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Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: It’s not always the top prospects

By Hunter Noll

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 19: An American flag is dropped from the Green Monster prior to the start of the game between the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox in honor of Patriots Day at Fenway Park on April 19, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 19: An American flag is dropped from the Green Monster prior to the start of the game between the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox in honor of Patriots Day at Fenway Park on April 19, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images) /
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Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 14: Garrett Whitlock #72 of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning during game two of a doubleheader at Target Field on April 14, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Red Sox defeated the Twins 7-1. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

It’s not just the top prospects making waves for the Boston Red Sox.

We’re still very early into the season for the Boston Red Sox minor league teams, so overreacting can still be a major issue. That being said, we are getting into that part of the season where you can start looking at big numbers and thinking that they might just be legit.

This is great news for the Red Sox, as they have a number of prospects that aren’t exactly on the radar who have performed at an elite level so far this season.

In the Majors, there are really only two young “prospect” type players. Those two being Bobby Dalbec and Garrett Whitlock. Sure, Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo are both either younger or the same age as those two. But Devers and Verdugo have quite a bit of MLB experience. Dalbec and Whitlock aren’t there yet. So we’ll only be focusing on them for the Majors portion.

Dalbec is hitting .209 and already has 54 strikeouts compared to nine walks in 149 plate appearances. He has had serious ups-and-downs too. When the right-handed hitter is hot, he’s very dangerous. But when he’s struggling, he’s been a hole in the lineup.

That being said, Dalbec has shown plenty of signs that he can put it all together and be a major bat in the lineup. He’s shown a great glove at first base and does have eight doubles, one triple, and five home runs. Meanwhile, he’s driven in 22 runs and scored 11 more (even stealing a base). Dalbec was the top prospect for a reason.

The New York Yankees have to be wondering if they should’ve let Garrett Whitlock go, right? Whitlock has appeared in 13 games for the Red Sox this season. In that time, he has thrown 24 1/3 innings. The right-handed pitcher has a 1.85 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .222 BAA, one save, and 25 strikeouts over those innings. Lights-out, domination.

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