Tag: greenville drive

Red Sox demote struggling prospect Brandon Howlett to High-A Greenville

In order to make room for the recently-promoted Ceddanne Rafaela on Double-A Portland’s roster, the Red Sox have demoted infield prospect Brandon Howlett to High-A Greenville, per the team’s minor-league transactions log.

Howlett, 22, has struggled with the Sea Dogs this season. Coming into play on Tuesday, the right-handed hitter was batting just .167/.278/.205 (44 wRC+) with one double, one triple, no home runs, four RBIs, five runs scored, 11 walks, and 42 strikeouts over 27 games (90 plate appearances) for Portland.

Defensively, the 6-foot-1, 205 pounder has unsurprisingly seen the majority of his playing time this year come at third base, though he has also made 10 appearances and logged 70 2/3 innings in right field for the first time in his professional career.

Originally selected by the Red Sox in the 21st round of the 2018 amateur draft out of George Jenkins High School in Lakeland, Fla., Howlett forwent his commitment to Florida State University to sign with Boston for $185,000.

Once regarded by Baseball America as the No. 14 (2019) and No. 20 (2020) prospect in the Sox’ farm system, Howlett will now return to Greenville, where he enjoyed a moderate amount of success last season — particularly in the second half.

In September, for instance, Howlett slashed a stout .289/.373/.533 (140 wRC+) with two home runs and six RBIs over his final 12 games of the year with the Drive.

There is no doubt that Howlett, who turns 23 this September, will look to regain that kind of form and work his way back up to Portland at some point this summer.

(Picture of Brandon Howlett: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox promote versatile prospect Ceddanne Rafaela to Double-A Portland

The Red Sox are promoting versatile prospect Ceddanne Rafaela from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, as confirmed by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield.

Rafaela, 21, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 22 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The right-handed hitter began the 2022 season in Greenville and batted a stout .330/.368/.589 with 16 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 36 RBIs, 37 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, 10 walks, and 15 strikeouts over 45 games (209 plate appearances) with the Drive.

Among qualified South Atlantic League hitters, Rafaela ranks first in batting average, 23rd in on-base percentage, second in slugging percentage, second in OPS (.957), fourth in isolated power (.259), and ninth in stolen bases, per MiLB.com’s leaderboards.

On May 17, Rafaela became the first player in Drive history to hit for the natural cycle, as he went 4-for-5 with a first-inning single, third-inning double, seventh-inning triple, and eighth-inning home run in an 11-6 win over the Hickory Crawdads at Fluor Field.

Originally signed for just $10,000 as an international free agent coming out of Curacao in July 2017, Rafaela began to open eyes with Low-A Salem last year because of his defense. After playing six different positions (second base, third base, shortstop, left, right, and center field) in 2021, the Willemstad native was named the Red Sox’ Minor League Defensive Player of the Year in September.

So far this season, Rafaela has gotten playing time at second base, shortstop, and center field. To be exact, the 5-foot-8, 150 pounder has logged 270 1/3 innings in center while impressing the Red Sox with his defensive ability there, according to The Athletic’s Chad Jennings.

Rafaela, who turns 22 in September, will join the Sea Dogs before they open a six-game series against the Hartford Yard Goats at Hadlock Field on Tuesday night.

That the Red Sox are promoting Rafaela has deeper meaning when you consider the fact that he can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft in December. By allowing him to face stiffer competition in Portland, Boston gets the chance to further evaluate Rafaela before deciding if he will be added to the 40-man roster by the deadline in late November.

(Picture of Ceddanne Rafaela: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

Red Sox top prospect Nick Yorke placed on High-A Greenville’s injured list due to turf toe

Red Sox top prospect Nick Yorke has landed on High-A Greenville’s 7-day injured list due to turf toe, as first reported by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Yorke had been held out of Greenville’s lineup since May 26. According to SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, the Drive are hopeful the 20-year-old infielder will just be out for the rest of the week.

The 17th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif, Yorke is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 3 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 33 prospect in all of baseball.

After breaking out in 2021 by being named the Sox’ Minor League Offensive Player of the Year, Yorke has not been his usual self at the plate this season. Prior to getting hurt, the right-handed hitter was batting .245/.319/.361 (87 wRC+) with five doubles, four home runs, 18 RBIs, 25 runs scored, five stolen bases, 16 walks, and 32 strikeouts over 34 games (163 plate appearances) with the Drive.

