Jeter Downs to make major-league debut at third base as Red Sox go for sweep of Tigers

As expected, Jeter Downs will make his major-league debut for the Red Sox in Wednesday night’s series finale against the Tigers at Fenway Park.

Downs, who was called up from Triple-A Worcester on Monday, will bat ninth and start at third base for Boston as it goes for a three-game sweep of Detroit.

It will mark Downs’ first-ever professional appearance at third base. The 23-year-old has only been used as a second baseman or shortstop throughout his minor-league career, which began when he was selected by the Reds in the first round of the 2017 amateur draft out of Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Since then, Downs has for the most part maintained his status as one of the game’s top prospects despite being part of two blockbuster trades. In December 2018, the Colombia native was dealt to the Dodgers as part of a deal that sent the likes of Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood, and others to Cincinnati. A little more than a year later, he — as well as Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong — was traded to the Red Sox in exchange for Mookie Betts and David Price in February 2020.

As the top prospect acquired in that deal, Downs began his career in the Red Sox organization with high expectations. He struggled to the tune of a .606 OPS in 99 games with the WooSox last season and has not fared much better this season.

At the time he was promoted, the right-handed hitting infielder was batting just .180/.297/.397 (86 wRC+) with six doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 21 RBIs, 35 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 25 walks, and 69 strikeouts over 53 games (222 plate appearances) for Worcester. As previously alluded to, Downs has been used exclusively at shortstop this season, though he does have plenty of experience at second base as well.

Downs, who turns 24 next month, will become the second player to make his big-league debut with the Red Sox this year and joins right-hander Josh Winckowski by doing so. The 5-foot-11, 195 pounder is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 7 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

With Downs starting at third base for Alex Cora and the Red Sox on Wednesday, Rafael Devers will receive the night off while Xander Bogaerts will start at short. On the mound, it will be righty Michael Wacha making his 12th start of the season for Boston opposite Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Jeter Downs: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox catching prospect Nathan Hickey has homered 3 times in last 3 games for Low-A Salem

Another member of the Salem Red Sox who has been tearing it up at the plate as of late is catcher Nathan Hickey.

In Salem’s 8-7 loss to the Fredericksburg Nationals at Carilion Clinic Field on Tuesday night, Hickey — batting cleanup — went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored, two strikeouts, and one walk.

His lone hit was a clutch game-tying, two-run home run in the ninth inning. Although Salem ultimately fell to Fredericksburg in extras, Hickey extended his hitting streak to six consecutive games and is continuing on with a productive month of June.

Since the calendar flipped from May, Hickey is batting a stout .295/.418/.614 with five doubles, three home runs, 18 RBIs, 10 runs scored, 10 walks, and 11 strikeouts over his last 12 games and 55 trips to the plate.

On the 2022 campaign — which is also his first full professional season — as a whole, the left-handed hitter has slashed .278/.437/.526 to go along with 12 doubles, seven homers, 39 runs driven in, 30 runs scored, 38 walks, and 37 punchouts across 39 games (174 plate appearances) with Salem.

Among qualified Carolina League Hitters, Hickey ranks 16th in batting average, third in on-base percentage, fifth in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS (.963), fifth in isolated power (.248), and second in walk rate (21.8%), per MiLB.com’s leaderboards.

Defensively, Hickey has unsurprisingly seen all his playing time this season come behind the plate when not serving as Salem’s designated hitter. The 6-foot, 210 pound backstop has now logged 209 2/3 innings behind the plate in 2022 and has allowed six passed balls while throwing out three of a possible 34 base stealers.

Hickey, 22, was selected by the Red Sox in the fifth round of last year’s amateur draft out of the University of Florida. Unlike his college teammate Jud Fabian, the former Gator signed with the club for $1 million last August.

A native of Jacksonville, Fla. himself, Hickey is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 23 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks tops among catchers in the organization.

Per his Baseball America scouting report, which was written by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, Hickey is “far from a sure bet to stay behind the plate, where he lacks agility and technical polish when both receiving and blocking. While he has solid arm strength, he ended his 2021 college season at third base.”

