Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: another season winding down
By Hunter Noll
Another Boston Red Sox prospect watch is coming to a close
The Boston Red Sox had another one of those weeks. A week where they managed to make the fans lose all hope just to give them the tiniest glimmer of hope back. It's not a healthy relationship.
Triston Casas continues to be a bright spot, at the very least. The left-handed hitting first baseman is riding a seven-game hitting streak. He's up to a .265/.367/.495 slash line with 20 doubles, two triples, and 22 home runs. Casas has driven in 55 runs and scored 61 more.
Ceddanne Rafaela is in the Majors and is already impressing. The right-handed hitting centerfielder/shortstop is 3-for-8 with a double. He's driven in one run and scored one run. We might see a lot of Rafaela soon, especially if the Red Sox officially get eliminated from the playoffs.
Wilyer Abreu is slashing .333/.429/.611 with two doubles and one home run in seven games. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in five runs and scored three more. He's walked three times compared to five strikeouts.
Connor Wong is slashing .248/.302/.406 with 24 doubles, one triple, and eight home runs. The right-handed hitting catcher has driven in 33 runs, scored 51 more, and stolen six bases. Wong has solidified himself as a legitimate MLB catcher.
Emmanuel Valdez is back in the Majors and could get some decent playing time. The left-handed hitting second baseman is slashing .235/.284/.392 with four doubles and four home runs. He's driven in 13 runs, scored 10 more, and stolen four bases.
This is the longest season of Masataka Yoshida's career. So it's no surprise that the left-handed hitting outfielder slowed down. Yoshida is warming up again, though. He's slashing .296/.350/.462 with 29 doubles, three triples, and 14 home runs. Yoshida has drove in 66 runs, scored 66 more, and stolen eight bases.
Brayan Bello turning into a top-tier starter gives the Red Sox a base to build off of for their future pitching rotation. The right-handed pitcher has a 3.57 ERA, .260 BAA, and 1.28 WHIP in 131 innings. He's struck out 106 batters and walked 36.