Unexpected performances highlight this week’s Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch
Approaching the trade deadline, it certainly feels like the Boston Red Sox system is going to get a pretty big shakeup.
The team is 51-52 and while they’re not out of the playoff race just yet, they have a hill to climb.
With that in mind, selling off some veteran names seems to be in the cards, which means two things. First, with several big-leaguers likely traded, we could see some call-ups. The other one is pretty exciting for the Prospect Watch – we could be getting some more names to keep an eye on as the Red Sox gain some new prospects in the trades. It also means I hopefully won’t be having to say goodbye to any of the regulars on here just yet.
For now, we have to focus on what they already have though. And we had some unlikely games from certain players to look forward to.
In the Majors, Kutter Crawford has been really solid. The right-handed pitcher had a phenomenal month of July, posting a sub-3.00 ERA. He has a 4.15 ERA, .232 BAA, 1.22 WHIP, and 50 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings so far in the Majors this year. Crawford hasn’t been perfect but he’s shown he can give the Red Sox good innings and is improving every outing.
Brayan Bello had his best outing in the Majors this week. While he still has a lot to improve upon, it’s great to see that he is taking obvious steps forward. The right-handed pitcher gave up two runs on four hits and three walks (four strikeouts) over 4 1/3 innings pitched. He’s actually looked pretty decent most of his time in the Majors. Just a couple bad innings and weak hit balls that have really killed him. Don’t get me wrong, he needs to improve. But it isn’t as bad as the numbers show.
Josh Winckowski picked up the only win by a Red Sox starter in the month of July. That’s rough. The right-handed pitcher continues to be an interesting name to watch. He doesn’t rack up the strikeouts and tends to let a good amount of people on base. However, he can usually limit the damage really nicely and give Boston a solid 5-6 innings. Give him time to grow.