Speier also noted that Hickey, who does not turn 23 until November, “may move more deliberately than other college players with his offensive profile given the need to develop behind the plate, but he’ll be given every chance to develop into a bat-first everyday catcher. If he can’t stay at the position, he could fit in a corner.”

Taking that into consideration, it remains to be seen if Hickey will work his way to High-A Greenville at some point this summer or will instead stick with Salem for the rest of the season. Only time will tell.

(Picture of Nathan Hickey: Gary Streiffer/Flickr)

Trevor Story shines on both sides of the ball as Red Sox secure 6th straight series win with 5-4 victory over Tigers

The Red Sox won their sixth consecutive series on Tuesday night with another victory over the Tigers. Boston bested Detroit by a final score of 5-3 at Fenway Park to improve to 38-31 on the season.

Rich Hill, making his 13th start of the season for the Sox, allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks to go along with six strikeouts over five innings of work.

The first of those three runs came right away in the top of the first, as Hill gave up a one-out triple to Javy Baez that was followed by an RBI single off the bat of Miguel Cabrera.

Despite falling behind early, the Red Sox lineup quickly responded in their half of the first while opposed by another rookie right-hander in Tigers starter Beau Brieske. Jarren Duran led off with a single, went from first to third on a Rafael Devers base hit, and scored from third on a J.D. Martinez sacrifice fly that knotted things up at one run apiece.

In the third, Baez struck again by cranking a solo shot off Hill to give his side a 2-1 lead. Just an inning later, though, Boston again responded when Xander Bogaerts and Alex Verdugo reached base on a pair of one-out singles. Trevor Story followed by unloading on a 1-1, 85 mph slider from Brieske and sending it 387 feet over the Green Monster for a go-ahead three-run home run.

Story’s 11th big fly of the season left his bat at a sizzling 105.5 mph. It also gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 4-2. Hill, meanwhile, yielded one more run on two hits and one walk in the fifth. He ended his outing by fanning Tigers rookie Riley Greene.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 90 (57 strikes), Hill induced six of his 12 swings-and-misses with his curveball, a pitch he threw 31 times. The 42-year-old southpaw’s ERA on the season now sits at 4.50.

In relief of Hill, Ryan Brasier received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The right-hander faced the minimum in the sixth by getting Jonathan Schoop to ground into an inning-ending, 1-4-3 double play. In the seventh, he retired the first two batters on eight pitches before Story robbed Baez of a base hit by making a fantastic leaping grab for the final out of the frame.

Following a Tigers pitching change that saw Andrew Chafin take over for Jason Foley in the bottom of the seventh, Christian Vazquez greeted the new reliever by clubbing a leadoff home run on the very first pitch he saw.

Vazquez took a 90 mph sinker down the heart of the plate from Chafin and deposited it 364 feet over the Green Monster. Vazquez’s fourth home run of the season provided the Sox with some much-needed insurance and gave them a 5-3 lead.

From there, Tyler Danish worked his way around some traffic in a scoreless eighth inning before making way for Matt Strahm in the ninth. Strahm immediately served up a solo homer to Schoop that cut Boston’s lead down to one run at 5-4.

Strahm managed to get the first two outs of the ninth inning. Michigan native John Schreiber was then called upon to face Baez. Schreiber gave up a single to Baez that put the potential tying run on base, but he kept him there by getting Miguel Cabrera to ground out to end the game.

For Schreiber, who was pitching for the third straight day and the fourth time in five days, Tuesday’s performance allowed him to notch his second save of the season.

Next up: Wacha vs. Skubal in finale

The Red Sox will close out their homestand by going for a three-game sweep of the Tigers on Wednesday night. Veteran right-hander Michael Wacha will get the start for Boston while left-hander Tarik Skubal will do the same for Detroit. Top prospect Jeter Downs is also expected to make his major-league debut.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Trevor Story: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Christian Arroyo, Josh Taylor begin rehab assignments with Triple-A Worcester

Red Sox reliever Josh Taylor and utility man Christian Arroyo began their rehab assignments with Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday night.

