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Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Stars getting hot at the right time

By Hunter Noll

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 20: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees on September 20, 2020 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. It was his debut at Fenway Park. The 2020 season had been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 20: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees on September 20, 2020 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. It was his debut at Fenway Park. The 2020 season had been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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Red Sox prospect Jarren Duran
BOSTON, MA – MAY 11: Jarren Duran #24 of the Worcester Red Sox hits a solo home run during the seventh inning of the inaugural game at Polar Park against the Syracuse Mets on May 11, 2021 in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was the first game ever played at Polar Park. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

There are a few big things to talk about in Triple-A this week, but let’s start with Tanner Houck. He returned at the perfect time. Boston is in terrible need of some pitching, and the righty is right at the top of the list. Houck threw three shutout innings in his return, striking out six. He walked just one batter while not allowing a hit. A call-up could be in the cards very soon.

What a week it was for Jarren Duran. The outfielder ended the week on a four-game hitting-streak and collected a hit in 5-of-6 games. His average rose from .260 to .286 and he now has seven doubles and 12 homers on the year. Funnily enough, for the second week in a row he mashed a home run on Sunday – this time it was a three-run walk-off. Duran has 24 RBI, 26 runs scored, and six steals on the year. He’s doing everything. The Red Sox have some dead bats, could he be a solution soon?

Marcus Wilson is down to .269 but did end the week on a nice little three-game hitting-streak. The outfielder has a .399 OBP and six doubles, two triples, and eight home runs on the season. He has 24 RBI, 25 runs scored, and seven steals in eight attempts. Wilson plays good defense, has plus speed, and a fantastic bat. Another candidate for a call-up if the Red Sox need help at some point.

Jeter Downs had a pretty solid week. He saw his average go up from .220 to .227, and he added another double and home run to his season totals. The 22-year-old now has three doubles to go along with six homers on the year. Meanwhile, he has 13 RBI, 15 runs scored, and is 8-for-10 in steal attempts. Still not the best year for him but Downs is starting to pick things up nicely at the plate.

Johan Mieses only appeared in two games this week, going 3-for-7 with two walks, a triple, and three runs scored. He’s slashing .293/.375/.585 in his short time in Triple-A so far. Overall, Mieses has a .288/.371/.672 slash line with four doubles, one triple, and 14 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A. He has driven in 28 runs and scored 28 more. An absolute monster offensively.

Josh Ockimey only appeared in three games this week, but they were all very encouraging. He collected at least one hit in all three games, and rose his average from .155 to .183 in that time. Ockimey also walked twice and now has a .313 OBP to go along with a .451 slugging percentage. He hit two more home runs this week and now has seven on the season (one double). Meanwhile, he has driven in 13 runs and scored 15 more. It definitely hasn’t been a great year but Ockimey has shown major signs of life lately. He has four home runs in just 24 at-bats in June.

Connor Wong is down to a .148/.188/.246 slash line on the year. No real worry though honestly. He’s still working back from an injury that kept him out for quite some time. Meanwhile, he’s only had 61 at-bats so far this year. A short hitting-streak could boost him right back over .200 in no time.

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