Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: No-hitters and home run streaks

Red Sox High-A (Greenville)

Nicholas Northcut had himself a week. He hit a home run in four-straight games at one point, and in four-of-six games total. The right-handed hitter is slashing .253/.299/.670 with two doubles and 12 home runs. Yes, 12 home runs – leading the organization obviously. Kid Cutty also has 15 runs scored and an insane 26 RBI on the year.

Ceddanne Rafaela was named the Minor League hitter of the month for April. And he’s looking to put up some big numbers in May too. The right-handed hitter has a .292/.333/.558 slash line with nine doubles and seven home runs. He’s driven in 21 runs and scored 21 more, stealing nine bases as well. Rafaela’s also been flashing the leather a lot. This week alone he had multiple diving plays in the outfield and at shortstop. I want to give him a nickname because he deserves one, but I don’t know if you can beat “Ceddanne Chipper Nicasio Marte Rafaela” that’s a tough name.

Matthew Lugo was cooling off. Then the 20-year-old went on a four-game hitting streak and went 7-for-17 with two home runs this week. On the year, the right-handed hitter has a .337/.385/.558 slash line with eight doubles, two triples, and three home runs. He’s driven in 17 runs, scored 15 more, and stolen five bases. Everything at the plate has been an improvement this year, but so far it’s the added pop that has seen the biggest jump forward.

Tyler Esplin is slashing .340/.404/.574 in High-A this season. The left-handed hitter has five doubles and three triples, to go along with one RBI and 10 runs scored. Esplin already had a short-stint in Double-A this year due to injuries at that level. If he keeps playing like this he could be back up there sooner, rather than later.

Alex Binelas has shown so far this year that he has a lot of power, but that he’s more than just a typical power bat. The right-handed hitter has a .280/.423/.573 slash line with three doubles and seven home runs. He’s driven in 16 runs and scored 19 more, even stealing four bases. Binelas has been getting on-base tons (thanks to 20 walks) and has shown some sneaky speed.

There is nothing “sneaky” about the speed of Gilberto Jimenez though. That’s just elite. The switch-hitter is slashing .256/.282/.463 with five doubles and four home runs (already a career-high). He’s driven in 12 runs and scored 13 more as well. Most importantly though, Jimenez has eight steals. The outfielder has always had insane speed. But didn’t seem to run too much last year and finished with just 13 steals. Clearly he’s making it a point to swipe some bags in 2022.

Nick Yorke hasn’t had the best start to 2022. But maybe Sunday was the start of a turnaround for the 20-year-old. In that game, he went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer. The right-handed hitter actually had his first two homers of the year this week. Overall, he’s slashing .238/.319/.345 with three doubles and two home runs this season. Yorke’s driven in 11 runs and scored 15 more, stealing four bases.

Tyler McDonough holds a .224/.303/.388 slash line with five doubles, one triple, and three home runs this season. He’s driven in 13 runs and scored 15 more, stealing seven bases in seven attempts. Not the best start, but he’s done a little bit of everything.

Jaxx Groshans went into May 6 having a bad year. It was hard to deny that at the time. He turned things around quickly with a 3-for-4 day. That included a double, two home runs, four RBI, and two runs scored. Now on the year, the catcher has a .211/.348/.474 slash line with one double and three home runs. He’s driven in six runs and scored five more.

Shane Drohan had himself a week. Coming in with a 6.52 ERA, he started two games. In those two games, the left-handed pitcher threw a combined 11 innings. Drohan gave up just one run on six hits and two walks in those two games, striking out 13 batters. Thanks to that, he’s down to a 4.45 ERA on the year. Drohan also has a .241 BAA and a 1.29 BAA, striking out 34 batters in 30 1/3 innings.

Jordan DiValerio’s shutdown year continues in High-A. The right-handed pitcher has tossed 10 2/3 innings at the level this season. In that time he has a 0.84 ERA, .200 BAA, and 0.84 WHIP. DiValerio has also struck out 12 batters while only walking one.

Ryan Zeferjahn had a strong week. In two appearances out of the bullpen, the righty gave up zero earned runs in four innings – striking out eight batters. On the year, Zeferhan has a 3.46 ERA to go along with a .174 BAA and a 1.08 WHIP. He’s struck out 13 batters in 13 innings.

Cody Scroggins came out of the bullpen three times this week. The right-handed pitcher tossed three scoreless innings, picking up two saves and striking out five batters in that time. Scroggins has a 3.60 ERA, .231 BAA, and 1.50 WHIP in 10 innings this year. He’s struck out 15 batters and is 3-for-3 in save opportunities.

Ryan Fernandez also made three appearances out of the arm barn over the last seven days. The righty gave up just one hit in 2 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out five and picking up one save. Fernandez has a 3.97 ERA, .220 BAA, 1.24 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings this season.

Chih-Jung Liu looked really sharp as he tossed two shutout innings this week. The right-handed pitcher now has a 4.58 ERA, .200 BAA, and 1.19 WHIP on the season. He’s struck out hefty 23 batters in just 17 2/3 innings.