Boston Red Sox Prospect Watch: Miguel Bleis, Cutter Coffey, Kristian Campbell
Top Boston Red Sox prospect Miguel Bleis made his High-A debut this week, but the storylines didn't stop there. Blaze Jordan returned from injury, Cutter Coffey went nuclear, Kristian Campbell continued his hard-hitting ways, and the organization made even more promotions.
Nick Yorke has been exceptional since his rise to Triple-A. The right-handed hitting second baseman/left fielder has at least one hit in 10 of his 11 at the level. Yorke's slashing .405/.510/.643 in Triple-A. He's driven in nine runs, scored 11, and stolen three bases.
Chase Meidroth's walk/strikeout ratio continues to be utterly ridiculous. The right-handed hitting infielder has a .286 average with a .448 OBP. He's walked 54 times and only has 29 strikeouts. Meidroth has 11 doubles and three home runs. He's driven in 25 runs, scored 42 more, and stolen 10 bases.
Nathan Hickey had one of his best games of the year this week. He collected three hits and five RBI on Thursday. The left-handed hitting catcher/first baseman has been showing signs of life in recent weeks, and this was the culmination of that. Hickey is hitting .217 but has 10 doubles, one triple, and eight home runs. He's driven in 37 runs and scored 32 more.
Niko Kavadas plated seven runs in the last two games of the series. The left-handed hitting first baseman is slashing .258/.415/.539 with 14 doubles and 12 home runs. He's driven in 44 runs and scored 40.
Miguel Bleis makes High-A debut, Nick Yorke stays hot in this week's Red Sox Prospect Watch
Matthew Lugo slumped for a bit after returning from injury but had a big 3-for-4 game with an RBI and a steal on June 21 to shake off the cobwebs. The right-handed hitting left fielder is 7-for-33 with three doubles and two home runs in Triple-A. He's driven in six runs, scored nine, and stolen three bases.
Mickey Gasper hit his first Triple-A homer of the season this week. The switch-hitting catcher/first baseman is hitting .455 in Triple-A and .305 total this season.
Luis Guerrero didn't allow an earned run in two innings over two appearances. The right-handed reliever has a 3.62 ERA, .206 BAA, and 1.43 WHIP in 27 1/3 innings. He's struck out 37 batters and walked 18.
Boston Red Sox Double-A (Portland)
Blaze Jordan returned from over a month off due to a broken finger and immediately picked up where he left off. When the right-handed hitting corner infielder went down, he was on a 17-game hitting streak, and he raised it to 19 after his return. Jordan went 8-for-24 with two homers and eight RBI and he's slashing .293/.346/.455 in 31 games.
Kristian Campbell continues to hit baseballs harder than should legally be allowed. On Friday, he hit his first two Double-A home runs. The right-handed hitting centerfielder/second baseman is slashing .392/.456/.667 in 12 games with Portland.
Marcelo Mayer is slashing .301/.368/.480 with six home runs and a league-leading 23 doubles. He's driven in 30 runs, scored 47 runs, and stolen 12 bases. The left-handed hitting shortstop shouldn't be in Double-A when the calendar turns to July.
Kyle Teel is on an eight-game hitting streak. The right-handed hitting catcher is hitting .313 with 13 doubles and seven home runs. He's driven in 40 runs, scored 44 more, and stolen five bases. Teel should be moved to Triple-A around the same time as Mayer.
Roman Anthony was hit by a pitch on Wednesday, which kept him out of action until Sunday. The left-handed hitting outfielder still managed to go 4-for-10 with a triple and a home run. Anthony's up to a .271/.384/.480 slash line with 15 doubles, two triples, and six home runs. He's driven in 19 runs, scored 31, and stolen six bases.
Phillip Sikes has quietly been one of Portland's best hitters in recent games. The right-handed hitting outfielder picked up at least one hit in four of five games this week. Sikes is hitting .258 with 11 doubles and three home runs. He's driven in 17 runs, scored 28 more, and stolen nine bases.
Hunter Dobbins went seven innings in a start for the second time in his last three outings — he went six frames in the other start. The right-handed pitcher allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits over seven frames. He struck out six batters and only walked one. Pidgeotto is down to a 3.93 ERA over 52 2/3 innings this season.
Juan Daniel Encarnacion made his Double-A debut on June 14. Things didn't go his way (seven runs in 2 1/3 innings), but the right-handed pitcher did pick up his first Double-A strikeout by catching rehabbing MLBer Brandon Marsh looking. JDE was a consistently strong presence for the Greenville rotation. Let's see if he can keep it up with Portland.
Wikelman Gonzalez appeared out of the bullpen this week to toss two scoreless innings. The righty didn't walk anyone and fanned five batters. Gonzalez has a 7.58 ERA but has a few dominant outings this season.
Isaac Coffey made two appearances (one start and one piggyback outing). The right-handed pitcher allowed three runs on four hits over 7 1/3 innings. He walked five batters but struck out 11. Coffey has a 4.50 ERA, .212 BAA, and 1.36 WHIP in 50 innings.
Christopher Troye made his first two appearances in over a month. The righty reliever allowed two runs on three hits over two innings. He struck out two batters compared to two walks. When he ramps up, he gets filthy.
Boston Red Sox High-A (Greenville)
Miguel Bleis made his High-A debut this week. The right-handed hitting outfielder already has some signature moments with Greenville, including an absolute cannon of a throw. Bleis went 3-for-17 with a double in his first week. He drove in two runs, scored four more, and stole three bases.
Cutter Coffey is on a generational heater — he's homered in six straight games, a feat that Rafael Devers accomplished earlier this season for a Red Sox franchise record. The right-handed hitting infielder's slash line skyrocketed thanks to the run. Coffey is now slashing .232/.313/.507 with six doubles and 11 home runs. He's driven in 33 runs, scored 26, and stolen four bags.