Taylor, serving as an opener for the WooSox in their contest against the Charlotte Knights, tossed a scoreless first inning and needed just seven pitches (five strikes) to do so.

The left-hander retired the only three batters he faced by getting Mark Payton to line out to center, a rehabbing Eloy Jimenez to ground out to short, and Carlos Perez to ground out to third. He was relieved by top pitching prospect Brayan Bello.

Taylor has spent the entirety of the season on the injured list because of a lower back strain that first started bothering him last September. He was initially sent out on a minor-league rehab assignment back in April, but suffered a setback and was shut down for weeks as a result.

The 29-year-old southpaw is coming off an exceptional 2021 campaign in which he posted a 3.40 ERA and 2.83 FIP with 60 strikeouts to 23 walks over 61 relief appearances spanning 47 2/3 innings of work.

Since the Red Sox transferred Taylor from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list on May 12, he does not currently count against Boston’s 40-man roster.

The same can be said for Arroyo, who was placed on the COVID-19 related injured list on June 15 after testing positive for the virus. The 27-year-old served as Worcester’s designated hitter and went 0-fo-3 with a ground out, pop out, and fly out out of the leadoff spot before being pinch-hit for by Ronaldo Hernandez in the seventh inning.

Arroyo last suited up for the Red Sox on June 12 and is currently batting .187/.227/.319 with three home runs and 10 RBIs on the season. He will play the field for Worcester on Wednesday and could be activated for Friday’s series opener against the Guardians in Cleveland.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox relief prospect Cody Scroggins has strung together 9 straight scoreless appearances for High-A Greenville

It has been exactly one month since Red Sox relief prospect Cody Scroggins first embarked upon a lengthy scoreless appearances streak with High-A Greenville.

In his last nine outings dating back to May 21, Scroggins has allowed five hits and six walks to go along with 14 strikeouts over nine cumulative scoreless frames.

The impressive run has lowered Scroggins’ ERA on the season down to 4.03. The 25-year-old right-hander has also gone 5-for-5 in save opportunities while posting a 3.10 FIP and 3.66 xFIP with 33 punchouts to 15 walks across 21 appearances (22 1/3 innings) for the Drive in 2022.

Among South Atlantic League pitchers who have accrued at least 20 innings on the mound so far this season, Scroggins ranks 15th in strikeouts per nine innings (13.30), 28th in strikeout rate (31.4%), 20th in FIP, and 26th in xFIP, per FanGraphs.

The Red Sox originally selected Scroggins in the ninth round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the University of Arkansas. The Oklahoma-born righty signed with the club for $100,000 and began his pro career with the Lowell Spinners.

After his first full professional season was wiped out as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Scroggins pitched to a 3.33 ERA in 48 2/3 innings between Low-A Salem and Greenville in 2021. All told, he currently owns a 4.91 ERA in 39 appearances at the High-A level since being promoted to Greenville last July.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, the 6-foot, 195 pound hurler throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 93-95 mph fastball that has some sink to it, an 84-86 mph slider, and an 85-87 mph changeup.

While not regarded by publications such as SoxProspects.com as one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, Scroggins did receive somewhat of a shoutout from FanGraphs’ Kevin Goldstein and Tess Taruskin back in March. They described the former Razorback as “a slider monster who sits 92-95 and has very poor control,” which would explain the high number of walks.

Scroggins, who turns 26 in August, would appear to be a prime candidate to earn a mid-season promotion to Double-A Portland if a spot becomes available in the Sea Dogs’ bullpen at some point this summer.

Until then, Scroggins will look to keep his scoreless appearances streak rolling as the Drive open a six-game series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods at Fluor Field on Tuesday night.

(Picture of Cody Scroggins: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox power-hitting prospect Blaze Jordan continues to stay hot for Low-A Salem

Somewhat fittingly, Red Sox infield prospect Blaze Jordan was included in Baseball America’s latest Hot Sheet for his performance in Low-A Salem’s series against the Delmarva Shorebirds last week.

