Tag: greenville drive

Red Sox’ Angel Bastardo named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week

Red Sox pitching prospect Angel Bastardo has been named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 15-21, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

Bastardo made his seventh start of the season for High-A Greenville in its 3-2 loss to the Bowling Green Hot Rods at Fluor Field last Wednesday. Though he did not factor into the decision, the right-hander allowed just one hit on two walks and seven strikeouts over six scoreless innings. He finished with 80 pitches (50 strikes) and induced 11 swings-and-misses.

In seven starts for the Drive this season, Bastardo has posted a 5.03 ERA and 4.13 FIP with 47 strikeouts to 17 walks over 34 innings of work. The 20-year-old has impressed as of late by holding opposing hitters to a .170 batting average against in the month of May.

Among qualified pitchers in the South Atlantic League, Bastardo ranks second in strikeouts per nine innings (12.44), second in strikeout rate (32.9 percent), fifth in opponents’ batting average (.206), 13th in WHIP (1.26), first in swinging-strike rate (20.2 percent), 11th in FIP, and eighth in xFIP (3.88), per FanGraphs.

Bastardo, who turns 21 next month, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 40 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 14th among pitchers in the organization. The native Venezuelan originally signed with the Red Sox for just $35,000 as an international free agent coming out of Moron in July 2018.

With a projectable 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame, Bastardo throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 93-95 mph fastball that tops out at 97 mph and shows sink, an 83-86 mph curveball that varies in shape, and an 84-88 mph changeup that can be inconsistent at times, according to his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Given that he has made just seven starts at the High-A level thus far and still has areas to improve in (i.e. command and control of the strike zone), it would not be surprising if Bastardo were to spend most of the 2023 season with Greenville before garnering consideration for a promotion to Double-A Portland.

With that being said, that timeline could accelerate if Bastardo continues to turn in impressive outings for the Drive as he has been doing. It is also worth mentioning that the righty can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft at the end of the year, though him being added to Boston’s 40-man roster in November seems unlikely at this point since he is still a ways away from sniffing the major-leagues.

(Picture of Angel Bastardo: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox pitching prospect Grant Gambrell shines in debut for Double-A Portland

Red Sox pitching prospect Grant Gambrell shined in his debut for Double-A Portland on Thursday night.

Though the Sea Dogs fell to the Hartford Yard Goats by a final score of 4-3 in 12 innings, Gambrell was on point on a cool evening at Dunkin’ Park. The right-hander allowed just one earned run on two hits and zero walks to go along with eight strikeouts over six strong innings of work.

Gambrell retired the first 15 batters he faced and took a bid for a perfect game into the sixth inning before giving up a first-pitch leadoff home run to Drew Romo. He also surrendered a one-out triple to Bret Boswell, but he prevented a second run from crossing the plate by getting Bladimir Restituyo to ground out and striking out top Rockies prospect Zac Veen.

All told, Gambrell needed just 64 pitches (47 strikes) to get through six efficient frames. He induced 10 swings-and-misses and did not factor into the decision after Niko Kavadas hit a then-game-tying home run with one out in the top of the ninth.

With Shane Drohan making the jump and debuting for Triple-A Worcester on Thursday, the Red Sox needed someone to take the left-hander’s place in Portland’s starting rotation. They achieved that by officially promoting Gambrell from High-A Greenville hours before his Sea Dogs debut.

After missing the entirety of the 2022 season with a significant ankle injury, Gambrell broke camp with Greenville earlier this spring. The 25-year-old hurler did not get off to the best of starts, posting a 6.87 ERA and 6.61 FIP with 21 strikeouts to nine walks in four April outings spanning 18 1/3 innings.

Once the calendar flipped from April to May, though, Gambrell appeared to have flipped a switch. After yielding two unearned runs and striking out eight over six innings on May 6, the righty gave up three runs and struck out seven over a season-high seven innings last Saturday.

