Boston Red Sox prospect watch: the second half starts with a bang
By Hunter Noll
Red Sox Double-A (Portland)
After a slow start, Wikelman Gonzalez was dominating in High-A for the last few months. The right-handed pitcher made his Double-A debut on Sunday and cooked. Gonzalez went six scoreless innings, allowing four hits. He struck out nine batters compared to just one walk.
Grant Gambrell allowed one run on three hits over six innings this week. The righty struck out seven batters and walked two. Gambrell has a 3.51 ERA, .231 BAA, and 1.21 WHIP in Double-A. He's struck out 55 batters compared to 20 walks in 56 1/3 innings.
Blaze Jordan was promoted to Double-A after posting a .324/.385/.533 slash line in High-A. The right-handed hitting corner infielder is 2-for-10 with a home run with Portland. He's driven in two runs and scored one more. Jordan's only struck out twice and has walked twice.
Nick Yorke currently has a four-game hitting streak. The right-handed hitting second baseman has a .274/.357/.448 slash line with 13 doubles, five triples, and nine home runs. Yorke's driven in 38 runs, scored 50 more and stolen six bases.
Marcelo Mayer is slashing .242/.314/.458 with 16 doubles, one triple, and 13 home runs between High-A and Double-A. The left-handed hitting shortstop has driven in 52 runs, scored 38 more, and stolen nine bases. Mayer has slumped a bit in Double-A but has had absurdly bad luck hindering him all the way.
Nathan Hickey is slashing .280/.373/.531 with 11 doubles, one triple, and 13 home runs between High-A and Double-A. The left-handed hitting catcher has driven in 34 runs, scored 36 more, and stolen two bases. Hickey hasn't slowed down despite the promotion. The bat is legit.
Elih Marrero has been quietly strong with the bat this season. The switch-hitting catcher is known more for his defense, but has a .260/.407/.315 slash line with four doubles. He's driven in six runs, scored 13 more, and stolen seven bases. Marrero's walked 17 times compared to 20 strikeouts.
Corey Rosier is slashing .306/.366/.484 with 16 doubles, four triples, and five home runs in Double-A (with three games in Triple-A mixed in). The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 26 runs, scored 39 more, and stolen 30 bases.
Tyler McDonough collected a hit in all three games this season, including two doubles. The switch-hitting utility is slashing .217/.299/.349 with 11 doubles, one triple, and four home runs. He's driven in 22 runs, scored 27 more, and stolen 13 bases.