Red Sox Prospect Watch: Victor Acosta promoted to Advanced-A
The Boston Red Sox got plenty of strong performances this week in the minors. Victor Acosta’s promotion to Advanced-A headlines this week’s Prospect Watch.
The Major League roster for the Boston Red Sox doesn’t feature much in the prospect department at the moment.
Bobby Poyner was with the team for a little, but didn’t make an appearance before being sent back down to the minors.
Tzu-Wei Lin was just sent down to the minors on Tuesday when the Red Sox brought Drew Pomeranz back into the mix. Lin saw very little time, but did manage to snap an 0-for-26 streak in the Majors while up.
Ryan Brasier was also called up recently. While he’s not exactly a prospect (30 years old), his 16 career innings pitched in the Majors gives him some kind of unknown-territory status. The reliever looks to stick around for the long run, as he’s thrown seven scoreless innings to this point.
Blake Swihart is far from a prospect at this point either. He appears to be getting actual semi-consistent playing time again though. At 26, there’s still plenty of time for the catcher to grow. Remember, Jason Varitek didn’t become the Red Sox full-time catcher until he was 27.
Swihart is clearly much more comfortable at the plate, as he’s riding a seven-game hitting-streak that’s risen his average from .165 to .214. The switch-hitter also blasted home run number one of the year on Tuesday.
As Boston gets healthier, the number of prospects getting a chance in the Majors will continue to decrease. However, September is approaching, and with it comes the expanded rosters.
Sam Travis is getting hot. The first baseman is riding a seven-game hitting streak that’s brought his average up to .240 in Triple-A. His other numbers are improving slightly as well, as he’s up to seven doubles and six home runs. The left-handed hitter still has just 23 RBI, but if he continues to hit that number should improve fast.
Rusney Castillo must be getting tired of Triple-A. It really is a tough situation, but one with no light at the end of the tunnel for him. The outfielder isn’t going to find his way to the Majors anytime soon because of his contract paired with the fantastic play of the Red Sox outfield recently. Still though, his team-leading .319 average is tough to ignore. He also holds the team lead in doubles (24) and steals (10), as well as runs scored (46) and RBI (42).
Tony Renda went 1-for-3 with a walk on Tuesday, dropping his average from .457 to .449. He’s been with the Pawtucket Red Sox for 11 games and has a hit in all of them. The second baseman was mashing to the tune of a .371 clip at Double-A, and looks even better in Triple-A. There’s been a lot of talk about Boston needing help at second base, maybe it’s time to give him a look.
Poyner is doing everything he can to get back to the Majors. The left-handed reliever proved he was more-than capable of handling hitters at the highest level. However, a crowded bullpen forced Boston to send him down. He now has a 2.57 ERA in Triple-A and is 3-for-3 in save opportunities. Poyner also has an impressive 30 strikeouts in 28 innings. He should be in the Red Sox longterm bullpen plans.
Jalen Beeks is still going strong in Triple-A. Despite his rough outings in the Majors, Beeks hasn’t let that effect him too much in Pawtucket. The left-handed starter has a 2.89 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He’s struck out 117 batters over 87 1/3 inning, while opponents are hitting .215 against him. Hopefully he can ride some moment out for the rest of the year.
Ty Buttrey allowed two earned runs over one inning in his last outing. His ERA is now at 2.25 this year – that’s how good he’s been. In 44 innings the right-hander has 64 strikeouts and an opponents batting average of .216. Like Renda, Buttrey is at a position many feel the Red Sox need help in. That coupled with the fact that he’s already on the 40-man roster means there’s no reason for him not to get an opportunity this year.
The pitching in Double-A this week was … ridiculous.
Dedgar Jimenez threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his only start. His previous outing before that was seven shutout innings. The 22-year-old left-hander has dropped his ERA to 5.07 pretty fast. Last season was phenomenal for him, so hopefully this the start of a turnaround for Baby Bartolo.
Teddy Stankiewicz also made just one start this week. He went eight shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out five. The right-hander dropped his ERA for the third straight start, as it now sits at 4.62.
Matthew Kent threw one start this week as well, and I’ll give you one guess as to how many runs he gave up. The lefty went eight shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 3.44 on the year.
Mike Shawaryn made two starts this week. His first saw him go six innings, allowing one earned run (crazy, I know). The next start however was seven shutout innings. The 23-year-old now has a 3.29 ERA and 1.10 WHIP on the year. He’s been consistently solid all year, and is one of the more reliable starting pitching prospects the Red Sox have.
