Red Sox Prospect Watch: The final week of the 2018 season

Michael Chavis hit a cold-streak to end his short Triple-A run this season. In his last four games, he went 0-for-16. The third baseman still managed to hit .273 with three doubles and two home runs in 33 at-bats. Chavis also drove in seven runs and scored eight more in eight games with Pawtucket.

Expect the top prospect to start the year in Triple-A again next year, although he deserves a chance to fight for a spot in the Majors. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a strong case, but the Red Sox will at least want to wait a little to get an extra year of service time.

Rusney Castillo wasn’t part of the first wave of September call-ups. Barring injuries, it’s probably not happening. That’s upsetting because he’s definitely deserved it. Castillo hit .319 this season with 31 doubles and 13 steals. He also drove in 59 runs and scored another 56. All those numbers I just threw at you led the team.

Lin had a career-high .307 average and .448 slugging percentage in Triple-A this year. There’s life in his bat, maybe he can figure it out at the Major League level. If he can the shortstop could be an extremely valuable asset.

Looking back at the stats in a few years, anyone will say Travis didn’t have a great year. A .258 average isn’t great, and neither is 21 extra-base hits. Not even his run production was good (43 RBI and 35 runs scored). The first baseman had a superb second half though and showed there’s still a ton of potential in his bat. His numbers might be holding him back from the opportunity, but I’d love to see Travis get a chance in the Majors full-time. His bat could play extremely well at Fenway.

Tony Renda‘s still only 27. He hit .318 combined between Double-A and Triple-A this year. The second baseman deserves a shot in the Majors again. It might not be with the Red Sox but expect to see him at some point next year.

Josh Ockimey hit just .215 for Pawtucket this year, but you need to remember a few things.

First off, Ock is still just 22. Second, the first baseman had just 27 games (93 at-bats) in Triple-A. Third, in that time, he still hit five home runs and drove in 15 runs. Finally, he’s coming off a career-year in 2017 and managed to set a new career-best in home runs (20) this year. There’s tons of raw power in Ockimey’s bat.

Mike Shawaryn finished with a 3.93 ERA in 36 2/3 Triple-A innings. That’s after posting a 3.28 ERA in 112 2/3 innings for Double-A. For those keeping track at home that’s a combined 3.44 ERA in 149 1/3 innings this season. The right-hander had a 1.13 WHIP and struck out 132 batters compared to 38 walks in 2018. Shawaryn should see his MLB debut at some point next year.

Travis Lakins was awesome in Double-A but utterly dominant in Triple-A. Combined between the two the righty had a 2.32 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. Opponents hit .190 against him, and he struck out 57 in 54 1/3 innings.

Trevor Kelley is widely ignored because of pitchers like the two above. He’s not regarded as high as them, so his 1.54 ERA in 23 1/3 Triple-A innings somehow went unnoticed. The 24-year-old did so by allowing just one home run in that time.