Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch 9/12/22: Final week of 2022 season
By Hunter Noll
Red Sox High-A (Greenville)
Oof is it a shame the High-A season is over because Marcelo Mayer has gotten hot. The right-handed hitting shortstop is slashing .452/.553/.710 in September. He posted a .280/.399/.489 slash line with 30 doubles, two triples, and 13 home runs between Low-A and High-A. Mayer drove in 53 runs, scored 61 more, and went 17-for-17 in steal attempts.
Blaze Jordan finished his year with a nice stretch. The right-handed hitting corner infielder holds a .289/.363/.445 slash line with 30 doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs. Jordan drove in 68 runs, scored 60 more, and stole five bases. He may not have hit the home runs some were expecting, but the power is clearly there and he’ll only be 20 next season.
Nick Yorke’s year may look like a disappointment, but he did a lot of good things despite dealing with injuries all season. The right-handed hitting second baseman slashed .231/.303/.365 with 10 doubles, one triple, and 11 home runs. He drove in 45 runs and scored 48 more, stealing eight bases. Yorke has things to work on, but the positives are there (like his surprisingly elite defense, committing just one error all season).
Nathan Hickey slashed .263/.415/.522 with 18 doubles and 16 home runs between Low-A and High-A this season. The right-handed hitting catcher drove in 62 runs and scored 50 more. He has some work to do on the defensive side of things, but that bat is legit. Hickey could make noise next season as he climbs up the levels.
Matthew Lugo posted a .288/.344/.500 slash line with 25 doubles, 10 triples, and 18 home runs this season. The right-handed hitting shortstop drove in 78 runs, scored 76 more, and stole 20 bases. Lugo’s massive step forward offensively (mainly in the power department) shouldn’t be overlooked, he’ll turn just 22 on May 9 of next year.
Gilberto Jimenez slashed .268/.306/.366 with 18 doubles, two triples, and five home runs. He drove in 34 runs, scored 49 more, and stole 20 bases. The average dipped heavily and he struck out 100 times for the first time in his career. The switch-hitting outfielder set career-highs in doubles, home runs, and steals though. Elite speed, he needs to work on his base running though.
Tyler McDonough managed a .230/.311/.357 slash line with 23 doubles, four triples, and nine home runs this season. The switch-hitting second baseman/outfielder drove in 48 runs, scored 60 more, and stole 21 bases. He had a very up-and-down season, but there’s good versatility in his game with decent pop and good speed.
Wikelman Gonzalez was so impressive in his short time in High-A to end the season. The right-handed starter’s lone outing this week saw him give up just one run on three hits and a walk over five innings, striking out four batters. Gonzalez posted a 4.21 ERA, .212 BAA, 1.32 BAA, and 121 strikeouts over 98 1/3 innings pitched between Low-A and High-A.
Juan Daniel Encarnacion made the most of his short time in High-A as well. The righty starter finished the season with a 4.05 ERA, .239 BAA, and 1.27 WHIP between Low-A and High-A. Encarnacion racked up 129 strikeouts compared to 42 walks in 113 1/3 innings this season.
Luis Guerrero put together a great end of the season. The right-handed reliever tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings in September, allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out eight batters. Guerrero finished with a 3.23 ERA, .181 BAA, and 1.10 WHIP between three levels. He struck out 59 batters compared to 17 walks in 39 innings.
Aaron Perry missed most of the year, but he managed to return for a couple of innings at the end of the year. The right-handed reliever gave up zero runs on one hit and one walk while striking out three, over three innings. It wasn’t a big sample size, but it was great to see Perry out there again and looking strong.