Defensively, Yorke has unsurprisingly seen all his playing time on the field come at second base. The 6-foot, 200 pounder has logged 263 innings at his primary position and has yet to commit an error there.

(Picture of Nick Yorke: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela hits for natural cycle in Greenville

Versatile Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela hit for the cycle in High-A Greenville’s 11-6 win over the Hickory Crawdads at Fluor Field on Tuesday night.

Batting third and starting in center field for the Drive, Rafaela went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, three runs scored, and one strikeout. The right-handed hitter singled in the first inning, doubled in the third inning, struck out in the fifth inning, showed off his speed while tripling in the seventh inning, and crushed his eighth home run of the season to cap off the natural cycle in the bottom of the eighth.

Following Tuesday’s performance, Rafaela became the first player in Drive franchise history to hit for the cycle. He is now batting .312/.353/.567 with 10 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 26 runs driven in, 28 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, seven walks, and 34 strikeouts across 32 games (150 plate appearances) for Greenville this season.

Rafaela, 21, was originally signed by the Red Sox for just $10,000 as an international free agent coming out of Curacao in June 2018. The Willemstad native is coming off a 2021 campaign in which he was named the organization’s Minor League Defensive Player of the Year.

So far this year, Rafaela has seen playing time at center field, second base, and shortstop. The 5-foot-8, 152 pounder has already logged 184 innings in center (his primary position), 60 innings at shortstop, and nine innings at second.

Because of his ability to play all over the diamond, Rafaela was identified by Baseball America as the top defensive outfielder in Boston’s farm system before the start of the season. He is currently regarded by Baseball America as the Sox’ 22nd-ranked prospect.

Considering the amount of success he has enjoyed in Greenville thus far, it seems likely that Rafaela — who turns 22 in September — could earn a promotion to Double-A Portland before long.

That Rafaela could advance a level this season is relevant when you consider the fact he can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this December. The Red Sox would need to add him to their 40-man roster by the November deadline if they would like to prevent that from happening.

(Picture of Ceddanne Rafaela: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

Red Sox shortstop prospect Matthew Lugo is thriving with High-A Greenville

Before the minor-league season began, The Athletic’s Keith Law identified Matthew Lugo as a potential sleeper prospect within the Red Sox farm system. A little more than five weeks into the 2022 campaign, Lugo has shown why he is worthy of more recognition.

In High-A Greenville’s 6-3 loss to the Asheville Tourists at McCormick Field on Tuesday, one day after celebrating his 21st birthday, Lugo went 1-for-4 with his lone hit being an eighth-inning two-run home run.

Through 24 games with the Drives this season, the right-handed hitting shortstop has batted a stout .333/.385/.576 with eight doubles, three triples, four home runs, 19 RBIs, 16 runs scored, five stolen bases, six walks, and 17 strikeouts over 109 plate appearances.

Among qualified South Atlantic League hitters, Lugo ranks eighth in strikeout percentage (15.6%), fifth in batting average, 20th in on-base percentage, seventh in slugging percentage, eighth in OPS (.961), 14th in isolated power (.242), 20th in speed score (7.6), and seventh in wRC+ (155), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, the 6-foot-1, 185 pounder has seen all his playing time on the field this year come at shortstop. He has logged 203 1/3 innings at the position thus far and has committed six errors while turning five double plays.

The nephew of former big-leaguer Carlos Beltran, Lugo was originally selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. The Barceloneta native signed with the club for $1.1 million and made his professional debut in the Gulf Coast League.

As things stand now, Lugo is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 14 prospect in Boston’s farm system. And, as noted in the above tweet, it certainly seems as though the 21-year-old will earn a promotion to Double-A Portland sooner rather than later.

(Picture of Matthew Lugo: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

Red Sox relief prospect Jacob Webb has struck out 24 of the first 56 batters he has faced with Low-A Salem this season

Red Sox relief prospect Jacob Webb picked up his second save of the season in Low-A Salem’s 1-0 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds on Tuesday afternoon.

Getting the call for the ninth inning, Webb needed just nine pitches — seven of which were strikes — to retire the side in order while also recording two punchouts.

