Boston Red Sox prospect watch: Injuries and call-ups rule the week

Injuries and promotions take center stage in this week's Boston Red Sox prospect watch

The Boston Red Sox have fallen into a bit of a slump recently. And those negative vibes seem to have slipped into the Minor League system with some big-name injuries. Luckily, there were some promotions this week as well, giving us some positives to talk about.

Triston Casas is really starting to come around. The left-handed hitting first baseman is hitting .345 in May and has gotten his numbers up to a .192/.328/.375 slash line. Casas has four doubles and five home runs. He's driven in 14 runs and scored 18 more.

Masataka Yoshida is slashing .298/.380/.489 with seven doubles and six home runs. He's driven in 24 runs, scored 23 more, and stolen two bases. The left-handed hitting outfield has walked as many times (15) as he's struck out (15).

Connor Wong is slashing .238/.289/.452 with six doubles and four home runs. The right-handed hitter has driven in 11 runs, scored 13 more, and stolen one base. Wong has been fantastic behind the plate, and his offense continues to show positive signs.

Jarren Duran slumped a bit this week and is still slashing .345/.404/.552 with 12 doubles and two home runs. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 16 runs, scored 14 more, and is a perfect 6-for-6 on stolen base opportunities.

Enmanuel Valdez holds a .292/.333/.479 slash line with three doubles and two home runs. The left-handed hitting second baseman has driven in seven runs, scored five more, and stolen three bases.

Brayan Bello had another strong start, continuing to lower his numbers. The right-handed pitcher has a 5.01 ERA, .323 BAA, and 1.59 WHIP. He's struck out 24 batters and walked eight in 23 1/3 innings. Bello's won each of his last two starts.

Josh Winckowski had a blowup outing his last time out, giving up three runs in 2/3 of an inning. Even with that, the right-handed reliever has a 2.55 ERA, .226 BAA, and 1.05 WHIP. He's struck out 19 batters and only walked five in 24 2/3 innings.

Red Sox Triple-A (Worcester)

Ryan Fitzgerald has quietly been great this year, and he had another strong week. The left-handed hitting utility man is slashing .314/.383/.578 with seven doubles, one triple, and six home runs. He's driven in 24 runs, scored 15 more, and stolen two bases.

Wilyer Abreu is slashing .296/.398/.490 with four doubles and five home runs. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 18 runs, scored 19 more, and stolen two bases. He's already walked 18 times in 27 games. Triple-A hasn't been a problem for him yet.

Nick Sogard just snapped a six-game hitting streak, but even though it's over, it helped boost his numbers. The left-handed hitting utility is slashing .274/.415/.369 with six doubles and one triple. He's driven in seven runs, scored 15 more, and stolen five bases.

David Hamilton's slumped, but the numbers are still strong. The left-handed hitting second baseman is slashing .271/.367/.496 with six doubles, one triple, and seven home runs. He's driven in 18 runs, scored 26 more, and stolen 21 bases.

Bryan Mata left his start early this week and landed on the IL. The right-handed starter has a 5.61 ERA, .263 BAA, and 2.06 WHIP. He's struck out 26 and walked 27 in 25 2/3 innings. Mata's struggled this season but was showing positive signs, so this is a rough injury.

Chris Murphy has a 7.76 ERA, .331 BAA, and 2.07 WHIP in 29 innings. He's struck out 28 batters and walked 20. The lefty's numbers once again took a small step forward this week.

Brandon Walter has a 5.88 ERA, .296 BAA, and 1.60 WHIP in 33 2/3 innings. The left-handed pitcher has struck out 30 batters and walked 14. The control hasn't looked as dominant this season.

Chase Shugart has now gone seven straight outings (seven innings) without allowing an earned run. The righty reliever has barely even allowed base runners in that time (two hits and one walk). He's down to a 3.52 ERA, .279 BAA, and 1.30 WHIP. Shugart's struck out 11 batters and walked three in 15 1/3 innings.

Andrew Politi has had a phenomenal May, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless inning so far. The right-handed reliever has a 3.31 ERA, .258 BAA, and 1.41 WHIP in 16 1/3 innings. He's struck out 18 batters and walked seven.

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

Ceddanne Rafaela had an absurd end to the week, stealing nine bases in the final two games. The right-handed hitting centerfielder is slashing .256/.293/.342 with seven doubles and one home run. He's driven in 17 runs and scored 18 more. Rafaela's also stolen 19 bases in just 22 attempts.

Chase Meidroth was promoted to Double-A this week and promptly slashed .350/.458/.400 with one double in five games. The right-handed hitting second baseman has driven in four runs, scored one more, and stolen one base.

Nathan Hickey also made the jump to Double-A this week and slashed .278/.316/.444 in four games. The left-handed hitting catcher hit one home run, drove in two runs, and scored two more.

Tyler Dearden is slashing .310/.403/.431 with two doubles, one triple, and one home run. He's driven in 11 runs and scored six more. The left-handed hitting outfielder has been one of the more underrated players in the system this season.

Stephen Scott is in the same category as Dearden as one of the most underrated players in Boston's system. The left-handed hitting catcher is slashing .295/.389/.487 with four doubles, one triple, and three home runs. Scott has driven in 12 runs, scored 14 more, and stolen two more.

Corey Rosier is slashing .299/.365/.437 with four doubles, one triple, and two home runs. He's driven in 10 runs, scored 13 more, and stolen 18 bases. The left-handed hitting outfielder continues to use his speed to get on base.

Phillip Sikes holds a .260/.339/.410 slash line with seven doubles, one triple, and two home runs. He's driven in 10 runs, scored 16 more, and stolen 15 bases. The right-handed hitting outfielder has been a consistent bat in the leadoff spot.

