Red Sox Prospect Watch: Triston Casas steals the show

Triston Casas steals the show in this week’s Red Sox Prospect Watch

The Boston Red Sox had a much better week and as a fan, you have to be feeling at least a little bit better about their playoff chances at the moment. What’s most impressive about that though, is the fact that COVID has run rampant through the locker room, forcing the Red Sox to scramble.

That has led to some craziness in the Prospect Watch this week, as the Red Sox had to make a lot of different moves. This included Jack Lopez making his Major League debut at 28 years old. Meanwhile, Kutter Crawford got his first shot in the Majors as well.

Crawford’s debut did not go all that well. The 25-year-old righty gave up five runs in two innings, walking two and striking out two. There’s zero need for concern though. People love to overreact and get all negative because it’s easy to “look smart” by bashing a player when they struggle.

The reason for that is there’s an easy out if they play better – “well they fixed what I said they needed to fix”. Sick, they were definitely reading your tweets and took your advice, good job. Chris Sale has had bad outings before, Crawford’s allowed to have them too.

Tanner Houck gave up zero runs on just three hits and no walks in five innings, striking out seven this week. The right-hander now has a 3.26 ERA, .241 BAA, and 1.15 WHIP on the year. He has 62 strikeouts compared to 12 walks in 49 2/3 innings pitched. Houck still doesn’t have a win this year but he has one save oddly enough.

Garrett Whitlock picked up his second save of the season this week. The right-hander now has a 1.63 ERA, .234 BAA, and 1.10 WHIP on the year. He has a 7-2 record, 12 holds, and two saves. Whitlock has struck out 74 batters compared to 15 walks and already has 66 1/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen this season.

Bobby Dalbec continues to get his numbers up following a superb August. The first baseman is now slashing a very respectable .239/.296/.462 with 17 doubles, four triples, and 18 home runs. Dalbec has driven in 63 runs and scored 39 more, stealing one base. He won AL ROY in August and has silenced a lot of doubters.

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

Connor Seabold twirled another gem this week. The right-handed pitcher threw six shutout innings, giving up just one hit and three walks – while striking out four. This drops Seabold down to a 3.67 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and .201 BAA in Triple-A. He has struck out 44 batters in 41 2/3 innings pitched, compared to 13 walks. Seabold is definitely a candidate to get a promotion soon, especially with the Red Sox COVID issues.

Durbin Feltman might also earn himself a look in the Majors before the end of the season. The right-hander has a 2.37 ERA, .174 BAA, and 0.84 WHIP in Triple-A. Feltman has 19 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched. Meanwhile, he holds a 2-0 record, three holds, and one save.

Grant Williams was recalled to Triple-A this week and has been on fire since then. The second baseman was 7-for-17 with three walks, one triple, four RBI, four runs, and one steal. This has sky-rocketed his average for Worcester from .118 to .265. It’s good to see him get another shot there and quickly prove himself.

Connor Wong once again had a strong week and his numbers have risen rapidly in Worcester. The catcher is now up to a .253/.286/.416 slash line with 10 doubles and five home runs. He has driven in 21 runs and scored 16 more in just 154 at-bats. Wong even has four steals, proving just how much he can do. Wong deserves a real role in the Majors next year.

Josh Ockimey is now holding on to a .239/.370/.442 slash line with nine doubles and 14 home runs. The average has gone up nicely and the on-base percentage is legitimately really strong. Ockimey has now driven in 39 runs and scored 33 more. Overall, a solid season that featured a great bounce back after a miserable start.

Johan Mieses is slashing .249/.332/.527 with 10 doubles, one triple, and 18 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A. The outfielder has driven in 46 runs and scored 41 more, stealing one base. It’s also important to remember, he missed some time due to the Olympics. Even with that though, this is a very productive season that’s definitely helped the 26-year-old’s stock.

