Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Bryan Mata makes his return

Bryan Mata’s return headlines this week’s Red Sox Prospect Watch

The Boston Red Sox have climbed back to .500. There have been a lot of star players absolutely dominating lately.

However, this is the Boston Red Sox prospect watch. So here we’re not going to tell you about Rafael Devers being an MVP candidate, or J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts dominating. What we will talk about is Franchy Cordero continuing to impress. He’s hitting the ball extremely hard, really helping to add some extra pop to the lineup.

Meanwhile, Jarren Duran has been called up again and he’s making quite the impression during this new opportunity. He’s 3-for-9 in the two games so far, and showed off his speed when he scored from second on a single to left.

There has been a bit of an issue with strikeouts. In those nine at-bats, he’s struck out four times. But you could also argue that the weird schedule for him makes things a little bit tougher. The left-handed hitter brings a lot to the lineup. Most importantly that type of speed is something Boston desperately needs.

This might be a short stint for Duran, but he’s proving once again that he deserves a real look.

Meanwhile in the minors, we saw a lot of action this week. There were a few major promotions across a few of the levels, which is always exciting. And we saw the return of a top prospect who hasn’t played since 2019.

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

Brayan Bello continues to have no problems in Triple-A. The right-handed pitcher gave up three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings in his lone start this week. He only walked one batter while striking out eight. On the year, he’s tossed 22 1/3 innings for Worcester. Bello has a 3.63 ERA, .224 BAA, 1.25 WHIP, and impressive 34 strikeouts in that time.

Brandon Walter made his debut in Triple-A this week. The lefty struggled, giving up six runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched. He was fantastic in Double-A though and one bad start shouldn’t make anyone worry. Walter has been overpowering all year and shown great command. He’ll be fine.

Frank German now has five innings in Triple-A under his belt. The righty reliever has a 1.80 ERA, .167 BAA, and 1.40 WHIP in that time. He’s allowed just three hits while striking out eight, and has even picked up a save. German looked great in Double-A and could be poised for a run in the Majors this season as legitimate bullpen help.

Andrew Politi is in the same boat as German. He was promoted to Triple-A earlier in the year and could be seen as a solution for the bullpen this season. The right-handed pitcher has a 2.00 ERA, .219 BAA, and 1.00 WHIP in nine innings for Worcester. He’s struck out 12 batters compared to just two walks so far.

Zack Kelly had an insanely dominant week. In two outings, he tossed two innings. In those two innings, he gave up no runs on no hits and no walks, striking out five batters. The right-handed pitcher now has a 2.95 ERA, .203 BAA, and 1.36 WHIP on the year. He’s struck out 31 batters in 21 1/3 innings and is proving that those walk problems he had early in the year were nothing to worry about.

Connor Wong has been on-fire lately. The right-handed hitter entered May 18 slashing .167/254/.183. He’s up to a .282/.364/.410 thanks to a crazy stretch. Wong has six doubles and three home runs to go along with 12 RBI, 18 runs scored, and five steals.

Ronaldo Hernandez continues his nice season turnaround. The right-handed hitter is now slashing .236/.274/.394 with eight doubles and four home runs. He’s driven in 18 runs and scored 15 more. Only six walks on the year, but he’s looked slightly more patient lately. And while the overall numbers still aren’t great it’s a ridiculous 180 compared to the .119/.140/.202 slash line he had just a few weeks ago (entering May 21).

Ryan Fitzgerald is slashing .274/.338/.521 with nine doubles, four triples, and 10 home runs. He’s driven in a ridiculous 42 runs and scored 24 more, stealing two bases. The power that the left-handed bat has generated is wild. Just a few years ago it felt like he was going to be a solid bat with an elite glove. But there didn’t seem to be all that much power. Fitz has completely changed that narrative. Still an elite glove, but the bat is just so dangerous now.

Johan Mieses hasn’t played all that much this year for a variety of reasons. He’s shown the power when he’s played though. The right-handed hitter has a .283/.421/.630 slash line with one double and five home runs in just 46 at-bats. He’s driven in 11 runs and scored eight more, stealing one base.

