Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)
Brayan Bello really seems like he could go to the Majors tomorrow and immediately be a great starter. That’s a bad idea though. Give him time to work in Triple-A before making the leap. No reason to rush him right now. The right-handed pitcher has a 3.13 ERA, .219 BAA, and 1.20 WHIP in 46 Triple-A innings. He’s struck out 64 batters in that time and has 106 strikeouts total in 79 2/3 innings this season.
Connor Seabold will be in the Majors when you read this. The right-handed pitcher has a 2.09 ERA, .197 BAA, 0.99 WHIP, and 51 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings this year. Seabold would likely have been called-up much earlier if it was for an injury halting his season for a bit. When he returned, it made sense for the Red Sox to let him ramp back up in Triple-A and wait until they need him.
Frank German is a bullpen star. I know I talk about this all the time but the career-renaissance that he’s received from the move to a reliever is insane. The righty has a 3.22 ERA, .169 BAA, 0.99 WHIP, and 32 strikeouts over 22 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season.
Zack Kelly has done nothing but produce since joining the Red Sox organization last season. This year the righty has a 3.29 ERA, .198 BAA, and 1.28 WHIP in 27 1/3 innings pitched this year. Kelly does have 37 strikeouts, but 15 walks as well. However, he’s only walked two batters this month and 9-of-15 walks came in three appearances (seven in two). So that’s not really the issue it sort of seems.
Andrew Politi is in a similar situation to the one German is in. He spent most of his career as a reliever. But last year was mainly a starter, and it didn’t work for him. Back as a reliever, the right-handed pitcher is putting up phenomenal numbers in 2022. He has a 2.79 ERA, .210 BAA, 1.03 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched between Double-A and Triple-A.
Devlin Granberg was the first promotion to Triple-A in recent memories (last week). And the outfielder (who can also play first), has looked comfortable so far. The right-handed hitter is 10-for-36 with two doubles, two walks, three runs scored, two RBI, and two steals. He hasn’t shown the type of power he had last year, but everything else is going so well that it’s easy to not mind that.
Pedro Castellanos got a promotion a couple days ago after a ridiculous run over the last two months in Double-A. The first baseman/outfielder took no time to get things going in Triple-A. Castellanos is 2-for-5 with a walk in two games. The right-handed hitter already has a double and a home run to go along with two RBI and two runs scored. If there’s one thing you need to know about Castellanos, it’s that he hits the ball very hard at all times.
Ronaldo Hernandez looked completely lost for the first month-and-a-half of the season. He’s done nothing but hit since then. The right-handed hitting catcher even drew a walk on Sunday (something he almost never does). In fact, he has just 19 walks over the last two years combined. Hernandez is now slashing .268/.295/.447 with 16 doubles and six home runs. He’s driven in 24 runs and scored 22 more.
Ryan Fitzgerald continues to prove himself in Triple-A. The left-handed hitting shortstop (although he can play all over the field) is slashing .258/.320/.488 with 12 doubles, four triples, and 13 home runs. He’s driven in 51 runs, scored 34 more, and stolen two bases. Fitz is already closing in on career-highs in homer and RBI.