Red Sox Prospect Watch: Jarren Duran gets well deserved promotion
A lot has happened with Boston Red Sox prospects in the past week. Nothing more deserving than the Jarren Duran promotion to Double-A though.
Michael Chavis is once again not the only prospect-type player in the Majors for the Boston Red Sox. In fact, things are getting kind of crowded on that front for them.
Chavis is slashing .264/.358/.500 with two doubles and a triple, as well as 10 home runs. He has 28 RBI and 22 runs scored and he’s constantly improving in the field. The 23-year-old is every bit the number-one team prospect they expected.
Speaking of prospects, Chavis is no longer technically a prospect. Doesn’t mean he won’t be talked about on here this year though.
Due to injuries, Sam Travis is back up with the Red Sox too. He probably won’t get a ton of playing time, but might get enough to try and make his case. Currently, he’s 2-for-9 with Boston this year.
On the pitching side, two top-30 prospects in the organization are up in the Majors.
Josh Taylor has made two appearances, giving up one run in two innings. He’s struck out two in that time. If Taylor can give the Red Sox some more solid innings, he could find a long-term spot with the team. Boston is in need of left-handed relievers (and some bullpen help in general). He was great in Triple-A this year, so he might get an extended look.
Meanwhile, Mike Shawaryn is with the team but has yet to make his debut. That will likely come soon as a spot start.
Triple-A (Pawtucket Red Sox)
Dedgar Jimenez made his first Triple-A start of the year on Sunday. The left-hander had a solid outing, giving up three runs in 5 2/3 innings. He only allowed five hits but walked four as well, which caused problems. Jimenez did strike out six though and there were a lot of positives to build off of. It’s unclear if this is a permanent move or something that will only last until Shawaryn is sent down.
Kyle Hart had a 2.91 ERA in Double-A this year. Then in his Triple-A debut went nine shutout innings. The left-hander struck out eight and walked none, only allowing five hits.
The fact that Trevor Kelley has yet to get a chance in the Majors is astonishing to me. The Boston Red Sox have had plenty of issues with the bullpen this year when it comes to injuries and performance. Somehow the 25-year-old with a 1.01 ERA in Triple-A hasn’t gotten a chance though. Kelley has 25 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings and opponents are hitting a low .220 against him. He’s 2-for-2 on saves and I really can’t explain how he’s continuously passed over.
Teddy Stankiewicz gave up seven earned runs in 2 1/3 innings in his lone start this week. That sky-rocketed his ERA from 3.38 to 4.98. These are the kind of starts that crippled his numbers last year. What’s annoying is he’s very good 90% of the time but those few bad starts make his numbers look weak. Then all of a sudden anyone that doesn’t pay attention to much thinks he’s struggling when in reality he isn’t.
Bobby Poyner is back. The reliever hasn’t allowed an earned run in any of his last four appearances (6 1/3 innings). That’s lowered his Triple-A ERA to 4.24 (from 5.82). Don’t forget that he was absolutely lights-out all of last year no matter where he was.
Travis Lakins is on a nice streak of his own. Also, four straight appearances without an earned run (four innings). He’s down from a 4.61 ERA to 3.57.
Marco Hernandez .306 in Triple-A with six doubles and two home runs. He also has two steals and is looking like the player that was a major piece of the Red Sox a few years ago.
Chad De La Guerra is hitting .298 with four doubles, one triple, and one home run. He can play multiple positions in the infield and showed a surge in power last year. DLG is another name to look out for in the possible-debut-this-season category.
Jantzen Witte‘s picking it up with the home runs. He’s hitting .295 in Triple-A and now has five homers combined between Pawtucket and Portland. The right-handed hitter also has nine doubles and 23 RBI.
Josh Tobias was absolutely killing it in Double-A lately and has been promoted to Triple-A. He hasn’t played since rejoining the team but has a .246 average so far there. He was hitting .320 with Portland.
Josh Ockimey is only hitting .219 but thanks to the 41 walks he’s taken, he has a .380 OBP. He’s smacked 13 home runs and has 30 RBI on the year.
Double-A (Portland Sea Dogs)
Jarren Duran is here! It’s finally happened! The outfielder got the call-up on Monday, so of course, they didn’t play last night. The left-handed hitter had a .387 average in Advanced-A with 13 doubles and three triples as well as one home run. He had stolen a ridiculous 18 bases and scored an absurd 49 runs. This was past overdue.
C.J. Chatham is hitting .314 but hasn’t played since May 22. The shortstop’s bat is definitely being missed in Portland at the moment.
More from Red Sox Prospects
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- Red Sox invited group of players you’ve probably never heard of to Spring Training
- Jeter Downs’ official departure will continue to haunt Red Sox
Bobby Dalbec is back up to .250 and had back-to-back two-home run games. He now has 12 homers on the season (nine doubles and one triple as well) and has driven in 31 runs.
