Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Home runs and injury scares
By Hunter Noll
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.