Tag: prospects

Blogging the Red Sox presents: A conversation about the Florida Complex League with Ben Crockett

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to exchange emails with Red Sox senior vice president of baseball operations Ben Crockett.

Crockett, who is in the midst of his 15th season with the Red Sox organization after starting out as an intern, was promoted to his current role back in January after serving as the club’s vice president of player development the previous four years.

A native of Topsfield, Mass., Crockett was originally selected by Boston in the 10th round of the 2001 amateur draft as a right-handed pitcher out of Harvard University.

After returning to Harvard for his senior season, Crockett was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the third round of the 2002 draft and spent four seasons in their system before calling it a playing career in 2006.

In his time with the Red Sox as an executive, Crockett — now 41 — has undertaken a variety of roles that primarily revolves around player development. As the club’s senior vice president of baseball operations, Crockett “assists in all areas of baseball operations, with a focus on player development, performance, and baseball systems.”

One area in particular that Crockett assists in would be how Red Sox minor-leaguers are doing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (formerly the Gulf Coast League) down at the team’s spring training facility in Fort Myers.

To this point in the season, the Florida Complex League Red Sox are 20-11 and owners of the fourth-best record in the FCL.

Among those within Boston’s farm system who have played for the club’s FCL affiliate so far this summer include include a number of the organization’s top prospects, such as 2021 first-round draft pick Marcelo Mayer, Wilkelman Gonzalez, and Brainer Bonaci.

I made sure to ask Crockett about the Sox’ premier prospects, but I wanted to ask about some under-the-radar-type players as well. So, without further ado, here is a quote-unquote transcript of the conversation we had through email.

—

Has the loss of the New York-Penn League changed the way the organization looks at how prospects just out of college are performing in the Florida Complex League? For instance, do you take [2021 18th-round pick] Philip Sikes batting .438/.500/.625 or [2021 ninth-round pick] Tyler Miller batting .409/500/.545 thus far with a grain of salt based off the level of pitching they faced while at Texas Christian University and Auburn University?

Ben Crockett: We try not to put too much stock in small samples of performance, especially in a player’s first year with a mid-July draft, but are happy with the debuts of many guys, including those you mentioned like Miller and Sikes.

The following question has to do with the players to be named later the Red Sox acquired from the Royals and Mets in June as part of the three-team trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City back in February:

With Josh Winckowski and Grant Gambrell pitching at more advanced levels, what have you made of the way right-hander Luis De La Rosa and outfielder Freddy Valdez have acclimated to a new organization after coming over mid-season?

Crockett: Both Luis and Freddy have made positive first impressions. They’ve worked hard, been willing to communicate, and shown the positive physical qualities our scouts identified prior to acquiring them.

What makes infielder Eddinson Paulino and right-hander Wilkelman Gonzalez stand out and what did they do during the COVID shutdown last year to get off to such a strong start this season? Paulino is hitting .377/.476/.609 while Gonzalez has posted a 3.90 ERA through seven starts.

Crockett: Both have taken steps forward in 2021, taking full advantage of their time with us and during their preparation at home. We’ve been really pleased with the underlying qualities that have led to the success they’ve seen on the field.

How has the organization gone about evaluating those prospects who had lost seasons last year because of the pandemic, such as former international signee Brainer Bonaci or former 2019 25th-round draft pick Karson Simas? Both Bonaci and Simas are infielders.

Crockett: Simas has done great work physically and has matured into his body, allowing some of his actions to translate into performance on the field. He’s shown great athleticism and versatility.

Bonaci has built on a positive 2020 at the academy, and has made some positive adjustments from his time in instructs last fall. He’s controlled the zone, made good contact from both sides, and continues to improve his defense at shortstop.

Has the addition of Marcelo Mayer to the Florida Complex League roster created any buzz around the Fenway South complex? What about when 2020 third-round pick Blaze Jordan was there prior to his promotion to Salem?

Crockett: The FCL group has done a great job keeping the energy high throughout the season, transitioning well from extended spring when their game reps were limited at times. I think they are really excited to be playing well and realize they have a very talented group of players.