With back-to-back impressive showings, Gambrell became a logical candidate for a promotion. As noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, the Drive already have a crowded starting rotation and have more reinforcements coming in Hayden Mullins, Bradley Blalock, and Jeremy Wu-Yelland, who are all currently on the injured list.

Boston originally acquired Gambrell and fellow righty Luis De La Rosa from the Royals in June 2021 to complete one part of the three-team trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City four months prior. Coming into the 2023 campaign, Gambrell had appeared in just eight games as a member of the Red Sox organization.

A former third-round draft selection of the Royals out of Oregon State in 2019, Gambrell stands at a burly 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. The California native throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 92-95 mph four-seam fastball, a 79-81 mph breaking ball, and an 83-86 mph curveball, per his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Gambrell, who does not turn 26 until November, figures to spend the rest of the season with Portland. There could be some challenges as he adjusts to more advanced competition at a new level, but he certainly got off to an encouraging start on Thursday.

(Picture of Grant Gambrell: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox promote prospects Nathan Hickey, Chase Meidroth to Double-A Portland

The Red Sox have promoted catching prospect Nathan Hickey and infield prospect Chase Meidroth from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, per the club’s minor-league transactions log.

Hickey, 23, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 15 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks first among catchers in the organization. The Red Sox originally selected the Florida product in the fifth round of the 2021 amateur draft and signed him for exactly $1 million.

After closing out his first full professional season with the Drive, Hickey returned to Greenville for the start of the 2023 campaign. Leading up to Monday’s promotion, the left-handed hitter was batting a stout .294/.402/.588 with six doubles, one triple, four home runs, nine RBIs, 13 runs scored, 12 walks, and 20 strikeouts in his first 18 games (82 plate appearances) of the year.

For as impressive as those numbers may be, Hickey has been struggling on the other side of the ball. Defensively, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound backstop logged 146 innings behind the plate for Greenville. He allowed three passed balls and was 0-for-37 when it came to throwing out base stealers, though that might not have been all on him.

To that end, as noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, Hickey could benefit from this promotion since Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson previously served as Boston’s catching coordinator for 12 season. With Elih Marrero on the injured list and Matt Donlan on the development list, Hickey will form a catching tandem in Portland with fellow SEC product Stephen Scott for the time being.

Meidroth, meanwhile, is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 27 prospect in the Red Sox’ farm system. The 21-year-old was taken by Boston in the fourth round of last summer’s draft out of San Diego. He signed with the club for $272,500.

After showing signs of promise between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Salem in his pro debut, Meidroth broke camp with Greenville this spring. In 20 games with the Drive, the stocky right-handed hitter batted .338/.495/.459 with three doubles, two home runs, 14 RBIs, 19 runs scored, four stolen bases, 21 walks, and 20 strikeouts across 97 trips to the plate.

Defensively, Meidroth has seen the majority of his playing time come at either second or third base. While in Greenville, the 5-foot-9, 170 pounder logged 92 innings at second and 73 innings at third and committed a total of two errors in 51 chances.

Meidroth, who turns 22 in July, is now slated to join a Sea Dogs infield mix that includes Alex Binelas, Niko Kavadas, Christian Koss, Matthew Lugo, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Nick Yorke. It should be interesting to see how he adjusts to more advanced competition at the Double-A level.

Other moves:

In addition to promoting Hickey and Meidroth to Portland, the Red Sox made several other minor-league roster moves. Infielder Edwin Diaz was promoted from Portland to Triple-A Worcester and catcher Ronaldo Rosario was promoted from Salem to Greenville.

Furthermore, catcher Enderso Lira was added to Salem’s roster from extended spring training while right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn was activated from Portland’s injured list. Like Donlan, left-hander Sylar Arias was transferred to the Sea Dogs’ development list.

(Picture of Nathan Hickey: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer earns South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors

Top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer has been named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of May 1-7, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

Mayer went 16-for-31 (.516) at the plate with six doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs, eight runs scored, one stolen base, zero walks, and four strikeouts in all six of High-A Greenville’s games on the road against the Asheville Tourists last week.

