Boston Red Sox prospect watch: Marcelo Mayer erupts

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

Chih-Jung Liu had the best start of his MiLB career. The right-handed pitcher tossed a seven-inning no-hitter on Friday, only walking two batters and striking out six. Liu has a 3.65 ERA, .216 BAA, and 1.22 WHIP in 24 2/3 innings. He's struck out 29 batters and has 11 walks.

When Shane Drohan threw an absolute GEM on Thursday, the lefty probably thought he had the game of the week. Drohan gave up just one hit and two walks over six scoreless innings, striking out four batters. He has a 0.62 ERA, .140 BAA, and 0.69 WHIP in 29 innings. Drohan's struck out 30 batters and only walked six.

Brian Van Belle continues to impress. The right-handed starter has a 1.23 ERA, .178 BAA, and 0.86 WHIP in 22 innings. He's only struck out 12 batters but has walked just six. BVB is the very definition of a strike-thrower.

Ryan Fernandez has made his way back up to Double-A after rehabbing an injury. The righty reliever has a 3.00 ERA, .138 BAA, and 0.67 WHIP over two levels. He's struck out 14 batters and walked two in nine innings. Fernandez has elite stuff.

Theo Denlinger has been filthy. The right-handed reliever has a 0.73 ERA, .143 BAA, and 0.65 WHIP in 12 1/3 innings. He's struck out 14 batters and only walked two.

Luis Guerrero has a 1.80 ERA, .171 BAA, and 1.40 WHIP in 10 innings. The righty has struck out nine batters but walked eight. He's managed to stay out of trouble and is a perfect 5-for-5 in save opportunities.

Jacob Webb bounced back from a rough outing last week to toss two scoreless frames in his lone appearance this week. The right-handed reliever has a 2.51 ERA, .185 BAA, and 1.19 WHIP in 14 1/3 innings. He's struck out 14 batters and walked seven.

Brendan Nail has now made two starts in a row. Neither has seen him go more than three innings, but it's an intriguing development. The lefty has a 0.71 ERA, .163 BAA, and 0.87 WHIP in 12 2/3 innings. He's struck out 12 batters and walked four.

Dylan Spacke has a 0.87 ERA, .200 BAA, and 1.55 WHIP this season. The right-handed reliever has struck out 10 batters and walked nine in 10 1/3 innings. Yes, the walks are high. But you can't argue with the results so far.

Nick Yorke finished off his week with back-to-back multi-hit games. The right-handed hitting second baseman is slashing .291/.419/.500 with five doubles, two triples, and three home runs. He's driven in 10 runs, scored 24 more, and stolen four bases.

The power has arrived for Niko Kavadas. Entering the week, the left-handed hitter had just one double on the season. He hit another one this week, as well as his first two homers. The first baseman is now slashing .250/.421/.361 with two doubles and two home runs. He's driven in 11 runs, scored 10 more, and stolen one base. Kavadas has 21 walks in 22 games.

Corey Rosier needs to have some more conversations around him. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .324/.368/.493 with four doubles, one triple, and two home runs. He's driven in nine runs, scored 12 more, and stolen 15 bases in 16 attempts.

Phillip Sikes continues to be consistently good. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .271/.344/.400 with six doubles, one triple, and one home run. He's driven in seven runs, scored 13 more, and stolen 10 bases.

Ceddanne Rafaela is slashing .260/.290/.354 with six doubles and one home run. The right-handed hitting centerfielder has driven in 16 runs, scored 15 more, and stolen eight bases. His OBP and slugging percentage could use a little boost, but the run production is phenomenal.

Matthew Lugo has been an extra-base machine. The right-handed hitting third baseman is slashing .268/.284/.478 with 10 doubles, one triple, and one home run. He's driven in 15 runs, scored 10 more, and stolen three bases.

Elih Marrero is the best defensive catcher in the system, and the bat has woken up. The switch-hitter is slashing .250/.462/.357 with three doubles. He's driven in one run, scored four more, and stolen two bases. Marrero has more walks (11) than strikeouts (9) and is riding a four-game hitting streak. Unfortunately, he appeared to hurt his ankle while sliding into second base on Saturday. Hopefully, everything's fine.