Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: We’re going streaking (hot and cold)

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

Jarren Duran’s first impression in the Majors wasn’t the best but he looks more than ready to give it another run now. And there’s really no reason for the Red Sox to not try him out. Duran doesn’t seem nearly as focused on hitting homers and man is it working. The left-handed hitter is slashing .360/.458/.560 with three doubles, two triples, and one home run in Triple-A this year. He’s driven in six runs and scored 12 more, going 7-for-8 in stolen base attempts.

Triston Casas is another top prospect that deserves at least a thought when it comes to call-ups. The left-handed hitter got off to a slow start but he’s up to a .262/.388/.500 slash line. Casas has five doubles and five home runs, to go along with an impressive 16 RBI and 18 runs scored.

Jeter Downs had an absolutely miserable 2021 and it caused a lot of people to write him off. However, the 23-year-old is shaking off a lot of those negative perceptions early on. The right-handed hitter isn’t doing anything crazy, but a .241/.344/.482 slash line is a major improvement. He’s already racked up three doubles, one triple, and five home runs. Meanwhile, he’s driven in eight runs and scored a fantastic 19 more, stealing three bases.

Ryan Fitzgerald is another name that should be considered to help out the Red Sox. The left-handed hitter holds a .303/.365/.671 slash line with six doubles, two triples, and six home runs so far. He’s driven in 19 runs and scored 13 more in just 21 games. Fitz plays great defense at multiple positions and is a good left-handed bat. It makes too much sense for Boston to consider him.

Nick Sogard is having a strong showing in Triple-A after starting the year in Double-A. Combined between the two leagues he’s slashing .286/.375/.333 with two doubles. The switch-hitter has two RBI and 10 runs scored, as well as one steal. Sogard appeared in only 18 games in Double-A last year. So the fact that the middle infielder doesn’t look overmatched at all in Triple-A right now is extremely impressive.

Ronaldo Hernandez has struggled so far. A .132/.132/.245 slash line isn’t encouraging for the catcher. He does have three doubles, one home run, seven RBI, and five runs scored – that’s not miserable. But he’s also struck out 16 times and has yet to draw a walk. The right-handed hitter is currently on a three-game hitting streak and blasted his first Triple-A homer in his last game. So maybe things are starting to turn around a bit.

Connor Seabold is pitching himself to the Majors right now. The second Boston needs to pull someone from the minor leagues, it’s hard to see them picking someone other than the right-handed pitcher. Seabold currently holds a 2-0 record in four starts. He’s done that thanks to a 1.74 ERA, .200 BAA, and 0.97 WHIP. In 20 2/3 innings, the 26-year-old has 15 strikeouts compared to five strikeouts and has given up just one home run.

Zack Kelly tossed two scoreless innings this week, giving up just one hit and striking out one. In 7 2/3 innings this year, the righty has walked seven batters – which is a slight problem. He’s struck out eight though and boasts a 2.35 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and .120 BAA.

Josh Winckowski didn’t have his best start of the year this week. The right-handed pitcher still has fantastic overall numbers though. In 12 2/3 innings, Winckowski has nine strikeouts. He holds a 3.55 ERA, .208 BAA, and 1.11 WHIP in three starts.

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

David Hamilton has seen the average dip, but the slash line is still strong and some of the other numbers are out of this world. The left-handed hitter is slashing .294/.388/.471 with one double, one triple, and three home runs. He’s driven in 13 runs and scored nine more. Craziest though is his ridiculous 13 steals in just 18 games.

Kole Cottam has a .302/.383/.434 slash line with four doubles and one home run. The catcher has just five RBI and seven runs scored so far. But his chances with runners in scoring position have been limited so those numbers could fly up pretty quickly.

Wil Dalton is having a phenomenal year. The outfielder is slashing .348/.385/.696 with two doubles and two home runs. He’s driven in six runs and scored six more, stealing one base. Unfortunately, he was hurt the other day after colliding with a wall while making a nice catch in the outfield. He’s on the IL now but hopefully he can recover soon and get back to his career-year.

A fantastic start to the season for Tyler Esplin led to the outfielder getting a call-up to Double-A. The 22-year-old is 1-for-8 with a walk in two games with Portland so far. It’s not clear how long he’ll be up (mainly due to Dalton’s injury). But Esplin was playing great in High-A so it’s exciting to see what he’ll do at the higher level.

Tyler Dearden is hitting just .222 so far. However, the outfielder does have a few things going for him. First of all, he hit his first home run of the year this week. He had a career-high 24 homers last year, so they might start coming in bunches. Meanwhile, 12 walks have led to a strong .351 OBP.