Jhon Nunez is up to .298 on the year and has seven doubles and one triple, as well as two home runs. The catcher is a switch-hitter who’s extremely dangerous with the bat and has a great arm behind the plate.
Denyi Reyes is down to a 4.25 ERA after another lights-out performance. Last week I said he had his best start of the year (six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and striking out eight while walking none). He might’ve topped that this time around. The righty went six shutout innings again. This time he walked two batters but only allowed one hit and struck out seven. He was the best pitcher in the minors for Boston last year and is regaining that magic.
Tanner Houck also had a fantastic start this week, throwing six shutout innings of his own. Houck struck out seven while allowing three hits and three walks in the game. The righty now has a 4.47 ERA on the year.
Matthew Gorst has been phenomenal no matter where he’s pitching this year. He has a 2.70 ERA in Triple-A and an even better 1.59 ERA in Double-A. The right-hander has a 0.62 WHIP and .111 BAA with Portland this season.
Durbin Feltman still has a troublesome 6.05 ERA in Double-A this year. He’s cut down heavily on the walks recently though and it’s yielded great results. The 22-year-old has a 0.87 ERA in outings where he didn’t walk anyone (one run in 10 1/3 innings). However, he has a 12.00 ERA (12 runs in nine innings) in outings with a walk. Can you guess what the key to his success is?
Advanced-A (Salem Red Sox)
Pedro Castellanos is probably the main attraction of the Salem Red Sox now that Jarren Duran was promoted. The first baseman definitely deserves that distinction. Castellanos is hitting .289 with 13 doubles and one home run. The right-handed hitter is tied for the team lead with 37 RBI and 22 runs scored. He even has five steals. Castellanos has yet to do anything to convince me he won’t hit at higher levels.
Ryan Fitzgerald is the other player tied for the team lead with 37 RBI. The shortstop has done a lot more than just drive in 37 runs though. He’s hitting .332 and has 14 doubles and four triples as well. The 24-year-old has 21 runs scored and eight steals on the year.
Victor Acosta is still hovering around .300 with a .286 average on the year. The outfielder has a strong .366 OBP and has 17 RBI and 16 runs on the year.
Eduard Bazardo allowed 3 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning in his last outing. The right-hander’s having such a good year that he still has a 1.82 ERA after that. Bazardo has 42 strikeouts compared to eight walks in 34 2/3 innings this year. He has a 0.89 WHIP and a .181 BAA.
Kutter Crawford has a 3.30 ERA in 12 starts this season. The righty has 67 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings and despite not looking as sharp lately is one of the most dependable pitchers on the Salem roster.
Rio Gomez struggled in his first outing in Advanced-A, allowing two runs in two innings. Since then, he’s thrown four innings combined between two appearances and hasn’t allowed a run in either. That’s dropped his ERA to 3.00, and he has five strikeouts and just one walk in six innings so far.
Full-A (Greenville Drive)
Thad Ward‘s streak of innings without allowing an earned run is up to 26 1/3 innings after going five on June 1. The 22-year-old has a 2.02 ERA now in 62 1/3 innings on the year. He’s struck out 71 in that time and has held opponents to a .189 average while posting a 1.01 WHIP.
Yoan Aybar has a 6.63 ERA and 21 walks in 19 innings. He also has 24 strikeouts and a .157 BAA. Pick which you want to fixate on but it’s hard not to acknowledge that there’s a ton of potential there.
Triston Casas is down to a .254 average but all-in-all he’s killing the ball this year. The 19-year-old has 13 doubles and 10 home runs and an organization leading (including the Majors) 43 RBI. The Red Sox drafted him to hit and he’s doing a whole lot of that.
Alan Marrero is on a current five-game hitting streak. The catcher is hitting .271 (.354 OBP) with seven doubles and four home runs so far. At just 21, he deserves a lot more credit as an intriguing prospect than he gets.
Kole Cottam is right there with Marrero in that category. Another catcher, he’s hitting just .223 with seven doubles and two home runs but has all the tools. Cottam has a lot of potential in his bat and is growing behind the plate.
Tyler Esplin is still 19. It’s easy to look at his season and feel unimpressed but that’s important to remember. Another thing to remember is he’s improving over last year. This is actually a very positive year for Esplin and if you’ve followed him should feel great about his potential.
The outfielder has a career-high 12 doubles to go along with his .227 average. He’s hit two doubles and one home run as well and already has 14 RBI and a career-best 25 runs scored.
Another 19-year-old is Brandon Howlett. He’s hitting .225 with nine doubles and three triples so far. The third baseman has shown a lot of power in his bat that’s just waiting to burst through as he matures. For now, it will be fun to watch his growth.
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Devlin Granberg is hitting .298 with 13 doubles and four triples, as well as three home runs. He’s driven in 19 runs and scored 26 more, stealing five bases in the process. The first baseman does a little bit of everything at the plate and as a sixth-rounder from last year, you’d think he’d get some more recognition – especially with how well he’s playing.