Boston Red Sox prospects mashed this week, but a few bats in Salem are stealing the headlines. Antonio Anderson and Nazzan Zanetello are hitting their stride and Andy Lugo knocked another double to tack onto his league-leading total.
Richard Fitts tossed five shutout innings on June 22. The right-handed pitcher allowed three hits and one walk while striking out a season-high nine batters. Fitts is down to a 3.86 ERA, .235 BAA, and 1.27 WHIP in 60 2/3 innings.
Chase Shugart has been filthy in his last two appearances. The righty reliever has combined to go 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and one walk and fanned 12 batters. Shugart has a 4.11 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 35 innings.
Luis Guerrero had two more scoreless appearances, allowing two hits over 1 2/3 innings. The right-handed reliever has a 3.41 ERA with 38 strikeouts over 29 innings this season.
Nick Yorke is on a four-game hitting streak and has a hit in 12 of his last 13 games. The right-handed hitting second baseman/outfielder is slashing .355/.459/.532 with five doubles and two home runs in 16 games for Worcester. He's driven in 10 runs, scored 12, and stolen three bases.
Salem bats waking up in this week's Boston Red Sox prospect watch
Chase Meidroth went 7-for-18 with five walks, only two strikeouts and a double. The right-handed hitting infielder is slashing .294/.452/.389 with 12 doubles and three home runs. He's clocked 29 RBI, 48 runs, and 10 stolen bases.
Niko Kavadas is on a four-game hitting streak and mashed two more homers. The left-handed hitting first baseman is slashing .273/.416/.556 with 14 doubles and 14 home runs. He's driven in 49 runs and scored 43.
Matthew Lugo had a two-hit game on Sunday that included a home run. The right-handed hitting outfielder is hitting .192 with four doubles and three home runs in Triple-A. He's driven in eight runs, scored 10 more, and stolen four bases in 14 games.
Nick Sogard had four straight two-hit games at one point this week. The switch-hitting utility is slashing .298/.411/.476 with 15 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs. He's driven in 39 runs, scored 49, and stolen seven bases.
Mickey Gasper hasn't stopped hitting since his promotion to Triple-A. The switch-hitter went 4-for-11 with a walk and a home run this week and he's slashing .424/.537/.727 with four doubles and two home runs in 10 games for Worcester. He's driven in six runs and scored nine more while walking twice as much (8) as he's struck out (4).
Boston Red Sox Double-A (Portland)
Marcelo Mayer went 8-for-20 with a walk and two doubles this week. The left-handed hitting shortstop is slashing .309/.373/.482 with 25 doubles, six homers, 34 RBI, 50 runs, and 12 stolen bases.
Kyle Teel hit another double and another home run this week. The left-handed hitting catcher is slashing .307/.401/.484 with 14 doubles and eight home runs. He's driven in 45 runs, scored 48 more, and stolen five bases.
Roman Anthony didn't have a great week but hit another home run. The left-handed hitting outfielder is hitting .255 (.370 OBP) with 15 doubles, two triples, and seven home runs. He's driven in 22 runs, scored 34 more, and stolen six bases.
Kristian Campbell is on an eight-game hitting streak. In 17 games in Double-A, he's 28-for-65 (.431) with a .526 OBP. The right-handed hitting centerfielder/second baseman has six doubles, one triple, and three home runs with Portland. He's posted 12 RBI, 19 runs, and two stolen bags.
Blaze Jordan is starting to show off his power. The right-handed hitting catcher is hitting .290 with 11 doubles, one triple, and five homers in 145 at-bats. He's driven in 31 runs, scored 16, and stolen one base. Jordan's only struck out 16 times in 160 plate appearances.
Tyler McDonough went 7-for-20 with two walks and eight RBI. The switch-hitting utility player also had a walk-off single on June 22. McDonough is batting .261 with eight doubles, one triple, two homers, 20 RBI, 22 runs, and nine steals.
Tyler Miller is on a six-game hitting streak and his average is up to .247 with five doubles and a home run in Double-A. The left-handed hitting corner infielder is hitting .264 with 14 doubles, one triple, and five home runs between High-A and Double-A.
Phillip Sikes is on a four-game hitting streak that includes a double and a home run. The right-handed hitting outfielder is up to a .262 average with 12 doubles and four home runs. He's driven in 19 runs, scored 30 more, and stolen 10 bases.