Through 10 relief appearances for Salem this year, the right-hander has posted a 2.84 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and .191/.321/.234 slash line against to go along with 24 strikeouts to eight walks over 12 2/3 innings of work. In other words, he has struck out nearly 43% of the batters he has faced thus far, but is doing so while issuing walks at a 14.3% clip.

Webb, 23, was taken by the Red Sox in the 14th round of last year’s amateur draft out of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The Dayton-area native signed with Boston for $122,500 and made his professional debut in the Florida Complex League that August.

After just two outings in the FCL, Webb earned a promotion to Salem and has since produced a 1.99 ERA in 16 cumulative appearances (22 2/3 innings pitched) for the Sox’ Low-A affiliate.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Webb is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 56 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 24th among pitchers in the organization. Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, the righty throws from a low three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 92-94 mph fastball, an 81-85 mph slider, and a rarely-used changeup.

If Webb, who does not turn 24 until next March, can continue to string together impressive outings out of the bullpen for Salem, then another promotion to High-A Greenville at some point this summer would certainly seem to be within his grasp.

(Picture of Jacob Webb: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan tosses 5 scoreless innings in latest start for High-A Greenville

Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan put together one of his best starts of the season for High-A Greenville in their series finale against the Rome Braves on Sunday.

Over five innings of work at Fluor Field, Drohan did not allow a run while scattering just three hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts on the afternoon. The left-hander retired 14 of the 18 batters he faced, induced three groundouts to three flyouts, and finished with a final pitch count of 73 (47 strikes). He also improved to 2-2 as the Drive ultimately defeated the Braves by a final score of 10-3.

Through six starts for Greenville this season, Drohan has posted a 4.45 ERA and 4.08 FIP with 34 strikeouts to 11 walks across 30 1/3 innings pitched. Among qualified pitchers in the South Atlantic League, the 23-year-old ranks first in innings pitched, second in strikeouts, 15th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.09), 18th in walks per nine innings (3.26), 17th in strikeout rate (26.6%), 17th in walk rate (8.6%), sixth in swinging strike rate (16.4%), 18th in batting average against (.241), 18th in WHIP (1.29), 18th in ERA, 12th in FIP, and 14th in xFIP (4.19), per FanGraphs.

The Red Sox originally selected Drohan in the fifth round of the pandemic-shortened 2020 amateur draft out of Florida State University and signed the former Seminole for $600,000 later that summer.

A native of Florida himself, Drohan was first drafted by the Phillies in 2017 out of Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach. He did not sign with Philadelphia, though, and instead spent three years on campus in Tallahassee before going pro in 2020.

After debuting with and spending the entirety of the 2021 season with Low-A Salem, Drohan is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 49 prospect in Boston’s farm system — which ranks 21st among pitchers in the organization — one month into the 2022 campaign.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Drohan possesses a repeatable delivery and throws from a three-quarters arm slot. The 6-foot-3, 195 pound southpaw operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of an 88-92 mph fastball, a 75-78 mph curveball, and a 78-81 mph changeup.

Drohan, who turned 23 in Janurary, could find his way to Double-A Portland before season’s end. As things stand now, the Sea Dogs have several starters (like Brayan Bello, Jay Groome, and Brandon Walter) who will likely be promoted to Triple-A Worcester at some point this summer.

With that, Portland could have opening in its starting rotation before long and Drohan would certainly be a candidate to take one of those spots when the time comes.

(GIF of Shane Drohan via the Greenville Drive)

Who is Joey Stock? Red Sox pitching prospect has posted 2.20 ERA in first 7 appearances with Low-A Salem this season

Not including Juan Daniel Encarnacion, Red Sox pitching prospect Joey Stock currently leads Low-A Salem in innings pitched a little less than four weeks into the minor-league season.

In seven appearances (one start) for Salem so far this year, the right-hander has posted a 2.20 ERA and 3.80 xFIP to go along with 19 strikeouts to seven walks over 16 1/3 innings of work.

Among Carolina League pitchers who have accrued at least 10 innings on the mound to this point in 2022, Stock ranks 23rd in batting average against (.161), 22nd in WHIP (0.98), 29th in ERA, and 40th in xFIP, per FanGraphs.

Stock, 24, originally signed with the Red Sox as an undrafted free agent coming out of Division III Saint John’s University (Collegeville, Minn.) in August 2020. The Cold Spring native was slated to attend Division I University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to pursue his master’s degree beginning in the fall, but instead opted to go pro then and there.

