Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Stars getting hot at the right time
By Hunter Noll
Red Sox Full-A (Salem)
Great bounce-back week from Gilberto Jimenez. He was slumping hard but went 9-for-23 with one double, six RBI, three runs scored, and two steals. Jimenez is back up to a .299 average to go along with seven doubles, one triple, and one home run. The 20-year-old has 21 RBI, 22 runs scored, and six steals. I told you not to worry about the slump, and Jimenez delivered quickly.
Nick Yorke continues to stay hot. The 19-year-old boosted his average from .250 to .254 this week and had a few big games. That included a 2-for-5 day on Sunday that saw him hit a double and his first-career home run. Yorke has seven doubles and a triple to go along with that homer and now has 13 RBI, 19 runs scored, and nine steals. The Red Sox saw greatness in him and he’s proving their point.
Ceddanne Rafaela is slashing .244/.326/.345 on the year. Despite his average dipping one point this week, his OBP rose .016. That was thanks to one of the more impressive games I’ve seen in a while. The 20-year-old went 0-for-0 with four walks, one RBI, one run scored, and two steals. Going 0-for-0 with four walks amazes me from someone that age. The patience, discipline, and eye it shows is just incredible. Rafaela now has three doubles, three triples, and one home run. Meanwhile he has 12 RBI, 20 runs scored, and is 11-for-11 on stolen base attempts.
A great week from Jaxx Groshans has his slash line up to .311/.439/.515 with six doubles and five home runs. The 22-year-old catcher has 18 RBI and 23 runs scored, as well as one steal. Every time it feels like Groshans is hitting a bump in the road, he has a few big games and shuts that down real quick. It’s been extremely fun watching him so far.
Matthew Lugo’s numbers are eerily similar to where they were last week. He is still hitting .224 with two doubles, one triple, and one home run. Lugo even still has 14 runs scored. I swear the 20-year-old played though. And he did manage to get another RBI (to move up to 11) and another steal (giving him seven).
Jeremy Wu-Yelland had that really bad start last week but came back strong this week. The left-handed pitcher made two starts. His first start saw him go three innings, allowing just one run on one hit. He did walk four, but struck out six. Then the next start saw Wu-Yelland throw four no-hit innings. In fact, he didn’t walk anyone either (although there was an error that allowed a man on). Wu-Yelland struck out four that time. On the year, he now has a 3.58 ERA, .165 BAA, and 1.19 WHIP. He has struck out 37 batters over 27 2/3 innings.
dark. Next. Martinez crushes the 100th homer of his Boston career
Aaron Perry allowed seven earned runs over his first three appearances (7 2/3 innings pitched). Since then, the right-handed pitcher has allowed zero earned runs in his last six appearances (8 2/3 innings pitched). This has lowered Perry’s ERA to a solid 3.86. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old has a .239 BAA and a 1.35 WHIP. He has struck out 25 batters (six walks) over his 16 1/3 innings so far.