The following question has to do with right-handed pitching prospect Eduard Bazardo, who made his major-league debut for Boston back in April, but had been sidelined with a right lat strain since late May. The 25-year-old was sent out on a rehab assignment with the FCL Red Sox last Friday:

How goes Eduard Bazardo’s rehab and would you expect him to get any more big-league consideration before season’s end?

Crockett: His rehab is going well, getting back into games now and bouncing back well.

—

Thank you to Ben Crockett for taking time out of his busy in-season schedule to answer these questions and for also making this possible in the first place.

(Picture of Marcelo Mayer: Bryan Green/Flickr)

Red Sox outfield prospect Miguel Bleis off to hot start in Dominican Summer League: ‘He’s the real deal’

The 2021 Dominican Summer League season may only be five weeks old, but one Red Sox prospect in particular is already drawing early praise from scouts who are on hand to watch the action unfold.

Miguel Bleis, Boston’s top international signing of 2021, has gotten his first professional season off to a hot start down in the Dominican.

Through eight games with the Dominican Summer League Red Sox Red team, the 17-year-old outfielder has slashed an impressive .391/.462/.652 (205 wRC+) to go along with three doubles, one home run, four RBI, five runs scored, two walks, two strikeouts, and three stolen bases in 26 plate appearances thus far.

In addition to what he has done at the plate, Bleis has also played 50 defensive innings in center field, has recorded 14 put outs, and one outfield assist while only committing one error.

While Bleis has played in just eight of the DSL Red Sox Red’s 22 games to this point in the season, he has been able to garner positive feedback from scouts and other evaluators.

According to SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall, the consensus among scouts seems to indicate that Bleis “is the real deal.”

The Red Sox originally gave Bleis a lucrative $1.8 million signing bonus back in January, making him the highest-paid member of their 2021 international free-agent class.

Bleis, who was regarded by Baseball America as the No. 20 prospect coming into this year’s international signing period, which began on January 15, is now regarded by BA as the 20th-ranked prospect in Boston’s farm system, per their midseason organizational rankings update.

According to his Baseball America scouting report, the right-handed hitting, right-handed throwing center fielder “has a lean, lively frame that’s sleek and athletic with high physical upside. His tools have trended up over the past year as projected, with plus speed and a plus arm now. He has long, gliding strides with an easy gait, covering a lot of ground in center field with the physical projection for his arm to potentially develop into a 70-grade tool.

“Bleis has fast bat speed and his power has jumped up from a little below-average to now showing above-average raw power, driving the ball fairly easily with backspin from center field over to his pull side,” the Dominican native’s scouting report reads. “With room to put on another 25-30 pounds of good weight, there could be more power in the tank. Bleis isn’t an advanced pure hitter, but he isn’t raw either, so if he can develop into an average hitter, he has the secondary tools to be a dynamic center fielder.”

Currently listed at 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds, Bleis — who does not turn 18 until next March — hails from San Pedro de Marocis, a city on the Dominican Republic’s southeastern coast that has produced major-league stars such as Fernando Tatis Jr., Robinson Cano, Johnny Cueto, Tony Fernandez, Alfonso Soriano, and Sammy Sosa, among others.

Back in February, Red Sox executive vice president and assistant general manager Eddie Romero appeared on the SoxProspects.com Podcast with Cundall and Chris Hatfield and described Bleis as a “premium center field talent” who has “all five tools” in addition to “an absolute hose” of an arm.

“He’s got surprising power,” Romero said of Bleis. “Being so young and being able to have above-average raw power is something we don’t see often for a center field player given his body type and athleticism. So, really, what we need to hone in on with him is approach. He performed well offensively in competition for us, and he’s continued to do that in the academy.”

As Bleis looks to build off his strong start to the Dominican Summer League campaign as the summer continues, it should be noted that the young outfielder is still a ways away from netting any sort of major-league consideration.

That said, it should be interesting to see if Bleis at any point this summer earns a promotion to the Florida Complex League. If not, he will still likely receive an invite to participate in the Sox’ fall instructional league in Fort Myers later this year.

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

Red Sox have No. 9 farm system in baseball, per Baseball America

The Red Sox now have one of the more prominent farm systems in baseball, according to Baseball America.

In their latest midseason organizational talent rankings, Baseball America ranks Boston’s farm system as the ninth-best in Major League Baseball as things stand today.