Kyle Hart had one start this week, going seven innings and giving up just one run. The fantastic start lowered his ERA to 4.15 on the season.
Travis Lakins has a 2.68 ERA and 1.08 WHIP on the season. Most impressive are his strikeouts numbers (42 in 37 innings) and ridiculously low .196 batting average against however. Relief duties seem to be suiting the righty exceptionally well.
Matthew Gorst now has 16 1/3 innings in Portland. He still hasn’t allowed an earned run. The 23-year-old isn’t just getting lucky and working out of jams either. Gorst has a 0.86 WHIP while opponents are hitting .143 against him. The numbers are nuts and it will be interesting to see if he moves up any further in the minors this year.
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Danny Mars had a strong week that saw his average bump slightly from .254 to .256. It wasn’t the average boost that made it such a great week though. Mars added two more doubles and one more home run to his totals, giving him 17 and three respectively. The 17 doubles are well on-pace to break his previous season high of 21 (set last year).
Meanwhile, the switch-hitter add one more RBI (21) and one more steal (15-for-17) to his numbers. Currently, Mars is on a four-game hitting streak. In that time, he’s scored seven times. The 24-year-old now has 49 runs scored and is just 13 off his previous-high of 62, also set last season.
Austin Rei is having an offensive outbreak at the moment. The catcher is up to .251 and now has 17 extra-base hits on the season. He’s driven in 22 runs and scored 20 more, while posting a ridiculous .371 on-base percentage. The 24-year-old is starting to hit like expected and should find his way back into the Red Sox good graces extremely fast.
Jhon Nunez had a strong week, that saw his average rise to .261. This included an absolute mammoth of a home run, number two on the year. The catcher also drove in five runs this week, while posting his first three-hit game since May.
Josh Ockimey joined Mars in the slight-average-bump-while-raising-other-stats-significantly club. Ockimey brought his average up from a .252 to a .257, while driving in nine runs this week. The first baseman now has 13 home runs (32 extra-base hits) and driven in 52 runs this year.
Michael Chavis played in his first game since July 14 on Tuesday, going 1-for-4 with an RBI. The third baseman is 4-for-24 (.167) with one double and one home run in six games with Portland. He’s driven in four runs and scored two more, while stealing one base.
Victor Acosta finally got his promotion. The outfielder is now in Advanced-A, and looking to keep a solid season going. Acosta was hitting .285 in Full-A, and had a career-best 20 doubles and three triples, as well as eight home runs. His 37 RBI and 34 runs scored were close to career-highs as well.
Now in Salem, Acosta is 4-for-17 (.235) in five games. He’s added three doubles to his total, giving him 23 on the year. The 22-year-old also has three RBI, giving him a now-career-best 40 on the season.
Acosta doesn’t put up crazy numbers in any one category, so he’s not given as much attention. The right-handed hitter definitely deserves more love.
Michael Osinski is destroying Advanced-A pitching at the moment. The third baseman was hitting .267 on July 18. That number has risen to .317 after a stretch that saw him get a hit in five-of-six games. Three of those games were multi-hit outings, two of which were three-hit days.
Combined between Full-A and Advanced-A, Osinski has a .305/.368/383 slash line. The 22-year-old right-handed hitter also has 11 doubles and two home runs, as well as one triple on the year. He’s driven in 37 runs in 66 games, while scoring 32 more, and stealing four bases in five attempts.
Just like Acosta, Osinski isn’t getting nearly the attention he deserves.
Roldani Baldwin has been slumping pretty hard lately. The last few days have been encouraging for the catcher however. Baldwin has seen his average drop to .238 but has three hits in his last two games. The 22-year-old also recently blasted his seventh home run of the year.
Bobby Dalbec is also currently mired in a slump – his first one in an extremely long time. The third baseman is down to a .255 average after a week that produced just one hit for him. His stat line is still absurd however, as 27 doubles and 23 home runs are paired with 79 RBI and 55 runs scored.
Tanner Houck continues to be lights out on the mound. The Red Sox number three prospect is enjoying perhaps his best stretch in the minors.
Houck made two starts this week, throwing 12 innings total without giving up an earned run. He’s struck out 15 while most-importantly only walking one. Walks have been a major problem for the 22-year-old this year (55 in 96 innings), but this is an extremely encouraging stretch.
In the start that preceded these two, the right-hander allowed five runs in six innings, but limited the walks to just two. His start before that was a seven inning outing that saw Houck allow just one earned run and walk two.
Houck now has a 4.50 ERA on the season, and with the way things are going, I would bank on that continuing to shrink.