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

So many times this year I feel like I’ve said there’s no reason to worry about the power numbers for Triston Casas. He has it in him, he’s showed it in the past, and it would come. Well, the power showed up this week. The 21-year-old racked up five home runs in his last three games. All of a sudden, he’s slashing .283/.387/.482 with nine doubles, two triples, and 12 home runs. He’s driven in 48 runs and scored 49 more, stealing six bases in just 69 games. He’ll be in Boston at some point in 2022.

Another fantastic week for Ronaldo Hernandez. The catcher saw another major jump in his slash line and is now rocking a .276/.318/.497 line. Hernandez has mashed a career-high 25 doubles to go along with 14 home runs. He’s driven in 41 runs and scored 39 more in 84 games.

Kole Cottam has had no issue getting acclimated to Double-A. The catcher is putting up really solid numbers at a now pretty extended sample size. Cottam is slashing .274/.369/.493 with 18 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs between two levels. He’s driven in 31 runs and scored 29 more.

Devlin Granberg is slashing .289/.345/.502 with 20 doubles, two triples, and 15 home runs between two levels this year. The outfielder has driven in 67 runs and scored 60 more, stealing five bases. Most of those numbers are career-highs. Granberg has definitely played himself into a brighter spotlight this season.

Hudson Potts had a fantastic week and his numbers are quickly rising. The 22-year-old is slashing .217/.266/.389. Still not great, but major notable improvements. Potts has 15 doubles and nine home runs. Meanwhile, he’s driven in 38 runs and scored 29 more in just 244 at-bats.

Ryan Fitzgerald is slashing .265/.352/.498 this season between Double-A and Triple-A. The shortstop has three triples to go along with career-highs in doubles (28) and home runs (14). Meanwhile, he’s driven in 48 runs and scored 49 more – stealing four bases.

Tyreque Reed has spent time in both High-A and Double-A this year. The right-handed hitter has a .275/.381/.505 slash line with 15 doubles, one triple, and 17 home runs (one-off his career-high). Reed has driven in 66 runs and scored 55 more, stealing four bases.

Adam Cole made his AEW debut at the All Out PPV. I promptly went nuts and let my guard down, then out came Bryan Danielson a few seconds later and I almost woke up the neighborhood. It was Jay Groome’s debut that made me really freak out though.

Groome made his Double-A debut this week and promptly dominated. The left-handed pitcher threw five shutout innings, allowing just two hits and no walks – striking out an incredible 10 batters. Groome’s bounce back from the miserable start of the season is something to wonder at. He’s an elite pitching prospect.

Rio Gomez threw two more innings this week, allowing no runs on two hits and no walks – striking out two. He’s now thrown 22 straight shutout innings since the start of July. The left-handed pitcher is now down to a 3.47 ERA, .248 BAA, and 1.27 WHIP in 36 1/3 innings pitched in Double-A this season.

Victor Santos allowed two runs on six hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings pitched, striking out five batters. This actually rose the ERA of Santos to 2.84 with Portland. He holds a .239 BAA and 1.09 WHIP. The 21-year-old right has 36 strikeouts compared to six walks in 36 1/3 innings pitched.

Chris Murphy allowed five earned runs in five innings in his start this week. The lefty was uncharacteristically wild with five walks, striking out four. Overall he still has solid numbers though. Between High-A and Double-A Murph has a 4.36 ERA, .235 BAA, and 1.26 WHIP. He’s struck out 117 batters compared to 35 walks in 95 innings.

Brayan Bello made his first appearance since August 21 this week. The righty allowed zero earned runs on four hits and three walks (striking out three) in 3 2/3 innings pitched. Bello now has a 3.69 ERA, .250 BAA, and 1.28 WHIP between High-A and Double-A. He’s struck out 120 batters compared to 28 walks in 85 1/3 innings.

Frank German has struggled this year. He has a 5.31 ERA, .291 BAA, and 1.56 WHIP in 81 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, he has 69 strikeouts compared to 29 walks. However, in the last two appearances, German has come out of the bullpen. In that time, he has thrown two shutout innings, allowing no hits and no walks – while striking out four. Could the move to the bullpen be what he needed? He even picked up a save.

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.