Ranking behind the Mariners, Orioles, Royals, Pirates, Giants, Tigers, Rays, and Reds and ahead of the Blue Jays to round out the top 10, the Sox’ minor-league pipeline at present includes three of Baseball America’s top 100 prospects in first baseman Triston Casas (No. 20), outfielder Jarren Duran (No. 22), and shortstop Marcelo Mayer (No. 32).

“First baseman Triston Casas looks like a potential middle-of-the-order cornerstone who can hit for average and power,” BA noted of Boston’s farm system on Monday. “The addition of shortstop Marcelo Mayer with the fourth pick in the draft gave the Red Sox an immediate jolt of impact talent.”

Coming into the 2021 season, the Sox were in possession of the No. 20 farm system in baseball, which is the same exact ranking they received in the spring of 2020 as well.

What can be attributed to Boston’s rise from No. 20 to No. 9 in the span of just a little more than six months?

Well, as previously noted, selecting Mayer, who was regarded as arguably the top prep prospect going into this summer’s draft, with the fourth overall pick certainly helps.

Casas, meanwhile, made a name for himself at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, as he slashed .217/.308/.652 with a team-leading three home runs and eight RBI over six games while helping Team USA win a silver medal and being named the tournament’s best first baseman in the process of doing so.

As for Duran, the speedy outfielder came into the season as one of Boston’s more exciting prospects after what he did in spring training, then — like Casas — gained more notoriety as he helped Team USA qualify for the Olympics, but was not named to the United States’ final roster.

That being the case because the Red Sox would call up Duran from Triple-A Worcester on July 16. The 24-year-old has since hit .215/.232/.367/.599 through his first 23 games in the majors, though he is batting .282 (11-for-39) since August 3.

In addition to what Mayer, Casas, and Duran have done, the contributions from 2020 first-round pick Nick Yorke, 2017 first-round pick Tanner Houck, and international signees such as Brayan Bello, Miguel Bleis, and Wilkelman Gonzalez cannot be forgotten about, either.

All in all, as the Red Sox look to contend for an American League East title this year, they are also putting in the necessary work to ensure a promising future for the organization by bolstering an ever-improving farm system.

That is something chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has hammered home since he joined the Sox in 2019, and it appears as though his vision has netted some encouraging results less than two full years into his tenure in Boston.

(Picture of Triston Casas: KAZUHIRO FUJIHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Brandon Walter owns 0.53 ERA in last 3 starts for High-A Greenville

Of the four Red Sox pitching prospects who started for their respective affiliates on Sunday, Brandon Walter is undoubtedly the least-known of the bunch.

Going off SoxProspects.com’s most-recent top 60 rankings, Walter (No. 41) ranks ranks behind the likes of Triple-A Worcester’s Kutter Crawford (No. 27), Double-A Portland’s Brayan Bello (No. 7), and Low-A Salem’s Bradley Blalock (No. 36).

Still, of those four hurlers, Walter put together the most impressive outing in High-A Greenville’s 2-1 victory over the Rome Braves at Fluor Field on Sunday afternoon.

In what was his sixth start of the year for the Drive, the left-hander kept the Braves off the scoreboard while scattering just one hit and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over five dominating innings of work.

Walter, who turns 25 next month, opened the 2021 season with Salem and posted a miniscule 1.45 ERA over 13 appearances (two starts) spanning 31 innings of work, resulting in a promotion to Greenville in early July.

Making his Drive debut on July 6, Walter got off to a shaky start, allowing a total of 12 earned runs to cross the plate over his first three outings and 12 innings pitched with the affiliate. That’s good for an ERA of 9.00.

On July 28, however, Walter seemingly turned a corner, as he struck out a career-high 12 batters while surrendering just two unearned runs on one hit, one walk, and one hit batsman over the course of six strong frames against the Hickory Crawdads.

Since then, the 6-foot-2, 200 pound southpaw really has not looked back and has emerged as one of the sharpest starters in the High-A East as a result.

That being the case because, going back to July 28, Walter has pitched to the tune of a dazzling 0.53 ERA and 1.67 FIP while striking out more than 39% of the batters he has faced over his last three starts (17 innings).

