Boston Red Sox Prospects: Player at each level that needs more attention
Which Red Sox prospects deserve more attention in the second-half?
The Boston Red Sox system is loaded to the brim with exciting prospects. We try to cover them all, or at least do the very best to get everyone some love and attention.
Not every prospect gets the coverage they deserve though. So with that in mind, we’re going to take a look at each level of the minor league system and pick out one player that should have some eyes on him in the second half.
This is a mixture of media coverage, fan attention, and how often I personally talk about them.
So that means some big names are out. We’re not going to talk about Ceddanne Rafaela, Marcelo Mayer, Chris Murphy, Triston Casas, Kole Cottam, Niko Kavadas, etc. They all get more than enough article time, especially from me.
Sure, someone like Cottam isn’t exactly getting the love from the media all that much. But I talk about him far too often, so he’s disqualified. Meanwhile, Casas hasn’t gotten much from me this year because he’s been hurt for so long. But you can’t go more than a few hours without seeing fans or media discussing when he’ll be ready.
That’s the only real rule here. They can’t be getting too much attention from fans and media. Everyone else is fair game. That made this one pretty tough, for different reasons.
In Triple-A, you have a lot of good options. But they are so close to the Majors that it feels like most of them are getting a decent amount of coverage. So it’s hard to find a candidate who isn’t on everyone’s minds. Meanwhile in Low-A, you have a ton of talent players who aren’t really getting any attention because they’re so far away from the Majors. So it’s hard to narrow it down to just one prospect.
We’ve done our best though, and even did a decent job of switching up the positions at each level. Man, I really pulled out all the stops for this one, didn’t I?
Triple-A: Boston Red Sox outfield prospect Devlin Granberg
Like I said before, Triple-A was tough. Because when you’re knocking on the door to the Major Leagues, you’re going to be getting at least a semi-decent amount of coverage.
That being said, it feels like Devlin Granberg hasn’t been getting the attention he deserves for years now. He might not jump out at you as a potential superstar. But everything about him screams professional hitter that you want on your team.
The right-handed hitting outfielder looked phenomenal in 2018 and 2019. Then in 2021 he took a massive step forward. Playing in both High-A and Double-A, Granberg saw basically all his numbers rise. He hit .297 and posted a career-best 17 home runs. The run production was great too, driving in 74 runs and scored 69 more.
In 2022, the power has been down a bit. Maybe that’s why people aren’t talking about him as much as they should be. Having appeared in both Double-A and now Triple-A, Granberg is slashing .291/.402/.426. The slugging is down from .515 last season, but that’s a career-high in OBP at the moment. In fact, it’s a pretty significant leap.
Granberg has just two home runs, but he’s already roped 16 doubles and tied his career-high with five triples. He’s driven in 21 runs, scored 39 more, and his seven steals is one off tying his career-best.
The Dallas Baptist product doesn’t strike out much, and gets on-base. He has more power than he’s shown this season, and even if the homers aren’t falling he finds gaps. There’s not crazy speed or anything, but he has more-than enough to leg out lots of doubles and sneak in some steals. Put him in Fenway and he could get you a lot of wall-ball doubles.
Meanwhile, Granberg is pretty sound defensively in the outfield. And he can play first base as well.
The numbers this season have been great. They aren’t an outlier either, he’s produced every year at every level. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s 26 that is turning some fans off. But Granberg has always looked more mature at the plate than everyone else at his levels. So it’s not like it took him a while to get going. It’s just a case of a guy getting drafted out of College, then getting hit with that COVID year.
Is Granberg going to come up to the Majors and be the next Mike Trout? Probably not. But he can be more-than serviceable. He’ll get on-base a lot and probably win over a lot of fans quickly. And just one stop away from Boston, you’d think he’d be getting extra love. Especially with the Red Sox issues at first base and (to a much lesser extent but still sort of there) outfield depth.
Double-A: Boston Red Sox pitching prospect Brendan Nail
This one is sort of on me. Yes, the media and fans don’t really give Brendan Nail the attention he deserves. But neither do I. The left-handed reliever has had a stellar year. Before an injury shut him down for a bit, he was pretty much shutdown. Upon returning, he struggled in his first few outings. He’s gotten back on track though.
The left-handed reliever has a 3.98 ERA, .192 BAA, and 1.43 WHIP on the season. That’s an elite BAA. Sure, the ERA and WHIP aren’t great. But both took a big hit when he gave up four runs on two hits and four walks combined in his first two outings (two total innings) returning from injury. He’s tossed two scoreless innings since then.
