Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Week of the walk-off in the minors

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

Tyreque Reed has wasted absolutely no time getting acclimated in Double-A. The first baseman absolutely mashed in High-A and he’s doing more of the same in Portland. I’ve said it plenty of times but what a find by the Red Sox. Reed is hitting .333 with four doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI, and six runs scored in eight games with the Sea Dogs. Overall, Reed is slashing .301/.402/.598 with 12 doubles, one triple, and 16 home runs. His career-high is 18. He also has 61 RBI in 56 games. Oh, and he hit a walk-off two run bomb a few days ago.

Speaking of walk-offs, Devlin Granberg is also having an insanely wonderful time in Double-A. He had an RBI-single on Sunday. After slashing .326/.416/.642 in High-A, he’s slashing .345/.363/.564 in Portland. Granberg has 14 doubles, two triples, and 12 home runs combined between the two levels. He also has 51 RBI, 42 runs scored, and four steals. Could we see another promotion to Triple-A relatively soon?

Ryan Fitzgerald definitely does not get talked about nearly enough. The infielder is rocking a really really strong .283/.366/.527 slash line. Coming into the season Fitz had a slugging percentage that hovered in the .380s. He’s slugging .527 this year. The left-handed hitter has 24 doubles (one off his career-high), three triples, and nine home runs (a new career-high). He has 32 RBI, 34 runs scored, and three steals.

Pedro Castellanos is having such an incredible season. The right-handed hitter has a .303/.371/.500 with 10 doubles, one triple, and 11 home runs. The 11 homers are already a career-high. Meanwhile, Castellanos has driven in 35 runs and scored 45 more, even stealing one base.

Ronaldo Hernandez is having a strong all-around season. The catcher is slashing .242/.279/.443 with 12 doubles and nine home runs. He’s driven in 22 runs and scored 20 more. Hernandez started the year really slow but has really picked it up lately and could end up putting together a nice first year in the Red Sox organization.

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

Hudson Potts is also getting his first taste of the Red Sox MiLB system this year. After an injury kept him out for an extended time to start the season, Potts is quickly filling up the box scores. The right-handed hitter has a .215/.290/.397 slash line. That might not sound great but in just 121 at-bats he has a solid four doubles, six home runs, 21 RBI, and 17 runs scored.

Nick Sogard got the promotion to Double-A after a solid .265/.335/.464 slash line in High-A. So far, the infielder is 2-for-10 but has a great .429 OBP with two RBI and two runs scored in Portland. Sogard has eight home runs on the year, showing a surprising amount of power.

Jeisson Rosario isn’t having the best year with a .238/.340/.296 slash line. Rosario has seven doubles and two home runs. However the run production is pretty solid. The left-handed hitter has 26 RBI, 34 runs scored, and eight steals.

Alex Scherff has thrown 6 2/3 innings in Double-A. In that time, he has a 1.35 ERA, .192 BAA, and 1.05 WHIP. He has nine strikeouts compared to just two walks. Combined between the two levels (High-A and Double-A) Scherff has a 2.45 ERA, .196 BAA, and 1.19 WHIP. The right-hander has a 3-1 record, two holds, four saves, and 46 strikeouts compared to 13 walks in 29 1/3 innings.

Zack Kelly gave up two runs in one inning in his last appearance. Oh no, his numbers must be terrible now! Oh, what’s that? The right-hander still has a 1.69 ERA, .196 BAA, and 1.16 WHIP? Okay, never mind he’s fine. Kelly has 40 strikeouts compared to 13 walks in 26 2/3 innings, a 3-1 record, four holds, and five saves.

Frank German hasn’t had the best year, but he’s been great lately and his numbers are improving rapidly. The right-hander entered July with a 5.85 ERA. However, allowing just three runs in 14 innings so far will help that drop pretty significantly. German now has a 4.83 ERA, .266 BAA, and 1.46 WHIP. He’s struck out 40 batters compared to 22 walks over 54 innings pitched so far.

Josh Winckowski was struggling for a little bit there but just absolutely dominated in his last start. The righty gave up just two runs (no earned) on two hits and one walk while striking out two, over seven innings. He now has a 3.63 ERA, .242 BAA, and 1.24 WHIP. Winckowski has 57 strikeouts compared to 20 walks in 69 1/3 innings.

Brayan Bello has had some issues in Double-A so far. The 22-year-old has a 4.63 ERA, .244 BAA, and 1.33 WHIP at the level. He’s struck out 32 compared to nine walks in 23 1/3 innings as well. The issue is he keeps getting in trouble early in the games. Still though, Bello’s had great moments with Portland and overall on the year has a 3.27 ERA, .229 BAA, 1.15 WHIP, and 77 strikeouts in 55 innings when you throw in his stats from High-A.

Dominic LoBrutto has had some problems keeping people off the bases this season. The left-handed pitcher has a .296 BAA and 1.52 WHIP. However, it’s been very impressive how he has been able to limit the damage and keep his opponents from scoring too much. LoBrutto is 2-1 with five holds and four saves in five opportunities. He also boasts a 3.67 ERA and has 25 strikeouts compared to nine walks in 27 innings pitched.

Joan Martinez has been phenomenal in July. The right-handed pitcher entered the month with a 5.28 ERA, .273 BAA, and 1.85 WHIP. In the month though, Martinez has thrown 4.2 innings and has a 0.00 ERA, .176 BAA, and 1.29 WHIP. That’s dropped the numbers to a 4.05 ERA, .224 BAA, and 1.70 WHIP. Okay, I need to stop saying those stats now. The 24-year-old has 32 strikeouts but 17 walks in 20 innings. He has some command issues but I’ve always thought he had absolutely electric stuff. If Martinez can limit the walks, he could absolutely dominate (has yet to give up a home run on the season).