On the 2021 campaign as a whole, the Delaware native has produced a 4.03 ERA, a 3.62 FIP, and 2.09 xFIP to go along with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 46:6 in his six starts and 29 innings of work put in with Greenville.

Among the top hurlers in the High-A East who have pitched at least 29 innings so far this season, Walter ranks fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (14.28), 16th in walks per nine innings (1.86), eighth in strikeout percentage (37.7%), 15th in walk percentage (4.9%), 29th in WHIP (1.10), 30th in FIP, and first in xFIP, per FanGraphs.

The Red Sox originally selected Walter in the 26th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. In his time with the Blue Hens, the southpaw was forced to miss the majority of the 2017 season and the entirety of the 2018 season on account of undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Walter lowered his arm slot during the COVID-19 shutdown last year, which in turn added more velocity and life to his two-seam fastball. He also works with a mid-80s changeup and a slider that has “major-league potential.”

On top of that, the 24-year-old recently drew a comparison to Rays lefty Ryan Yarbrough from FanGraphs‘ Eric Longenhagen earlier this month as well.

“Walter had a huge velo bump from 2019-21, climbing from the upper-80s into the mid-90s,” Longenhagen wrote last week. “He’s also lowered his release a little bit, and works largely off a two-seamer (he can occasionally climb the ladder, living off angle) and changeup, as well as a tertiary slider that has more lateral movement now than it did in 2019 (probably due to the release change). He has an atypical delivery for a starter but definitely has a backend starter’s repertoire and command. In many ways, he’s similar to Ryan Yarbrough. I have Walter projected in a multi-inning relief role.”

Given how well he has performed in Greenville as of late, one has to wonder if Walter could be on the fast track to yet another promotion to Portland in the not so distant future — especially if the Red Sox project him to be more of a multi-inning reliever as Longenhagen suggests.

Regardless of that, though, Walter is lined up to make his next start for the Drive sometime next weekend during their series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays affiliate) in Southern Kentucky.

(Picture of Brandon Walter: Bryan Green)

Red Sox top prospect Nick Yorke extends hitting streak to 18 games with first career multi-homer performance for Low-A Salem

Yairo Munoz is not the only minor-leaguer in the Red Sox organization putting together an impressive hitting streak at the moment.

While Munoz has now recorded at least one hit in a record-setting 30 straight games with a 1-for-4 showing for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, top Red Sox prospect Nick Yorke extended his hitting streak to 18 consecutive games for Low-A Salem.

Starting at second base and batting leadoff for the Salem Red Sox as he typically does in Sunday’s series finale against the Lynchburg Hillcats at Haley Toyota Field, Yorke took the pressure off himself right away by ripping a leadoff single off right-hander Josh Wolf to begin things in the first inning.

After being stranded at first in the first, Yorke came up to the plate again with one out in the bottom of the third inning and things knotted at one run apiece.

Matched up against newly-inserted reliever Randy Labaut, Yorke — moments after his manager Luke Montz had been ejected from the game — drilled a solo home run to left-center field on the fourth pitch he saw to put his side up 2-1.

Fast forward all the way to the eighth, after the Hillcats and Red Sox had exchanged blows and were deadlocked in a 4-4 stalemate, Yorke delivered in the clutch big time, and he did so while leading off the inning.

On the seventh and final pitch he saw from righty Jacob Forrester, the right-handed hitter tattooed a towering, go-ahead homer over everything in left field to give Salem the lead again at 5-4.

Yorke’s sixth big fly of the season proved to be the game-winner for Salem, as they held on to take Sunday’s series finale over Lynchburg by that narrow one-run margin.

In completing the first multi-homer game of his young career, Yorke finished the day having gone 3-for-3 at the plate with those two home runs, two RBI, two runs scored, one walk, and one stolen base while lengthening his eye-catching hitting streak to a modest 18 games.

Dating back to July 15, when his streak began, the 19-year-old has posted a gaudy .366/.459/.592 (180 wRC+) slash line to go along with three doubles, two triples, three home runs, 13 RBI, 15 runs scored, nine walks, six strikeouts, and two stolen bases over his last 18 games and 85 trips to the plate.

