Boston Red Sox prospect watch: Introducing Juan Chacon

Juan Chacon headlines this week's Boston Red Sox prospect watch

The Boston Red Sox prospect watch got a nice boost this week as some of the top prospects in the system enjoyed breakout performances. No one was able to outshine Single-A outfielder Juan Chacon, though.

Chacon's big week featured multiple defensive gems, with plenty of offense. We'll get to him in a later slide, though. We're talking about the prospects at the Major League level right now.

The Red Sox have gotten hot. They're now 12-11 and are getting some serious contributions from a lot of the younger talent.

Masataka Yoshida has been quietly breaking out over the last few days. He entered Sunday working on a three-game hitting streak. Starting the game 0-for-2, Yoshida got two at-bats in the eighth inning. The left-handed hitter smoked two homers (including a grand slam). Yoshida's now slashing .231/.329/.400 with two doubles and three home runs. The outfielder has driven in 15 runs, scored 11 more, and stolen two bases.

Jarren Duran appears to have arrived. The left-handed hitter is slashing .391/.429/.565 with four doubles in the Majors this season. He's driven in six runs, scored four more, and stolen two bases. It's a small sample size (seven games), but it's hard not to be encouraged by what the outfielder has shown this season.

Triston Casas is slashing .129/.276/.274 with three doubles and two home runs. He's driven in seven runs and scored nine more. The left-handed hitter has been known to start slow before. It's understandable if you're discouraged, but he's shown plenty of positives that have you thinking it's just a weak spell.

Connor Wong holds a .191/.255/.277 slash line with four doubles so far. The right-handed hitter has driven in six runs and scored six more. He's been phenomenal defensively behind the plate, adding extra value there.

Josh Winckowski continues to be a stud out of the bullpen. The right-handed pitcher has a 1.65 ERA, .186 BAA, and 0.92 WHIP over 16 1/3 innings of work. Winckowski has 15 strikeouts compared to just four walks and has only allowed one home run. His starting background means he can eat innings out of the bullpen.

Brayan Bello struggled in his first start but looked much better in start number two. There's still plenty for him to work on, but the improvements are there. The righty has allowed eight runs over 7 1/3 innings so far. He's walked three batters but has struck out eight.

Kutter Crawford has been phenomenal since his first start of the year. This week saw the righty make two appearances out of the bullpen. The first was 6 1/3 shutout innings, striking out five while allowing just one hit and no walks. His second outing saw Crawford throw two more shutout innings, walking none and allowing one hit while striking out two. Crawford's down to a 3.98 ERA, .215 BAA, and 0.93 WHIP over 20 1/3 innings this season.