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Boston Red Sox prospect watch: New challenges, same results

By Hunter Noll

BOSTON, MA - JULY 22: Boston Red Sox 2021 first round draft pick Marcelo Mayer poses for a portrait as he is signed with the club on July 22, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JULY 22: Boston Red Sox 2021 first round draft pick Marcelo Mayer poses for a portrait as he is signed with the club on July 22, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox
Aug 9, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran (40) reacts at home plate after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

This week’s Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch brings new challenges for prospects

A weird season for the Boston Red Sox continues, and that leads to a pretty strange Prospect Watch as the summer winds down.

How will the team’s success (or lack thereof) mix up the minor leagues down the stretch?

Last weekend, the Sox struggled with the fourth-place Kansas City Royals, but then, they took 2-out-of-3 from the first-place New York Yankees (and won a one-game series against the fourth-place Baltimore Orioles).

The star players carried the team for a while, but now they are slumping. Rafael Devers had a much-needed big game on Sunday and Alex Verdugo’s been great lately. Tommy Pham looks like a sneaky-good pickup at the deadline as well, and having a first baseman who can actually play the position in Eric Hosmer is nice.

But overall, this season has been painful, so it’s nice to see some of the younger guys making contributions. Kutter Crawford has been one of the best young players on the team. The right-handed start has a 4.18 ERA, .231 BAA, and 1.22 WHIP over 64 2/3 innings pitched in the Majors this season. He’s picked up 65 strikeouts compared to 23 walks in that time and gets featured on Pitching Ninja nearly every start.

Josh Winckowksi continues to look like he could be a really strong back-end starter. The righty has a 4.69 ERA, .288 BAA, and 1.49 WHIP in the Majors this season. He’s only struck out 34 batters compared to 20 walks in 55 2/3 innings so far. However, that was never really a big part of his game. Wink is here to eat innings and get weak contact outs. His rookie campaign has been a success so far, as no one was expecting him to come in and put up dominant numbers or anything.

Jarren Duran is slashing .225/.285/.376 with 12 doubles, three triples, and three home runs. The left-handed hitting outfielder has 15 runs driven in, 22 more runs scored, and seven steals. It’s frustrating because he clearly has the talent. There’s just the whole “can he figure it out” thing.

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