After going 2-for-5 with a pair of singles in Tuesday’s series opener at McCormick Field, Mayer finished a triple shy of the cycle as part of a four-hit effort on Wednesday. The left-handed hitting shortstop then had one hit on Thursday, two hits on Friday and three hits on Saturday before closing out the weekend with another four-hit performance on Sunday afternoon.

As noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, McCormick Field is considered to be one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in all of Minor League Baseball given its favorable dimensions. That being said, it was nonetheless an impressive week of work for Mayer.

Though his first full season in Greenville got off to a slow start, Mayer has picked things up as of late. He is now batting a stout .337/.414/.582 (161 wRC+) with 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 23 RBIs, 17 runs scored, four stolen bases, 13 walks, and 24 strikeouts over 23 games (111 plate appearances) with the Drive in 2023.

Among qualified South Atlantic League hitters, Mayer ranks eighth in batting average, 14th in on-base percentage, 10th in slugging percentage, ninth in OPS (.996), 17th in isolated power (.245), 23rd in strikeout rate (21.6 percent), and ninth in wRC+ (161), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Mayer has unsurprisingly seen all of his playing time on the field to this point in the season come at shortstop. The 6-foot-2, 188-pounder has logged 193 innings at short thus far and has committed six errors in 72 defensive chances.

Mayer, 20, is regarded by most publications as the No. 1 prospect in Boston’s farm system. As far as top-100 rankings are concerned, Baseball America has him at No. 13 while MLB Pipeline pegs him as the seventh-best prospect in the sport.

A native of Chula Vista, Calif., Mayer was originally selected by the Red Sox with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft out of Eastlake High School. Though he grew up a Yankees fan, Mayer forwent his commitment to Southern California and signed with Boston for a lucrative $6.664 million that July

As the Sox’ highest-selected player since 1967, Mayer entered the professional ranks with plenty of hype surrounding him. In a relatively small sample size of 140 minor-league games between the Florida Complex League, Low-A Salem, and Greenville, Mayer has shown why he is worthy of such attention.

Mayer, who does not turn 21 until December, is bilingual and has shown leadership qualities in the clubhouse. He has the ability to connect with both English- and Spanish-speaking teammates on and off the field, which only adds to his value within the organization.

As the Drive prepare to open a 12-game homestand at Fluor Field on Tuesday, more people have begun to wonder when Mayer will make the jump from Greenville to Double-A Portland. For Mayer himself, he is focused on the present as well as the challenge at hand.

“For me, I’m going out there and playing and I’m being where my feet are,” Mayer recently told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “I’m not really going to be thinking about Fenway when I’m in Portland. If I’m in Portland, I’m thinking about being in Portland.

“Obviously, my goal is to be a big leaguer. I want to be there as soon as possible,” he added. “There’s a lot of great players in this organization. So it’s not as easy as just saying, ‘Oh, I want to be in the big-leagues this year.’ But I’m really excited. I worked my tail off in the offseason. I’m super excited for this season.”

Liu named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week

After tossing a seven-inning no hitter in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Akron RubberDucks on Friday, Portland Sea Dogs right-hander C.J. Liu was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week.

Liu, 24, becomes the second Sea Dogs pitcher to earn the honor this season, joining lefty Shane Drohan. You can read more about Liu’s stellar outing — and his 2023 campaign as a whole — by clicking here.

(Picture of Marcelo Mayer: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox promote lefty relief prospect Nathan Landry to High-A Greenville

The Red Sox have promoted left-hander Nathan Landry from Low-A Salem to High-A Greenville, per the club’s minor-league transactions log.

Landry, who turns 24 later this week, did not allow a run in his first eight relief appearances of the season for Salem. He issued just three walks and recorded 11 strikeouts over 10 1/3 innings in which he held opposing hitters to a .171 batting average against.

