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.