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Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Bryan Mata makes his return

By Hunter Noll

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Bryan Mata #90 of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning of a Grapefruit spring training game at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 27, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Bryan Mata #90 of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning of a Grapefruit spring training game at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 27, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Boston Red Sox Nick Yorke
FT. MYERS, FL – FEBRUARY 24: Nick Yorke #80 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during the MGM Sox at Sundown spring training team night workout on February 24, 2021 at jetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

Red Sox High-A (Greenville)

Greenville is in a weird spot right now. They now lost Rafaela and are dealing with Nick Yorke being injured. So the lineup is sort of in shambles all of a sudden. There’s enough talent to lift them up though.

Gilberto Jimenez is riding a four-game hitting-streak at the moment. The switch-hitter has seen a nice boost to his numbers thanks to that. Jimenez is slashing .280/.333/.445 with 10 doubles, one triple, and five home runs. He’s driven in 20 runs, scored 24 more, and stolen nine bases.

Tyler McDonough is quietly having a fantastic year. The switch-hitter is slashing .245/.346/.410 with nine doubles, two triples, and six home runs. He’s driven in 26 runs and scored 32 more, even stealing 10 bases. The average might not catch your eye, but all the other numbers are great.

Matthew Lugo holds a .286/.338/.505 slash line with 13 doubles, six triples, and five home runs. The right-handed hitter has driven in 33 runs and scored 25 more, stealing six bases. The slugging percentage is the most promising part of the season for Lugo. He showed very little power in the first two years of his career, but has clearly figured out how to unlock that part of his game.

Joe Davis has picked it up a bit lately. The right-handed hitter has just a .213 average and .284 OBP, but the .488 slugging percentage is great. In just 80 at-bats, Davis has roped one double and an impressive seven home runs. He’s driven in14 runs and scored 12 more.

Nicholas Northcut is slashing .220/.270/.526 with five doubles and 16 home runs. This year has very much felt like home run or bust for Northcut. The right-handed hitter does hit some absolute bombs, and he hit a ball very hard for a homer this week. But he’s shown signs of doing more than just homers and strikeouts. Northcut’s driven in 35 runs and scored 23 more. If the walks can go up, we’ve got something.

Alex Binelas has seen the average dip to .231. However, the other numbers are great. The left-handed hitter has a .371 OBP thanks to 36 walks, and a .462 slugging percentage thanks to three doubles and 11 home runs. Binelas has driven in 32 runs, scored 32 more, and stolen seven bases.

Brian Van Belle still doesn’t have the best numbers. But once again he came out with a strong start this week. It’s going to take a while to bounce back from a really really rough start however. The right-handed pitcher gave up just two runs on five hits and a walk (striking out four) over five innings. He now has a 6.09 ERA, .336 BAA, and 1.59 WHIP in 54 2/3 innings. Not good, but there’s been steady improvement over the last few weeks. And his 49 strikeouts compared to eight walks is a major positive.

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