Rapid reactions for the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Worcester
We’re officially on the move in the Triple-A season, and the Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate (Worcester Red Sox) are off to a pretty strong start.
Going 2-1 in their first three games, it feels like a good time to take a look at how things are going and make some rapid reactions. Let’s be honest, I’m just trying to fill time before the Prospect Watch gets going again. But with just one level playing at the moment, we’ll have to wait a bit for that.
Let’s start with the obvious one here – Ryan Fitzgerald. I tried to warn everyone. All I kept hearing was “he’s too old, clearly he won’t be good.” Well, Fitz destroyed the ball in Spring Training and now he’s possibly even hotter to start the year in Triple-A. The elite defender is 7-for-11 (.636) with one walk and three home runs. He’s already driven in five runs and scored four more. It’s almost impossible not to imagine a call-up at some point this year.
Jarren Duran is 3-for-8 (.375) with a double and an RBI. He’s walked twice and only struck out once, and has a steal and run scored to his name. Great start for Duran as he looks to work his way back to the Majors.
Triston Casas is just 1-for-12. Not exactly exciting, but at least that one hit is a home run. Casas has hit the ball extremely hard on a number of occasions already, it’s just one of those stretches where nothing seems to be going right for him. The good news is the lefty is an absolute unit. Dude looks like he’s ready to drop 50 bombs. Yolked up.
Not a great start for Jeter Downs either. 1-for-9 with just one walk compared to six strikeouts already. The positive I guess is that he does have a steal, but Downs really needs to figure things out soon this year if he doesn’t want the team to give up on him.
Ronaldo Hernandez is 1-for-8 but the catcher only had a few at-bats in Triple-A last season (same with Casas). So a slow start isn’t the end of the world. Only one strikeout, at least he’s putting the bat on the ball.
Connor Wong is 2-for-4 with a run and a steal. The catcher is already showing off his athleticism and with that successful short run in the Majors last year, maybe he’ll make some major waves this season. Definitely someone to watch.
Roberto Ramos comes in as an interesting player to keep an eye on. He’s already smoked a home run and has some insane power. A 2-for-7 start definitely isn’t a bad thing for him.
Durbin Feltman has one appearance. In that one appearance he threw a clean inning with one strikeout to pick up the save. I’m telling you, he’s back. Feltman will make it to Boston this year and could definitely still be the closer of the future for the Red Sox.
Darwinzon Hernandez had the same issues he had in the Majors last year. The left-handed pitcher is unhittable, but his control runs him into serious trouble. In 2 2/3 innings he didn’t allow a hit, but Hernandez walked two batters and hit another. That led to two runs. So despite a .000 BAA and 0.75 WHIP, he has a 6.75 ERA.
It’s been an exciting start to the season for the Worcester Red Sox. A lot of offense and a lot of home runs (mainly thanks to Fitz) has made things interesting. And with a hefty amount of prospect talent on the team, there are a lot of storylines to follow. It’s too early to give up on anyone, and maybe too early to get too excited (try and stop me though). But that doesn’t mean we can’t look at the numbers and the tape and throw out some quick reactions.