On the 2021 campaign — his first full professional season — as a whole, the 2020 first-round pick has batted .312/.405/.456 (138 wRC+) in addition to hitting 12 doubles, three triples, and six home runs while collecting 34 RBI, scoring 44 runs, walking 34 times, striking out 43 times, and swiping 11 bags over 65 total games (294 plate appearances) with Salem.

Among the top hitters in the Low-A East to date, Yorke ranks seventh in hits (78), 22nd in runs scored, 28th in RBI, second in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage, 14th in slugging percentage, ninth in OPS (.861), seventh in weighted on-base average (.398), and seventh in wRC+, per FanGraphs.

For Yorke, the recent run of success he has enjoyed over the last three weeks or so comes after his inaugural season as a pro got off to a rough start.

After receiving in invite to major-league spring training and breaking minor-league camp with the Salem Sox, the California native hit a measly .195/.264/.220 in the month of May.

Since the calendar flipped to June, however, Yorke flipped the switch offensively and has batted a whopping .369/.471/.571 dating back to June 1.

Yorke, who does not turn 20 until next April, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 8 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking fifth among position players in the organization.

Given how well the 6-foot, 200 pound infielder has performed with Salem as of late, one has to wonder how much longer it will be until the Red Sox feel as though Yorke is ready for a promotion to High-A Greenville.

That being said, Cameron Cannon, who has been regularly patrolling second base for the Drive this season, was promoted to Double-A Portland on Monday morning, so that seemingly opens up a spot for Yorke to take over at second base with Greenville. We will have to wait and see on that.

(Picture of Nick Yorke: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox promote power-hitting prospect Blaze Jordan to Low-A Salem

The Red Sox have promoted infield prospect Blaze Jordan to Low-A Salem, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Jordan, 18, began the 2021 minor-league season with the rookie-level Red Sox of the Florida Gulf Coast League and got off to a sizzling start, slashing an impressive .362/.408/.667 (169 wRC+) to go along with seven doubles, one triple, four home runs, 19 RBI, 12 runs scored, one stolen base, six walks, and 13 strikeouts over 19 games and 76 plate appearances.

In his final seven games with the FCL Red Sox, Jordan posted an absurd 2.000 OPS, so it appears he was ready for a new challenge.

Boston originally selected the right-handed hitting infielder with its third-round pick (89th overall) in last year’s amateur draft out of DeSoto Central High School (Miss.)

At that time, Jordan — a native of Southaven, Miss. who reclassified in order to graduate a year early — was committed to play college baseball at nearby Mississippi State University, but the Red Sox were able to sign him for $1.75 million.

Known for his raw power going back to his high school days, Jordan was unable to showcase his skills out of the gate with the 2020 minor-league season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though he did participate in the Sox’ fall instructional league and has since carried that over thus far in 2021.

Jordan, who does not turn 19 until late December, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 13 prospect in Boston’s farm system. Per his Baseball America scouting report, the young infielder ” generates his tremendous power with size and a well-synced kinetic chain that seems to transfer every drop of his frame into contact.”

In the 19 games he played with the FCL Red Sox, Jordan — listed at 6-foot-2 and 215 pound — saw the majority of his playing time come at third base with a little bit of first base mixed in there as well.

It’s unclear at the moment which position Jordan will occupy more while with Salem, but he will undoubtedly become teammates and share the same infield with fellow 2020 draftee Nick Yorke, whom the Sox selected in the first round.

(Picture of Blaze Jordan: Jason Miller/Getty Images

Red Sox catching prospect Ronaldo Hernández has been red-hot at the plate for Double-A Portland

After a torrid month of July, Red Sox catching prospect Ronaldo Hernandez got his August off to a solid start for Double-A Portland on Sunday.

Though the Sea Dogs ultimately fell to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats by a final score of 7-6 at Hadlock Field, Hernandez certainly did his part to prevent that from happening.

Starting at designated hitter and batting out of the six-hole, the 23-year-old went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and two runs scored on the afternoon.

The tw0-run homer, which came off Fisher Cats reliever Graham Spraker, was Hernandez’s 11th big fly of the year and it cut Portland’s deficit down to two runs at 7-5. Tanner Nishikoa followed with a solo shot of his own to make it a one-run game, but New Hampshire was ultimately able to hold and take the series finale in a close contest.

