Red Sox Prospect Watch: Triston Casas steals the show
By Hunter Noll
Red Sox High-A (Greenville)
Nick Yorke went 0-for-3 with a walk on Sunday. Oh no, whatever will he do? Now the 19-year-old is only slashing .405/.490/.619 in High-A. Overall, Yorke has a .333/.423/.515 slash line this season. He’s hit 17 doubles, four triples, and 12 home runs. Meanwhile, Yorke has driven in 54 runs and scored 68 more – stealing 12 bases. Yorke isn’t that far off from the Majors, which is wild.
Tyler Dearden continues a fantastic 2021 campaign. The outfielder is slashing .254/.368/.502 with 18 doubles and 19 home runs. Dearden has driven in 69 runs and scored 61 more. He’s even stolen one base. By the way, those were all career-highs.
Stephen Scott is still putting up ridiculous numbers in High-A (.361 average in 30 games). Overall, he’s slashing .294/.406/.528 between two levels. The outfielder has 28 doubles, one triple, and 15 home runs. He’s driven in 69 runs and scored 69 more – nice. Scott’s even stolen three bases.
Elih Marrero is slashing .313/.409/.429 with 14 doubles and one home run. The catcher has 20 RBI and scored 31 runs. He’s stolen 14 bases, which makes him a different type of catching prospect. He’s going to hit for average and produce runs – including stealing bases.
Christian Koss has gotten hot again and his numbers are reflecting that. The shortstop is slashing .282/.337/.464 with 16 doubles, seven triples, and 13 home runs. All three of those are career-highs. He’s also driven in 49 runs (two off his career-best) and scored 60 more (a new mark). Meanwhile, he’s stolen 10 bases (tied for a career-best). Koss is an offensive juggernaut at shortstop.
Jaxx Groshans is scorching. He’s on a four-game hitting streak. In that time, the catcher is 6-for-14 with one walk, one double, and one triple. It’s brought his average back to .274 in High-A. Overall on the year, Groshans is now slashing .288/.379/.462 with 13 doubles, two triples, and eight home runs between two levels. He’s scored 34 runs, driven in 33 more, and stolen one base.
Brandon Howlett is slashing .245/.338/.455 with 18 doubles. Meanwhile, he’s set career highs in triples (3) and home runs (15). The 21-year-old has also set career-marks in RBI (51) and runs scored (56), as well as steals (2). Howlett’s showing legitimate power and it’s exciting to see what he’ll be able to do in a year or two.
Joe Davis is now slashing .304/.351/.525 with 20 doubles and 18 home runs between Low-A and High-A. The first baseman has just hit all year, showing real power but also showing the ability to simply get on-base when needed. Davis has 71 RBI and 50 runs scored, in just 85 games.
CM Punk wrestled his first match in seven years on Sunday and it didn’t look like he ever stepped out of the ring. I was glued to the TV, he was incredible. Another elite debut. Speaking of elite debuts, Jeremy Wu-Yelland made his High-A debut this week. It went extremely well.
The left-handed pitcher threw five innings, walking four batters and striking out nine (one HBP). He didn’t allow a hit. In fact, no one on Greenville allowed a hit that game. So in his first High-A game, Wu-Yelland was the starter in a no-hitter – great start.
Casey Cobb has now thrown 11 innings in High-A. The right-handed pitcher has a 0.82 ERA, .179 BAA, and 0.82 WHIP in that time. He’s already 2-0 and has 10 strikeouts compared to two walks. Cobb’s dominated all year and is making a name for himself quickly.
Jacob Wallace threw just one inning this week but used it to continue his strong run. The right-handed pitcher threw a perfect inning with a strikeout. Wallace now has a 6.18 ERA, .230 BAA, and 1.40 WHIP. He’s struck out 64 batters in 43 2/3 innings. The numbers aren’t phenomenal but they have dropped very nicely in recent weeks.