Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Jarren Duran gets the call to the show

Jarren Duran’s MLB debut stars in this weeks Red Sox Prospect Watch

Obviously there’s pretty major news this week when discussing the Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch, the MLB debut of Jarren Duran. That’s right, Duran got promoted to the Majors and it looks like the plan is for him to stay. So far, the outfielder has appeared in two games and has a 1-for-6 with one walk and one run going. It’s extremely exciting to see what he’ll be able to do in the Majors, this was absolutely deserved.

Duran did not come alone though. Tanner Houck returned to the Majors and made a massive splash immediately. The right-hander threw three shutout innings against the New York Yankees, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three. He also picked up his first career save. On the year, Houck has a 3.38 ERA, .283 BAA, and 1.28 WHIP. In 13 1/3 innings in the Majors he has 15 strikeouts compared to just two walks.

Garrett Whitlock has thrown 45 2/3 innings this season. In that time he has a 1.38 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and .222 BAA. The right-hander has 50 strikeouts compared to 11 walks. Meanwhile, he has a 3-1 record, eight holds, and one save. It looks like he’s going to be a major part of the Red Sox pitching for a long, long time.

Bobby Dalbec’s hot-and-cold season continues. It seems like some of the fans have soured on him but his numbers really aren’t that bad. The .216 average is not great, and he strikes outs a little too often (99 in 250 at-bats). That being said, 10 doubles, three triples, and 10 home runs is pretty solid. Dalbec also has 36 RBI, 25 runs scored, and one steal. Dalbec has an electric bat, so one or two big games could get him back on track and the fans back on his side.

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

Obviously Worcester looks a little different at the moment thanks to a certain promotion, and the Olympics. That being said, there is still plenty to talk about.

Josh Ockimey deserves a major shoutout this week. The first baseman came into the week hitting .170. He picked up a hit in all six games he appeared in though, going 8-for-16 (.500) with three walks (only two strikeouts), one double, two home runs, six RBI, and two runs scored. That moved Ockimet’s slash line up to .211/.333/.461. He has two doubles, 10 home runs, 21 RBI, and 18 runs scored. The numbers are starting to move up really nicely.

Jeter Downs did not have a great week, going 0-for-16. That dropped his average from .234 to .213. However, he’s been up-and-down for a lot of this year. Due to that, there’s really no reason to be too worried about him. Downs has a great all-around offensive game (seven homers and 12 steals). He’s going to get back on track.

Marcus Wilson is slashing .256/.389/.482 on the season. That’s an incredible strong slash line. Especially coming from someone that plays fantastic defense and has 10 steals on the year. Wilson has nine doubles, three triples, and 10 home runs. He’s driven in 29 runs and score 32 more. There isn’t much Wilson can’t do.

Johan Mieses is slashing .277/.367/.506 with five doubles, one triple, and four home runs in Triple-A. Overall on the year he has a .281/.368/.611 slash line. The outfielder has eight doubles, one triple, and 15 home runs. He’s driven in 35 runs and scored 31 more. Coming into the season, the career-high in homers for Mieses was 28. He’s over halfway there despite playing in just 46 games.

Connor Wong is hitting just .157 with six doubles and one home run in Triple-A. Honestly though the stats aren’t all that important for Wong at the moment. It’s just good that he’s getting consistent playing time. In his short stint in the Majors, the catcher was 3-for-11 with one double and two runs scored. He’s shown that he has the potential to produce in the Boston.

Jose Adames now has four innings of work in Triple-A. The right-handed pitcher has allowed zero runs on just two hits and two walks (compared to four strikeouts) in that time. Adames has a 1.93 ERA, .167 BAA, and 0.99 WHIP in 23 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season. The 28-year-old has 31 strikeouts and is 10-for-11 in save opportunities.

Red Sox Advanced-A (Greenville)

Joe Davis got the promotion to Advanced-A and wow was this overdue. The first baseman was slashing .333/.384/.577 with 16 doubles and 10 home runs in Full-A. He drove in 49 runs in 48 games and scored 32 more runs. Davis has yet to play a game in Advanced-A, but you should expect more of the classic mashing that he brings to the plate.

