Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Monster performances headline

Monster performances headline this week’s Red Sox Prospect Watch

The Boston Red Sox continued two trends this week. First of all, they’ve continued to win games and turn their season around. That’s great to see. The other is that they’ve got some sort of a contribution from a prospect.

That’s a good thing. But there’s an annoying aspect to it. We don’t know how long they’ll be sticking around for. There’s a chance that by the time you’re reading this they’re already back in the minors (probably not though due to a bunch of injuries in Boston).

So this week’s Red Sox Prospect Watch does feature a little bit of Major League news.

On Sunday, Kutter Crawford got another chance in the Majors. He’s shown in the past that he has some filthy stuff that can play well at the highest level. However, he’s also had some problems getting hit around.

That wasn’t a problem for him this time out though. The right-handed pitcher made his first start of the year, and it was a good one. Crawford tossed five scoreless innings. He did walk four batters, but only allowed one hit and racked up seven strikeouts. While he didn’t get the win, he did help the Red Sox on their way to a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

We could be seeing more help in the pitching staff soon enough too, with a few standouts in Triple-A and Boston suffering some injuries.

That’s not the main focus on this week’s Prospect Watch though. The Boston system featured quite a few massive performances over the last few days, and they get a chance to steal all the headlines.

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

Brayan Bello made one start this week. The right-handed pitcher went six innings, giving up two runs on just three hits and three walks, striking out eight. He’s looked phenomenal in Triple-A so far, with no real major hiccups. In 11 starts between the two levels, Bello has a 2.47 ERA. He holds a .172 BAA, 1.00 WHIP, and a ridiculous 84 strikeouts in 62 innings.

Brandon Walter stumbled out of the gates in his first Triple-A start last week. This week he looked much more comfortable though. The left-handed pitcher gave up just one run on four hits and three walks, striking out five in six innings of work. Walter dominated for a hefty majority of his run in Double-A this year, and this looked much closer to that version.

Josh Winckowski had one of his best starts of the year this week. The righty went seven innings, giving up zero runs on three hits and one walk while striking out six. This masterclass of a game helped lower his numbers on the year to a 3.38 ERA, .209 BAA, and 0.96 WHIP. Winckowski isn’t really known for his strikeouts but does had 43 in 42 2/3 innings.

Connor Seabold returned this week and made one start. The right-hander threw three shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks while striking out two. He now has a 2.27 ERA, .181 BAA, 0.98 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings pitched.

Andrew Politi only made one appearance out of the bullpen this week, but it was another strong one. In 10 2/3 Triple-A innings he holds a 1.69 ERA, .211 BAA, 1.13 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts. Combined between Double-A and Triple-A Politi has been absolutely untouchable this year. The move to the bullpen has done him wonders and he has to be a legitimate MLB option sooner, rather than later.

Frank German has been fantastic this season in both Double-A and Triple-A. Another pitcher where the move to the bullpen has made a massive difference in his career. The right-handed pitcher has a 2.95 ERA, .185 BAA, 1.09 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings pitched this season.

Zack Kelly made two appearances this year, equaling 1 1/3 innings pitched. He did not allow a base runner in that time, striking out one. The righty has a 2.78 ERA, .193 BAA, 1.28 WHIP, and 32 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings pitched. He’s walked 13 batters, but hasn’t allowed a free base runner this month.

Ronaldo Hernandez has been unreal lately. The catcher is currently riding a seven-game hitting-streak that includes three doubles and three triples. He’s raised his numbers substantially over the last few weeks and especially over the last few days. Suddenly the right-handed hitter has a .253/.284/.445 slash line with 10 doubles and six home runs. He’s driven in 22 runs and scored 18 more.

Ryan Fitzgerald is slashing .272/.343/.515 with nine doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs. He’s driven in 44 runs, scored 30 more, and stolen two bases. The left-handed hitter has had incredible consistency with his batting average and on-base percentage in his career. The slugging percentage has sky-rocketed the last two years though.

Jarren Duran was slumping a bit so he quickly put an end to that with a big game on Sunday. The left-handed hitter went 3-for-4 with a homer. And he’s back up to a .305/.376/.517 slash line with 12 doubles, five triples, and five home runs. He’s driven in 27 runs and scored 33 more, stealing 11 bases.

Jeter Downs is not having a good year when it comes to batting average (.185). However, his on-base percentage (.315) and slugging percentage (.399) are at least pretty big bumps up from last season. The right-handed hitter has four doubles, one triple, and 10 home runs. He’s driven in 18 runs and scored 34 more, stealing 10 bases.

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

Ceddanne Rafaela was promoted to Double-A last Sunday after posting a ridiculous .330/.368/.594 slash line in High-A to star the year. His Double-A adventure started off with some bad luck. A couple hard-hit balls leading to great catches. Then Rafaela got hot, finishing the week with three straight multi-hit games. The right-handed hitter is now slashing .346/.393/.692 with three doubles and two homers in Double-A. Combined between the two levels he has 20 doubles (tied for a career-high), four triples, and 11 home runs (new career-high). He’s driven in 41 runs, scored 42 more, and stolen 14 bases.

Pedro Castellanos is on the run of his life. After a rough first month, he hit .333 in May and is hitting .349 in June. The right-handed hitter is now slashing .262/.292/.446 with 14 doubles, one triple, and seven home runs. He’s driven in 37 runs and scored 20 more. When he’s feeling it, Castellanos is terrifying with the bat. A whole lot of barrels.

