Red Sox Prospect Watch: Can anything stop Jarren Duran?

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WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 15: Pitcher Bryan Mata #34 of the World Team and the Boston Red Sox works the third inning against the U.S. Team during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Nationals Park on July 15, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

Advanced-A (Salem Red Sox)

The title of this entire article was “Can anything stop Jarren Duran?” Did you really expect me not to start with JD here? Duran is legitimately hitting .404 in Advanced-A this year. He’s 36-for-89 with five doubles, three triples, and one home run. The left-handed hitter has eight RBI and 23 runs scored. He’s walked 10 times and has nine steals.

How has he not been called up to at least Double-A yet? What else is there to see? It’s not even a “small” sample size at this point. Duran could go 0-for-his-next-31 and still be hitting .300.

Nuts.

Duran isn’t the only hot-hitter in Salem though. Victor Acosta‘s been on an absolute tear lately and is now up to a .344 average himself. The outfielder has 10 RBI with seven of them coming in his last three games. He’s been a very good hitter his entire career and I’ve always felt like the 22-year-old had an extra gear at the plate we hadn’t seen yet – I think we’re seeing it.

The other hottest-hitter at the moment is Pedro Castellanos. Each week so far this year I’d say how his average still wasn’t good, but he was making steady improvements. Now the first baseman has busted out completely. The right-handed hitter has multiple hits in five of his last six games. He’s now up to .282 on the year and has an impressive 18 RBI. Still just 21, there’s a lot to love about him as a prospect.

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Ryan Fitzgerald is hitting .357 on the year and that’s actually down from last week. That’s how good the shortstop has been. He has seven doubles and three triples and has driven in 17 runs. The left-handed hitter also has 12 runs scored and seven steals on the year.

Garrett Benge is on a seven-game hitting streak and has multiple hits in his last three. The corner infielder is hitting .275 (.375 OBP) with three doubles and one home run. His average has climbed back up like I said it would, and it’s more-than-likely not done yet.

Marco Hernandez is currently with Salem and looking like someone that could help the Red Sox this year. It’s easy to forget, but Hernandez is hitting .284 in 109 MLB at-bats. He has good speed and puts the bat on the ball. Working his way back from an injury, Hernandez is still just 26.

Bryan Mata is one of the Red Sox top pitching prospects for a reason. The 19-year-old has a 1.40 ERA through 25 2/3 innings this season. He’s struck out 26 in that time and has a 0.97 WHIP and .188 BAA. The right-handed pitcher had command issues in the past (58 walks in 72 innings last year) but only has seven so far this season.

Kutter Crawford has a 1.96 ERA through 23 innings this season. He’s struck out 26 and walked just eight. The right-handed pitcher has a 1.13 WHIP and is improving upon a strong first-full year in the system in 2018.

Somewhat surprisingly, Eduard Bazardo only has 15 strikeouts through 17 2/3 innings. Less surprisingly, he’s still dominating. The righty has two saves and a 1.53 ERA on the year. He has a 0.85 WHIP and .156 BAA and has yet to allow a home run.

Dominic LoBrutto just got engaged. The left-handed pitcher also has a 0.77 ERA in 11 2/3 innings for Salem this year. He’s 1-for-1 in save opportunities and has 11 Ks and no homers allowed so far. Opponents are hitting just .190 against him in Advanced-A this year (0.94 WHIP).

Jhonathan Diaz has had a great start to the season sans one start. He has a 4.43 ERA in 20 1/3 innings (10 runs) but five of those runs came in one 2 2/3 innings start. He’s still getting strikeouts (25) and has looked fantastic in recent starts.

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