Christian Koss has a .270/.299/.378 slash line at the moment. The shortstop has two doubles and two home runs. Meanwhile he’s driven in 12 runs, scored eight more, and stole three bases in three attempts. Koss isn’t the most well-known prospect but he has a great all-around game that could help him continue to move up.

Let’s start the pitching portion of this slide with two guys that might make this article already outdated by the time you read it because they might get the move up to Triple-A. First is Frank German. The right-handed pitcher has appeared in six games, tossing eight innings out of the bullpen. In that time, German has a 0.00 ERA, .080 BAA, and 0.25 WHIP. He’s racked up 15 strikeouts compared to zero walks and two hits.

Andrew Politi is the other name here. The right-handed pitcher has appeared in seven games, tossing 7 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Politi has a 0.00 ERA, .042 BAA, and 0.39 WHIP in that time. He’s struck out 12 batters compared to two walks and one hit.

If Brandon Walter was great in 2021, what do we call his 2022 performance? Otherworldly? The right-handed pitcher has made four starts so far. In that time, he has a 1.17 ERA. That pairs nicely with a .169 BAA and a 0.61 WHIP. The WHIP is so low mainly because Walter has yet to allow a walk in 23 innings. Oh, and he’s picked up 29 strikeouts in that time.

Did you ever see that episode of Eric Andre Show where Hannibal Buress scream raps HARD IN DA PAINT by Waka Flocka Flame at Lauren Conrad? That’s the type of awesome energy Brayan Bello brings to the mound. Bello has been consistently dominant this year. The righty has gone at least five innings in all four starts, allowing two or fewer runs each time. Bello has a 2.61 ERA, .176 BAA, and 1.02 WHIP in 20 2/3 innings pitched. He’s struck out a ridiculous 32 batters compared to eight walks.

Chris Murphy made two starts this week. One was absolutely dominant but the other was a bit more of a struggle (but still not bad). His first start saw him go six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out six. The other saw him go four innings, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks, striking out four. On the year, the lefty now has a 2.63 ERA. Murph also holds a .169 BAA and 1.04 WHIP with 28 strikeouts in 24 innings.

Jay Groome had his best outing since his first game this year. The left-handed pitcher went 5 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and no walks – while striking out 10. That kind of dominance is exactly why he is so highly regarded. Groome has a 3.60 ERA, .193 BAA, and 1.07 WHIP this season. He has 19 strikeouts compared to five walks in 15 innings pitched.

Dylan Spacke has had one bad outing this year. On April 13 the righty allowed three runs on one hit and three walks (one HBP) in 2/3 of an inning. Outside of that, he’s been incredible. Spacke has 10 1/3 total innings pitched this year. He’s given up four earned runs (3.48 ERA). The 24-year-old also has a .094 BAA and 1.16 WHIP.

Chase Shugart has a 3.72 ERA in 9 2/3 innings so far. That goes with a .194 BAA and 1.24 WHIP. The right-handed pitcher only has six strikeouts, but he’s never really been a strikeout guy. And clearly it’s working for him so far this year.

Red Sox High-A (Greenville)

Andre 3000 will almost always have the best verse on a song he’s featured in, and Ceddanne Rafaela will almost always be the most electric player on any roster he’s on. These are constants. Rafaela’s great year continues. The average dipped a little but again, no one was expecting him to hit near .400 all year. Rafaela has a .310/.362/.586 slash line with six doubles and six home runs so far. The right-handed hitter has given insane run production to this point. He has 19 RBI and 18 runs scored, stealing seven bases in 20 games. All that and elite defense?

Nicholas Northcut doesn’t have the highest average (.239) or OBP (.292) but his slugging percentage is off the charts (.627). That’s due to two doubles and an organization-high eight home runs. Nick Northcut hits nukes. The right-handed hitter has driven in 16 runs and scored nine more.

Matthew Lugo is slashing .321/.354/.513 and has been an absolute doubles machine. The shortstop has eight doubles, two triples, and one home run. He’s driven in 12 runs and scored 10 more, stealing three bases. The right-handed hitter struggled a bit this week, but like Rafaela you couldn’t expect him to hover around .400 for the year.

Alex Binelas is right behind Northcut in the nuke section. For Binelas, they’re bombs though. Alliteration is key baybeeeeeee. The left-handed hitter has a .269/.398/.627 slash line with three doubles and seven home runs. He’s picked up 16 RBI and scored 15 runs, even stealing two bases.

Gilberto Jimenez put on a lot of muscle before last season. That led to a lot of people expecting a massive power jump. The jump didn’t happen though as he hit just three home runs (tied for his career-high). Actually, let me correct that. The jump didn’t happen – then. Jimenez is slashing .254/.265/.493 this season. That slash line comes with four doubles and an already career-high four home runs. The switch-hitter has 11 RBI, nine runs scored, and three steals.

