Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Home runs and injury scares
Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)
Jay Groome made his Triple-A debut this week. And it went very well. The left-handed pitcher proved immediately that he belonged. Groome tossed six shutout innings for the WooSox, giving up just five hits and three walks while striking out five. His numbers in Double-A were great outside of the command issues he’s had. And the Triple-A debut was far-exceeding encouraging. His fastball looked great and his breaking pitches were as filthy as usual.
Chris Murphy’s first two Triple-A starts were great, but both times he got hit with a rough ending to end the outing. His two starts this week were top-tier from start to finish. The lefty tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out three his first time out.
His next game saw him throw five shutout innings, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out three. Murph is down to a 2.35 ERA, .173 BAA, 0.91 WHIP, and 17 strikeouts in 23 Triple-A innings.
Brayan Bello is back in Triple-A. The right-handed pitcher gave up one run on three hits and a walk (four strikeouts), over three innings of work. It appears a short outing was the plan here. Maybe just to give Bello a start and keep him loose without overworking him following his MLB-stint and the fact that he was supposed to be in the Future’s Game on the same day that this start happened.
Chase Shugart is continuing his strong season even after his promotion to Triple-A. He’s only thrown seven innings at the level so far, but it’s been a great start. The righty has a 2.57 ERA, .231 BAA, 1.29 WHIP, and six strikeouts in that time.
Frank German only made one appearance out of the bullpen this week, but he made it a good one. The right-handed pitcher tossed a perfect inning, striking out a batter in that time. Between Double-A and Triple-A he now has a 3.30 ERA, .168 BAA, 0.97 WHIP, and 42 strikeouts (12 walks) in 30 innings of work.
Pedro Castellanos has slowed down a bit, but he’s still managing to put up monster numbers. In his short run with Triple-A so far, the right-handed hitting first baseman (and outfielder) has had no problems fitting in. He’s slashing .310/.351/.451 with two doubles, one triple, and two home runs in 19 games. Castellanos has 11 runs batted in and nine more runs scored in that time.
Devlin Granberg is heating up in Triple-A and his overall numbers on the season are great. The right-handed hitting outfielder (and first baseman) is now slashing .291/.402/.426 with 16 doubles, five triples, and two home runs between the two levels. He’s driven in 21 runs, scored 39 more, and stolen seven bases.
Ronaldo Hernandez continues to rake. The right-handed hitting catcher has added some more extra-base hits to his totals on the year and this season is really getting impressive. Hernandez is slashing .284/.302/.467 with 20 doubles and nine home runs. He’s driven in 36 runs and scored 31 more. These numbers would be impressive even if he didn’t start off ice-cold. The fact he’s dug himself out of a hole is incredible though.
Johan Mieses has only gotten 90 at-bats so far. But he’s definitely made the most of them. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .267/.380/.578 with seven doubles and seven home runs. He’s driven in 16 runs, scored 17 more, and stolen two bases. Mieses has already drawn 16 walks as well, helping that OBP go up.
Nick Sogard has upped his game in Triple-A. Although it’s just with 40 at-bats, you can’t help but be impressed. The switch-hitting second baseman is slashing .300/.333/.325 with one double in that time. He’s driven in four runs, scored five more, and stolen one base so far.
Red Sox Double-A (Portland)
Ceddanne Rafaela got hurt early in the week after being hit by a pitch on the hand and I think my heart stopped for a few minutes. He ended up playing in the Future’s Game though, so it’s all good. The right-handed hitting utility-man is slashing .312/.354/.583 with 23 doubles, seven triples, and 16 home runs this season. He’s driven in 55 runs, scored 58 more, and stolen 19 bases. Oh and he’s now inside Baseball America’s Top-100 prospects.
Christian Koss enjoyed a massive week that saw some homers and is now working with a seven-game hitting streak. That bumped the right-handed hitting shortstop’s slash line to .280/.323/.454 with 12 doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs. He’s driven in 57 runs (career-high), scored 42 more, and stolen nine bases. The numbers are really starting to come together and there’s nothing not to love.
David Hamilton’s stayed pretty hot and has even moved back to the leadoff spot. The left-handed hitting second baseman is now slashing .232/.310/.381 with eight doubles, seven triples, and seven home runs. He’s driven in 27 runs and scored 45 more. Meanwhile, anytime Hamilton gets on base you know he’s going to steal and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. He’s now swiped 40 bags. FORTY.
