Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Trade deadline shakes things up

Red Sox Low-A (Salem)

Are we in the power era for Ceddanne Rafaela? Whatever it is I’m 100% here for it. The 20-year-old was down to a .299 slugging percentage heading into July 9. Since then, he’s hit six doubles, four triples, and five home runs. Rafaela now has a pretty solid .234/.298/.413 slash line. That’s a jump of .114 in his slugging percentage in less than a month. On the year, Rafaela has 10 doubles, seven triples, and six home runs. He’s driven in 24 runs, scored 47 more, and is an incredible 18-for-18 on stolen base attempts.

Nick Yorke is currently riding a 13-game hitting-streak. The 19-year-old is slashing .297/.385/.409 with 11 doubles, three triples, and three home runs. He has driven in 27 runs and scored 37 more, while stealing 10 bases. Yorke getting a promotion by the end of the year certainly wouldn’t be surprising. He’s been outstanding.

Gilberto Jimenez is slashing .295/.334/.381 at the moment. He’s hit 11 doubles, three triples, and two home runs so far. Meanwhile Jimenez has 38 RBI, 42 runs scored, and 11 steals. It’s easy to forget that the outfielder is just 21. A lot of his game feels very refined. He definitely still has a few things to work on but overall 2021 has been extremely positive to this point.

Nicholas Northcut is on some sort of power run right now. The infielder is slashing .239/.345/.479 at the moment with 19 doubles, two triples, and 11 home runs. He’s driven in 49 runs and scored 44 more so far. What’s impressive has been the current run. Northcut had two doubles, one triple, and three home runs in the last five games. That’s one way to get your numbers up heavily.

Antoni Flores is making his Low-A debut this year. So far it’s going decently well. The 20-year-old is hitting .244 through 11 games (41 at-bats) so far. He’s hit four doubles and one home run already, Meanwhile, he has seven RBI and three runs scored, as well as one steal. Flores is a really exciting prospect who has already shown he can play multiple positions in the infield.

Matthew Lugo saw his average creep up a little bit more once again. The shortstop is now slashing .252/.311/.317 with 10 doubles, one triple, and two home runs. He’s driven in 27 RBI and scored 36 more. Meanwhile, he’s stolen 13 bases. Lugo had a really solid month of July (.301) so hopefully he can keep that going in August.

Nick Decker has a really strong .266/.380/.440 slash line in Low-A so far this season. The outfielder has ripped eight doubles, one triple, and three home runs to this point. He has driven in 12 runs and scored 21 more, even stealing three bases. Decker is a very interesting prospect that brings a lot to the table. Good defense and nice raw power potential.

Jeremy Wu-Yelland was hit around a little this week, giving up four runs on seven hits and one walk (four strikeouts) in four innings. This followed a phenomenal start from the prior week though, so it’s not too bad. The lefty still has fantastic numbers on the year. Wu-Yelland has a 3.80 ERA, .195 BAA, and 1.25 WHIP. He’s struck out 57 batters in 47 1/3 innings pitched.

Shane Drohan had an amazing week for himself. The 22-year-old made two starts. In his second start, Drohan went five innings, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five. His first start was better though. Drohan went five innings, allowing no runs, hits, or walks, and struck out four. He now has a 3.86 ERA, .236 BAA, 1.42 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings pitched. Drohan’s had walk issues this year (33) but no walks in his last two starts is a major positive.

Ryan Fernandez has now thrown 32 1/3 innings this season. The righty has a 0.56 ERA, .200 BAA, and 0.99 WHIP. He has a 3-1 record, three holds, and is 2-for-2 in save opportunities. Fernandez has 38 strikeouts compared to just eight walks.

Devon Roedahl has a 1.83 ERA, .200 BAA, and 0.92 WHIP so far this year. The right-hander has thrown 39 1/3 innings so far, racking up 37 strikeouts compared to seven walks. He has a 2-2 record, one hold, and six saves.