Jeter Downs has seen the average dip lately. He’s down to .196 now. However, the right-handed hitter has managed to keep a solid OBP (.320) and slugging percentage (.412). Those are thanks to 23 walks and good power numbers with four doubles, one triple, and nine home runs. Downs has driven in 16 runs and scored 31 more (only eight away from his total of last year). Eight steals helps keep him productive as well.

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

Big news for the Portland Sea Dogs this week. That came in the form of Ceddanne Rafaela getting promoted on Sunday. He’s hitting .330/.368/.589 with 16 doubles, four triples, and nine home runs. The right-handed hitter has 36 RBI and 37 runs scored, to go along with 14 steals. Insane production and it will be fun to see what he does in Double-A.

Christian Koss got hot. It’s scary how complete his game can be. The right-handed hitter is now slashing .291/.320/.453 with five doubles, four triples, and five home runs. He’s driven in 32 runs and scored 21 more, stealing six bases. Koss has good extra-base power and a lot of speed.

David Hamilton had a big day on Sunday, going 3-for-5 with a home run. Overall, the numbers are pretty solid. The left-handed hitter has a .247/.317/.424 slash line with three doubles, six triples, and five home runs. He’s driven in 20 runs, scored 21 more, and stolen an insane 22 bases.

Kole Cottam is starting to see his numbers go up. That’s great because the catcher has had a lot of great ABs that ended in bad luck this year. The right-handed hitter is slashing .265/.353/.368 with nine doubles and one home run. He’s driven in nine runs and scored 14 more.

Pedro Castellanos stays hot following that bad start to the year. The right-handed hitter is slashing .239/.274/.432 with 11 doubles, one triple, and seven home runs. He’s driven in a really impressive 34 runs (only had 44 RBI last season), to go along with 16 runs scored.

Devlin Granberg is slashing .304/.427/.467 with 11 doubles, four triples, and one home run on the year. The right-handed hitter has cooled off a bit, but the numbers are still incredible. That OBP is sky-high. Granberg has driven in 10 runs, scored 25 more, and stolen four bases.

Chris Murphy enjoyed an untouchable start this week. The left-handed pitcher gave up just one run on one hit and two walks over 6 1/3 innings pitched. He struck out nine batters. Murphy has a 2.18 ERA, .158 BAA, and 0.99 WHIP in 53 2/3 innings so far. He’s racked up 64 strikeouts in that time.

Jake Thompson has been ridiculous this year. The righty has tossed 12 1/3 innings in Double-A in 2022. He has a 1.46 ERA, .163 BAA, 0.97 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts in that time. Thompson has had some problems with walks in the past. But has just five this year. While that’s still not great, it’s promising.

Dylan Spacke has put together some really great outings season. This week, the righty threw 4 1/3 innings in his lone outing. That game saw him give up zero runs on just one hit and two walks, striking out three. He holds a 2.03 ERA, .169 BAA, and 1.16 WHIP in 26 2/3 innings. There’s been a bit of a walk problem (16), but he’s picked up 22 strikeouts as well.

Oddanier Mosqueda is having a really strong year. The left-handed pitcher has now thrown 20 2/3 innings over 15 outings. He’s posted a 3.05 ERA, .181 BAA, 0.97 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts compared to even walks in that time.

Jay Groome had a strong bounce back start this week. After a really rough outing last week, Groome tossed five innings – giving up just two runs on three hits. On the year, the lefty has a 4.47 ERA, .237 BAA, and 1.33 WHIP. He’s struck out 42 batters in 44 1/3 innings pitched.

Victor Santos made two phenomenal starts this week. The righty combined for 12 innings, giving up just one run on seven hits and three walks, striking out nine. Santos now has a 3.94 ERA, .234 BAA, 1.07 WHIP, and 42 strikeouts compared to 12 walks in 61 2/3 innings pitched.

Brendan Nail has a 2.76 ERA over 16 1/3 innings pitched this year. The left-handed pitcher has has a .183 BAA and 1.29 WHIP to go along with it. The only real issue for Nail this year has been walks. He’s picked up 10 so far. However, his 20 strikeouts have helped to seriously limit the damage.

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.