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

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

Triston Casas saw his numbers drop this week, as his slash line is now .287/.374/.463 at the moment. Still really good numbers but obviously down from what he’s been. At the moment, the power numbers aren’t exactly where you would expect either. Through 28 games, he has three doubles, two triples, and four home runs. Not bad, but not where he was at in 2019. That being said, Casas has driven in 21 runs and scored 22 more (stealing one base). He’s having a very strong season at the highest level of the minors he’s ever been at. The 21-year-old is a star.

Devlin Granberg got the promotion to Double-A that he absolutely deserved. In three games with Portland so far, Granberg is 4-for-12 (.333) with one double, one RBI, and one run scored. He’s slashing .327/.408/.617 on the season and already has a fantastic 30 RBI and seven home runs (one off his career-high) in just 30 games. It’s exciting to see what he can do with a new challenge.

Quick note on Pedro Castellanos, who did not play this week due to injury. Hopefully he makes a quick recovery.

Jeisson Rosario continues to boost the numbers fast. His average saw another pretty big bump this week, going from .254 to .268. He did that thanks to a 6-for-16 with one double and two runs scored. Most importantly, he came into the week with just 11 RBI on the year. He picked up another five. Rosario now has six doubles on the year to go along with 16 RBI, 18 runs scored, and two steals. The outfielder has been great these last two weeks and could be finding his swing.

Ronaldo Hernandez was just 1-for-17 this week. However, that one hit was a home run so that helps it not hurt so much. Hernandez saw his average drop down to .215. He now has a solid five doubles and six home runs on the year though. The catcher has driven in just eight runs and scored 11 more. You could argue that run production has more to do with batters not getting on in front of him (eight RBI on six homers is wild) but it goes both ways. Hernandez needs to capitalize more with runners on. Still showing plenty of great positive signs so nothing to worry about.

Hudson Potts is just 3-for-32 on the year. However, he has only appeared in eight games since returning from injury. Being out that long certainly will hurt someone’s swing. Give him time. The positive is that Potts did manage to hit a home run this week and does have three RBI on the year. He’ll be fine.

Ryan Fitzgerald’s average dipped from .262 to .239 thanks to a 1-for-16. However, like Hernandez that one hit was a home run. Fitzgerald also drew four walks. He’s a really solid bat and you shouldn’t be worried about the numbers much. He’s proven in the past that he doesn’t let a few bad games get to him.

Grant Williams recorded at least one hit in four-of-five games this week. That helped the infielder work his way back up to a .300 average. While he does not have a home run on the year, Williams has been great at getting on-base. He has five doubles, one triple, and two RBI on the year. He also has two steals and a really solid 20 runs scored though.

Brayan Bello needs and nickname – oh, and he’s proven that he more than deserved that promotion. After a strong first Double-A start last week, Bello went out and absolutely dominated this week. The righty threw 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on two hits and one walk while striking out 10. That’s ridiculous and it’s scary how quickly it took the 22-year-old to get acclimated to a new level. Between Double-A and Advanced-A, Bello has a 2.20 ERA, .216 BAA, and 1.02 WHIP with 57 strikeouts (10 walks) over 41 innings pitched.

Frank German had a fantastic week. In two appearances the righty threw eight innings, allowing just three runs on nine hits and two walks (striking out nine). German is down to a 5.66 WHIP, .271 BAA, and 1.06 WHIP on the season. He has struck out 25 batters compared to 16 walks over 35 innings. That might not sound good but so far in June he has just four walks compared to 16 strikeouts, so German is clearly making some corrections.

Josh Winckowski didn’t have the best start this week, allowing four runs on six hits over just three innings. He walked two while striking out two in that game as well, so nothing was really all that promising. However, one bad start doesn’t define someone. The 22-year-old has a 3.10 ERA, .226 BAA, and 1.16 WHIP on the year. He has struck out 35 batters (12 walks) over 40 2/3 innings. Like I said, one bad start doesn’t define someone.

Zack Kelly threw two more shutout innings this week. He had some serious command issues (walking three batters and hitting two more) while striking out three, but managed to leave unscathed. On the year, the right-handed pitcher has a 1.28 WHIP – that’s by far the worst of his numbers. He also has a ridiculously low .189 BAA and an absurd 0.57 ERA. Kelly has 27 strikeouts over 15 2/3 innings.

Denyi Reyes slightly dropped his numbers this week thanks to three innings of work where he allowed just one run. The right-handed pitcher has a 3.55 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and .261 BAA on the season. He has struck out 28 batters compared to just five walks over 28 1/3 innings pitched.

Durbin Feltman threw two scoreless innings this week and now has his lowest ERA since May 25. The right-handed pitcher has a solid 3.79 ERA with a respectable .250 BAA and 1.32 WHIP. He has struck out 25 batters over 19 innings and importantly has only walked six so far.

What a great week for Dominic LoBrutto. The left-handed pitcher made two appearances. In those two appearances he threw a total of two innings, allowing no runs on just two hits and one walk while striking out one. Oh, and he picked up two saves. LoBrutto now has a 3.86 ERA, .277 BAA, and 1.41 WHIP. The numbers are steadily improving as he gets more-and-more comfortable in Double-A.