Jhostynxon Garcia had another high-power week. The right-handed hitting outfielder added two doubles and two more home runs to his numbers. Garcia's hitting .296 with six home runs in just 14 High-A games.
"Acts of Bryan Gonzalez" should be covered in the insurance for the residents of those condos in the Greenville outfield. The right-handed hitting first baseman/outfielder keeps trying to break windows. He had a massive week that included three more home runs. Gonzalez is hitting .260 with seven doubles, one triple, and 12 home runs. He's driven in 34 runs, scored 30, and stolen seven bases.
Mikey Romero is on a seven-game hitting streak. The left-handed hitting shortstop added three doubles this week and is hitting .256 in High-A. He's hit eight doubles, one triple, and two home runs in 82 at-bats.
Allan Castro went 6-for-20 with two doubles this week. The switch-hitting outfielder is up to a .217 average with a .364 OBP. He's hit 11 doubles, two triples, and two homers.
Ronald Rosario had a big week that included three doubles and a home run. The right-handed hitting catcher has a .234 average with 12 doubles, one triple, and one home run. He's driven in 28 runs, scored 18 more, and stolen one bag.
Juan Chacon collected at least one hit in all five games he appeared in this week. The right-handed hitting outfielder is up to a .219 average with eight doubles, two triples, and a home run. He's driven in 11 runs, scored 22, and stolen seven bases.
Hayden Mullins set a new career-high in strikeouts this week. The left-handed pitcher allowed two runs on three hits over five innings. He didn't walk anyone and set a career-best with 10 strikeouts. Mullins has a 3.71 ERA with 62 strikeouts compared to 21 walks in 43 2/3 innings.
Greenville acknowledged the Yordanny Celly Watch before his start on Friday. Luckily, Yordanny Monegro gave us a lot to work with in his outing. The righty gave up two runs on three hits over four innings. He didn't walk anyone and struck out a season-high eight batters. Monegro's allowed seven earned runs over 10 innings in High-A, but he's just getting back into the swing of things, and this was a big step in the right direction.
Jedixson Paez gave up two runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings in his lone relief appearance. The right-handed pitcher didn't walk anyone (of course) and struck out a career-high 10 batters. Paez has a 2.72 ERA with 57 strikeouts compared to four walks in 46 1/3 innings between Single-A and High-A.
David Sandlin returned from injury and allowed two runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings. Don't worry about the numbers, he looked good. Sandlin hit 99 MPH on his fastball and threw some devastating off-speed pitches.
Boston Red Sox Single-A (Salem)
Antonio Anderson keeps showing signs of a legitimate breakout. He's just 18 years old and would likely be in Lowell if that was still a team. The switch-hitting third baseman collected five hits this week, including two home runs.
Andy Lugo hit three more doubles this week. The right-handed hitting utility has a .267/.363/.388 slash line with 18 doubles (leads the league) and one triple. He's driven in 16 runs, scored 26 more, and stolen 13 bases.
Brooks Brannon went 4-for-16 with a home run and a steal this week. The right-handed hitting catcher/first baseman is hitting .242 with two home runs in eight games for Salem.
Juan Montero hit his first Single-A home run this week, and it was great to see how excited the dugout was for him. Salem manager Liam Carroll spoke about Montero being a clubhouse leader on the Pesky Report last week. The right-handed hitting catcher is only hitting .184 but has a .357 OBP.
Nelly Taylor was also mentioned as a clubhouse leader by Carroll and he hit his 17th double this week. The left-handed hitting outfielder is hitting .240 with 17 doubles and two home runs. He's driven in 28 runs, scored 30, and stolen 15 bases.
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz didn't allow any earned runs over four innings this week. The right-handed pitcher gave up four hits and one walk but struck out four batters. ERC is down to a 3.05 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings.
Matt Duffy allowed one run on three hits over five innings in his lone start. The righty struck out six batters without walking any. Duffy has a 3.99 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 47 1/3 innings. He's struck out 42 batters compared to 13 walks.
Jojo Ingrassia went five innings for the first time this season. The right-handed pitcher allowed just one run on two hits over those five frames. He struck out eight batters and only walked one. Ingrassia has a 2.45 ERA, .198 BAA, and 1.06 WHIP in 14 appearances (five starts). He's fanned 60 batters compared to 13 walks in 36 2/3 innings.
Noah Dean allowed one run on five hits over 4 2/3 innings. The lefty didn't walk anyone and struck out five. Dean's down to a 3.99 ERA, .164 BAA, and 1.04 WHIP over 10 appearances (eight starts). He has 50 strikeouts compared to 19 walks in 38 1/3 innings.
Ovis Portes made his second appearance in Single-A this week after a strong debut last week. The right-handed pitcher allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits in three innings. He struck out four batters compared to one walk.
Danny Kirwin had a fantastic bounce-back performance, tossing four shutout innings in relief of Duffy. Kirwin gave up one hit and one walk while striking out four batters. The right-handed reliever has a 4.50 ERA, .188 BAA, and 1.08 WHIP in 24 innings this season.
Max Carlson was nearly perfect in his relief appearance. The righty reliever didn't allow a hit over 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He did walk one batter but also struck out five. Carlson has a 2.89 ERA and 38 strikeouts compared to 11 walks in 28 innings Single-A.
Trennor O'Donnell allowed two hits over four scoreless frames in his lone. The right-handed reliever struck out four batters and walked two. O'Donnell has a 2.87 ERA, .217 BAA, and 1.15 WHIP in 10 appearances (two starts). He's struck out 33 batters compared to 10 walks in 31 1/3 innings.