Hernandez’s two-hit outing raised his batting line on the season to a respectable .252/.296/.467 (103 wRC+) to go along with 12 doubles, 11 home runs, 25 RBI, 24 runs scored, eight strikeouts across 59 games (223 plate appearances) on the year.

The Red Sox originally acquired Hernandez — as well as infield prospect Nick Sogard — from the Rays back in February in exchange for relievers Chris Mazza and Jeffrey Springs as well as cash considerations.

Hernandez, who does not turn 24 until November, signed with Tampa Bay for $225,000 as an international free agent out of Colombia during the 2014 signing period.

After five years in the organization, the Rays added Hernandez to their 40-man roster in November 2019 in order to protect him from that winter’s Rule 5 Draft, though he did not play another game in their system after that (but spent time on the club’s taxi squad and postseason player pool) with the 2020 minor-league season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since he was a member of Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster at the time of the four-player trade from this past February, Hernandez immediately joined Boston’s 40-man roster and received an invite to major-league spring training as a result.

The right-handed hitting backstop was optioned to the Sox’ alternate training site in early March and later began the 2021 minor-league campaign with Portland.

Through his first several weeks as a member of the Sea Dogs, Hernandez — for the most part struggled — as he hit just .210/.248/.384 (67 wRC+) over 138 trips to the plate from the beginning of May until the end of June.

As soon as the calendar flipped to July, however, Hernandez seemed to turn a corner offensively, and it started with a three-hit performance against the Fisher Cats in Manchester on July 4.

Over the next four weeks, Hernandez simply lit it up at the plate. In five games between the Reading Fightin Phils from July 13-18, he amassed a total of eight hits while boasting an OPS of 1.318 thanks to putting together three multi-hit outings.

By the time the month of July came to a close over the weekend, not only had Hernandez not been traded, but he also posted a stellar .324/.378/.588 slash line (158 wRC+) in addition to clubbing four homers, driving in 13 runs, and scoring 11 of his own over his last 22 games and 68 plate appearances dating back to July 1.

Among Double-A Northeast catchers with at least 50 at-bats over the course of July, Hernandez ranked first in batting average, first in on-base percentage, first in slugging percentage, first in OPS, tied-first in hits (22), second in doubles (6), tied-second in home runs, and second in RBI.

On the other side of the ball, it appears as though Hernandez still has room to develop when it comes to what he does defensively. So far this season, the 6-foot-1, 237 pound backstop has committed six errors while allowing 10 passed balls to elude him while behind the plate. He has also thrown out 13 of 49 (26.5%) runners attempting to steal off him.

Per his Baseball America scouting report, “Hernandez has a plus arm behind the plate and moves well for a big catcher, but his receiving is fringe-average and needs to continue to improve.”

Regarded by Baseball America as the No. 13 prospect in Boston’s farm system — which ranks tops among catchers in the system, Hernandez is currently one of four backstops on the Sox’ 40-man roster alongside veterans like Christian Vazquez and Kevin Plawecki and fellow prospect Connor Wong.

Given his standing on the Red Sox’ 40-man roster, one has to wonder if Hernandez could be in line for a promotion to Triple-A Worcester before season’s end if he continues to produce at a consistent level.

Not only would promoting Hernandez to the WooSox give the Red Sox a chance to evaluate how the young backstop adjusts to a new level of competition and new pitching staff, it would also grant them the opportunity to see if Hernandez is worthy of his 40-man spot, or if it would be better suited for another prospect in need of protection from December’s Rule 5 Draft.

(Picture of Ronaldo Hernandez: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox prospect Devlin Granberg lighting it up at the plate since promotion to Double-A Portland

Chris Sale understandably stole the headlines in Portland on Sunday afternoon, but it was Devlin Granberg who ultimately played the hero for the Sea Dogs in their 6-5 walk-off victory over the Harrisburg Senators at Hadlock Field.

As part of a 3-for-5 day at the plate, Granberg reached base on a fielding error in the third inning and ultimately came into score on a two-run home run off the bat of Tyreque Reed, laced an RBI single in the fifth that at the time gave the Sea Dogs a 5-3 lead, and came through with the hit of the game in the bottom of the 10th.

