Red Sox High-A (Greenville)
Matthew Lugo has seen a major uptick in his power this year, and he put that into overdrive this week with two separate two home run and five RBI performances. The right-handed hitting shortstop is slashing .273/.328/.504 with 23 doubles, nine triples, and 17 home runs. He’s driven in 70 runs, scored 66 more, and stolen 14 bases. So the power and run production have both improved massively. He should be in Double-A soon.
Tyler McDonough also had a signature performance this week, hitting for the cycle on Saturday. The switch-hitting outfielder/second baseman now holds a .241/.325/.377 slash line with 20 doubles, four triples, and nine home runs on the season. McDonough has driven in 46 runs, scored 57 more, and stolen 19 bases as well.
Blaze Jordan has been phenomenal in High-A. The right-handed hitting third baseman has reached base safely in 9-of-10 games so far. He’s slashing .297/.370/.466 with 30 doubles, three triples, and 11 home runs between Low-A and High-A. Jordan has driven in 65 runs, scored 57 more, and stolen four bases.
Marcelo Mayer has picked up the production in High-A. He’s still not putting up big numbers but he’s been hitting the ball hard. The left-handed hitting shortstop is slashing .276/.394/.481 with 26 doubles, one triple, and 11 home runs between Low-A and High-A this season. He’s driven in 45 runs, scored 54 more, and is a perfect 16-for-16 on stolen base attempts.
Nick Yorke continues to give us signs of a resurgence, but can’t seem to sustain a long run. The right-handed hitting second baseman is slashing .228/.294/.358 with eight doubles, one triple, and nine home runs this season. He’s driven in 39 runs, scored 41 more, and stolen five bases. Yorke has been hitting the ball hard lately, hopefully, that starts translating to more hits.
Max Ferguson hit his first home run in the Boston Red Sox organization this week. The left-handed hitting utility-man is slashing .225/.392/.325 with one double and one home run in Greenville. He’s driven in six runs, scored 10 more, and stolen three bases. On the season he has 58 steals in just 63 attempts.
Nathan Hickey has shown that his bat is certainly an elite tool at the catcher position this season. The left-handed hitting catcher is slashing .263/.417/.4684 with 17 doubles and 10 home runs between Low-A and High-A. He’s driven in 51 runs and scored 43 more in just 63 games. Meanwhile, he’s walked nearly as many times (56) as he’s struck out (62).
Gilberto Jimenez has done a lot of good things this season, even if the average is down. The switch-hitting outfielder is slashing .272/.311/.380 with 18 doubles, two triples, and five home runs. He’s driven in 33 runs, scored 45 more, and stolen 16 bases. Barring a ridiculous run, this will be the first season he hits under .300. However, he has a career-high in doubles and home runs. And his 16 steals are tied for a career-best.
Phillip Sikes holds a .259/.379/.515 slash line with 25 doubles, five triples, and 11 home runs between Low-A and High-A this season. The right-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 47 runs, scored 53 more, and stolen 15 bases in 16 attempts. Those are pretty stellar numbers for someone’s first full season in the minor leagues. Especially when you add in his great play on the defensive end.
Big Joe Davis grew his legend more this week by hitting a ball so far and so hard that when it finally landed it bounced high and out of sight once again. The right-handed hitting first baseman is slashing .248/.293/.474 with two doubles and 17 home runs. He’s driven in 36 runs and scored 33 more.
Wikelman Gonzalez got the promotion to High-A after tossing six no-hit innings in his final Low-A start. The right-handed pitcher gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in four innings, while striking out six. He’s had command issues most of the year, but still just 20, it’s great to see Gonzalez already getting a taste of High-A.
Luis Guerrero made his High-A debut this week as well and impressed heavily. The righty reliever tossed two shutout innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out two batters. Guerrero threw 2 1/3 innings in Rookie Ball and just 23 2/3 innings in Low-A before making the jump to High-A. Clearly, the Red Sox think he can be fast-tracked through the minor leagues.