Boston Red Sox prospect watch: Greenville weather hates me
This week's Boston Red Sox prospect watch saw the High-A debut of Luis Perales, but I didn't, because the weather in Greenville has a personal vendetta against me.
A no-no, more debuts, and bad weather are featured in this week's Boston Red Sox prospect watch
The Boston Red Sox finished the week strong and find themselves firmly in the wild-card race. They continue to get big contributions from some of the younger talent.
Meanwhile, the minor league teams continue to impress. We saw a big debut in Greenville with Luis Perales. I was there for it, but then I wasn't. He was scheduled to pitch while I was there, and the game was rained out. Fluor Field is an amazing stadium, and I love the atmosphere. I have beef with the weather, though.
Remember when people were pretending that Triston Casas was a bust because he struggled in the first month of the season? That was adorable. The left-handed hitting first baseman is mashing and suddenly has a .247/.351/.465 slash line with 14 doubles, two triples, and 14 home runs. He's driven in 36 runs and scored 43 more.
Jarren Duran is slashing .317/.367/.514 with 29 doubles, two triples, and six home runs. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 34 runs, scored 37 more, and stolen 19 bases (in 20 attempts). Duran has silenced all the doubters at this point.
Masataka Yoshida is slashing .315/.376/.494 with 22 doubles, three triples, and 11 home runs. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 51 runs, scored 52 more, and is 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts.
Connor Wong has been on a tear and has his slash line up to .249/.308/.410 with 19 doubles and six home runs. The right-handed hitting catcher has driven in 23 runs, scored 36 more, and stolen four bases.
Chris Murphy allowed one run over 8 1/3 innings in two appearances this week. The left-handed reliever has a 1.80 ERA, .198 BAA, and 1.16 WHIP in 25 innings. He's struck out 26 batters and walked 11. Murph also picked up his first MLB win this week.
Brandon Walter tossed a scoreless inning this week. The lefty reliever has a 3.07 ERA, .283 BAA, and 1.43 WHIP in 14 2/3 innings. He's struck out nine batters and walked four.
Brayan Bello had his first rough start in a long time this week. The right-handed pitcher still has a 3.60 ERA, .248 BAA, and 1.22 WHIP in 90 innings. He's struck out 78 batters compared to 24 walks.
Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)
Ceddanne Rafaela's having fun in Triple-A. The right-handed hitting centerfielder/shortstop is slashing .305/.352/.646 with six doubles, two triples, and six home runs in 19 games. He's driven in 18 runs, scored 14 more, and stolen one base.
Niko Kavadas has looked fantastic in a small sample size of Triple-A. The left-handed hitting first baseman is slashing .300/.533/.550 with two doubles and one home run. He's driven in two runs and scored six more. Kavadas has more walks (9) than strikeouts (8) through seven games.
Stephen Scott is quietly having a phenomenal season. The left-handed hitting catcher is slashing .284/.389/.515 with five doubles and four home runs in Triple-A. He's driven in 22 runs, scored 15 more, and stolen two bases. Scott has 13 walks compared to 12 strikeouts. If you add in his Double-A numbers, Scott already has 10 doubles and 10 home runs (matching his homer total from last season).
Ronaldo Hernández is slashing .252/.357/.455 with eight doubles and 11 home runs. The right-handed hitting catcher has driven in 46 runs, scored 30 more, and stolen one base. He's walked 30 times compared to 33 strikeouts. That's only one off a career-high for walks and three away from tying his total in the two previous years combined.
Ryan Fitzgerald is back and still mashing. The left-handed utility is slashing .300/.361/.557 with 18 doubles, two triples, and 10 home runs in Triple-A. Fitzy has driven in 48 runs, scored 35 more, and stolen five bases.
Wilyer Abreu hit another home run this week. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .241/.364/.455 with seven doubles, one triple, and 13 home runs. Abreu has driven in 37 runs, scored 46 more, and stolen five bases.
Nick Sogard collected a hit in five of six games this week. The switch-hitting utility has a .291/.391/.396 slash line with 13 doubles, two triples, and four home runs. He's driven in 37 runs, scored 55 more, and stolen 13 bases.
Red Sox Double-A (Portland)
Portland threw their second no-hitter of the season, this time a combined effort. Wikelman Gonzalez, Brendan Cellucci, and Luis Guerrero shared a part of history, along with catcher Elih Marrero.
Wikelman Gonzalez tossed six hitless innings, allowing one run on four walks while striking out 10 batters. The right-handed starting pitcher has surrendered one run on four hits over 12 innings in Double-A. He's struck out 19 batters and walked five. Gonzalez has dominated the level so far.
Brendan Cellucci took the next two innings. He only walked one batter and struck out one as well. The lefty reliever has a 6.27 ERA, .299 BAA, and 2.00 WHIP in 33 innings. He's struck out 41 batters compared to 26 walks.