There, with no outs and the automatic runner at second base to begin each extra inning in a 5-5 contest, Granberg wasted no time in sending that runner home.

Matched up against Senators reliever Jhon Romero, the right-handed hitter ripped the game-winning single to right-center field that drove in Pedro Castellanos and sealed a 6-5 win for the Sea Dogs to mark their third straight walk-off victory.

In racking up three more hits on Sunday, Granberg bumped his batting line on the season with Portland up to an impressive .345/.363/.564.

Granberg, 25, was originally selected by the Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2018 amateur draft as a senior out of Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas.

The 6-foot-2, 225 pound first baseman/outfielder opened the 2021 minor-league season with High-A Greenville and tore the cover off the ball, slashing .326/.416/.642 (178 wRC+) to go along with seven doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 21 runs scored, 29 RBI, one stolen base, 12 walks, and 16 strikeouts over 27 games (113 plate appearances) for the Drive before earning a promotion to Double-A Portland on June 16.

Sunday marked Granberg’s 28th game with the Sea Dogs, and the level of production the soon-to-be 26-year-old put up while in Greenville has hardly dropped off at all since he moved up the minor-league ladder.

As previously mentioned, the Hudson, Colo. native is now hitting .345/.363/.564 with seven doubles, one triple, five homers, 21 runs scored, 22 RBI, three stolen bases, three walks, and 22 strikeouts as a member of the Sea Dogs. In the month of July alone, he has posted a slash line of .370/.395/.616 and has hit four of his five home runs within the last 25 days.

To put it simply, Granberg is enjoying a breakout season of sorts in his second full year of pro ball. He may not be regarded as one of the top 30 or so prospects in Boston’s farm system, but he has caught the attention of some within the industry, such as FanGraphs‘ David Laurila.

In a conversation with Laurila earlier this month, Granberg delved into several aspects of his approach at the plate, including his unique swing that SoxProspects.com describes as short and compact as well as very direct to the ball.

“I’ve got one of the more interesting swings out there,” Granberg said. “It’s not very conventional. I would say it’s pretty rotational, yet not totally rotational. It’s kind of like those combo swings — not too crouched, maybe a little bit open, and then I stride into it. I’m trying to hit the ball middle/opposite field most of the time.”

Granberg, who turns 26 in early September, can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career this winter if he is not added to the Red Sox’ 40-man roster by the November 20 deadline.

(Picture of Devlin Granberg: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox pitching prospect Kutter Crawford putting together impressive season with Double-A Portland

Red Sox pitching prospect Kutter Crawford’s impressive 2021 season continued on Wednesday night.

Making his 10th start of the year for Double-A Portland, Crawford surrendered just two earned runs on seven hits and zero walks to go along with nine strikeouts over six quality innings of work against the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals affiliate) at Hadlock Field.

In putting together that strong of a performance, Crawford led the Sea Dogs to an 11-6 victory over the Senators, which extended their winning streak to 15 consecutive games.

Crawford, 25, now owns an ERA of 3.30, a FIP of 3.10, and an xFIP of 2.48 through 10 outings (46 1/3 innings pitched) with Portland so far this season. He missed most of June on the COVID-19 injured list, but in those 46 1/3 innings of work, the right-hander has walked a grand total of five batters while striking out 64 of them.

Among starters in the Double-A Northeast who have pitched at least 40 innings this year, Crawford came into play Thursday ranking fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.43), first in walks per nine innings (0.97), second in strikeout percentage (37.2%), first in walk percentage (2.9%), seventh in batting average against (.198), and first in WHIP (0.82), per FanGraphs.

The Red Sox originally selected the 6-foot-1, 192 pound hurler in the 16th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of Florida Gulf Coast University, the same school Chris Sale attended.

In October 2019, Crawford underwent Tommy John surgery after experiencing discomfort in his throwing elbow throughout the season. He also had bone spurs removed from that very same elbow the following summer.

Since then, the Florida native has clearly returned to form to the point where he has been thoroughly impressive in Portland and could very well be on the verge of earning a promotion to Triple-A Worcester sooner rather than later if he keeps it up.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Crawford — who operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a fastball, cutter, curveball, and changeup — “projects as a future reliever due to overall lack of pure stuff and high-stress delivery.”