Tyler Dearden had a strong week that included him getting a hit in four-of-five games he played in. The left-handed hitter slashed .241/.358/.352 with eight doubles, one triple, and two home runs. Two of those doubles and one of those homers came this week. He’s driven in 20 runs and scored 16 more.

Kole Cottam is slashing .263/.351/.353 with nine doubles and one home run. The right-handed hitter has driven in 11 runs and scored 15 more. Cottam has had a lot of bad luck at the plate lately, but he’s putting good wood on the ball so hopefully that turns around. Meanwhile, he continues to impress defensively at catcher.

Christian Koss is having a much better year than I feel like he’s getting credit for. He’s played good defense at multiple positions in the infield. Meanwhile, he’s slashing .283/.313/.445 with five doubles, four triples, and six home runs. The right-handed hitter has driven in 34 runs, scored 23 more, and stolen six bases.

David Hamilton’s numbers are dipping a bit. He’s now slashing .229/.300/.385 with three doubles, six triples, and five home runs. The run production has been solid with 20 runs driven in and 22 more scored. However, it’s the speed that has been the real prize, as he now has 23 steals in just 26 attempts.

Chris Murphy gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in six innings this week. However, he also managed 11 strikeouts – that’s tied for his career-high. The left-handed pitcher is having a fantastic year in Double-A. He now holds a 2.56 ERA, .165 BAA, and 1.01 WHIP on the year. Murph’s struck out 75 batters in 59 2/3 innings pitched.

Oddanier Mosqueda had a great week. In two appearances, he tossed three shutout innings and struck out four batters. The left-handed reliever is having easily his best year in the minors, and he’s doing it at the highest level he’s ever been in. Mosqueda holds a 2.66 ERA, .163 BAA, 0.85 WHIP, and 27 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings pitched.

Jake Thompson’s dominance continued this week with two more shutout relief appearances. The right-handed pitcher now has a 1.10 ERA, .145 BAA, and 0.92 WHIP on the year. In 16 1/3 innings he’s struck out 22 batters.

Victor Santos is having a strong campaign. The right-handed pitcher built on that in his start this week. Although he gave up three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings, he also struck out a season-high eight batters. Santos has a 4.03 ERA, .233 BAA, and 1.06 WHIP this season. He’s struck out 50 batters compared to just 12 walks in 67 innings pitched.

Jay Groome had his second straight really solid start this week. The left-handed pitcher gave up just one run on four hits and four walks in five innings, striking out five batters. Groome currently boasts a 4.20 ERA, .234 BAA, and 1.36 WHIP on the season. He’s had some issues with walks lately, and now has 23 walks compared to 47 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings pitched.

Red Sox High-A (Greenville)

Bryan Mata made his first rehab start last week in Low-A. The righty went two innings, giving up no earned runs on zero hits and two walks while striking out two. Now he’s up in High-A. Mata tossed three innings, giving up one run on one hit and two walks while striking out five. El Idolo has looked phenomenal. His breaking stuff has had great snap and drop to it and he’s touching 100 on his fastball.

Shane Drohan made two starts this week. In his first, he gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings. The big news there was the lefty’s career-high 14 strikeouts. Drohan now has a 4.61 ERA, .229 BAA, and 1.29 WHIP on the year. He’s struck out 75 batters in 56 2/3 innings.

Chih-Jung Liu hasn’t been great this year, but the left-handed pitcher had one of the best starts of his career this week. Liu tossed five shutout innings, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out nine. He holds a 5.31 ERA, .250 BAA, 1.35 WHIP, and 52 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings.

Wow what a stretch from Nick Northcut. The right-handed hitter is riding a four-game hit-streak, that featured a three-homer game. Northcut’s hit two doubles and four homers, while drawing three walks in that stretch. He’s now up to a .231/.286/.574 slash line with seven doubles and a ridiculous 20 home runs. Kid Cutty has 46 RBI and 30 runs scored on the year. This has been an insanely promising week.

Joe Davis has been on a tear too. The right-handed hitter hasn’t had many at-bats this year but he’s definitely made the most of them. Davis has a homer in three-straight games. Now he holds a .242/.312/.556 slash line with one double and 10 home runs. He’s driven in 19 runs and scored 18 more. Oh, and those 10 home runs have come in just 99 at-bats.

Gilberto Jimenez is riding a three-game hitting-streak. The switch-hitter is up to a .276/.327/.427 slash line with 11 doubles, one triple, and five home runs. He’s driven in 21 runs and scored 28 more, stealing 10 bases. Strikeouts have been a slight issue this year but Jimenez is starting to hit again.

Tyler McDonough ended the week with a bang. The switch-hitter and back-to-back multi-hit games and added a Grand Slam in there. He’s now slashing .243/.338/.414 with nine doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. McDonough has driven in 33 runs and scored 35 more, stealing 10 bases.

Matthew Lugo’s average dipped a bit this week, but his on-base percentage went up thanks to a handful of walks. The right-handed hitter is slashing .281/.342/.518 with 15 doubles, seven triples, and six home runs. He’s driven in 34 runs and scored 30 more, stealing six bases. The triples and homers are already career-highs, and he’s not that far off with the doubles. Definitely a major step forward this year.

Alex Binelas is slashing .230/.356/.472 with five doubles, one triple, and 12 home runs this season. The left-handed hitter has driven in 37 runs and scored 35 more, stealing seven bases. Binelas has shown an incredible ability to hit the opposite way, and do it with a lot of power. That’s something that could really play at the higher levels. Imagine him using the Green Monster for some hits non-stop.