Boston took Landry in the 15th round of last year’s amateur draft out of Missouri. The Quebec native signed with the club for $112,500 and was identified by Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo as the Red Sox’ best late-round pick. He made his professional debut in the rookie-level Florida Complex League over the summer.

“I think the keyword for me is opportunity, and I got that with a great organization with the Red Sox,” Landry told Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster back in February. “The first baseball stadium I ever visited was Fenway Park. It was my last year of high school. You can feel the history once you get in there. I fell in love with the stadium once I walked in the place.”

Landry, who speaks both English and French, is not yet ranked by any major publication as one of the top pitching prospects in Boston’s farm system. That could soon change if he shows he can handle more advanced competition with Greenville moving forward.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Landry throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of an 88-90 mph fastball that tops out in the low-90s, a slider, and a changeup, per his SoxProspects.com scouting report. He is well-regarded for his command of the strike zone and has already shown why.

Landry is now slated to join a Drive bullpen mix that includes fellow 2022 draftees Alex Hoppe (UNC Greensboro) and Jaret Godman (Oklahoma). Isaac Coffey, who was selected in the 10th round out of Oral Roberts, is currently in Greenville’s starting rotation.

(Picture of Nathan Landry: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox pitching prospect Angel Bastardo strikes out 11 in latest start for High-A Greenville

Red Sox pitching prospect Angel Bastardo had a performance to remember in his third start of the season for High-A Greenville on Friday night.

Going up against the Greensboro Grasshoppers on the road at First National Bank Field, Bastardo allowed two earned runs on two hits and two walks to go along with 11 strikeouts over six solid innings of work in a tough-luck 2-1 losss.

The 11 punchouts represent a career-high for Bastardo, who finished with 84 pitches (58 strikes). The right-hander also induced 27 swings-and-misses while lowering his ERA on the season to 5.93 across 13 2/3 innings with the Drive.

Among 27 qualified South Atlantic League pitchers coming into play on Saturday, Bastardo ranks first in strikeouts per nine innings (13.83), second in strikeout rate (35.5 percent), 11th in batting average against (.212), second in line-drive rate (9.7 percent), first in swinging-strike rate (23.8 percent), and seventh in FIP (3.57), per FanGraphs.

While those numbers are undoubtedly encouraging, Bastardo also ranks 23rd in walks per nine innings (4.61), 21st in walk rate (11.9 percent), and 17th in WHIP (1.32), so there is still room for improvement in different areas, like command and control.

Bastardo, 2o, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 56 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 23rd among pitchers in the organization. The native Venezuelan originally signed with the Red Sox for just $35,000 as an international free agent coming out of Moron shortly after his 16th birthday in July 2018.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, Bastardo throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 93-95 mph fastball that tops out at 97 mph and shows sink, an 83-86 mph curveball that varies in shape, and an 84-88 mph changeup that can be inconsistent at times, according to his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Considering that he has only pitched at one level per year since debuting in the Dominican Summer League in 2019 and does not turn 21 until June, it seems likely that Bastardo will spend most — if not the entirety — of the 2023 season in Greenville’s starting rotation.

Bastardo can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career this winter. With those prior points in mind, though, the Red Sox probably won’t add the righty to their 40-man roster by the November deadline since he is still relatively raw and at least one full season away from garnering any sort of big-league consideration.

(Picture of Angel Bastardo: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox pitching prospect Brendan Cellucci ended his 2022 season on a strong note

The Red Sox have a number of intriguing left-handed pitching prospects within their farm system. Brendan Cellucci is among them.

Cellucci, now 24, was originally selected by Boston in the 12th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Tulane University. The Philadelphia-area native signed with the club for $345,000 and made his professional debut for short-season Lowell later that summer.

What would have been Cellucci’s first full season in pro ball was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He then spent the entirety of the 2021 minor-league campaign with High-A Greenville and also pitched for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League.

