Boston Red Sox prospect watch: 'How do you pronounce Jhostynxon'?
By Hunter Noll
This week's Boston Red Sox prospect watch features a name no one can figure out.
As the trade deadline approaches, the Boston Red Sox finds themselves firmly in the wild card hunt. However, they aren't officially in the playoffs right now. With that in mind, the minor league system is in limbo.
Will the Red Sox be dumping off some veterans and adding prospects? Or will they be trading away prospects to try and improve their playoff odds?
We'll work with what we have right now. And what we have is a prospect in Single-A whose name fans can't pronounce.
Triston Casas has arrived, hasn't he? The left-handed hitting first baseman is slashing .253/.357/.483 with 15 doubles, two triples, and 16 home runs. Casas has driven in 40 runs and scored 46 more.
Jarren Duran is slashing .315/.365/.507 with 31 doubles, two triples, and six home runs. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 35 runs, scored 40 more, and stolen 21 bases. Duran has turned into the all-star that people saw when he was a prospect. He's special to watch.
Connor Wong is slashing .250/.306/.402 with 19 doubles and six home runs. The right-handed hitting catcher has driven in 23 runs, scored 38 more, and stolen four bases. I'll keep saying it, anything he adds on offense is just a bonus to his phenomenal defense.
Masataka Yoshida is slashing .308/.371/.487 with 22 doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 53 runs, scored 54 more, and stolen eight bases (in eight attempts).
Brayan Bello had a strong bounce-back start. The right-handed pitcher allowed three runs over six innings against a deadly Atlanta Braves lineup. Bello has a 3.66 ERA, .245 BAA, and 1.21 WHIP in 96 innings. He's struck out 82 batters compared to 26 walks.
Chris Murphy is becoming a monstrous weapon out of the bullpen for the Red Sox. The lefty has a 1.59 ERA, .208 BAA, and 1.16 WHIP in 28 1/3 innings. He's struck out 27 batters compared to 11 walks. Murph's only surrendered one home run in the Majors.