Luis Guerrero allowed a run in his inning but didn't give up a hit. The right-handed reliever has a 1.54 ERA, .151 BAA, and a 1.29 WHIP in 35 innings. He's struck out 36 batters compared to 27 walks.
Isaac Coffey also twirled a gem this week. The righty tossed five scoreless innings, surrendering four hits and one walk while punching out 10 batters. Coffey has a 2.90 ERA, .226 BAA, and 1.10 WHIP between High-A and Double-A. He's struck out 116 batters compared to 20 walks in 83 2/3 innings.
CJ Liu allowed three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings. The right-handed pitcher walked one batter and struck out a career-high 11. Liu has a 4.25 ERA, .253 BAA, and 1.42 WHIP in 78 1/3 innings. He's struck out 97 batters compared to 38 walks.
Grant Gambrell allowed two runs on six hits over six innings. The righty struck out nine batters compared to two walks. Gambrell has a 3.47 ERA, .233 BAA, and 1.22 WHIP in Double-A. He's struck out 64 batters and walked 22 in 62 1/3 innings.
Hunter Dobbins went long out of the bullpen this week with Corey Kluber rehabbing. The righty surrendered two runs on eight hits over five innings. In classic Dobbins fashion, he walked no one and struck out eight. Dobbins has a 2.76 ERA, .241 BAA, and 1.10 WHIP between High-A and Double-A. He's struck out 71 batters and only walked 11 in 62 innings.
Christopher Troye is back after missing a few weeks with an injury. He struck out two batters in a scoreless inning. The right-handed reliever has a 2.90 ERA, .167 BAA, and 1.32 WHIP between High-A and Double-A. He's struck out 61 batters and walked 22 in 31 innings.
Marcelo Mayer is heating up in Double-A. The left-handed hitting shortstop is back up to a .250/.321/.465 with 18 doubles, two triples, and 13 home runs between High-A and Double-A. He's driven in 54 runs, scored 42 more, and stolen nine bases.
Nathan Hickey hasn't stopped mashing. The left-handed hitting catcher is slashing .286/.374/.551 with 13 doubles, one triple, and 15 home runs between High-A and Double-A. He's driven in 39 runs, scored 38 more, and stolen two bases.
Blaze Jordan has looked strong in Double-A. The right-handed hitting corner infielder is slashing .241/.303/.414 with two doubles and one home run in eight games. He's driven in four runs and scored three more. Jordan has walked three times and only struck out five times.
Nick Yorke is slashing .269/.351/.438 with 13 doubles, five triples, and nine home runs. The right-handed hitting second baseman has driven in 40 runs, scored 50 more, and stolen six bases.
Tyler McDonough is slashing .228/.307/.361 with 13 doubles, one triple, and four home runs in Double-A. The switch-hitting utility has driven in 26 runs, scored 28 more, and stolen 13 bases. Since June 17, he's 17-for-60 (.283) with seven doubles, two homers, nine RBI, 12 runs scored, and five steals.
Matt Donlan is 6-for-19 with two doubles in his small sample size. The right-handed hitting catcher has driven in two runs and scored three more. Donlan has walked five times compared to just four strikeouts.
Elih Marrero is slashing .253/.404/.316 with five doubles. The switch-hitting catcher has driven in seven runs, scored 15 more, and stolen eight bases. Marrero has 19 walks compared to 23 strikeouts.
Corey Rosier is slashing .307/.360/.498 with 16 doubles, five triples, and six home runs in Double-A. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 27 runs, scored 40 more, and stolen 30 bases.
Phillip Sikes is slashing .226/.310/.346 with 15 doubles, two triples, and five home runs. The right-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 29 runs and scored 46 more. Sikes also leads the organization with 35 stolen bases.
Chase Meidroth has stumbled a bit but is still putting together a fantastic season. The right-handed hitting second baseman/third baseman is slashing .285/.417/.414 with 12 doubles, one triple, and six home runs between High-A and Double-A. He's driven in 36 runs, scored 47 more, and stolen 10 bases.
Alex Binelas keeps boosting his numbers and is slashing .233/.284/.485 with 14 doubles, one triple, and 12 home runs. The left-handed hitting corner infielder has 35 RBI, 30 runs, and six steals.
Tyler Dearden is slashing .234/.308/.340 with four doubles, one triple, and three home runs in limited time. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 15 runs and scored 15 more. He smoked a walk-off home run this week.
Red Sox High-A (Greenville)
Luis Perales made his High-A debut this week (without me in attendance, and yes, I'm going to be salty about this). The right-handed pitcher allowed one run on five hits over five innings. He struck out five batters without walking any. Perales continues to dominate.
Angel Bastardo tossed a six-inning complete-game shutout last week. Allowing two hits and no walks while striking out nine batters. The righty somehow managed to one-up that this week. Bastardo tossed a seven-game complete-game shutout. This time he allowed three hits with no walks and a career-high 14 strikeouts. He has a 3.49 ERA, .202 BAA, and 1.15 WHIP in 87 2/3 innings. Bastardo's struck out 119 batters and walked 36.