After taking part in the Red Sox’ Winter Warm-Up minicamp last January, Cellucci returned to Greenville for the start of the 2022 season. The left-hander began the year in the Drive’s bullpen, but he struggled to the tune of an 11.70 ERA over nine relief appearances (10 innings pitched) out of the gate.

Three days following another tough showing against the Rome Braves at Fluor Field on May 8, Cellucci did something he had not done since pitching on Cape Cod in 2019: he started a game. On May 11, Cellucci served as an opener for Greenville and struck out four of the six batters he faced over two scoreless, no-hit frames on the road against the Asheville Tourists.

For the next month, Cellucci continued to open games for the Drive every three to four days. In 10 starts from May 11-June 12, he produced a 1.83 ERA and .141 batting average against to go along with 30 strikeouts to 14 walks across 19 2/3 total innings of work.

Though he found success in an opening role, Cellucci returned to the Greenville bullpen in mid-June. The results (such as a 7.04 ERA in his next 13 outings) were not pretty at first, but the lefty was able to settle down a bit following a five-run blowup against Rome on August 3.

Against that same Braves team four days later, Cellucci worked a scoreless seventh inning. He then proceeded to keep the opposition off the scoreboard in eight of his next 10 appearances, putting up a 1.06 ERA and .155 batting average against with 22 strikeouts to six walks over 17 innings pitched altogether.

On September 16, Cellucci earned a late-season promotion to Double-A Portland. He appeared in two games for the Sea Dogs down the stretch and did not surrender run while recording three punchouts and zero walks in 2 1/3 frames of relief.

All told, it was an up-and-down season for Cellucci. Between Greenville and Portland, he wound up posting a 4.34 ERA and 4.64 FIP with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 85:44 over 45 total appearances (10 starts) spanning 64 1/3 innings. Opponents hit .238/.374/.340 with six home runs in 290 plate appearances against him.

According to FanGraphs, 30 minor-league pitchers in the Red Sox organization accrued at least 60 innings on the mound last year. Among them, Cellucci ranked second in strikeouts per nine innings (11.89), 30th in walks per nine innings (6.16), fourth in strikeout rate (29.3 percent), 30th in walk rate (15.2 percent), 11th in batting average against, 26th in WHIP (1.55), seventh in line-drive rate (18.4 percent), ninth in groundball rate (48 percent), ninth in swinging-strike rate (13 percent), 14th in ERA, 18th in xFIP (4.61), and 20th in FIP.

Cellucci could have been added to Boston’s 40-man roster at the end of the season in order to receive protection from the Rule 5 Draft. The Red Sox, however, left Cellucci unprotected and he unsurprisingly did not get scooped up by another team on the final day of the Winter Meetings in December.

While he is not considered to be one of the top relief prospects in Boston’s farm system, Cellucci does have potential. His strikeout numbers are indicative of that, though his struggles to command the strike zone at times do lead to some concerns surrounding his long-term outlook.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Cellucci is a three-pitch pitcher who possesses a max-effort, over the top delivery. The 6-foot-4, 211-pound southpaw operates with a 91-93 mph fastball that tops out at 95 mph (and has topped out at 97 mph in the past), an 88-90 mph cutter, and an 82-88 mph slider.

Cellucci, who turns 25 in June, is projected to return to Portland for the upcoming 2023 season. He will once again be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft next winter, but will presumably look to make strides with the Sea Dogs in the meantime.

(Picture of Brendan Cellucci: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

How did Red Sox pitching prospect Juan Daniel Encarnación fare in 2022 and what can be expected from the righty this season?

In his evaluation of the Red Sox farm system, which he ranked 23rd out of 30, heading into the 2023 season, The Athletic’s Keith Law noted that Boston’s “group of pitching prospects is one of the weakest” in baseball.

“They might not have a future MLB starter anywhere on their full-season rosters,” wrote Law. “The best of those candidates all have huge reliever risk, at least.”

