Mayer bounces back after slow start at High-A
A look at system's progress
There’s been an increased focus on the Red Sox farm system.
That’s to be expected when a team is underperforming, struggling, or rebuilding at the major league level; when the present isn’t fun, turn to the future.
Marcelo Mayer is the organization’s undisputed No. 1 prospect, and MLB.com’s No. 9 prospect in the game. The 20-year-old shortstop is poised to inherit Xander Bogaerts’ throne in the not-sodistant future. He’s still adjusting to last year’s promotion to High-A Greenville.
After about a month of minor league play (Opening Day varies by level), here are some of the standouts from each Red Sox affiliate. The Florida Complex League teams will begin in June.
One of two prospects acquired from the Houston Astros in last summer’s Christian Vázquez trade, Wilyer Abreu boasts power and defensive prowess. The 24-yearold outfielder collected 15 hits in 15 April games, including three doubles and a pair of home runs, nine runs scored, and six RBI.
David Hamilton made organizational history in 2022, stealing a Double-A record 70 bases, and he’s already on his way to outdoing himself in Triple-A this season. The 25-year-old infielder stole 14 bases in 22 April games, including one on WooSox Opening Day. He can also hit; he went 24-for85 over the month, with four doubles, a triple, and a teamleading four home runs. The only question now is when he’ll get to Boston.
Bryan Mata, Chris Murphy and Brandon Walter entered the year as the trio of arms to watch in Worcester, but it was a mixed-bag month. Mata didn’t have a scoreless outing until his fifth of the season and allowed 11 earned runs over the previous four games (14.1 innings). Walter had a similar issue, allowing 2-5 earned runs in four of his five April starts, though he’s thrown the most innings of the group. Aside from one very rough 8-run, 1-inning outing, Murphy was more in control on the mound, allowing two earned runs or less in his other three starts.
Double-A: Drohan, Yorke lead surging Sea Dogs
Entering Sunday the Portland Sea Dogs boasted the best record in all of Double-A, jumping to a 16-5 start thanks to some excellent starting pitching performances, most notably from 24-year-old lefty Shane Drohan.
Coming off a strong 2022 in which he ranked No. 17 in the minors with 157 strikeouts, Drohan has emerged as one of the fastest rising pitching prospects in the organization. Through his first four starts Drohan was 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA, allowing two runs over 23 innings. He’s also struck out 26 while walking just four, and his fastball velocity has ticked up to the mid-90s after sitting more in the 88-92 mph range previously.
Sterling Sharp (2.95 ERA, 21.1 innings) and Brian Van Belle (0.95, 17.0) have been great as well, and closer Luis Guerrero (four saves) has turned heads with a fastball now touching 100 mph.
Among the position players, the most encouraging development by far has been the performance of former first-round pick Nick Yorke.
The Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, Yorke endured a rough 2022 in which he battled through multiple injuries and saw his production fall off a cliff. Yorke went from Baseball America’s preseason No. 31 overall prospect to unranked after batting .232 with an unimpressive .668 OPS at High-A Greenville, but since being promoted to Double-A he’s looked more like his old self.
This season Yorke is batting .284 with a team-high three home runs and .967 OPS. He’s once again walking nearly as often as he’s striking out (13 walks to 17 strikeouts) and on Friday he came within a single of hitting for the cycle.
It’s still early and he still has a long way to go in his development, but at least for now any concerns about Yorke potentially becoming a bust look vastly premature.
Outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston’s breakout prospect from last season, also started the season in DoubleA to continue working on his offensive approach and is so far seeing results. Rafaela is batting .303 with a .746 OPS along with 13 RBI and eight stolen bases, and his defense in center field has been show stopping as usual.
One other less known prospect to keep an eye on? Corey Rosier. Originally acquired in the Jay GroomeEric Hosmer deal, Rosier is batting .310 while leading the team with 10 stolen bases.
High-A: Mayer working back from slow start with Drive
The Greenville Drive got off to a 7-13 start, and Mayer got off to a slow-ish start of his own.
The No. 1 prospect went 9-for-37 with five walks and 11 strikeouts over his first nine games (including four hitless contests). While he found a more consistent rhythm as the month went on, going 8-for-30 over his last eight games with three doubles, eight walks, and nine strikeouts, he was somewhat lacking in the extra-base department overall: only four doubles, a triple, and one home run in April.
He struggled to hit for extra bases in High-A last season too, after being promoted from Low-A Salem, but lately has gotten going and is hitting .254 on the year overall.
Meanwhile, Blaze Jordan brought the power in April: 21 hits (including four home runs), a .852 OPS, 10 runs and 14 RBI. What the infielder didn’t bring was plate discipline; he struck out 19 times in 19 games and only drew five walks.
Nathan Hickey continued showing off his serious power potential; the 2021 draft pick’s 14 April hits included five doubles, a triple, and pair of home runs, and he walked (11) almost as much as he struck out (15). His work behind the dish leaves a lot to be desired, but there’s no rule stating he has to stay as a catcher forever; Kenley Jansen certainly didn’t.
Angel Bastardo’s high ERA is a product of small sample size, but 14 earned runs on 17 hits in four starts isn’t ideal. Still, when he’s on, he’s really on, and he struck out 26 batters across 19 innings in April.
Isaac Coffey fared significantly better. While he, too, allowed 17 hits over his four April starts, he was able to hold opposing lineups to nine earned runs. The caveat is that seven of said runs were homers. Still, he only issued two walks, and struck out 30 batters in 20.2 innings.
Low-A: Bleis making instant impact at Salem
If you aren’t already familiar with Miguel Bleis, you might want to start paying attention, because the Red Sox top international signing from 2021 has the potential to develop into a five-tool superstar.
After dominating the Florida Complex League last summer, the 19-yearold outfielder has gotten off to a strong start in his first season of affiliated baseball.
Bleis leads the Salem Red Sox with 22 hits and 12 RBI through 19 games, batting .274 with a .714 OPS and six stolen bases.
Fellow outfielder Roman Anthony, one of Boston’s top picks in last summer’s MLB Draft, has gotten off to a slower start with a .200 average, but he also has a .363 on-base percentage thanks to his walking nearly as often as he’s struck out (16 walks to 17 strikeouts).
Arguably the most productive players in Salem so far have been outfielder Juan Chacon (.821 OPS) and shortstop Luis Ravelo (.815 OPS), the latter of whom ranks as the No. 26 prospect in Boston’s system according to MLB Pipeline.
Shortstop Mikey Romero, Boston’s first-round pick from last summer, is currently on the 7-day IL with back stiffness and has yet to make his season debut in Salem.
As for the pitching, lefty reliever Nathan Landry has gotten off to a nearly perfect start. The 23-year-old has started the season with 10.1 scoreless innings in his first eight appearances, allowing only six hits and three walks along the way while striking out 11.
Dalton Rogers, a thirdround pick from last summer, has also dominated the Low-A competition so far. Through his first three starts the ex-Missouri lefty has struck out 18 batters in only 9.2 innings, good for nearly two punchouts per inning.
Triple-A: Worcester off to middling start despite standouts