Darwinzon Hernandez is down to a 3.99 ERA after two more outings this week. The first saw him throw five strong innings, allowing just one earned run. His Tuesday outing was much more troublesome however, as the 21-year-old allowed three earned runs in five innings, walking six batters.
It was still another great week for the left-hander though. Hernandez has dropped his ERA significantly over his last few starts, and is really starting to come into his own.
What did I say last week? Garrett Benge was early enough in his Full-A season that a .283 average could change drastically. Change drastically it did. Benge now boasts a .328/.480/.500 slash line in 17 Full-A games. This is due to a hot streak that’s seen him hit safely in three-of-his-last-four games. In all three games with a hit, the third baseman enjoyed a multi-hit day. His only 0-for was an 0-for-2, while still drawing two walks.
Benge has four doubles and two home runs in 58 Full-A at-bats. He’s driven in eight runs and scored 10 more, while walking more times (17) than he’s struck out (11).
The left-handed hitting 22-year-old does a lot of things well, but he’s currently extremely overlooked. This could have a lot to do with his position (third base) as Chavis and Dalbec both occupy the same spot.
Marino Campana broke out of his slump this week. The 20-year-old enjoyed a solid week that saw him collect a hit in three-of-four games. Campana built on his team high home run total, hitting his 15th of the year. He also smacked his 16th double of the season, which is a high for players still on the roster. The right-handed hitter also leads the team in triples (5) and RBI (55), while boasting 36 runs scored and two steals.
Enmanuel De Jesus combined for a no-hitter with Devon Fisher and Durbin Feltman this week.
De Jesus went the first 7 2/3 innings, striking out five while only allowing two men on (HBP and error). The 22-year-old now has a 3.39 ERA in Full-A this season after two straight superb starts.
Fisher threw the next 1/3 of an inning, getting out the only man he faced. Fisher now has a 2.01 ERA in 28 outings this season. The right-hander has 33 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings, while opponents are hitting .208 against him. He’s just 3-6 on the season, but the 22-year-old is also 5-for-5 in save opportunities.
Feltman threw the final inning, striking out two. He has a 3.60 ERA in Full-A (two earned runs in five innings) to go along with an 0-1 record. The 21-year-old righty is 2-for-2 in save opportunities and has already notched 11 strikeouts in a short period of time.
Last week Jarren Duran was hitting .337 and I thought that was pretty ridiculous. Now he’s hitting .357 with five doubles and one home run. Oh, and he’s already roped nine triples … NINE. Most people are lucky to hit nine in a full season and the 21-year-old has done that through 31 games.
Duran isn’t just a flashy hitter either. The 21-year-old left-handed hitter has 18 RBI and 24 runs scored, as well as 12 steals on the season. The second baseman was selected in the seventh round of the draft this year, and already seems like he’s ready for the next challenge. Not only should Duran not spend much more time in Short-A, he’s playing like someone who should be important to the Red Sox future.
Duran isn’t the only hot hitter in Lowell though. The Spinners are also enjoying the play of shortstop Korby Batesole at the moment. The 22-year-old is riding a 10-game hitting-streak that’s risen his average from .154 to .333. The only knock on the average is that Batesole has yet to connect for an extra-base hit, and has just two RBI.
Batesole is seeing the ball extremely well though, and you’d have to imagine some other numbers will start to creep into the equation. Great mustache too.
Cole Brannen is currently on a six-game hitting streak. The outfielder’s average has seen a boost up to .256. His speed is still as dangerous as ever, as the 19-year-old has 11 steals on 12 attempts in Short-A. He’s now 20-for-22 in the minors this season.
Devlin Granberg is up to .306 on the year thanks to a current hot-streak of his own. The outfielder has 11 RBI and 22 runs scored in just 30 games this year. A sixth-round selection in this year’s draft, the right-handed hitter has seven doubles and one home run as well.
Tyler Esplin has brought his average up to .218 on the season, and is still hitting the ball hard. The 19-year-old has 22 hits on the year, 11 for extra-bases (three home runs). He’s also driven in 15 runs and scored 13 more, while stealing three bases in three attempts.
Eduard Bazardo continues to throw gems in Short-A. The 22-year-old tossed seven innings without allowing an earned run in his only start this week. He struck out nine more batters while once again walking none.
Next: Red Sox Prospect Watch: Bobby Dalbec’s stock is still rising
On the year, the right-handed pitcher now has a 2.08 ERA in seven starts. Over 39 innings he’s struck out 46 while walking four. Opponents are hitting .174 against him, as he boasts a 0.744 WHIP. Despite this being his first year at a level as high as Short-A, Bazardo seems more than prepared.