Bryan Mata tossed three shutout innings in his Double-A rehab outing. The right-handed pitcher allowed three hits, one walk and fanned two batters. El Idolo has thrown five scoreless innings in two appearances during his latest rehab stint.
Christopher Troye had a clutch appearance this week, where he gave up just one run on one hit over 2 2/3 innings as Portland clawed back from an 8-0 deficit. The righty reliever walked one and struck out four batters, tying his season-high.
Zach Bryant made his first Double-A appearance since 2022. The right-handed reliever allowed just one hit over two scoreless innings. He struck out three batters and didn't walk any.
Jonathan Brand surrendered one run on four hits over two appearances this week. The righty reliever struck out four batters and walked one. On Saturday, he tossed a career-high 3 1/3 innings.
Boston Red Sox High-A (Greenville)
Cutter Coffey lost his 11-game hitting streak on June 23 after he was pulled from the game in the third frame. The right-handed hitting infielder is slashing .252/.328/.515 with seven doubles, 12 home runs, 37 RBI, 30 runs, and five stolen bases.
Jhostynxon Garcia is slashing .311/.378/.649 with four doubles and seven home runs in 19 games in High-A. Between Single-A and High-A this season, he's hit 10 doubles, one triple, and 12 home runs. Garcia currently holds a seven-game hitting streak.
Miguel Bleis is 5-for-30 with one double in High-A. The right-handed hitting outfielder is fine, though, and only has five strikeouts compared to four walks. He's also 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts since being promoted and already has 22 steals total this season.
Bryan Gonzalez hit another home run this week. The right-handed hitting first baseman/outfielder is hitting .251 with seven doubles, one triple, and 13 home runs. He's driven in 37 runs, scored 33 more, and stolen eight bases.
Allan Castro went 4-for-18 this week but hit his first home run since May 22 (and it was an in-the-parker). The switch-hitting outfielder is batting .217 (.358 OBP) with 12 doubles, two triples, and three home runs. He's driven in 19 runs, scored 34 more, and stolen eight bases.
Mikey Romero had a tough week, going 2-for-20 with no extra bases. Romero did drive in a run and scored two more, though. The left-handed hitting shortstop is hitting .225 with six doubles, one triple, and two home runs in High-A.
Ronald Rosario hit two doubles and drove in four more runs. The right-handed hitting catcher is hitting .235 with 14 doubles, one triple, and one home run. He had 13 RBI on May 29 and has knocked in 19 since then to bring his total up to 32.
Ahbram Liendo has an eight-game hitting streak that has raised his batting average from .196 to .219. The switch-hitting infielder has two doubles, two triples, two home runs, and 18 steals.
Connelly Early threw five shutout innings this week. The left-handed pitcher gave up just one hit, one HBP, and two walks while striking out six batters. Early has a 3.79 ERA, .205 BAA, and 1.08 WHIP in 54 2/3 innings. He's fanned 71 batters compared to 17 walks.
Hayden Mullins allowed one run on one hit over four innings of work. The lefty didn't walk anyone (but hit one batter) and recorded one strikeout. Mullins has a 3.59 ERA, .223 BAA, and 1.26 WHIP in 47 2/3 innings. He has 21 walks and 63 strikeouts.
Yordanny Monegro surrendered just one unearned run on two hits over four innings in his lone start this week. The right-handed pitcher walked two batters and struck out four. Monegro is showing signs of dominance again.
David Sandlin tossed two no-hit innings this week. The righty walked one batter and struck out four over those two scoreless frames. Sandlin has just returned from injury, so he's still working back to long outings, but this was an encouraging step in the right direction.
Blake Wehunt had his best start since being called up to High-A this week. The right-handed pitcher allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits in five innings. He struck out two batters and walked two.
Cade Feeney picked up a save and tossed 2 2/3 shutout innings over two appearances this week. The right-handed reliever has a 3.66 ERA, .220 BAA, and 0.91 WHIP in 20 appearances. He's struck out 32 batters compared to just two walks in 32 innings.
Zach Fogell tossed three scoreless frames in his lone appearance out of the bullpen this week. The lefty reliever allowed two hits, one HBP, and one walk while striking out four batters. Feeney has a 3.34 ERA, .202 BAA, and 47 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings.
Isaac Stebens allowed two hits over three shutout innings this week. The right-handed reliever struck out three batters and walked two. Stebens recovered nicely from a massive blowup appearance his last time out, and outside of that has been solid in High-A since being promoted at the end of April.
