Boston Red Sox prospect watch: A fireman is leading the way

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

Bryan Mata had his best start of the season this week. The right-handed pitcher tossed five shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out five batters. He has a 5.12 ERA, .247 BAA, and 1.86 WHIP over 19 1/3 innings. Mata's walked 18 batters and struck out 20. The numbers still don't look great, but this was a positive sign for El Idolo.

Speaking of good signs, Chris Murphy took another step forward this week. The left-handed pitcher allowed one run on three hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings, striking out five in that time. He has a 7.80 ERA, .333 BAA, and 2.20 WHIP in 15 innings. Again, the numbers don't look great, but they are such a drastic improvement from what they looked like two starts ago.

Brandon Walter has a 4.74 ERA, .278 BAA, and 1.50 WHIP. The left-handed pitcher has struck out 16 batters and walked 10 in 24 2/3 innings. His command hasn't looked nearly as dominant this season. That could be why the rest of his numbers are just okay. Walter has thrown at least five innings in his last four starts.

Oddanier Mosqueda has had four straight scoreless appearances out of the bullpen. The left-handed pitcher has a 3.97 ERA, .256 BAA, and 1.50 WHIP in nine outings. He's struck out 11 batters and walked six in 11 1/3 innings.

David Hamilton has hit his first slump. The left-handed hitting middle infielder is slashing .282/.354/.494 with four doubles, one triple, and four home runs. He's driven in 11 runs, scored 16 more, and stolen 14 bases. Hamilton is still contributing even when the bat isn't working too much.

Wilyer Abreu saw a five-game hitting streak (and four-game multi-hit streak) end on Sunday. The left-handed hitting outfielder is up to a .263/.382/.421 slash line with three doubles and two home runs. He's driven in six runs, scored nine more, and stolen one base. Abreu already has 11 walks in 15 games.