Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Home runs and injury scares

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).