Boston Red Sox Single-A (Salem)
On Monday, Yoeilin Cespedes was promoted to Single-A. The right-handed hitting shortstop slashed .319/.400/.615 with 10 doubles, one triple, and five home runs in the FCL. He drove in 24 runs, scored 20 more, and stole three bases in 25 games. Cespedes is electric, this will be fun.
Antonio Anderson looks better at the plate with each passing week. The switch-hitting third baseman went 6-for-23 with a double, two walks, and three RBI this week. Anderson's hitting .150 (.292 OBP), but that's up from .139 to start the week. This is the third straight series where Anderson bumped up his average. He's hit eight doubles and four home runs. Anderson has 46 walks (second most in the league). He's driven in 20 runs, scored 33, and stolen three bases. Anderson also had a walk-off hit on June 18.
Brooks Brannon is slashing .333/.385/.500 in 12 games with Salem. The right-handed hitting catcher/first baseman has two doubles and two home runs. He's driven in eight runs, scored seven, and stolen one base. Brannon only struck out two times in 15 at-bats this week.
Marvin Alcantara went 6-for-15 with five RBI this week. The right-handed hitting second baseman is hitting .226 with six doubles, two triples, and one home run. He's driven in 27 runs, scored 29 more, and stolen five bases.
Freili Encarnacion continues to hit the baseball hard and went 7-for-19 with one double. The right-handed hitting infielder is up to a .277 average with eight doubles, one triple, and two home runs.
Andy Lugo went 5-for-18 with a double. The right-handed hitting utility is slashing .268/.359/.383 with a league-leading 19 doubles, a triple, 16 RBI, 29 runs, and 16 stolen bases
Nelly Taylor hit another double to almost keep pace with Lugo, while also smashing his third home run of the year. The left-handed hitting outfielder is hitting .232 with 18 doubles and three home runs. He's driven in 31 runs, scored 33 more, and stolen 15 bases. Taylor flashed the leather multiple times this week.
Fraymi De Leon went 2-for-4 with a double, two walks, three RBI, and a steal. The switch-hitting infielder hasn't gotten much playing time lately due to going back and forth between Single-A and Double-A. He's starting to look great at the plate in Salem, though. De Leon is hitting .236 with a .354 OBP.
Nazzan Zanetello's bat seems to have woken up again — he went 4-for-12 in his final three games of the week. The right-handed hitting shortstop added two doubles and a home run in those three games. Zanetello is only hitting .188 (.316 OBP) with six doubles and four home runs but injuries have played a massive part in his season. He's driven in 10 runs, scored 16 more, and stolen one base.
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz twirled five scoreless innings in his lone outing this week. The right-handed pitcher allowed two hits and one walk while striking out four batters. ERC has a 2.74 ERA, .213 BAA, and 1.24 in 49 1/3 innings. He's struck out 59 batters compared to 21 walks.
Jojo Ingrassia allowed one unearned run on one hit over four innings this week. The lefty struck out six batters and walked two. Ingrassia has a 2.21 ERA, .186 BAA, and 1.03 WHIP in 40 2/3 innings. He's struck out 66 batters compared to 15 walks.
Noah Dean's resurgence continues to be glorious. The left-handed pitcher allowed two runs on two hits over five innings this week. He did walk five batters but struck out six. Most importantly, he didn't let those walks hurt him. He's down to a 3.95 ERA with an absurdly low .162 BAA in 43 1/3 innings.
Matt Duffy didn't allow a run on three hits over four innings. The righty walked two batters and struck out six. He has a 3.68 ERA, .237 BAA, and 1.19 WHIP in 51 1/3 innings.
Trennor O'Donnell gave up one run on two hits over four innings this week. The righty reliever struck out six batters compared to one walk. O'Donnell has a 2.80 ERA, .209 BAA, and 1.10 WHIP in 11 appearances (two starts). He's struck out 39 batters and walked 11 in 35 1/3 innings.
Michael Sansone tossed 4 2/3 perfect innings in his lone appearance this week. The left-handed reliever struck out four batters and now has 36 punchouts in 35 innings. He also holds a ridiculous 1.54 ERA, .174 BAA, and 0.71 WHIP over nine appearances.
Connor Steinbaugh's only blemish over three innings this week was a walk. The righty reliever has a 2.49 ERA, .190 BAA, and 1.15 WHIP in 21 2/3 innings in Single-A.