In six games at Carilion Clinic Field, Jordan went 13-for-26 (.500) at the plate with one triple, three home runs, nine RBIs, six runs scored, one stolen base, one walk, and two strikeouts.

The right-handed hitter is now riding a 10-game hitting streak and, on the 2022 season as a whole, is batting a respectable .291/.343/.467 (124 wRC+) with 18 doubles, two triples, six homers, 37 runs driven in, 34 runs scored, two stolen bases, 16 walks, and 43 strikeouts over 57 games spanning 248 trips to the plate.

Among qualified Carolina League hitters, Jordan currently ranks eighth in strikeout rate (17.3%), 10th in batting average, 12th in slugging percentage, 19th in OPS (.810), 19th in isolated power (.176), and 21st in wRC+, per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Jordan has seen playing time at both corner infield spots so far this season. Coming into play on Tuesday, the 6-foot-2, 220 pounder has logged 297 innings and committed three errors at the hot corner and has logged 136 1/3 innings at first while committing four errors there.

Still just a teenager who does not turn 20 until late December, Jordan is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 8 prospect — as well as the best power hitter — in Boston’s farm system. The Mississippi native was originally taken by the Sox in the third round of the 2020 amateur draft out of DeSoto Central High School. He forewent his commitment to Mississippi State University by signing with the club for $1.75 million.

While Jordan has the potential to emerge as a top-100 prospect for years to come, the Red Sox are likely to take their time when it comes to his development given his age. With that, it would not be surprising if he were to spend the rest of the 2022 campaign in Salem, though a late-season promotion to High-A Greenville certainly cannot be ruled out.

In addition to Jordan, fellow Red Sox prospects Niko Kavadas and Eddinson Paulino were also named to Baseball America’s Hot Sheet since they, too, had monster series against Delmarva.

(Picture of Blaze Jordan: Gary Streiffer/Flickr)

Red Sox’ Eddinson Paulino named to MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week

Not to be overshadowed by the likes of Niko Kavadas or Blaze Jordan, Red Sox infield prospect Eddinson Paulino was named to MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week on Monday.

Representing second-base prospects across Minor League Baseball, Paulino went 12-for-25 (.480) with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, seven RBIs, eight runs scored, five stolen bases, six walks, and two strikeouts in Low-A Salem’s latest six-game series against the Delmarva Shorebirds at Carilion Clinic Field.

Paulino, 19, is currently regarded by MLB Pipeline as the No. 19 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The Red Sox originally signed the Dominican-born infielder as an international free-agent for $205,000 on his 16th birthday in 2018.

With 2022 marking his first full season in pro ball, Paulino got off to a rocky start with Salem by posting a wRC+ of 77 in the month of April. Since the calendar flipped to May, however, the left-handed hitter has turned a corner offensively by slashing a stout .299/.399/.518 (154 wRC+) with 14 doubles, three triples, four homers, 21 runs driven in, 37 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 26 walks, and 28 strikeouts over his last 41 games and 193 trips to the plate.

Among qualified Carolina League hitters this season, Paulino now ranks first in doubles (18), second in triples (8), second in runs scored (48), 14th in RBIs (32), ninth in walks drawn (32), 16th in strikeout rate (18.5%), 21st in stolen bases (13), 21st in batting average (.267), 27th in on-base percentage (.360), 11th in slugging percentage (.475), 13th in OPS (.835), 10th in isolated power (.208), eighth in speed score (8.7), and 15th in wRC+ (131), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Paulino has understandably seen the majority of his playing time this year come at second base. But the 5-foot-10, 155 pounder has also played some third base and shortstop while logging a total of 46 defensive innings between left and center field.

Per his MLB Pipeline scouting report, Paulino possesses 50-grade speed “and displays good instincts on the bases. He has reliable hands and some twitchy athleticism but his quickness and average arm strength are a bit stretched at shortstop.”

Paulino, who turns 20 next month, can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career this winter unless he is otherwise added to Boston’s 40-man roster before then. As of now, it looks like the Red Sox would be taking a risk if they were to leave the Santiago native unprotected come late November.

That being said, there is still plenty of time left before the 2022 season comes to a close. Perhaps Paulino can use it to his advantage like he has already been doing in recent weeks.