Stephen Scott ended the week with a bang. His second-to-last game of the week saw him hit a home run. The left-handed hitting catcher (and utility-man) then ended the week going 2-for-2 with two walks in his last game. He’s now slashing .250/.372/.391 with three doubles and two home runs in his short time in Double-A. Scott’s driven in 11 runs and scored 12 more as well.
Kole Cottam has been playing some first base lately. I complained about the fact that he’s a great defensive catcher so I wasn’t feeling the move too much. However, Cottam immediately made a wild stretch at first to help make an out on a good play by Christian Koss.
And I realized Cottam just gets defense. He also has the type of Sean Casey personality that I know will have him chatting it up with any opposing player that reaches first. The right-handed hitter’s also now slashing .252/.338/.347 with 13 doubles and two home runs. He’s driven in 21 runs and scored 23 more.
Alex Binelas might not have the best-looking slash line in Double-A. But it’s clear he’s getting much more comfortable at the level and with his tiny sample size those numbers could rise quickly. In 19 games he’s slashing .147/.270/.373 with one triple and five home runs. He’s driven in 14 runs and scored nine more. Binelas roped two home runs on Sunday, so that could be a massively positive sign.
Bryan Mata has been great while working his way back from Tommy John. But the right-handed pitcher’s domination of Double-A is next-level insane. El Idolo has tossed 16 1/3 innings at the level so far. He has a 0.55 ERA, .179 BAA, 1.10 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts in that time. Mata was one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball before his injury. He’s back to reclaim that throne.
Michael Gettys made his Double-A pitching debut (he used to be an outfielder) and the righty impressed. He tossed two shutout innings out of the pen, giving up just one hit and one walk, getting out of trouble once with a double play. Gettys has had a solid season and really lowered his numbers over the last month-and-a-half.
Rio Gomez made two appearances this week, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk (compared to four strikeouts) over five innings. The left-handed pitcher has seen his numbers dip considerably lately (in a good way) and is now down to a 5.63 ERA, .276 BAA, and 1.56 WHIP with 19 strikeouts over 16 innings pitched.
Brendan Nail struggled a bit in his first two outings returning from injury. However, this week the lefty tossed two shutout innings over two appearances, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out two. He’s down to a 3.98 ERA, .192 BAA, 1.43 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts over 20 1/3 innings this season.
Red Sox High-A (Greenville)
Niko Kavadas might not be human. The left-handed hitting first baseman was crushing the ball in Low-A for the last month he was there. And he hasn’t even thought about slowing down since his promotion to High-A.
The home runs continue. Kavadas is slashing .333/.519/.815 with two doubles and eight home runs in 18 games at the level. He’s driven in 17 runs, scored 19 more, and walked 18 times (compared to 18 strikeouts). Think about that OBP for a second. If Kavadas goes 2-for-4 in a game he’s lowering his on-base percentage.
Phillip Sikes continues to be sneaky good even after his promotion to High-A. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .258/.376/.515 with 19 doubles, five triples, and seven home runs between the two levels. He’s driven in 35 runs, scored 41 more, and stolen 14 bases.
Nicholas Northcut hit more home runs unsurprisingly. He is slashing .226/.290/.538 with 12 doubles and 26 home runs. The right-handed hitting third baseman has driven in 58 runs and scored 42 more. His 26 home runs are not only a career-high, but they’re nine more than his previous best of 17. Northcut has also already set a record for most home runs in a single season in Greenville history.
Matthew Lugo has improved so much when it comes to his power game, it’s hard to believe. The right-handed hitting shortstop is slashing .261/.315/.482 with 18 doubles, nine triples, and 10 home runs. He’s driven in 47 runs and scored 45 more, stealing seven bases. Lugo’s triples and homers are already career-highs. Doubles and RBI are getting extremely close. Runs scored and steals are a little ways off but in reach.
Gilberto Jimenez had a great week that saw him pick up nine hits in five games. He’s also now on an eight-game hitting streak. The switch-hitting outfielder is slashing .274/.318/.402 with 15 doubles, two triples, and five home runs. He’s driven in 25 runs, scored 35 more, and stolen 12 bases.
Big Joe Davis is slashing .247/.302/.530 with two doubles and 15 home runs in just 166 at-bats. The right-handed hitting first baseman has driven in 29 runs and scored 29 more. Unsurprisingly, he has yet to steal a base. But you don’t really need to worry about steals anyways when you hit so many home runs.
Tyler McDonough continued to build on his all-around season this week by adding a couple more steals to the list. The switch-hitting second baseman (and outfielder) is slashing .237/.322/.377 with 15 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. He’s driven in 40 runs, scored 45 more, and stolen 16 bases.
