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

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

The Portland Sea Dogs are not immune to injury either. Triston Casas has missed all week, so he is still slashing .328/.400/.552. A legitimate superstar. At just 21, I honestly think he could be playing and producing well in the Majors right now.

Guys, is Johan Mieses the best power hitter since David Ortiz? This dude is wild right now. Hitting bombs left and right. The right-handed hitter has a .288/.374/.725 slash line with two doubles and 11 home runs. Eleven. He’s driven in 22 runs and scored 18 more. And it’s not even like he’s striking out a lot, with just 17 at the moment. Most impressively, Mieses has flashed some nice leather in the outfield.

Roldani Baldwin is a machine. It was only in eight games, but he hit .348 in 2019. Now this season, he’s slashing .340/.450/.520 with four doubles, one triple, and one home runs. The catcher/third baseman has driven in seven runs and scored 10 more. It’s almost like he’s taken offense to the Red Sox bringing in so many other catching prospects. He’s reminding them just how good he is.

More from Red Sox Prospects

• Predicting top Red Sox outfield prospect Ceddanne Rafaela’s timeline to the majors
• Predicting Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer’s timeline to the majors
• Red Sox risk repeating rookie mistake with Eric Hosmer release
• 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

Speaking of those catching prospects, Ronaldo Hernandez had a strong week. He’s back up to .262 with four doubles and two home runs. Hernandez has only driven in three runs and scored five more, showing his run production could use some work. Meanwhile, he’s only drawn one walk. Hernandez has all the tools to be a great catcher though, so the numbers aren’t a concern at the moment. Especially considering the signs of life he has shown.

Jeisson Rosario has gotten hot. His batting average rose from .237 to .278 thanks to a fantastic week. Meanwhile, the outfielder has a .374 OBP with three doubles, having driven in 10 runs and scoring 10 more, stealing two bases. Rosario has great eye and good speed. Both perfect tools for a leadoff-type hitter.

Pedro Castellanos is back down to .241 but he does have three doubles and two home runs to go along with 12 RBI, 17 runs scored, and one steal. Castellanos has been up-and-down so far this year but he has proven in the past that he’s a very useful bat. Don’t worry about the 23-year-old, the average will rise steadily.

Ryan Fitzgerald’s really strong 2021 campaign continues. The infielder is rocking a .288/.360/.500 slash line with 11 doubles and two home runs. Fitzgerald has driven in 11 runs and scored eight more, while stealing one base. The left-handed hitter rarely gives away at-bats and can put solid contact on the ball often (why he has 11 doubles).

Grant Williams is in the middle of a breakout season. The second baseman is hitting .333 with four doubles at the moment. He has only driven in one run, but he has scored 13 and stolen one base. Williams came into the season with a career-average around .270. While that’s very solid, the massive numbers he’s putting up now might be the reason he climbs up the prospect ladder.

Josh Winckowski for Cy Young? Can we start that argument now? The 22-year-old has been superb with the Red Sox so far. He has thrown 27 innings so far, posting a 1.33 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and .152 BAA so far. The right-handed pitcher has 26 strikeouts and is making a case for Triple-A sooner, rather than later.

Kutter Crawford had a bad start last week, giving up five runs on three hits and two walks over 2 1/3 innings. However, he had a fantastic bounce-back start this week. The right-handed pitcher threw five innings, allowing just one run on five hits. Crawford now has a 4.11 ERA and .241 BAA, but a really strong 0.98 WHIP.

Denyi Reyes is down to a 3.12 ERA to go with a .234 BAA and a 1.04 WHIP. The left-handed pitcher has allowed just three walks compared to 15 strikeouts over 17 1/3 innings so far. Most importantly, Reyes made his first start of the year this week. He went five innings and allowed zero runs on just four hits and one walk.

Rio Gomez had a great week. The righty threw 4 2/3 innings over two games, allowing one run on four hits. He did walk three, but also struck out five. Gomez now has a 4.70 ERA in Double-A. His .311 BAA and 1.70 WHIP need work, but this was a very promising week.

Matthew Kent has thrown 13 innings so far this year. The left-handed pitcher has a 1.38 ERA, .222 BAA, and 0.85 WHIP in that time. Kent has been underrated in the Red Sox organization over the years. An off 2019 definitely didn’t do him any favors. However, it appears the 28-year-old is ready to prove just how good he is once again.