After being used as a two-way player in college, Stock transitioned strictly to the mound with Boston. He made his organizational debut in the rookie-level Florida Complex League last summer before being promoted to Salem in mid-August.

Since that time, Stock has produced a 2.15 ERA and 4.01 FIP with 34 punchouts and 13 walks across 16 outings (29 1/3 innings) at the Low-A level. The 6-foot-5, 210 pound hurler has yielded such results while working with a 91-93 mph fastball that can reportedly reach 96 mph, a 79-81 mph curveball, and an 80-81 mph changeup, according to his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Stock, who turns 25 in September, is older for his level and seems to be taking advantage of that by pitching well for Salem. Because of this, one has to wonder if the righty could be on the verge of a new challenge in the form of a promotion to High-A Greenville sooner rather than later.

(Picture of Joey Stock: Bryan Green/Flickr)

Red Sox outfield prospect Tyler Esplin set to make Double-A debut for Portland Sea Dogs

Red Sox outfield prospect Tyler Esplin will make his Double-A debut for the Portland Sea Dogs on Wednesday night when they go up against the Somerset Patriots (Yankees affiliate) at TD Bank Ballpark in New Jersey.

Esplin, who will bat eighth and start in right field for Portland, was promoted from High-A Greenville on Tuesday after the Sea Dogs placed fellow outfielder Wil Dalton on the 7-day injured list.

In his first eight games of the 2022 season with Greenville, where he spent the entirety of the 2021 campaign, the left-handed hitting Esplin batted .323/.400/.581 (158 wRC+) with four doubles, two triples, seven runs scored, four walks, and 11 strikeouts over 35 trips to the plate.

Defensively, the 6-foot-3, 230 pounder has played all over the outfield with the Drive while logging 17 innings in left, nine innings in center, and 45 innings in right. He has committed one error and registered one outfield assist thus far.

Esplin, 22, was selected by the Red Sox in the seventh round of the 2017 amateur draft out of the esteemed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Boston swayed the Illinois native away from his commitment to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte by signing him for $250,000.

Once regarded by Baseball America as a top-30 prospect within Boston’s farm system on two separate occasions (2018, 2020), Esplin — who turns 23 in July — is a lifetime .235/.316/.347 at four different minor-league levels since making his professional debut in July 2017. He has 12 career home runs and 16 career stolen bases under his belt.

(Picture of Tyler Esplin: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox prospect Nick Northcut has hit 6 home runs in first 13 games for High-A Greenville

Alongside fellow Greenville Drive teammates Alex Binelas and Ceddanne Rafaela, Red Sox prospect Nick Northcut currently leads the South Atlantic League in home runs with six of them on the young season.

Northcut hit two solo homers as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate in High-A Greenville’s 10-6 loss to the Hickory Crawdads (Rangers affiliate) at L.P. Frans Stadium on Tuesday night.

Nearly three weeks into the 2022 minor-league season, the right-handed hitter finds himself batting .264/.328/.642 with two doubles, those six homers, 12 RBIs, seven runs scored, three walks, and 17 strikeouts over 13 games spanning 58 plate appearances.

Among qualified hitters in the South Atlantic League, Northcut ranks fourth in slugging percentage, 15th in OPS (.969), second in isolated power (.377), and 17th in wRC+ (148), per FanGraphs. Power is clearly a big part of the 22-year-old’s game, though his 5.2% walk rate and 29.3% strikeout rate are not nearly as encouraging.

Defensively, Northcut has seen playing time at both corner infield positions for the Drive so far this year. The 6-foot-1, 205 pounder has logged 70 innings at first base and 44 innings at the hot corner while committing a total of two errors.

A native of Mason, Ohio, Northcut was a highly-touted prospect coming out of William Mason High School when the Red Sox selected him in the 11th round of the 2018 amateur draft. He was committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University, but signed with Boston for an over-slot deal of $565,000. Since then, he has clubbed 26 home runs in 210 professional games and his raw power is probably his top carrying tool.

Northcut, who turns 23 in June, is not regarded by any major publication as one of the top prospects in the Red Sox’ farm system. He can, however, become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time this winter and is certainly making an early case for a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster come late November.

(Picture of Nick Northcut: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox)