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Let’s start the pitching portion of this slide with two guys that might make this article already outdated by the time you read it because they might get the move up to Triple-A. First is Frank German.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.