One under-the-radar prospect who could help change this narrative in 2023 is Juan Daniel Encarnacion, who is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 44 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 16th among pitchers in the organization.

Encarnacion, 21, spent the majority of the 2022 minor-league season with Low-A Salem before earning a promotion to High-A Greenville in August. The right-hander posted a 4.09 ERA — but much more respectable — 3.34 FIP — with 119 strikeouts to 39 walks in 24 appearances (23 starts) spanning 103 1/3 innings of work for the Red Sox.

Among the 14 Carolina League pitchers who surpassed the 100-inning mark last year, Encarnacion ranked third in strikeouts per nine innings (10.36) and strikeout rate (26.7 percent), seventh in walks per nine innings (3.40) and walk rate (8.8 percent), first in home runs per nine innings (0.26), sixth in WHIP (1.30), seventh in ERA, second in FIP, and fourth in xFIP (4.12), per FanGraphs. He also allowed the highest batting average on balls put in play (.336), which suggests he may have been unlucky at times.

Upon making the jump from Salem to Greenville in late August, Encarnacion made two starts for the Drive before the season came to a close. His first start did not go so well, as he surrendered four earned runs in five innings against the Rome Braves on September 2. One week later, though, the righty bounced back by tossing five scoreless frames and striking out seven in a 2-0 win over the Asheville Tourists at hitter-friendly Fluor Field.

All things considered, it was a solid first full season in affiliated ball for Encarnacion after he impressed at the rookie-level Florida Complex League in 2021. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier even wrote for Baseball America in November that he believed Encarnacion “already started to open eyes” in 2022.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Encarnacion originally signed with the Red Sox for $40,000 as an international free agent coming out of San Pedro de Macoris in Sept. 2018. Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, the wiry 6-foot-2, 173-pound hurler throws from a low three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of an 88-92 mph fastball that tops out at 94 mph, a 76-78 mph curveball, and an 84-86 mph changeup.

Encarnacion, who turns 22 late next month, is projected to return to return to Greenville for the start of the 2023 campaign. He can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time next winter, so he certainly could improve his standing as a prospect if he proves capable of holding his own against more advanced hitting.

(Picture of Juan Daniel Encarnacion: Gary Streiffer/Flickr)

How did Red Sox prospect Blaze Jordan fare between Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville in 2022?

Blaze Jordan may no longer be considered a teenager after celebrating his 20th birthday on Monday, but he is still one of the youngest and brightest prospects in the Red Sox farm system.

In 120 games between Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville this past season, Jordan batted .289/.363/.445 with 30 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 68 RBIs, 60 runs scored, five stolen bases, 48 walks, and 94 strikeouts over 521 total plate appearances.

The right-handed hitting infielder broke camp this spring with Salem, which is where he ended things last season. He slashed .287/.357/.446 with 29 doubles, three triples, eight homers, 57 runs driven in, 48 runs scored, four stolen bases, 37 walks, and 67 strikeouts in 95 games (415 plate appearances) with the Red Sox before earning a promotion to Greenville in early August.

While with the Drive for the remainder of the 2022 campaign, Jordan hit .301/.387/.441 with just one double, four home runs, 11 RBIs, 12 runs scored, one stolen base, 11 walks, and 27 strikeouts across 25 games spanning 106 trips to the plate.

Upon being promoted over the summer, Jordan was able to draw more walks, which in turn led to him getting on base more. He also punched out a higher clip (16.1 percent to 25.5 percent) and saw his power production curtail, so it was not necessarily the smoothest of transitions.