He is currently regarded by SoxProspects as the 52-ranked prospect in Boston’s farm system.

One other thing to keep in mind is that Crawford can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career this winter if he is not added to the Red Sox’ 40-man roster by the November 20 deadline.

(Picture of Kutter Crawford: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox prospects in the Futures Game: How did Brayan Bello, Jeter Downs fare in showcase?

While the Red Sox were in the process of falling to the Phillies by a final score of 5-4 at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon, two of the brightest prospects in Boston’s farm system were showcasing their talent nearly 2,000 miles away at Coors Field in Denver.

Infielder Jeter Downs and right-hander Brayan Bello both represented the Red Sox while playing for the American League in Sunday’s All-Star Futures Game, and both prospects were able to get into the game.

Bello, who is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 9 pitching prospect in the Red Sox farm system, came on in relief of Rangers prospect Cole Ragans with one out in the bottom of third inning.

Inheriting a situation in which the American League was already trailing 3-0 and the National League had a runner on first base, Bello’s first pitch — a 97.7 mph fastball — was sent flying off the bat of Cardinals prospect Nolan Gorman, who reached second base on a hard-hit double before advancing to third on a wild pitch.

With that potential run just 90 feet away from scoring, Bello proceeded to give up a sacrifice fly to Padres catcher Luis Campusano that plated Gorman, but then rebounded by getting the Braves’ Michael Harris to line out to second to put an end to an inning as well as his outing.

Of the 11 pitches the 22-year-old hurler threw on Sunday, seven went for strikes, though he only induced one swing-and-miss, which came on an 0-0 changeup to Campusano.

Besides that, Bello averaged 97.9 mph with the four four-seam fastballs he threw while topping out at 98.1 mph with his well-regarded heater. He also threw five sliders and three changeups in total.

Bello, who originally signed with the Sox out of the Dominican Republic for $28,000 back in 2017, is enjoying a breakout season in 2021.

Opening the year with High-A Greenville, the 6-foot-1, 170 pound righty went 5-0 while posting a 2.27 ERA and 2.62 xFIP with 45 strikeouts to just seven walks over six starts spanning 31 2/3 innings of work before earning a promotion to Double-A Portland on June 8.

Since then, Bello has produced an ERA of 3.06 and xFIP of 3.81 to go along with 22 strikeouts and eight walks in five starts (17 2/3 innings pitched) with the Sea Dogs.

Downs, meanwhile, came off the bench in the fifth inning of Sunday’s seven-inning exhibition, as he took over at second base for Rays prospect Xavier Edwards.

Facing off against Nationals 2020 first-round pick Cade Cavalli in his first trip to the plate, Downs was bombarded by a barrage of high-octane fastballs that ranged between 98.4 mph and 100.4 mph.

The talented right-handed hitter was able foul off five of the first seven pitches he saw from Cavalli, but ultimately went down swinging on a 2-2, 91 mph changeup in the dirt that caught him off-balance.

In the seventh inning, however, Downs bounced back against Brewers left-hander Ethan Small.

With one out and runners on first and second, Downs took an 0-1, 92 mph fastball up and on the inner half of the plate and ripped a two-run double to deep left field that left his bat at a scorching 107.7 mph, making it the fourth hardest-hit ball of the day between both sides.

Downs was responsible for two of the three runs the American League scored, as the National League went on to take the showcase by a final score of 8-3.

The soon-to-be 23-year-old — one of three players acquired from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts/David Price trade — is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s farm system and trails only fellow infielder Triston Casas for the top spot.

2021 has marked Downs’ first exposure to the Triple-A level, and the first half of the minor-league season has proven to be an adjustment period for the native of Colombia.

Through 44 games (188 plate appearances) with Triple-A Worcester this year, Downs is boasting a .234/.309/.377 slash line (83 wRC+) to go along with three doubles, seven home runs, 17 RBI, 22 runs scored, 17 walks, and 55 strikeouts.

That said, Downs will look to get back on track after a decent showing in Denver, as the WooSox open up a seven-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Polar Park on Tuesday night.

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)