Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Hot streaks everywhere in the minors

Low-A (Salem)

Nick Yorke is 19. To be honest, he probably shouldn’t be in Low-A anymore. Somehow a 19-year-old (who has been younger than every single pitcher he’s face so far) looks far too mature for this level. Yorke is currently riding an 18-game hitting-streak. He just had a multi-homer game, and he’s hitting .312 on the year. Yorke’s full slash line is .312/.405/.456 with 12 doubles, three triples, and six home runs. He’s driven in 34 runs and scored 44 more, stealing 11 bases. Yorke’s only struck out 43 times compared to 34 walks and he needs to get a look in High-A before the end of the year.

Gilberto Jimenez is slashing .309/.347/.399 with 14 doubles, three triples, and two home runs. The outfielder has driven in 42 runs and scored 47 more, while stealing 11 bases. Jimenez enjoyed another strong week and looks like someone that could benefit highly from a jump in levels before the end of the year as well.

Ceddanne Rafaela continues to do it all. He’s incredible defensively no matter where you put him in the field. Meanwhile, he does it all on offense. Rafaela is slashing .233/.302/.411 at the moment. Not spectacular but it gets better. He has 11 doubles, seven triples, and seven home runs on the year. His run production has been great too, with 28 RBI and 50 runs scored. Oh, and he’s now 21-for-21 on stolen base attempts.

Antoni Flores continues to impress in Low-A. The infielder is slashing .271/.313/.407 with five doubles and one home run in 16 games. Flores has nine RBI and four runs scored, as well as one steal. The 20-year-old has a lot of potential on both sides of the ball and it’s good to see he is handling a new level well.

Nick Decker is up to a .270/.378/.452 slash line with 12 doubles, one triple, and three home runs in Low-A. The outfielder has driven in 15 runs and scored 23 more, while stealing three bases. So far, he has only appeared in 34 games in Low-A in 2021, but he has certainly made the most of that time.

Nicholas Northcut holds a solid .239/.349/.467 slash line this season. The right-handed hitter has 21 doubles, two triples, and 11 home runs so far. He has driven in 49 runs and scored 51 more, being one of the better run producers on the team. Impressive season to this point.

Matthew Lugo is hitting .248 at the moment. The shortstop has 12 doubles, one triple, and two home runs. Meanwhile, he has driven in 30 runs and scored 37 more, while stealing 13 bases. Lugo has suffered some serious cold-streaks this season but has managed to keep his numbers up decently thanks to some long stretches of good hitting as well. There are clear areas that need improvement but the 20-year-old has shown he will make strides.

Jeremy Wu-Yelland set a new career-milestone this week. In his lone start, the left-hander went five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three. It was the first time he managed to get through five innings. Wu-Yelland has all the potential in the world and currently holds a 3.78 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and .199 BAA on the season. He has 60 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings pitched this year.

Chih-Jung Liu had a major implosion start a few weeks ago. That really inflated his numbers, especially considering Liu has not pitched much this year. However, he now has two back-to-back fantastic starts to help right the ship. After giving up just one run on three hits and one walk (four strikeouts) in four innings last week, Liu went a step higher. This week, the righty threw five shutout innings. He allowed just three hits and one walk, while striking out five in that time.

Bradley Blalock’s hot-streak continues. The 20-year-old made two starts this week. In those two games combined, Blalock allowed just one earned run over 10 innings pitched. He gave up nine hits and two walks, while striking out 12. Now on the season, the righty has a 4.15 ERA, .264 BAA, 1.42 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings pitched.

Shane Drohan has been unstoppable in his last few starts. Over his last three outings, Drohan has thrown 15 innings pitched. In that time, he has allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out 14. This season, Drohan has a 3.69 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and .231 BAA. The left-hander has 58 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings and it looks like we might be getting the best of him in the future.

Devon Roedahl has now thrown 40 2/3 innings in 2021. In that time, the righty has a 1.77 ERA, .200 BAA, and 0.91 WHIP. Those numbers are pretty ridiculous, especially this late into the season. Roedahl has a 2-2 record, one hold, seven saves, and 39 strikeouts compared to just seven walks.

Casey Cobb is not far behind in the “ridiculous numbers” category. The right-hander has a 2.25 ERA, .205 BAA, and 0.98 WHIP. In 48 innings pitched Cobb has 52 strikeouts compared to 12 walks. Meanwhile, he has a 2-0 record to go along with three holds and three saves in three opportunities.