Nick Yorke struggled this week but had a big three-hit day on Sunday to get back on track. The right-handed hitter has a .262/.357/.311 with three doubles. He’s driven in six runs and scored 13 more, stealing three bases. Yorke started off slow last year so I’m the furthest thing from worried.

Tyler McDonough is slashing .220/.273/.390 with five doubles and three home runs. The switch-hitter has driven in 12 runs and scored 11 more, stealing three bases. He has a lot of versatility on defense and has only played 50 games in the minor so far. So a slow start isn’t a problem.

Joe Davis is hitting just .200 at the moment. The first baseman has five hits in 25 at-bats. Four of those five hits have been home runs though. Davis has a .680 slugging percentage. He’s driven in seven runs and scored five more.

Jordan DiValerio has been one of the few consistently good pitchers for Greenville so far this year. The right-handed pitcher has give up just one run in 7 2/3 innings. That is a 1.17 ERA, and he pairs it with a .207 BAA and a 0.78 WHIP. DiValerio has 10 strikeouts compared to zero walks.

Jacinto Arredondo has appeared in five games, tossing 11 2/3 innings this season. The right-handed pitcher has a 3.86 ERA, .239 BAA, and 1.29 WHIP in that time. He’s only struck out seven batters so far, but has limited the walks decently with just four. Definitely needs to cut back on the home runs though, giving up three early on.

Red Sox Low-A (Salem)

It looks like Nathan Hickey is going to enjoy his first full year in the minors. The catcher is slashing .262/.407/.476 with three doubles and two home runs. He’s driven in 11 runs and scored nine more. Perhaps what’s most impressive though is the fact that he’s walked (10) almost as many times as he has struck out (11).

Niko Kavadas is slashing .273/.467/.491 with six doubles and two home runs. The first baseman has six RBI and nine runs scored, even stealing a base. Now, if you’re wondering why the left-handed hitter’s OBP is so high – the answer is simple. Kavadas has already drawn 19 walks. That’s a high number.

Speaking of high OBPs, Brainer Bonaci holds a .293/.456/.366 slash line this year. The shortstop has just one double and one triple. But he has decent run production with eight RBI, 10 runs scored, and two steals. The switch-hitter has drawn more walks (14) that he has strikeouts (11).

Blaze Jordan has struggled this year. The right-handed hitter has a .181/.244/.264 slash line with three doubles and one home run. He’s driven in seven runs and scored nine more. The good news though is that Jordan picked up two hits in his last game, so maybe he can start to turn things around. It’s also important to remember he’s 19.

Miguel Ugueto has a .356/.361/.458 slash line with four doubles and one triple. The right-handed hitting outfielder has nine RBI and seven runs scored, stealing one base. Ugueto is only 19 and is in his first year in Low-A. He impressed in a short sample size in Rookie Ball last year though. So we might have something on our hands here.

Tyler Miller is having an up-and-down year at the moment. The left-handed hitting corner-infielder is slashing .233/.324/.450 with four doubles and three home runs. He’s driven in seven runs and scored 10 more. There is some clear power there, so if Miller can start to hit a little more consistently he could be absolutely dangerous.

Eddison Paulino is in the same boat as last week. The average isn’t high but it seems like he’s always getting big hits. The 19-year-old has a .221/.287/.429 slash line on the year. He already has five doubles, four triples, and one home run though. And with that, the left-handed hitter has driven in 11 runs and scored 12 more – while stealing one base.

Wikelman Gonzalez was great last year but we heard a lot of “he’s young and raw, we need to see how he develops” and all that fun stuff. This year he’s here to tell everyone to just shut up and enjoy the dominant ride. The 20-year-old right-handed pitcher has a 0.57 ERA, .185 BAA, and 1.15 WHIP. In 15 2/3 innings, he has 20 strikeouts compared to eight walks.

Tyler Uberstine has tossed 12 innings this season. The right-handed pitcher has a 1.50 ERA, .239 BAA, and 1.42 WHIP in that time. Uberstine has walked six batters and hit another. But his 13 strikeouts have helped to keep him out of trouble and he’s looked untouchable at times.

Joey Stock already has 16 1/3 innings this year. The righty has a 2.20 ERA, .161 BAA, and 0.98 WHIP in that time. He has 19 strikeouts compared to seven walks and he shown some versatility that includes starting a game, as well as picking up a save. Stock’s last two outings have seen him combined to go five shutout innings, allowing no hits and two walks while striking out four.

Adenys Bautista didn’t take long to make a good impression in his first year in Low-A. The right-handed pitcher has a 2.38 ERA, .150 BAA, and absurdly low 0.79 WHIP in 11 1/3 innings. He has only allowed three walks while racking up 15 strikeouts.