Tyler Uberstine made his second High-A start this week. While it wasn’t as good as his first, his overall numbers at the level are still strong. The right-handed pitcher has a 2.79 ERA, .200 BAA, 1.24 WHIP, and 14 strikeouts over just 9 2/3 innings so far.
Shane Drohan knows a few things about strikeouts. The left-handed pitcher continues to rack them up and had a solid outing this week. He has a 4.11 ERA, .236 BAA, and 1.33 WHIP on the season. Drohan has also added an impressive 107 strikeouts over just 81 innings to this point. That’s 21 more strikeouts than he had last season despite pitching 7 2/3 fewer innings at the moment.
Joey Stock has looked pretty good since moving up to High-A. The right-handed pitcher has given up three runs in six innings, striking out eight batters. His numbers in Low-A were so ridiculous so it’s good to see him getting a chance to prove himself at the next level. Stock hasn’t been perfect yet but he hasn’t been bad, and it’s only been six innings.
Red Sox Low-A (Salem)
Marcelo Mayer is on-fire at the moment, and that’s something we all love to see. The left-handed hitting shortstop is slashing .400/.537/.650 in the month of July and has boosted his slash line on the season to .297/.395/.517. He’s roped 22 doubles and eight home runs, to go along with 34 runs driven in and 37 more scored. Mayer has also gone a perfect 14-for-14 on steal attempts to show how well-rounded his game is.
Bryan Gonzalez has only appeared in 10 games for Salem so far but the impact is big. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .297/.333/.405 with one double and one home run in that time. He’s driven in five runs, scored five more, and stolen one base as well.
Blaze Jordan is slashing .290/.361/.462 with 24 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. The right-handed hitting third baseman has driven in 45 runs, scored 47 more, and stolen three bases. He is slumping slightly at the moment, but he was hot for so long you can excuse a little dip in the action.
Eddinson Paulino continues to be an electric factory. The left-handed hitting utility-man is slashing .239/.327/.431 with 24 doubles, nine triples, and seven home runs. He’s driven in 41 runs, scored 56 more, and stolen 17 bases. The average might not be great, but every other stat really jumps off the page at you.
Brainer Bonaci’s .242/.380/.314 slash line is really nice. The right-handed hitting shortstop doesn’t have the highest average, and he hasn’t hit a home run all year (242 at-bats) but he gets on base, and plays great defense. Bonaci has 13 doubles and three triples, as well as 24 RBI and 54 runs, scored. He’s walked 59 times (compared to 62 strikeouts), and has 17 steals.
Yorberto Mejicano is slashing .278/.321/.417 with nine doubles and four home runs so far. The right-handed hitting catcher has driven in 24 runs, scored 24 more, and stolen three bases. It’s been great to see him respond to more playing time by boosting his numbers pretty nicely.
Tyler Miller has been pretty hot lately and has gotten his numbers back up. The left-handed hitting corner infielder and outfielder is slashing .208/.290/.339 with seven doubles, one triple, and nine home runs. He’s driven in 31 runs, scored 38 more, and stolen eight bases. Miller has gone 5-for-13 with three walks and a steal in his last four games.
Thad Ward is back after Tommy John surgery and started his rehab in Low-A. He’s looked phenomenal so far. The right-handed pitcher made two appearances. In that time he’s tossed six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out 10 batters.
Luis De La Rosa really has been dominant this season. The right-handed pitcher had another great performance this week. And he now has a 1.29 ERA, .222 BAA, 1.14 WHIP, and nine strikeouts over seven innings of work in Low-A. Throw in his ridiculous stats from Rookie Ball and it’s hard to believe the 20-year-old hasn’t impressed everyone that’s seen him.
Hunter Dobbins allowed six hits in his five innings of work this week. The right-handed pitcher didn’t walk anyone though and struck out four batters. He also didn’t give up any earned runs. Dobbins now has a 2.20 ERA, .252 BAA, and 1.10 WHIP in 32 2/3 innings of work this season. He’s racked up 32 strikeouts while keeping his walks incredibly low, with just five.
Juan Daniel Encarnacion gave potentially his best pitching performance of the year. The righty twirled five shutout innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. Encarnacion now holds a 4.42 ERA, .251 BAA, and 1.32 WHIP on the season. In 71 1/3 innings, he’s racked up 85 strikeouts (compared to 25 walks).
Next. Prospects: Jay Groome gets promotion to Triple-A. dark