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

The Boston Red Sox prospect watch is led by Blaze Jordan this week

This week's Boston Red Sox prospect watch starts on a high note. Plenty is going on in the minor leagues. It all starts at the top, though. And not only have the Red Sox moved up to 15-14, but they have gotten contributions from a lot of the younger players.

Masataka Yoshida is now riding a 10-game hitting streak. The left-handed hitter has a .276/.373/.460 slash line with four doubles and four home runs. He's driven in 16 runs, scored 15 more, and stolen two bases. Yoshida has more walks (12) than strikeouts (11).

Jarren Duran hasn't stopped hitting. The left-handed hitter has a .396/.415/.646 slash line with nine doubles and one home run in 13 games. He's driven in 10 runs, scored eight more, and stolen two bases.

Connor Wong had a great week and rose his slash line to .241/.313/.362 with four doubles and one home run. The right-handed hitting catcher has eight RBI, nine runs scored, and one steal.

Emmanuel Valdez is back up, and although the defense has been bad, the bat is there. The left-handed hitting second baseman is 6-for-20 (.300) with three doubles. He's driven in one run and scored two more.

Triston Casas is slashing .133/.283/.293 with three doubles and three home runs. The left-handed hitter has driven in eight runs and scored 13 more. It's probably getting annoying to hear, but the first baseman has had a lot of great ABs, and you need to let him ride out the storm.

Josh Winckowski has a 1.40 ERA, .186 BAA, and 0.88 WHIP in 19 1/3 innings. The right-handed pitcher has struck out 16 batters while only walking four. That move to the bullpen has done wonders.

Brayan Bello had his best start of the year this week. The righty went five innings, allowing one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out six, which is a season-high. Bello has a 6.57 ERA, .360 BAA, and 1.86 WHIP. However, he's only had 12 1/3 innings of work. The numbers shouldn't worry anyone right now.

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.

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

Nick Yorke is rocking a five-game hitting streak at the moment. The right-handed hitter went 9-for-23 with two doubles, two triples, and a home run this week. He's now slashing .284/.415/.552 with five doubles, two triples, and three home runs. The second baseman has driven in six runs, scored 19 more, and stolen three bases. One of the youngest players in Double-A is reminding us how good of a prospect he is now that he's healthy.

Ceddanne Rafaela has a .429 average during his current nine-game hitting streak. That's helped raise his slash line to .303/.338/.408 with five doubles and one home run. The right-handed hitting centerfielder (and shortstop) has driven in 13 runs, scored 14 more, and stolen eight bases.

Stephen Scott probably wishes he could play Erie every week. The left-handed hitter went 7-for-11 with two walks, a double, and a home run in three games against them. Scott has a .300/.407/.460 slash line with three doubles, one triple, and one home run. The catcher has driven in seven runs, scored 11 more, and stolen two bases.

Tyler McDonough's numbers were looking rough before back-to-back three-hit games this week. The switch-hitting utility man is slashing .203/.286/.362 with three doubles, one triple, and two home runs. He's driven in 14 runs, scored nine more, and stolen five bases.

Matthew Lugo only appeared in two games this week, but one was a monster game on Sunday. The right-handed hitting third baseman is slashing .283/.309/.509 with nine doubles and one home run. He's driven in 13 runs, scored eight more, and stolen two bases. Lugo's looked good defensively and has been an extra-base machine.

Corey Rosier is slashing .310/.344/.466 with four doubles, one triple, and one home run. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in eight runs, scored nine more, and stolen 10 bases in 11 attempts.

Tyler Dearden hasn't gotten much playing time this year, but he's thrived when on the field. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .317/.404/.415 with two doubles and one triple. He's driven in nine runs and scored two more in just 11 games.

Alex Binelas has a five-game hitting streak at the moment. The left-handed hitting corner infielder is slashing .214/.274/.375 with six doubles and one home run. He's driven in nine runs and scored eight more.

Niko Kavadas is slashing .200/.392/.218 with one double. The left-handed hitting first baseman hasn't shown much power, but he does have 17 walks. He's driven in six runs and scored six more while stealing one base.

Phillip Sikes is slashing .246/.329/.369 with three doubles, one triple, and one home run. The right-handed hitting outfielder has driven in three runs, scored 10 more, and stolen eight bases.

Elih Marrero has a .182/.419/.182 slash line. The switch-hitting catcher has driven in one run, scored three more, and stolen one base. The offense has been a struggle, but he does have more walks (9) than strikeouts (7). He thrives on defense.

Shane Drohan with another dominant start this week. The left-handed pitcher has a 0.78 ERA, .163 BAA, and 0.74 WHIP in 23 innings. He's struck out 26 batters and only walked four.

Brian Van Belle has been just as impressive, just more under the radar. The righty has a 0.53 ERA, .161 BAA, and 0.71 WHIP in 17 innings. He's struck out nine and walked three.

CJ Liu had a bounce-back start. The right-handed pitcher threw five shutout innings, tying a season-high with eight strikeouts. Liu has a 5.09 ERA, .284 BAA, 1.58 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts (nine walks) over 17 2/3 innings.

Theo Denlinger continues his reign of filthiness. The righty reliever has a 0.87 ERA, .162 BAA, and 0.68 WHIP in 10 1/3 innings. He's struck out 13 batters and only walked one.

