Boston Red Sox prospect watch: New challenges, same results
By Hunter Noll
Red Sox Double-A (Portland)
Ceddanne Rafaela seems to be making an effort to work counts a little bit more. That’s a game-changer because it’s one of his few weaknesses at the moment. If he gets that going it will be hard for anyone to deny he’s elite. The right-handed hitting utility-man is slashing .305/.354/.551 with 28 doubles, seven triples, and 18 home runs between High-A and Double-A this year. He’s driven in 63 runs, scored 71 more, and stolen 25 bases.
Stephen Scott continues his trend of playing better during a season after being promoted. The left-handed hitting catcher/utility-man is slashing .250/.400/.468 with seven doubles, one triple, and six home runs in 37 games with Portland. He’s driven in 20 runs, scored 28 more, and stolen two bases. Scott also has 31 walks compared to 32 strikeouts.
Christian Koss holds a .277/.320/.440 slash line with 18 doubles (tied for a career-high), four triples, and 12 home runs. The right-handed hitting shortstop has driven in a career-high 65 runs, scored 52 more, and stolen a career-high 12 bases. Koss gives you something in every aspect of the game, and could see Triple-A by the end of the year.
Tyler Dearden may not be showing the power numbers, but he’s gotten hotter-and-hotter as the year goes on. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .268/.376/.398 with 15 doubles, one triple, and five home runs. He’s driven in 38 runs and scored 31 more. Dearden hit .286 in June, .296 in July, and is hitting .350 in August.
David Hamilton continues to impress despite the lower batting average. The left-handed hitting second baseman is slashing .223/.303/.369 with 10 doubles, eight triples, and nine home runs. He’s driven in 31 runs, scored 54 more, and stolen 51 bases in just 55 attempts. Yes, the average is low. Hamilton has shown decent pop, good defense, and ridiculous speed this season though.
Wilyer Abreu is still new to the organization with just 11 games under his belt. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .229/.400/.314 with three doubles in that time. He’s driven in four runs, scored eight more, and stolen two bases.
Alex Binelas continues to hit pitches a mile. The left-handed hitting corner infielder may not be collecting a ton of hits, but he’s doing the rest well offensively. Binelas is slashing .207/.316./448 with 12 doubles, two triples, and 23 home runs between High-A and Double-A. He’s driven in 71 runs, scored 59 more, walked 57 times, and is a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts.
Nick Northcut picked it up a bit this week, which is great to see. The right-handed hitting corner infielder holds a .221/.279/.506 slash line with 15 doubles and 28 home runs between High-A and Double-A. He’s driven in 66 runs, scored 47 more, and stolen one base.
Bryan Mata’s outing this week saw the right-handed pitcher toss six scoreless innings, allowing just five hits while striking out six batters. Most importantly, he did not walk anyone for the first time this season. El Idolo has a 2.64 ERA, .188 BAA, 1.22 WHIP, and 59 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings this season between multiple levels. Mata’s return from Tommy John has been insanely successful.
Brayan Bello made a rehab start in Double-A. He allowed one run on two hits over 3 2/3 innings. The righty didn’t walk anyone and struck out six batters in that time. Bello looked dominant, which is just so nice to see. Hopefully he can get back to the Majors this season and try to work on his numbers there.
Thad Ward is also working back from Tommy John this season. The right-handed pitcher threw five scoreless innings, giving up three hits and two walks while striking out four this week. Ward now has a 1.35 ERA, .170 BAA, 1.05 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings between multiple levels this season. Things couldn’t be going much better for him on the mound right now.
Michael Gettys performing like this in Double-A has to be shocking to most people. The former outfielder had a solid 3.34 ERA in High-A. However, he was working out of a lot of trouble with a .325 BAA and 1.55 WHIP in 29 2/3 innings. To be fair to him, he was lowering those pretty rapidly towards the end of his run. Now in Double-A, the righty reliever has a 0.00 ERA, .226 BAA, and 0.96 WHIP in 9 1/3 innings pitched.
Oddanier Mosqueda has been phenomenal in his last few outings. The left-handed reliever has tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings over his last three appearances combined. Mosqueda now has a 3.83 ERA, .216 BAA, and 1.13 WHIP on the year. In 47 innings pitched he has 55 strikeouts compared to 16 walks.