Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Hot streaks everywhere in the minors
By Hunter Noll
Red Sox Double-A (Portland)
Kole Cottam took no time at all to get used to Double-A pitching apparently. The catcher is slashing .375/.444/.500 with three doubles, one RBI, and one run scored in eight games. Overall Cottam has a .289/.391/.489 slash line with 16 doubles, one triple, and six home runs. He’s driven in 25 runs and scored 23 more.
Devlin Granberg holds a .303 average in Double-A and a .312/.363/.552 slash line overall on the year. The outfielder has 17 doubles and two triples, as well as a career-high 13 home runs. He also has a new career-high with 57 RBI to go along with 46 runs scored and five steals.
Pedro Castellanos is slashing .284/.353/.465. That alone should tell you that he’s having a solid year. So far, Castellanos has 12 doubles and two triples. He also has a career-best in homers with 11. Meanwhile, he’s driven in 38 runs and scored 50 more (closing in on his career-high of 61) – as well as two steals.
Nick Sogard is hitting .280 in Double-A so far, and overall has a solid .268/.337/.433 slash line. The infielder has 10 doubles, two triples, and eight home runs on the year. He has 39 runs scored and 26 more driven in, to go along with six steals. The power is a nice surprise and he’s adjusted nicely to the new challenge of Double-A.
Ronaldo Hernandez has been hot-and-cold this year. Overall the numbers are pretty solid though. He has a .241/.285/.435 slash line. Yes, the OBP needs to rise, but the rest is solid. The catcher has 12 doubles and 11 home runs so far. He’s also driven in 25 runs and scored 25 more.
Chris Murphy is in Double-A. As you could probably guess, I’m very happy. And hey, Murph had a fantastic debut at the new level, so that’s awesome. The left-hander went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk – while striking out eight. Great mix of pitches makes him very dangerous and someone you should want to watch on the mound.
Brayan Bello has had his issues in Double-A (5.08 ERA) but he’s also been oddly dominant. He has a .257 BAA which isn’t great, but could be worse a lot worse. Meanwhile, the strikeouts are racking up. He has 58 in 39 innings so far, and had 11 in his last start. Overall Bello has a 3.82 ERA, .240 BAA, 1.22 WHIP and 103 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings pitched.
Rio Gomez continues his dominant streak. He has a 5.04 ERA in Double-A. Doesn’t sound great, but the lefty didn’t allow a run in nine innings in July. He’s thrown another 1 2/3 scoreless innings in August so far. His numbers have dropped drastically thanks to that. Gomez has a 1.40 WHIP and .280 BAA in Double-A as well.
Joan Martinez has 18 walks in 25 2/3 innings pitched so far. That’s his big problem, other than that he’s been fantastic. The right-handed pitcher has a 1.48 WHIP (due to the walks) but a 3.51 ERA. That’s thanks to his .211 BAA and 36 strikeouts, keeping him from taking too much damage due to the walks.