Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Unexpected big performances

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.

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.

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

Ceddanne Rafaela had another one of those signature games this week. He went 4-for-4 with a homer and a steal, while making one of the more absurd plays you’ll see at shortstop in a while. The right-handed hitting utility-man is slashing .316/.359/.573 between High-A and Double-A this season. Your favorite prospect’s favorite prospect has seven triples to go along with career-highs in doubles (26) and home runs (17). Rafaela also has 65 runs scored and 22 steals, as well as a career-high 59 RBI. By the end of the year we could see new career-bests in all the stats I didn’t say that for.

Christian Koss has been on-fire lately. The right-handed hitting shortstop has four-straight multi-hit games. In that time he’s risen his average from .274 to .288 and thrown in some extra-base hits for good measure. Koss is slashing .288/.331/.462 with 15 doubles, four triples, and 12 home runs this season. He’s scored 50 runs to go along with career-highs in RBI (61) and steals (11).

Kole Cottam is getting a bit of that power swing going. The right-handed hitting catcher is slashing .270/.350/.381 with 15 doubles, two triples, and two home runs. Those two triples came in the same game, which is something I wasn’t expecting to ever say about Cottam. He’s driven in 26 runs and scored 27 more. Playing great defense at catcher and first base.

David Hamilton is slashing .233/.317/.379 with nine doubles, seven triples, and eight home runs. The left-handed hitting second baseman has driven in 30 runs and scored 49 more. While some of those numbers aren’t the best, his ridiculous 49 steals help to give a view of why he could be so valuable. That’s once-in-a-generation speed.

Tyler Dearden is holding on to a six-game hitting-streak at the moment that’s really boosted his numbers. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .261/.366/.389 with 12 doubles, one triple, and five home runs on the year. He’s driven in 35 runs and scored 29 more. The power from last season hasn’t been replicated yet but he’s started to drive the ball more.

Hudson Potts is slashing .222/.293/.458 with 15 doubles and 11 home runs. The average isn’t great but the slugging percentage is actually a career-high for the right-handed hitting corner infielder. Potts has driven in 33 runs, scored 27 more, and stolen one base. The power is legit.

Stephen Scott continues his “I get better after being called-up” trope that he started last year. Scott is slashing .276/.416/.471 with five doubles and four home runs in Double-A (compared to .188/.305/.336 in High-A) this season. The catcher/utility-man has driven in 16 runs, scored 20 more, and stolen one base in 26 games with Portland so far.

Nick Northcut nukes have come to Portland. The right-handed hitting third baseman was called-up after slashing .223/.286/.530 with 13 doubles, 26 home runs, 58 RBI, and 43 runs scored in High-A. In four games in Double-A, Northcut is just 3-for-17 but he’s already smoked two home runs.

Alex Binelas has struggled a bit in Double-A, but the power is still there. And on the season the right-handed hitting third baseman is slashing .212/.326/.449 with 11 doubles, two triples, and 20 home runs. He’s driven in 60 runs, scored 53 more, and stolen eight bases in eight attempts.

Bryan Mata continues to look great on his road back from Tommy John. The right-handed pitcher has a 2.50 ERA, .180 BAA, and 1.22 WHIP between three levels this season. El Idolo has walked 21 batters in 36 innings, but has racked up 47 strikeouts as well.

Michael Gettys hasn’t gotten many opportunities in Double-A yet, but the former outfielder has made the most of them. The right-handed pitcher has yet to give up a run in 4 2/3 innings at the level. He’s allowed just three hits and two walks, and his numbers have been rapidly dropping all year long.

Rio Gomez sees his numbers improve constantly still. The left-handed reliever has a 5.40 ERA, .269 BAA, and 1.53 WHIP in 18 1/3 innings. Gomez has 22 strikeouts compared to 10 walks in that time. Overall it doesn’t look great, but it’s been a steady decline since his first few outings were so rough.

Brian Van Belle continues to be a really reliable arm since his call-up to Double-A. The right-handed starter has a 4.25 ERA, .256 BAA, and 1.06 WHIP over eight appearances at the level. Van Belle has 51 strikeouts compared to just four walks over 42 1/3 innings with Portland.

Red Sox Low-A (Salem)

Brainer Bonaci had a very unexpected game this week. All year I’ve talked about how good he has been despite the lack of power. He was getting on-base, stealing bases, and playing great defense. All while hitting literally zero home runs in over 250 at-bats. Then came this week.

Bonaci suddenly was hitting doubles and triples. Oh, and he had a two homer game. The right-handed hitting shortstop now has a .265/.395/.378 slash line with 17 doubles, five triples, and two home runs. He’s driven in 36 runs, scored 59 more, and stolen 18 bases. Bonaci also has an impressive 64 walks compared to 68 strikeouts.

Marcelo Mayer is slashing .281/.386/.494 with 24 doubles, one triple, and eight home runs. The left-handed hitting shortstop has dealt with a couple issues this season, and he’s still just 19. Despite that Mayer has rarely looked overmatched and is always able to adjust. He’s driven in 37 runs, scored 40 more, and is a perfect 14-for-14 on stolen base attempts.

Blaze Jordan is also just 19. You’d never be able to tell though. He always looks so calm in RBI situations. The right-handed hitting third baseman is slashing .288/.357/.450 with 26 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. He’s driven in 51 runs, scored 47 more, and stolen four bases. It’s hard not to be impressed with what Jordan’s done this season. Especially considering how he struggled to start the year.

Eddinson Paulino is way too much fun to watch. The left-handed hitting utility-man holds a .250/.37/.443 slash line with 24 doubles, 10 triples, and eight home runs. Not only are all of those career-highs, but let me say that again – TEN triples. Paulino has driven in 44 runs, scored 65 more, and stolen 20 bases. Again, all career-highs. Legitimate 20/20 type potential.

Luis De La Rosa has been extremely impressive so far. The 20-year-old righty has a 1.91 ERA, .162 BAA, and 0.99 WHIP between Rookie Ball and Low-A this year. He has 35 strikeouts compared to 12 walks in 28 1/3 innings pitched so far. De La Rosa has looked great in Low-A and is a piece from the Andrew Benintendi trade – so keep an eye on him.

Hunter Dobbins continues to hold it down for us Hunters everywhere. The right-handed pitcher has a 3.02 ERA, .259 BAA, and 1.22 WHIP on the season. In 41 2/3 innings in Low-A so far, he has 44 strikeouts compared to just 10 walks. Dobbins has looked extremely mature for his first taste of the minor leagues.

Graham Hoffman was struggling a bit this season. That is, before the calendar turned to July. In the month, Hoffman allowed just one run on four hits over nine innings of work. The righty now has a 3.55 ERA, .224 BAA, and 1.34 WHIP over 25 1/3 innings pitched this season. He’s walked 12 batters compared to 27 strikeouts.

Luis Guerrero gave up two runs in two innings on July 1. Since then, he’s allowed no earned runs over 10 innings in the rest of the month. The right-handed pitcher now has a 3.05 ERA, .151 BAA, and 1.16 WHIP in 20 2/3 innings this season. He’s struck out 29 batters compared to 13 walks. That .151 BAA definitely deserves some attention, because that’s stupid low.