Last week I talked about how Christian Koss was proving to be a great pickup by the Red Sox, even if his slash line was nothing crazy. He went out this week and fixed that, going 12-for-22 with one double and one home run. The shortstop went from slashing .247/.321/.371 to .278/.344/.407. He did that in a week. Insanity. Koss has 10 doubles, three triples, and four home runs. He’s driven in 21 runs, scored 34 more, and stolen six bases.

Brandon Howlett continues to add to his career-year. The third baseman has a slash line of .275/.370/.534 with 12 doubles, two triples (career-high), and 11 home runs (career-high). Howlett already has a career-best 37 RBI, to go along with 38 runs and two steals (also a career-best).

Tyler Dearden is slashing .284/.410/.538 with 14 doubles and 10 home runs. The outfielder has driven in 41 runs and scored 40 more. All of those numbers are career-highs. Dearden is still just 23 and has all-around potential to be great in nearly every category. It looks like he’s really figured most of it out this year.

Kole Cottam moved the average up a little bit more this week. He now has a .266 average to go along with a .379 OBP and .460 slugging percentage. The catcher has 12 doubles and five home runs, while driving in 21 runs and scoring 20 more. Cottam has been superb in the month of July and the offensive potential is absolutely elite, but don’t sleep on his defense as well.

Jaxx Groshans was called up last week but started a little slow. However, he’s back on track. The catcher is now hitting .263 with a double, a walk, two RBI, and two runs scored. Overall, Groshans is slashing .294/.405/.438 with eight doubles and five home runs on the year. He has 23 RBI, 28 runs scored, and one steal on the season.

Cameron Cannon just hits, doesn’t he? The infielder is rocking a .282/.327/.435 slash line. He already has 20 doubles to go along with six home runs. Cannon’s driven in 29 runs, scored 36 more, and stolen eight bases. He’s seriously doing everything. Speed, contact, power, Cannon can do it all.

Dominic D’Alessandro has a strong .273/.340/.466 slash line with three doubles, one triple, and four home runs – in just 88 at-bats. The right-handed hitter has already driven in 15 runs and scored nine more. It will be interesting to see how D’Alessandro responds now that it appears he’s getting some more consistent at-bats.

Nick Sogard’s .260 average is solid, so is his .333 OBP. It’s the .462 slugging percentage that is such a nice surprise though. After not hitting a home run in 2019 – Sogard has nine doubles, one triple, and eight home runs this season. He’s driven in 24 runs and scored 30 more, while stealing five bases.

Tyler Esplin has a .236 average and .303 slugging percentage. However, he has a solid .348 OBP. So far, the outfielder has 10 doubles and one home run. Meanwhile, he’s driven in 25 runs and scored 33 more. Esplin plays a really good outfield, gets on-base at a solid clip, and even has three steals. The average will get back up a little bit, don’t worry.

Chris Murphy did something big this week. In his lone start, the lefty went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. Okay, solid game. But why was it special? Murphy struck out nine batters, a new career-high. The 23-year-old has a 3.86 ERA, .229 BAA, and 1.15 WHIP. He’s struck out 69 batters over 60 2/3 innings pitched.

Brian Van Belle entered July with a 5.56 ERA. In two starts this month the right-hander has allowed zero runs over 11 innings though. He has allowed just six hits and one walk in that time, while striking out 12. This has given Van Belle really solid numbers on the year. He now has a 4.45 ERA, .282 BAA, and 1.28 WHIP. The 24-year-old has 57 strikeouts compared to just eight walks over 54 2/3 innings pitched.

Cody Scroggins has now thrown three innings in Advanced-A. In that time, the right-hander has allowed no runs on just one hit and one walk (compared to four strike outs). Scroggins now has 30 innings pitched in 2021. He has a 1.20 ERA, .215 BAA, and 1.20 WHIP, to go along with 34 strikeouts. Scroggins has a 3-2 record, 1 hold, and six saves in seven opportunities.

