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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 infielder Michael Chavis
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – MARCH 14: Michael Chavis #23 of the Boston Red Sox in action against the Minnesota Twins during a Grapefruit League spring training game at Hammond Stadium on March 14, 2021 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

One of the Red Sox top prospects, and probably the one fans are most excited for (as he could be called up at any time this year) is Jarren Duran. However we don’t really get to talk about the outfielder for a few weeks. It’s good news though. Duran is not hurt, but instead – he’s playing for the USA team. Because Duran’s seriously that good.

Even worse, Worcester has had a number of injuries to legit prospects already this year. That would include catcher/infielder Connor Wong, infielder Chad De La Guerra, and pitchers Eduard Bazardo and Tanner Houck. For those keeping track at home, that’s four prospects – three of whom are in the top-30 of the Red Sox organization. De La Guerra might not be on that list but he’s very intriguing and has tons of potential.

No need to fear though, Worcester has more than enough talent to keep this interesting.

Michael Chavis is back in Triple-A after a short stint in the Majors. He played pretty well in Boston but had a serious strikeout problem, swinging at way too many pitches outside of the strike zone. Hopefully that’s something he can correct in the minors, because there’s a lot to love about his game. Right now, Chavis is hitting just .161 with one double in Triple-A, but that’s in just 31 at-bats.

Jeter Downs is slashing .239/.333/.394 right now. The infielder has two doubles and three home runs, driving in seven runs and scoring eight more. Most impressively, he’s already 7-for-8 in stolen base attempts. Downs has always been a great base runner and it’s definitely part of his game that does not get mentioned enough.

Marcus Wilson is having a fantastic all-around season so far. The outfielder is slashing .254/.361/.493 with four doubles, two triples, and three home runs. He has 11 RBI and 11 runs scored, going 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts. The right-handed hitter is proving that he can do it all on offense, while giving you a fantastic glove in the outfield.

Josh Ockimey is hitting just .155 with three home runs at the moment. He is not walking at the same rate he has in the past (only eight so far despite over 70 in his past four seasons and over 80 in three of those). At the moment, he has just eight. However, Ockimey has shown major power and a good eye in the past. There’s no reason to believe the left-handed hitter can’t put it all together soon.

Jonathan Arauz is hitting .204 with three doubles, one home run, four RBI, seven runs scored, and one steal. This isn’t a concern though. Arauz is depth for the Majors. He’s proven he can contribute in Boston and he has a great glove.

Kyle Hart struggled in his start this week, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks over 3 1/3 innings. The left-handed pitcher still holds a decent enough 4.50 ERA though. This early in the year that’s fantastic considering he just had an implosion start. And if we’ve learned anything from Hart over the years it’s that he usually follows up a bad start with a strong one, so that number could dip back down.

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