(Picture of Eddinson Paulino: Gary Streiffer/Flickr)

Franchy Cordero and Jarren Duran combine for 5 hits, Josh Winckowski puts together 6 2/3 solid innings as Red Sox top Tigers, 5-2

The Red Sox kicked off the final leg of their homestand with a series-opening win over the Tigers on Monday night. Boston defeated Detroit by a final score of 5-2 to improve to 37-31 on the season and 14-4 in the month of June.

In a pitching matchup that featured two rookie right-handers going at it, it was Josh Winckowski who prevailed over Alex Faedo.

Winckowski, making his third start of the year for the Sox, received some early scoring from his lineup and rode that to a second consecutive strong outing. The young righty allowed just two runs on seven hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of work.

The aforementioned early scoring came courtesy of J.D. Martinez right away in the first inning. After Jarren Duran drew a leadoff walk and stole second base, the former Tigers slugger drove in the speedster on an RBI single to give the Red Sox their first lead of the night.

Winckowski, meanwhile, issued a one-out walk to Riley Greene in the top of the second. That came back to bite him after Greene advanced to third on a Jeimer Candelario single and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Spencer Torkelson.

With things now tied up at 1-1, the Boston bats quickly got that run back in the bottom of the third on back-to-back doubles from Duran and Rafael Devers to lead off the inning. In the fourth, Trevor Story led off by reaching on a fielding error and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Christian Vazquez. In the fifth, Franchy Cordero capped off a three-hit night by plating Alex Verdugo and Story on a two-run single to center field.

Leading by four runs now, Winckowski consistently made quick work of Detroit’s lineup before running into some trouble in the seventh. There, Torkelson reached base via a two-out single and scored all the way from first on an RBI double from Jonathan Schoop that cut Boston’s lead down to three runs at 5-2.

Schoop would be the last batter Winckowski would face as he was lifted in favor of Jake Diekman. Of the 92 pitches Winckowski threw on Monday, 59 went for strikes. The 23-year-old induced five of his seven swings-and-misses with his slider and topped out at 95.5 mph with his sinker, a pitch he threw 36 times.

In relief of Winckowski, Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora and ended things in the seventh with some defensive help from Verdugo. Matt Strahm got the first two outs of the eighth before making way for John Schreiber, who worked his way around a Javy Baez double to keep the Tigers at two runs.

Taking a 5-2 lead into the ninth, Tanner Houck recorded his fifth save in as many opportunities while working on consecutive days for the first time in his major-league career.

All told, four different Red Sox relievers (Diekman, Strahm, Schreiber, and Houck) combined for 2 1/3 scoreless frames. Offensively, Cordero and Duran accounted for five of Boston’s nine hits. Neither Cordero, Duran, or Schreiber were on the club’s Opening Day roster back in April.

Next up: Hill vs. Brieske

The Red Sox will go for yet another series win over the Tigers on Tuesday night. Veteran left-hander will start for Boston while right-hander Beau Brieske will do the same for Detroit.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Red Sox ace Chris Sale strikes out Wander Franco in first start of rehab assignment

Red Sox ace left-hander Chris Sale officially began his rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on Monday night.

Getting the start against the Rays’ FCL affiliate in Port Charlotte, Fla., Sale allowed one earned run on one hit, one walk, and one strikeout over just one inning of work.

After issuing a leadoff walk to Odalys Peguero, Sale rebounded by striking out fellow major-leaguer Wander Franco — who is also on a rehab assignment — with a slider (and wild pitch) that allowed Peguero to advance to second base.

With one out and a runner in scoring position, Sale got Carlos Colmenarez to pop out to short. Peguero then proceeded to steal third and score from there on an RBI single off the bat of Junior Caminero.

Sale ended his outing by getting Jhon Diaz to ground out to second, so he wound up retiring three of the five batters he faced. Rather than come back out for a second inning, the 33-year-old was relieved by right-hander Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz. He threw 22 pitches and topped out at 96 mph with his fastball, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

This was the first time Sale pitched in a competitive environment since Game 5 of last October’s American League Championship Series. The veteran southpaw began the season on the 60-day injured list because of a right rib stress fracture he sustained during a bullpen session in late February. His recovery was then slowed due to what he described as a non-baseball health concern related to his family’s medical history.

