Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Trade deadline shakes things up

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 3: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox delivers during the first inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on April 3, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 3: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox delivers during the first inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on April 3, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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Boston Red Sox Tyler Esplin
FORT MYERS, FL – FEBRUARY 22: Tyler Esplin #30 of the Boston Red Sox makes a diving catch on the ball hit by Vidal Brujan #22 of the Tampa Bay Rays for the final out of the game on February 22, 2020 at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida. The Red Sox defeated the Rays 4-3. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

Red Sox High-A (Greenville)

Cameron Cannon is on a different level right now. The shortstop is now up to a .305/.352/.466 slash line. He is currently on an eight-game hitting-streak and has 23 doubles and eight home runs. Cannon has driven in 37 runs, scored 44 more, and stolen eight bases. He’s kept the strikeouts to a bare minimum to, just 33 in 292 at-bats so far.

Joe Davis mashed in Low-A. He’s doing even better in High-A though. The first baseman slashed .333/.384/.577 in Low-A. In High-A he’s slashing .356/.362/.622 with three doubles, three homers, and nine RBI in just 11 games. Overall Davis has a .338 average with 19 doubles, 13 homers, 58 RBI, and 39 runs scored in 59 games.

Tyler Dearden had an absolutely phenomenal week. The outfielder is back up to a .277/402/.545 slash line. He hit four home runs and had plenty of RBI over the last few days. Overall Dearden has 15 doubles, 14 homers, 50 RBI, and 49 runs scored.

Jaxx Groshans was struggling slightly in High-A to this point, then came Sunday. The catcher was great in Low-A but his small sample size was “eh” so far in Greenville. Groshans went 2-for-4 with a triple and a home run on Sunday. He’s now hitting .250 with one double, one triple, and one homer. He’s driven in six runs and scored five more. Overall, it’s been a phenomenal year and gives the Red Sox another exciting catching prospect.

Stephen Scott was called-up to High-A as well and things are already going well for him. The outfielder is 5-for-14 (.357) with one double and one home run, as well as five RBI and two runs scored in Greenville. Overall, Scott is slashing .265/.380/.465 with 18 doubles and nine home runs. He’s driven in 47 runs and scored 51 more, stealing two bases.

Christian Koss holds on to a .279/.340/.419 slash line with 10 doubles, four triples, and six home runs. He’s driven in 28 runs and scored 39 more, stealing six bases. Koss has picked up the power a little bit lately, and is showing a really nice all-around game.

Brandon Howlett is slashing .253/.354/.489 at the moment. The third baseman has hit 13 doubles, two triples, and 12 home runs so far. Meanwhile, he’s driven in 42 runs and scored 45 more, even stealing two bases. Howlett’s slumped a bit but overall the numbers are still absolutely fantastic.

Dominic D’Alessandro is hitting .242 right now. It’s not phenomenal, but it isn’t bad. Meanwhile, he’s only had 120 at-bats so things could change quickly. There are plenty of positives too. With just 120 at-bats, D’Alessandro already has three doubles, one triple, and six home runs. That’s a lot of power. The first baseman has driven in 19 runs and scored 12 more.

Tyler Esplin has a .233/.337/.324 slash line. Still not a great average or slugging percentage, but he’s boosting a little bit. Esplin had a triple and a home run this week, so hopefully that puts him back on track. Right now, the outfielder has 12 doubles, one triple, and two homers. Meanwhile, he’s driven in 28 runs and scored 37 more, while stealing four bases.

Brian Van Belle’s July was insane. I even had to write about it. The right-hander threw 22 innings in the month and did not allow a run. Entering the month, his ERA was 5.56, his BAA was .311, and his WHIP was 1.44. Van Belle left the month with a 3.70 ERA, .272 BAA, and 1.25 WHIP. Serious drop-offs. This absolutely should put him on the map.

Chris Murphy made one start this week, allowing three runs on six hits in five innings. He also struck out seven though. That marked the seventh straight start by the left-hander in which he recorded at least five strikeouts. Murphy has a 4.21 ERA, .240 BAA, and 1.24 WHIP on the season. The numbers are great and he’s playing better than his ERA. Murph also has a really strong 81 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings.

Jay Groome had his first bad start in what felt like forever this week. The left-hander went just two innings, giving up three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three. This bumped his ERA back up to 5.47, his BAA up to .239, and his WHIP up to 1.38. Still really solid numbers especially considering that poor start to the year. Groome’s got ace stuff.