Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Debut steals the headlines
By Hunter Noll
Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)
Chris Murphy made his second Triple-A start this week. The left-handed pitcher gave up three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out seven batters. Overall, the numbers don’t look phenomenal in Triple-A. But both starts saw him dominant until the end of his outings. He hasn’t had issues with letting people on, it’s just both games featured big innings to end his day. Murph’s been awesome.
Jake Thompson was promoted to Triple-A after running through Double-A for a while. And the righty quickly made a strong impression. In his lone outing, he tossed two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit while striking out one batter. Thompson has been lights-out all year and it’s good to see him getting a chance at the next level.
Chase Shugart was having a really strong season in Double-A before getting promoted to Triple-A. Now in three outings at the new level, the right-handed reliever is performing even better. Shugart has allowed just one run over five innings. He’s given up two hits and one walk while striking out three.
Frank German had a really good week. The righty reliever appeared in two games, tossing 2 2/3 shutout innings. He allowed just two walks and no hits while striking out five. German’s having a great year in Triple-A since the call-up. And his overall numbers are even better. Between the two levels, he has a 3.41 ERA, .173 BAA, 1.00 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts over 29 innings.
Devlin Granberg ended the week on a strong note. The right-handed hitting outfielder picked up a hit in each of the last three games and had multi-hit days in his last two. He’s up to a .263/.344/.375 slash line in 20 games in Triple-A. On the year between the two levels, he’s hit 15 doubles, five triples, and two home runs. Granberg’s driven in 20 runs (10 already in Triple-A), scored 34 more and stolen six bases.
Pedro Castellanos is slashing .313/.358/.521 in Triple-A with two doubles, one triple, and two home runs. He’s driven in nine runs and scored eight more in 13 games. The right-handed hitting first baseman (and outfielder) was on an absolute tear over the last two months in Double-A. And he’s taken that act with him to the next level.
Ronaldo Hernandez is slashing .290/.310/.466 with 18 doubles and eight home runs. The right-handed hitting catcher has driven in 33 runs and scored 30 more. After a really rough start, he got hot and hasn’t slowed down for the last two months. Even this week, when it looked like he might hit a slump – Hernandez ended the week with a four-hit game.
Ryan Fitzgerald is now holding a .245/.314/.460 slash line with 14 doubles, four triples, and 14 home runs. The left-handed hitting shortstop (and basically every other position) has driven in 56 runs, scored 37 more, and stolen three bases. He’s just two home runs and nine RBI away from tying his career-highs in those respective categories.