Dalton Rogers allowed four earned runs on seven hits in 9 2/3 innings over two starts this week. The left-handed pitcher struck out 18 batters in those two games. Rogers has a 4.41 ERA, .183 BAA, and 1.29 WHIP between Single-A and High-A. He's struck out 102 batters and walked 40 in 65 1/3 innings.
Bradley Blalock allowed two runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. The righty struck out four batters and only walked one. Blalock has a 2.51 ERA, .213 BAA, and 1.00 WHIP between Single-A and High-A. He has 48 strikeouts compared to 10 walks in 43 innings.
Felix Cepeda has made two appearances in High-A and has shown why he earned that promotion. The right-handed reliever hasn't allowed a run or even a hit over 2 2/3 innings. He's walked one batter and struck out three.
Roman Anthony is slashing .318/.463/.706 with seven doubles, one triple, and eight home runs. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 20 runs, scored 21 more, and stolen two bases. Anthony's stock is somehow still rising.
Allan Castro is going to start getting more hype. The switch-hitting outfielder is slashing .323/.417/.452 with two doubles and one triple. Castro's driven in three runs and scored four more in eight games for High-A.
Brainer Bonaci is slashing .303/.362/.507 with 14 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs. The switch-hitting shortstop has driven in 34 runs, scored 26 more, and stolen six bases.
Eduardo Lopez is quietly having one of the better seasons in the Red Sox minor league system. The switch-hitting outfielder is slashing .275/.369/.401 with 12 doubles, one triple, and four home runs. Lopez has driven in 35 runs, scored 41 more, and stolen 11 bases.
Bryan Gonzalez has a .253/.305/.408 slash line with 12 doubles, five triples, and seven home runs. The right-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 38 runs, scored 45 more, and stolen five bases. Gonzalez has had strikeout issues, but he hasn't let that stop him from producing.
Tyler Miller is slashing .274/.332/.434 with 13 doubles and seven home runs. The left-handed hitting corner infielder/outfielder has driven in 32 runs, scored 26 more, and stolen 13 bases. Miller has been consistently solid all year.
Eddinson Paulino is trending up. The left-handed hitting utility is slashing .243/.326/.393 with 19 doubles, four triples, and six home runs. Paulino has driven in 37 runs, scored 49 more, and stolen 18 bases.
Red Sox Single-A (Salem)
Cutter Coffey is having a solid season. The right-handed hitting shortstop is slashing .228/.347/.336 with 12 doubles, two triples, and four home runs. Coffey has driven in 26 runs, scored driven in 46 more, and stolen 17 bases.
Johnfrank Salazar spent some time in Salem last year, but started this season in the FCL. The right-handed hitting utility made his 2023 Single-A debut this week and went 1-for-4.
Mikey Romero is slashing .231/.268/.282 with two doubles. The left-handed hitting shortstop has driven in three runs, scored five more, and stolen one base. Romero is slumping a bit, but he's only appeared in nine Single-A games this season and nine last season. There's no need to worry.
Yorberto Mejicano had a hit in all three games he appeared in this week. The right-handed hitting catcher/first baseman is slashing .291/.370/.444 with five doubles, two triples, and three home runs. He's driven in 15 runs, scored 21 more, and stolen four bases. Mejicano's walked 15 times and struck out 19.
Albertson Asigen is slashing .325/.449/.425 with one double and one home run in 13 games for Single-A. The right-handed hitting outfielder has driven in five runs, scored eight more, and stolen four bases.
Alexis Hernandez had a hit in four of five games this week. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .256/.367/.390 with five doubles and two home runs in Single-A. He's driven in 13 runs, scored 13 more, and stolen five bases.
Yordanny Monegro has finally allowed a run in Single-A. The right-handed pitcher has allowed one run over 18 2/3 innings. He has a 0.48 ERA, .211 BAA, and 1.18 WHIP. Monegro has 30 strikeouts compared to seven walks.
Jedixson Paez has been cooking over the last month. The right-handed pitcher has allowed two runs over his last four starts combined (19 innings). Paez is down to a 4.13 ERA, .232 BAA, and 1.05 WHIP. He's struck out 45 batters compared to eight walks in 52 1/3 innings.
Luis De La Rosa didn't allow an earned run over 3 2/3 innings this week. The righty reliever has a 3.22 ERA, .193 BAA, and 1.28 WHIP in 44 2/3 innings. De La Rosa has struck out 48 batters and walked 26.
Gabriel Jackson didn't allow an earned run in four innings this week. The right-handed reliever has a 2.77 ERA, .265 BAA, and 1.27 WHIP. Jackson's struck out 30 batters compared to 14 walks in 48 2/3 innings.