Red Sox Full-A (Salem)

Gilberto Jimenez is hitting .296 (.332 OBP) with 10 doubles, two triples, and two home runs. The outfielder has 33 RBI and 40 runs scored. Meanwhile, he’s already stolen 11 bases. Jimenez has had a few cold stretches this year but the fact that he has managed to always break out of them shows a ton of maturity for the 21-year-old.

Nick Yorke has a .289/.381/.400 slash line. That in itself is impressive from a 19-year-old in his first season in the minor leagues. The Red Sox 2020 first-round pick has done more than just that though. Yorke has 10 doubles, one triple, and three home runs on the season. He’s driven in 23 runs and scored 29 more, while stealing nine bases.

Ceddanne Rafaela had a solid week and it looks like he might be getting back on track. The 20-year-old impresses me so much with his elite utility-man skills already. Meanwhile, he has a .223 average with eight doubles, three triples, and two home runs. Rafaela has driven in 16 runs, scored 34 more, and stolen 16 bases without getting caught yet.

Matthew Lugo is starting to hit. The shortstop is up to a .242 average. He’s hit seven doubles, one triple, and two home runs. Lugo has 22 RBI and 34 runs scored on the year, while also stealing 12 bases in 13 attempts. Hopefully he continues to pick it up at the plate, Salem has an exciting lineup and the 20-year-old is one of the stars.

Stephen Scott had himself a phenomenal week. The left-handed hitter did a lot, including add 10 RBI to his season total. Scott now has a .269/.394/.489 slash line with 16 doubles and eight home runs. He has driven in 38 runs and scored 44 more, while stealing two bases. He should get even more playing time with Joe Davis getting promoted, so the numbers could bump up even more.

Nicholas Northcut currently holds a .221/.341/.421 slash line with 16 doubles, one triple, and seven home runs. The third baseman has driven in 35 runs and scored 34 more. Northcut was an 11th round pick back in 2018, and has plenty of potential. The recent power surge has definitely helped him to realize some of that.

Nick Decker once again rose his numbers this week. The outfielder now has a .256/.396/.436 slash line in Full-A. Decker has six doubles, one triple, and two home runs to this point. Meanwhile, he has driven in nine runs, scored 16 more, and stolen three bases. The 21-year-old has tons of offensive potential and can go defensively as well. He’s clearly made strides in 2021.

Jeremy Wu-Yelland did not have a great outing this week. The left-handed pitcher gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits and one HBP (three strikeouts) over just 1 1/3 innings pitched. Still though, Wu-Yelland has a 3.66 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and .186 BAA. He has struck out 46 batters over 39 1/3 innings pitched.

Ryan Fernandez has thrown 23 1/3 innings pitched so far this year. The right-handed pitcher has a 2-1 record, two holds, and two saves in two opportunities. Fernandez has a 1.03 WHIP to this point, somehow that’s easily his worst stat. He also has a .195 BAA and a 0.39 ERA. Seriously, you heard that right – a 0.39 ERA. Fernandez also has 26 strikeouts.

Chih-Jung Liu made two starts this week. The first was not great, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks (four strikeouts) over three innings. The right-hander corrected himself in the follow-up though, giving up just two runs on six hits and one walk (two strikeouts) over five innings. Overall Liu has a 4.85 ERA, .280 BAA, and 1.46 WHIP in 13 innings pitched for Salem.

Devon Roedahl made two appearances this week, totaling five innings pitched. In that time, the right-handed pitcher allowed zero runs on five hits and two walks (compared to four strikeouts). Roedahl now has a 1.56 ERA on the season. Meanwhile, he has a .175 BAA and a 0.81 WHIP. Roedahl has a 2-1 record, four saves in four opportunities, and 32 strikeouts compared to just six walks in 34 2/3 innings pitched.