Nick Yorke is slashing .250/.377/.444 with five doubles, two triples, and four home runs. The right-handed hitting second baseman has driven in 11 runs, scored 26 more, and stolen four bases.

Niko Kavadas has driven in .218/.420/.345 with two doubles and three home runs. The left-handed hitting first baseman has driven in 12 runs, scored 11 more, and stolen one base. He's already walked more times (29) than games played (27).

Christian Koss is starting to come around. The right-handed hitting utility is now slashing .210/.282/.300 with four doubles, one triple, and one home run. He's driven in six runs, scored 12 more, and stolen nine bases.

Shane Drohan has a 1.32 ERA, .161 BAA, and 0.82 WHIP. The left-handed starter has struck out 36 batters and only walked nine in 34 innings. Drohan wasn't perfect this week, but still managed five strong innings, helping Portland to another win.

CJ Liu was coming off a no-hitter and managed to throw four more no-hit innings this week before finally surrendering a hit. The right-handed pitcher has a 3.60 ERA, .210 BAA, and 1.20 WHIP this season. He's struck out 31 batters and walked 14 in 30 innings.

Brian Van Belle has a 2.76 ERA, .226 BAA, and 1.19 WHIP this season. The righty has struck out 21 batters and walked 13 in 32 2/3 innings. BVB tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Sunday, continuing to eat up innings.

Brendan Nail has a 0.54 ERA, .190 BAA, and 0.96 WHIP this season. The left-handed pitcher has struck out 16 batters and only walked five in 16 2/3 innings. Nail has made three starts this season. Although he's yet to go over three innings, it feels like they're trying to stretch him out a bit.

Luis Guerrero continues to shut it down in the ninth inning for Portland. The righty reliever has a 1.38 ERA, .140 BAA, and 1.38 WHIP in 13 innings. He's struck out 11 batters but has walked 12. Guerrero's picked up six saves this season.

Ryan Fernandez tossed two clutch innings for Portland this week, including a shutout 10th inning in an eventual win. The right-handed pitcher has a 2.45 ERA, .139 BAA, and 0.73 WHIP in 11 innings. He's struck out 16 batters and walked three.

Red Sox High-A (Greenville)

Marcelo Mayer was coming off a monster week, but a shoulder injury kept him on the shelf until Sunday. The left-handed hitting shortstop is slashing .324/.400/.559 with 10 doubles, one triple, and four home runs. He's driven in 23 runs, scored 17 more, and stolen four bases.

Brainer Bonaci is slashing .293/.370/.488 with five doubles and one home run. The switch-hitting infielder has driven in nine runs, scored three more, and stolen one base in 11 games. Bonaci has always been great with the glove, but he's really shown some offense dating back to midway through last season.

Blaze Jordan is slashing .281/.341/.500 with eight doubles, one triple, and five home runs. The right-handed hitting corner infielder has driven in 23 runs, scored 17 more, and stolen one base. Jordan's getting more time at third base now that Meidroth is in Double-A.

Max Ferguson is quietly having a fantastic year in High-A. The left-handed hitting utility is slashing .242/.390/.374 with seven doubles and two home runs. He's driven in 10 runs, scored 21 more, and stolen 18 bases. Ferguson's entire slash line has taken a nice step forward this season.

Bryan Gonzalez has a .218/.292/.460 slash line with two doubles, five triples, and three home runs. The right-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 14 runs, scored 15 more, and stolen one base. Gonzalez has been a triples machine and has nearly as many as the rest of the roster combined.

Tyler Miller is slashing .283/.328/.500 with seven doubles and two home runs. The left-handed hitting corner infielder has driven in 11 runs, scored eight more, and stolen three bases.

Kier Meredith is back from the IL and picking up where he left off. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .300/.563/.400 with one double. He's driven in three runs, scored three more, and is a perfect 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts in just four games. Meredith has also walked more times (5) than he has struck out (3).

Ronald Rosario was promoted to High-A this week. The right-handed hitting catcher went 2-for-11 with one double in three games. He's driven in two runs as well. Rosario is only 20, and it appears the organization has high hopes for him.

Eddinson Paulino is slashing .243/.310/.391 with seven doubles, two triples, and two home runs. The left-handed hitting utility has driven in 10 runs, scored 20 more, and is a perfect 11-for-11 on stolen base attempts.

Nathan Landry struggled in his High-A debut but has looked phenomenal in his two outings since then. The righty reliever has struck out six batters in 2 1/3 perfect innings. Landry has a 1.98 ERA, .170 BAA, and 0.88 WHIP in 13 2/3 innings between Single-A and High-A. He's struck out 17 batters and only walked four.

Wikelman Gonzalez gave up one unearned run on one hit and four walks over 2 1/3 innings this week, striking out three batters. The walks were still a problem, but Gonzalez is giving up fewer hits, so we might be on to something. The righty has a 9.00 ERA, .241 BAA, and 2.19 WHIP in 16 innings. He's struck out 26 batters and walked 21.

Christopher Troye had one of the more dominant relief outings this season. After the starter struggled and Jordan DiValerio suffered an injury, Troye had to go longer than Greenville probably expected. The righty tossed three shutout innings, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out seven batters. He has a 1.38 ERA, .149 BAA, and 1.23 WHIP in 13 innings. Troye has struck out 28 batters and walked nine.

Isaac Coffey has a 3.98 ERA, .238 BAA, and 1.11 WHIP in 31 2/3 innings. The right-handed pitcher has struck out 39 batters and only walked six. His issue has been home runs, allowing 10 already.