Still, Jordan was among the most productive hitters in the lower-minors and in the Red Sox organization this year. Of the 39 players in the system who reached the necessary number of plate appearances to qualify as a league leader, Jordan ranked seventh in strikeout rate (18.0 percent), 12th in swinging strike rate (14.0 percent), eighth in batting average, 15th in on-base percentage, 13th in slugging percentage, 11th in OPS (.808), 18th in isolated power (.156), eighth in line-drive rate (24.4 percent), and 12th in wRC+ (124), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Jordan split time between first and third base at both of his stops this season. Altogether, the burly 6-foot-2, 220-pounder logged 402 2/3 innings at first and 499 1/3 innings at the hot corner. He committed six errors at each position and unsurprisingly posted a higher fielding percentage at first (.983) than he did at third (.939).

A native of Southaven, Miss., Jordan was originally selected by the Red Sox in the third round of the 2020 amateur draft out of DeSoto Central High School. He graduated a year early after reclassifying in 2019 and was committed to play college baseball at Mississippi State. But with the help of area scout Danny Watkins, Boston was able to sway Jordan away from his commitment by offering him a lucrative $1.75 million signing bonus.

Jordan officially put pen to paper that July, but he did not make his professional debut until the following June on account of the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out the 2020 minor-league season. He has since appeared in a total of 148 games across three different levels and owns a slash line of .296/.364/.472 to go along with 18 home runs and 94 RBIs in that span.

MLB Pipeline currently ranks Jordan as the No. 9 prospect in Boston’s farm system while SoxProspects.com has him at No. 15. He still has room to grow from a developmental point-of-view on both sides of the ball, but the potential — especially when it comes to his raw power — is certainly there.

If Jordan makes it through the winter without being involved in any sort of trade, he is projected to return to Greenville for the start of the 2023 season and would seemingly have the chance to make the jump to Double-A Portland at some point next summer.

(Picture of Blaze Jordan: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

How did Red Sox outfield prospect Phillip Sikes fare in first full pro season?

Red Sox outfield prospect Phillip Sikes enjoyed a productive first full season of pro ball in 2022.

Selected by Boston in the 18th round of the 2021 amateur draft out of Texas Christian University, Sikes played strictly in the Florida Complex League last summer after signing for just $97,500 as a college senior. He broke minor-league camp this spring with Low-A Salem.

In 50 games with the Carolina League affiliate, the right-handed hitting Sikes batted .258/.390/.516 (148 wRC+) with 18 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 28 RBIs, 36 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 28 walks, and 55 strikeouts over 195 plate appearances before earning a promotion to High-A Greenville in early July.

With the Drive, Sikes’ production took a dip but he still managed a .248/.351/.446 slash line (118 wRC+) to go along with 11 doubles, one triple, six homers, 20 runs driven in, 21 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 25 walks, and 44 strikeouts across 44 games spanning 95 trips to the plate.

When taking these numbers from the second half of the season into consideration, it is worth mentioning that Sikes posted a .931 OPS in his first 17 games in Greenville before struggling to the tune of a .181/.302/.347 clip in the month of August. The 23-year-old did end his year on a solid note, though, as he went 8-for-23 (.348) in September with a pair of doubles, five walks, and five swiped bags.

All told, Sikes was one of 26 Red Sox minor-leaguers who accrued at least 350 total plate appearances this year. Among that group, he ranked sixth in walk rate (13.9 percent), fifth in on-base percentage (.371), seventh in slugging percentage (.481), fourth in OPS (.852), fifth in isolated power (.228), third in speed score (8.3), second in line-drive rate (29.5 percent), and fourth in wRC+ (132), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, saw playing time at all three outfield positions in his stints with Salem and Greenville. Between the two affiliates, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound speedster logged 136 2/3 innings in left, 315 innings in center, and 324 innings in right. He registered a total of 10 outfield assists and also displayed his arm strength on the mound by making two relief appearances in mop-up duty for the Salem Sox.

Sikes, who turns 24 in April, is not currently regarded by any major publication as one of the top prospects in Boston’s farm system. The native Texan is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Greenville for the start of the 2023 campaign. That being said, one would have to imagine an early-season promotion to Double-A Portland could be in play for Sikes next spring if he picks up where he left off for the Drive.

(Picture of Phillip Sikes: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)