Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)
Brayan Bello made his much-anticipated Triple-A debut this week. Unsurprisingly, he put on a show. The right-handed pitcher tossed six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and one walk. He struck out 10. Clearly the stage wasn’t too bright for one of the Red Sox top prospects. Bello is ready for this next challenge.
Andrew Politi also got the call-up to Triple-A this week. And Worcester has not been hesitant to use him so far. The right-handed pitcher has already made three appearances out of the bullpen. In that time, Politi has given up one run on two hits and one walk, striking out four.
Kutter Crawford is back down in Triple-A and he used his first start to remind everyone that he has good stuff. The righty just needs to put it together in the Majors. Crawford went four innings, giving up no runs on zero hits and walks. He did hit a batter, and struck out two.
Eduard Bazardo deserves another look in the Majors. He was great there last year (in a short stint) and has been phenomenal lately in Triple-A. The reliever has a 2.45 ERA, .241 BAA, 1.23 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings. Bazardo made two appearances this week and struck out one batter over two perfect innings.
Josh Winckowski made two starts this week. The first saw him go six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and a walk – striking out nine batters. In his second start, Wink was cruising again. He scuffled at the end though and ended up allowing five runs on six hits in six innings, striking out six. The righty has a 3.13 ERA, .183 BAA, 0.85 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings.
Triston Casas missed most of the week due to an ankle injury. Apparently he’s fine but the Red Sox are being cautious with him. No reason to do anything rash and stupid. He’s slashing .248/.359/.457 with nine doubles and six home runs this year. Casas has driven in 22 runs and scored 22 more.
Jarren Duran is slashing .313/.389/.536 with nine doubles, two triples, and four home runs. The left-handed hitter has 18 RBI and 23 runs scored, stealing 10 bases in 11 attempts. It feels like Boston needs to make a decision with him sooner, rather than later.
Ryan Fitzgerald holds a .293/.357/.593 slash line with seven doubles, four triples, and nine home runs. The left-handed hitter has a phenomenal 32 runs batted in to go along with 17 runs scored. Fitz is getting some work at first base too. Which really makes it feel like the Red Sox want to give him a look in the Majors at some point.
Jeter Downs is slashing .212/.325/.417 with four doubles, one triple, and seven home runs. The right-handed hitter has 13 RBI and 27 runs scored, to go along with seven steals. Strikeouts have been a serious problem for him (51), but the 20 walks is an encouraging number.