Ryan Fernandez is back in Double-A and already dominating. He threw three shutout innings over two appearances this week. The righty hasn't allowed a run on two hits and one walk over 6 1/3 innings between Single-A and Double-A. He's already picked up nine strikeouts.

Luis Guerrero has a 2.00 ERA, .188 BAA, and 1.56 WHIP this season. The right-handed reliever has eight strikeouts and eight walks over nine innings and is a perfect 4-for-4 on save opportunities. You could point to the walks as an issue, but the 22-year-old has looked great in his first taste of Double-A.

Brendan Nail made his first start on Sunday. It was only three innings, but that's still something to keep an eye on. The lefty has a 0.87 ERA, .167 BAA, and 0.97 WHIP in 10 1/3 innings. He's struck out nine batters and walked four.

Dylan Spacke has a 1.00 ERA, .226 BAA, and 1.56 WHIP in nine innings. The right-handed pitcher has eight strikeouts and seven walks in that time. Spacke was great in 2021 and had his moments while adjusting to Double-A last season. You have to be happy with what he's shown this year.

Rio Gomez has a 3.86 ERA, .129 BAA, and 0.86 WHIP. The lefty has struck out 15 batters compared to four walks in 9 1/3 innings. Although the ERA isn't elite, the other numbers are untouchable.

Red Sox High-A (Greenville)

Blaze Jordan has an appropriate name because the fireman is going scorched earth. The right-handed hitting corner infielder has a 13-game hitting streak going. Jordan's now slashing .284/.338/.514 with three doubles, one triple, and four home runs. He's driven in 14 runs and scored 10 more.

Marcelo Mayer has a .254/.375/.388 slash line with four doubles, one triple, and one home run. The left-handed hitting shortstop has driven in 11 runs, scored nine more, and stolen three bases.

Nathan Hickey is slashing .280/.419/.540 with five doubles, one triple, and two home runs. The left-handed hitter has driven in five runs, scored nine more, and walked 11 times. Hickey's shown some improvements defensively at catcher as well.

Eddinson Paulino had a crazy 7-for-7 stretch that helped climb him out of a massive slump to start the year. The left-handed hitting utility man has a .227/.275/.333 slash line with three doubles, one triple, and one home run. He's driven in seven runs, scored 11 more, and stolen six bases.

Eduardo Lopez had the best week of potentially his MiLB career. He went 8-for-17 with a grand slam. The switch-hitting outfielder is slashing .273/.373/.386 with two doubles and one home run. He's driven in nine runs, scored eight more, and stolen three bases.

Alright, it's big news time. Bones is back, baby! Brainer Bonaci was activated this week, and the 20-year-old made his High-A debut. The switch-hitting shortstop is 1-for-6 with a double in two games.

Chase Meidroth took a nasty shot to the face on Saturday. He was taken out of the game and missed Sunday. The right-handed hitting second baseman is slashing .320/.521/.400 with one double and one home run. He's driven in eight runs, scored 13 more, and stolen three bases. Meidroth has 20 walks compared to 15 strikeouts. Hopefully, he's okay.

Gilberto Jimenez was also taken out of the game on Saturday with a limp. The outfielder didn't play on Sunday. Let's hope he's okay as well. The switch-hitter is slashing .241/.255/.407 with six doubles and one home run. He's driven in six runs, scored eight more, and stolen four bases.

Tyler Miller has been a doubles machine. The left-handed hitting corner infielder has a .321/.345/.500 slash line with five doubles. He's driven in five runs, scored three more, and stolen one base in seven games. Miller's also flashed the leather a few times at first base.

Alex Erro returned this week. The switch-hitting catcher/first baseman is slashing .333/.385/.417 with two doubles in seven games. He's driven in two runs, scored three more, and stolen one base.

Max Ferguson is slashing .220/.370/.322 with three doubles and one home run. The left-handed hitter has driven in eight runs, scored nine more, and stolen 10 bases. The average has dipped, but he's still getting on base at a good clip.

Isaac Coffey has been consistent. The right-handed starter has a 3.92 ERA, .218 BAA, and 0.92 WHIP this year. He's only walked two batters in 20 2/3 innings while striking out 30.

Juan Daniel Encarnacion had his best start of the season this week. The right-handed pitcher gave up one run on one hit over five innings. He walked four but struck out a career-high eight batters. Encarnacion has a 4.91 ERA, .154 BAA, and 1.25 WHIP. He's struck out 23 batters compared to 13 walks in 18 1/3 innings.

Angel Bastardo looked good for the majority of his start this week, but things imploded a bit. The right-handed pitcher has a 6.63 ERA, .236 BAA, and 1.37 WHIP in 19 innings. He's struck out 26 batters and walked nine.

Christopher Troye has a 2.25 ERA, .167 BAA, and 1.63 WHIP on the year. The righty gave up his first two runs this week, allowing one in each relief appearance. However, he also racked up six strikeouts and only walked one batter in 2 2/3 innings. Walks had been an issue (he has eight in eight innings), so that was great to see. His 18 strikeouts help him clean up messes.

Nate Tellier has a 1.50 ERA, .217 BAA, and 2.00 WHIP this season. The right-handed reliever has walked seven batters in six innings, but he's struck out nine.

Wikelman Gonzalez has had a rough go of it. The right-handed pitcher has a 15.58 ERA, .294 BAA, and 3.00 WHIP in 8 2/3 innings. He's struck out 14 batters but has an unsightly 16 walks.