple-A still aren’t great after a scalding-hot start in Double-A. He did just record a two-home run game, however. Hopefully, that’s the pick-me-up he needs to turn his game around.

Jalen Beeks twirled an absolute gem in his only start this week. The left-hander went seven innings allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out seven. He now has a 2.56 ERA and 0.98 WHIP on the season. Opponents are hitting .197 against the 24-year-old, and he has 80 strikeouts over 56 1/3 innings pitched.

At this point, it seems criminal that Beeks might not get a shot in the Majors until September. The Red Sox have so much rotational depth that calling him up probably won’t be necessary though.

Robby Scott and Ty Buttrey have been the other standout pitchers in Triple-A. Scott has a 1.86 ERA and opponents are hitting .183 against him. He’s also struck out 29 batters over 19 1/3 innings. Buttrey meanwhile has a 2.86 ERA and has been steadily lowering that number in most of his outings.