5 Boston Red Sox prospects to watch at the Portland Sea Dogs

Five Boston Red Sox prospects to watch in Double-A

With the minor league baseball season creeping up, it's easy to get excited. We're looking at the Boston Red Sox MiLB teams and highlighting five prospects to watch at each level.

With the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox out of the way, we head down to Double-A and the Portland Sea Dogs.

Like with every list, things will get a little tricky. We still aren't 100% sure where some players will start the season. Due to that, a few names aren't going to be featured. If there's a good chance they'll start in Double-A, the player could find his way in the article. Someone that's around 50/50 is going to be left off, though.

Portland is one of the more intriguing teams due to this uncertainty. Is Ceddanne Rafaela going to start here or in Triple-A? And even if he does start with the Sea Dogs, how long until he gets promoted?

At the same time, when does Nick Yorke arrive? What about Marcelo Mayer and Blaze Jordan?

The good news is that not everything surrounding Portland has a question mark. Some players will start the year with the Sea Dogs and should be on the roster for at least a solid chunk of the season. Luckily, it's clear who some of those players will be.

That leads us to the main point of the article, though. Which prospects do you need to watch for in 2023? We'll highlight five players on the Portland roster that deserve your attention this season.

Did all the players you were expecting make it on? If not, tell everyone you know to read the article and yell at me. If they did make it, tell everyone you know to read the article and love me. Either way, tell everyone to read it. Cool? Sweet, moving on.

Boston Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan

Shane Drohan is one of those sleeper prospects in the Boston Red Sox organization. He's not unknown, but he doesn't get the attention he should be getting.

Drohan started 2022 in High-A before making his final five starts in Double-A. The left-handed pitcher was solid with the Greenville Drive and impressed even more after a promotion to the Portland Sea Dogs.

Overall, Drohan made 25 starts (27 total appearances) in 2022. The Florida State product posted a 3.89 ERA, .227 BAA, and 1.26 WHIP between the two levels. He did have a bit of a home run problem (20) but racked up 157 strikeouts over 129 2/3 innings pitched.

His fastball isn't about speed, sitting in the low-90s. There's a solid movement to it, though, which should help.

The real stars here are his offspeed pitches. Drohan has a good curveball with sweeping movement that works in the mid-to-high-70s. Meanwhile, his best pitch is a changeup. He throws it around 80 MPH with a deceptive delivery and a late dip.

Drohan turned 24 in January and will start the 2023 season in Double-A. It's reasonable to believe he'll be in Triple-A by the end of the year. Why is he so exciting, though?

Drohan's only thrown 218 1/3 innings in the minor leagues, and he's already had Double-A experience. We're seeing him put up great numbers in the infancy of his career. 2023 could be a massive year that sees Shane Drohan go from "good prospect" to one of the premiere pitching prospects in the Boston Red Sox system.

Boston Red Sox infield prospect Matthew Lugo

Matthew Lugo has had a nice introduction to some Boston Red Sox fans this Spring. To this point, the right-handed hitter has gone 4-for-12 with two doubles and one triple, driving in five runs and scoring one more.

Lugo won't be in the Majors to start the season, though. He'll be working in Double-A with the Portland Sea Dogs.

In 2021, Lugo had a solid season at the plate. However, there were some glaring issues. The biggest one being a complete lack of power. Lugo posted a .270 average but a measly .364 slugging percentage.

The good news is that 2022 saw a massive improvement. Lugo's batting average rose to .282, while his slugging percentage skyrocketed to .492. That was thanks to a career-high in doubles (26), triples (10), and home runs (18). The jump in home runs was particularly impressive, as Lugo had only four the year prior.

Lugo doesn't turn 22 until May 9. So it's safe to assume he still isn't finished maturing in all areas of his game. That's a scary thought, as he's already shown himself to be a talented offensive player. Not only was he flexing the muscles in 2022, but he swiped 20 bags as well.

There's some work to do defensively, but he has the potential to be very solid in the field. Lugo has spent most of his career at shortstop but also has some experience at second and third base. 2022 saw him get even more time at third. That flexibility will help keep him in the lineup and gives him a chance to find a position where he's more comfortable.

Matthew Lugo's game took leaps forward in 2022. Could we see more of the same in 2023?

Boston Red Sox outfield prospect Gilberto Jimenez

It wasn't long ago that Gilberto Jimenez was a consensus top-five prospect in the Boston Red Sox system. Now he's not even ranked in their top 30. A lot of people seem to have given up on him.

Here's the thing, though, Jimenez is still only 22. There's plenty of time for things to turn back around.

Jimenez hit over .300 in each of the first three seasons of his career. He attempted to add power with some new muscle, but that didn't work out well.

In 2022, Jimenez did hit a new career-high in home runs. It was hardly worth the dip in other numbers, though.

Jimenez slashed .268/.306/.366 in High-A last season. So while his five home runs were a career-high, he also posted the lowest slugging percentage of his career. Meanwhile, the .306 OBP would've tied for the lowest batting average of his career to that point.

The strikeouts were also up, this being the first time Jimenez hit triple-digits in the category (100 exactly). So what were the positives?

Jimenez did steal 20 bases for the first time in his career. He has elite speed, but his base running has holes. If he can improve his jumps and reads, this is one area he could excel in.

Jimenez is a switch-hitter that can make contact and use his speed to cause issues on the base paths. He's not an elite defender, but his speed helps there too. Add in a surprisingly great arm to give him an extra plus-level tool.

Gilberto Jimenez is a player to watch this year for one reason. It's not the speed or potential added power. Jimenez is a player to watch because this is a make-or-break year for him. The Boston Red Sox have so much talent in their minor league system. Jimenez has fallen down the ranks because of that. A rough 2023 season could spell the end for him in the organization. But if he gets back on track, we could see his stock rise again.

Boston Red Sox catching prospect Stephen Scott

Stephen Scott is genuinely one of the more interesting prospects in the Boston Red Sox system.

Scott joined the organization in 2019. That season he appeared at first base, left field, and right field. In 2021 he added 19 games as a catcher. Then in 2022, catcher was the only defensive position Scott played.

Now, we might see Scott at other positions from time to time. Clearly, the Red Sox want to use him as a backstop, though.

However, his defensive positioning isn't the only reason Scott is intriguing. He has followed a strange pattern over the last two seasons.

In 2021, Scott was putting up decent numbers at the plate in Low-A. Then he went nuclear after getting promoted to High-A midway through the season.

In 2022, Scott struggled in High-A for the first 37 games. Despite that, he got promoted to Double-A. There, Scott put up much better numbers once again.

Now in 2023, we'll see Scott start the season in Double-A. He has pretty good power and a great eye at the plate. Defensively, you can tell Scott still isn't anything spectacular behind the plate. He has improved over time and has a decent enough arm, though. His ability to play other positions and give the team lineup flexibility softens that blow.

Can he break the trend and put up big numbers to start the year? Or will it be more of the same? Does he get that promotion to Triple-A? No matter what, Stephen Scott's going to be a fun player to watch.