Durbin Feltman was the headline addition to the Advanced-A roster. The Salem Red Sox are the next stop on this unstoppable train. Feltman’s already thrown two scoreless innings for Salem, striking out two.
The reliever has a 1.38 ERA over 13 MiLB innings. He’s struck out 23 and has a 0.77 WHIP in that time. The hype is real.
Denyi Reyes was my favorite addition to the Salem roster though. The right-hander continues to do no wrong in 2018. After posting a 1.89 ERA in 123 2/3 Full-A innings, Reyes went 5 2/3 innings without allowing a run in his Advanced-A debut.
Darwinzon Hernandez‘s last start saw him go just 4 1/3 innings, and now he’s on the disabled list. Those 4 1/3 innings were fire though. The lefty didn’t allow a run on three hits while striking out nine. His ERA on the season is now 3.79 while he’s struck out 115 batters over 95 innings.
Tanner Houck continued his ERA plummet as well. The righty allowed two earned runs over five innings this week, to drop his ERA to 4.29. Walks have been less of an issue for Houck recently, but he still has 58 in 107 innings. The 22-year-old hasn’t allowed more than two in a game July 2 though.
When it comes to hitters, it’s tough to decide who to talk about first. There are plenty of deserving players at the moment to get the top spot.
For now, we’ll go with C.J. Chatham. The shortstop just enjoyed a monster three-hit day that saw him mash a home run and drive in four runs.
Chatham is hitting .300 in Advanced-A and has three home runs to go along with 38 RBI in 70 games. The right-handed hitter is enjoying a breakout year after appearing in just seven games last season.
Brett Netzer is hitting .295 with 23 doubles while scoring 41 runs and driving in 44 more. The big news here though is that this week saw him hit career home run number two. Netzer will probably never going to be a 30-home run guy, but he’s more than capable of getting on base and driving in runs.
Victor Acosta is back and still hitting baseballs. Acosta’s up to a .310 average in Advanced-A thanks to a three-game hitting streak. The outfielder already has career-highs in runs (36) and RBI (42) this year. His doubles (25) have set a new personal best as well, while he’s tied career-highs in triples (3) and home runs (8).
Michael Osinski is hitting .316 in Advanced-A after hitting .298 in Full-A. I think it’s safe to say the level-jump hasn’t hurt him at all. The 23-year-old has 39 RBI combined between the two leagues in 278 at-bats. A 31st pick from the 2017 draft, Osinski is earning his promotions and could have a new home in Portland next year.
Tyler Hill‘s .244 average isn’t going to jump off a page at you. Neither are his 15 extra-base hits. His 24 steals and 56 runs are superb though. Hill has fantastic speed, which is something the Red Sox minor league system isn’t exactly swelling with at the moment. This makes the 22-year-old a very intriguing prospect to watch out for.