Now that he has one rehab outing under his belt, Sale will likely need to make three or four more while working on a starter’s schedule in order to get stretched out to five innings. When that milestone is reached (presumably sometime next month), he will be ready to return to Boston’s starting rotation.

“He’ll be here at one point, and he’s going to contribute,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Sale, via MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “Like I said before, this is a lot different than last year as far as his arm [goes]. He’s in a much better spot. He’s moving a lot better, so we expect him to use all his pitches, which is important compared to last year. Just be him. It’s a trade that not everybody can do.”

(Picture of Chris Sale: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Pedro Castellanos, Niko Kavadas earn Eastern League, Carolina League Player of the Week honors

A pair of Red Sox first-base prospects took home weekly honors from the respective leagues they play in. Earlier Monday afternoon, Minor League Baseball announced that Double-A Portland’s Pedro Castellanos and Low-A Salem’s Niko Kavadas were named Eastern League and Carolina League Players of the Week for the week of June 13-19.

Castellanos appeared in all six games of Portland’s most-recent series against the Reading Fightin Phils. In those six contests at FirstEnergy Stadium, the right-handed hitter went 12-for-28 (.429) at the plate with two doubles, one home run, five RBIs, two runs scored, zero walks, and four strikeouts.

By recording at least one hit in all six of those games, Castellanos extended his hitting streak to 16 consecutive games. On the 2022 campaign as a whole, the 24-year-old is batting .283/.307/.465 (109 wRC+) with 16 doubles, one triple, eight homers, 42 RBIs, 22 runs scored, seven walks, and 52 strikeouts over 58 games (244 plate appearances) for the Sea Dogs.

Among qualified Eastern League hitters this season, Castellanos ranks eighth in doubles, fourth in RBIs, ninth in batting average, 22nd in slugging percentage, 29th in OPS (.773), and 34th in wRC+, per FanGraphs.

Defensively, the 6-foot-3, 195 pounder has seen playing time at first base and both corner outfield positions this season. He has logged 257 1/3 innings at first, 26 innings in left, and 113 innings in right.

The Red Sox originally signed Castellanos for just $5,000 as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in July 2015. Always known for his ability to hit for average, the Carora native is eligible to become a free agent again this winter.

Castellanos, who turns 25 in December, becomes the first member of the 2022 Portland Sea Dogs to earn Eastern League Player of the Week honors this year.

Kavadas, meanwhile, had a monster week for Salem in its series against the Delmarva Shorebirds at Carillion Clinic Field. Over the course of six games, the left-handed hitting slugger went 9-for-17 (.529) with three doubles, four homers, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored, nine walks, and just seven punchouts.

Selected by Boston in the 11th round of last year’s draft out of the University of Notre Dame, Kavadas has enjoyed a moderate amount of success in his first full professional season. Following a 2-for-3 performance on Sunday, the 24-year-old is now slashing a stout .279/.456/.570 (182 wRC+) to go along with 17 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 42 RBIs, 31 runs scored, one stolen base, 54 walks, and 68 strikeouts across 56 games (241 plate appearances) for the Salem Sox.

Among qualified hitters in the Carolina League this season, Kavadas ranks 15th in batting average, first in on-base percentage, second in slugging percentage, second in OPS (1.026), first in isolated power (.291), first in walk rate (22.4%), and first in wRC+, per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Kavadas has logged 343 innings at first base this year and has otherwise served as Salem’s designated hitter. The 6-foot-1, 235 pounder out of Granger, Ind. is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 44 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Given what he has done at the Low-A level this season, it seems like Kavadas could be on the verge of a promotion to High-A Greenville. He becomes the second member of the 2022 Salem Red Sox to earn Carolina League Player of the Week honors and joins fellow infielder Blaze Jordan by doing so.

(Picture of Pedro Castellanos: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)