Nail has 24 strikeouts over 20 1/3 innings this season. The 15 walks are a problem, but again look at his outings returning from injury and you can excuse that. Especially considering he didn’t rehab in lower levels beforehand.
Nail has a fastball that sits in the low-90s with good movement. Meanwhile he has a slider that hovers in the mid-70s and a curveball that hovers in the mid-70s. Both show a lot of break and good rotation when he’s on.
Left-handed relief pitching is always a great thing to have. And Nail looks like a legitimate arm. He’s been great every level in the minors so far, and tends to really rack up the strikeouts. The Red Sox have shown plenty of cracks in the bullpen. So while he’s not an immediate solution, Nail could be an answer for next season.
Keep an eye out for how he pitches in the second-half. Because a hefty majority of his first half was absolute domination.
High-A: Boston Red Sox infield prospect Antoni Flores
The Red Sox have a lot of exciting shortstops and infielders in general. So why should you keep an eye on someone slashing .219/.377/.271? Flores has hit just two doubles and one home run in 96 at-bats. He’s driven in seven runs and scored 14 more. It’s not even like he’s a major threat on the base paths, with zero steals on the year. So what is it?
A few things actually. First off, Flores hasn’t exactly gotten steady playing time this season. 96 at-bats will tell you that much. Second, he is still just 21 so it’s not like he’s faltering out. Third, the right-handed hitter has a really good eye (22 walks already despite low playing time). That .377 OBP would be nice even if he had a good average.
Finally, the glove. Flores is one of the best natural defensive players in the system. It’s already MLB-ready. Smooth footwork, gets the glove down, quick transfers, strong and accurate arm, good range, it’s all there. And while he came in as a shortstop, we’ve seen that Flores can play both second base and third base.
The only issue so far has been the hitting. But it’s also something that in short spurts he’s shown he can do at a decently-high level.
Flores has already shown an ability to get on-base. And his hitting has shown flashes. If he can start to hit a little better in the second half, he has the glove to move up in the system decently fast.
It’s also important to remember that Flores hasn’t really gotten much consistency. He only has 96 at-bats this season. He’s never had more than 181 in a season in the four years he’s played. It’s a combination of injuries and splitting time. But that causes issues. It makes it harder for a player to get in a groove when he’s lucky to be playing two-three times a week.
Now consider the fact that he’s moving around to different positions and still looking great at them as well.
Flores was once considered a pretty high prospect in the system. His bat has led to him falling down those rankings a bit. There’s still a lot to love though. An MLB-ready glove in High-A is enough to get excited about.
So if that bat wakes up in the second-half, Antoni Flores could shoot back up the Red Sox rankings.
Low-A: Boston Red Sox catching prospect Yorberto Mejicano
The Boston Red Sox have some exciting catching prospects. So I get it if you aren’t paying too much attention to someone in Low-A who isn’t even ranked in their top-30.
You’ve got Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernandez putting up numbers in Triple-A. Kole Cottam and Elih Marrero showing off their defense in Double-A, with Stephen Scott now joining them. And Nathan Hickey is now in High-A.
Hickey started the year in Low-A though. And that meant he was taking most of the catching duties. Yorberto Mejicano was sort of tossed into a depth role. Since the promotion of Hickey, Mejicano has been given more playing time, and he’s absolutely been shining.
Heading into June 26, Mejicano was slashing .245/.292/.408. Then Hickey was promoted. Since June 26, Mejicano is 18-for-53 (.340) with five doubles, 12 RBI, and two steals.
Suddenly, the right-handed hitting catcher is slashing .278/.321/.417 with nine doubles and four home runs. He’s driven in 24 runs, scored 24 more, and stolen three bases. Clearly, getting that steady playing time has made a world of difference for Mejicano.
It’s also important to note that he’s just 21. So this is still very much a young player getting his first look in the lower levels of the minor leagues. And it’s safe to say he is thriving.
It’s hard to tell in the minor leagues, especially the lower levels, but Mejicano appears to be very good defensively too. There are a lot of factors when it comes to defense for catchers, which is why I say to not worry too much about defensive stats in the minors. But clearly Mejicano has the tools to be great defensively.
Yorberto Mejicano isn’t the biggest name in the Boston Red Sox system. Especially at a position with enough exciting talent already. But he’s produced at an incredibly high-level since getting the chance to play more “full-time”.
And if he keeps this up he could rise through the ranks extremely quickly. So it’s important to keep an eye out for him in the second-half. If he continues at the pace he’s on, you’re not going to want to miss a second of it.
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