Full-A (Greenville Drive)
Alan Marrero might be emerging as one of the better catching prospects in the Red Sox system. The 21-year-old’s hitting .262 (.380 OBP) with three doubles and three home runs in 14 games. He’s driven in seven runs and scored six more.
Another top catching prospect is Kole Cottam. He might be hitting just .216 but there’s a lot to like about his offensive potential. The 21-year-old has two home runs and six doubles and is poised for a lot more. He also has a .363 OBP thanks to 15 walks in 22 games.
Devlin Granberg is the only full-time player on Greenville with an average in the .300s (Dustin Pedroia and Jecorrah Arnold are both at-or-above the mark but have 19 at-bats combined). The infielder is slashing .304/.416/.471 with four doubles, two triples, and three home runs. He’s scored 14 runs and driven in 15 more, stealing four bases as well.
Triston Casas is up to .246 and now has nine doubles and six home runs to go along with his whopping 25 RBI. Casas has 17 runs scored and two steals as well, but it’s the home runs and run producing that makes him so interesting.
Brandon Howlett is now at .228 thanks to a current 0-for-11 slump. However, he did blast his second homer of the season this week. He’s also got five doubles and seven RBI on the season and is still just 19.
When I was doing my “Year of” articles before the season – I gave one to Kris Jackson (boom). This week he made his first appearance of the year. The 23-year-old righty gave up one run in three innings. He now has a .182 BAA and 0.67 WHIP to go along with two strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA. That’s a great start to the year.
Alex Scherff had two starts this week, one wasn’t exactly good but the other was solid. In total, he went nine innings – allowing five earned runs. That raised his ERA to a still-strong 3.90 on the season. In 32 1/3 innings, the 21-year-old righty has struck out 31 but has a .264 BAA and has yet to win a game.
Rio Gomez is 5-for-5 in save opportunities this season. In 20 innings pitched he’s also got a 1.35 ERA and 27 strikeouts compared to just three walks. The left-hander has a .157 BAA and 0.70 WHIP.
Yoan Aybar is the most frustrating player to watch because he’s got such electric stuff but struggles to find the zone. In 13 appearances (10 2/3 innings) he’s struck out 16 batters – but walked 17. That’s led to an 8.44 ERA. What’s most annoying is how un-hittable he is outside of the walks – boasting a .146 BAA (and no home runs) but 2.16 WHIP.