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

Full disclosure, I’m working on a list of the Top-30 prospects in the Red Sox system. I’m telling you this because I absolutely hate that I had to leave Victor Acosta off that list. Things are subject to change, but at the moment, he’s just on the outside looking in.

Acosta hit .277 between Full-A and Advanced-A this season. The 22-year-old had career-highs in doubles (29) and triple (3), as well as home runs (8) though. He also set new career-marks in runs scored (39) and RBI (49). The outfielder has a lot going for him at the plate.

Tyler Hill ended up having a solid year at the plate with a .254/.348/.312 slash line at the plate. He only hit one home run, but had a career-high in doubles (20) and walks (54). The 22-year-old also stole 27 bases and scored 67 runs (career-high).

C.J. Chatham played more than 35 games for the first time this year – in fact, he played 114.  With that time he put together a fantastic season, hitting .314 with 25 extra base hits. The shortstop also drove in 52 runs and scored 55 more, while stealing 11 bases.

Michael Osinski posted a .296/.370/.368 slash line between Full-A and Advanced-A. The corner infielder drove in 47 runs and scored 48 more in 99 games. He also stole eight bases and hit 14 doubles. The 23-year-old was selected in the 31st round of the 2017 draft last season and could already be in Double-A next season.

Brett Netzer slumped pretty hard at the end of 2018, but still had a solid season at the plate. The second baseman hit .270 with 31 doubles and three steals. He also drove in 50 runs and scored 50 more.

Denyi Reyes ended his year in Advanced-A after winning the South Atlantic League’s 2018 Most Outstanding Pitcher award in Full-A. He was stupid dominant all year, posting a 1.89 ERA in Full-A and 2.25 ERA in Advanced-A.

Combined between the two, the 21-year-old had a 1.97 ERA while opponents hit .210 against him. The right-hander posted a ridiculous 0.91 WHIP and struck out 145 batters in 155 2/3 innings – compared to 19 walks.

Durbin Feltman ended his year in Advanced-A too, but this time I was expecting him to end higher. The reliever dominated at every level he was at this year, including posting a 2.19 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings for Salem.

Feltman had 36 strikeouts total between 23 1/3 innings this season. He posted a 0.99 WHIP and 1.93 ERA in that time. I was honestly expecting him to be considered for a spot with the Boston Red Sox this year, but somehow he didn’t make it past the Red Sox of Salem despite never faltering.

Tanner Houck was on-fire to finish off his 2018. The 22-year-old ended with a 4.24 ERA and was fantastic for the last month of the season. He walked a ton of batters (60 in 119 innings) but had a decent BAA (.245) and struck out 111 batters. This is definitely the type of season Houck can build off of, as it went from disastrous to solid thanks to how it ended. Hopefully, that momentum carries into 2019.

Bryan Mata and Roniel Raudes both ended the season on the DL. Raudes at 20, had a 3.67 ERA through 54 innings, but his other numbers weren’t that pretty. He still improved on many categories compared to 2017 though, and that’s a trend that hopefully continues next season.

Mata, on the other hand, had a 3.50 ERA but had 58 walks in 72 innings. He limited the damage thanks to a .229 BAA and by only allowing one home run. The 19-year-old has plenty of time to work on his command. In the meantime, it’s encouraging to see just how dominant he is in basically every other facet of the game.