Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Unexpected big performances

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

This could be one of the last Boston Red Sox Prospect Watches that feature Triston Casas in the minor leagues. Back from injury, the left-handed hitting first baseman has been hot the last few games. He’s starting to hit home runs and get on-base, now slashing .241/.343/.446 with 10 doubles and eight homers in Triple-A. Casas has driven in 25 runs, and scored 28 more. The numbers don’t look phenomenal but he’s looked good recently. A call-up shortly after the trade deadline

could

should be in his cards.

Pedro Castellanos has not slowed down since his call-up to Triple-A. The right-handed hitting outfielder and first baseman is slashing .318/.351/.443 with Worcester. Between Double-A and Triple-A he has 21 doubles, two triples, and 10 home runs. He’s driven in 53 runs and scored 35 more. Castellanos has certainly been one of the more impressive hitters in the minor leagues this season.

Ronaldo Hernandez is slashing .279/.302/.462 with 23 doubles and 10 home runs this season. The right-handed hitting catcher has driven in 45 runs and scored 34 more. He doesn’t draw many walks, but clearly has a lot of positives at the plate. Meanwhile, he has an incredibly strong arm behind the plate. We could see Hernandez this year if Vazquez is traded.

Cam Cannon is up in Triple-A now. There isn’t much to report on as he’s only been there for a bit, but he’s shown potential at the plate. The right-handed hitting middle infielder is 5-for-23 with a double. He’s driven in three runs but has yet to score one, also stealing one base.

Devlin Granberg continues his strong season between Double-A and Triple-A. The right-handed hitting outfielder and first baseman is slashing .281/.382/.405 with 18 doubles, five triples (tied for a career-high), and two home runs. He’s driven in 21 runs and scored 41 more. Meanwhile, his eight steals ties a career-best.

Johan Mieses is slashing .296/.417/.574 with nine doubles and seven home runs in just 108 at-bats so far. The right-handed hitting outfielder has 19 runs batted in and 22 more runs scored, to go along with three steals. Mieses has tons of offensive potential but tends to get overlooked as he’s not one of the bigger names in the system.

Frank German has just been getting better as the year goes on. The right-handed reliever started the year by being untouchable in Double-A and now he’s dominating in Triple-A. German has a 2.74 ERA, .169 BAA, and 1.13 WHIP with Worcester so far. In 23 innings with the team he has 31 strikeouts compared to 13 walks.

Andrew Politi has bounced back from a rough two outings in a phenomenal way. The righty reliever now has five straight scoreless outings, going two innings in each one. On the season between Double-A and Triple-A he now has a 3.20 ERA, .206 BAA, 1.02 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched.

Zack Kelly continues to be one of the best bullpen arms in the entire Red Sox system. The right-hander has a 3.38 ERA, .215 BAA, and 1.30 WHIP on the season. He has 57 strikeouts compared to 20 walks in 40 innings pitched, and most of those walks came in a short stretch early in the season.

Jake Thompson gave up three runs in 2/3 of an inning in his second Triple-A appearance of the year earlier this month. Outside of that, he’s been ridiculous. The left-handed reliever has given up no runs in the other four outings (seven total innings). He’s heavily limiting base runners and getting a lot of weak contact.

Since the start of June Brian Keller has been one of Boston’s best organization pitchers. The righty had a 2.08 ERA in June and has a 1.23 ERA in July. Keller now has a 3.46 ERA, .223 BAA, and 1.23 WHIP on the year. In 67 2/3 innings he has 78 strikeouts compared to 27 walks.

Chris Murphy has struggled a bit in his last few Triple-A outings but that’s expected when jumping up a level. The majority of Murph’s time at the level has been really good. Between Double-A and Triple-A the lefty has a 3.12 ERA, .185 BAA, 1.10 WHIP, and 110 strikeouts in 104 innings pitched.

Jay Groome hasn’t been perfectly recently either but he’s still managing to give Worcester what they need. The left-handed pitcher has a 3.59 ERA, .219 BAA, and 1.29 WHIP between Double-A and Triple-A this season. He has 45 walks in 92 2/3 innings, but has picked up 96 strikeouts as well.

Connor Seabold is back healthy with Triple-A again. The right-handed reliever gave up two runs on four hits and no walks (four strikeouts) in four innings in his lone start this week. That was his first appearance since July 8, so it was a strong first outing in over three weeks.