Monday, May 24, 2021

Off-Day News: Down On The Farm 2 (5/24/21)

Last Monday we took a look at the prospects on the Worcester Red Sox that are one step away from Major League Baseball. Today we go down a level to Portland, Maine to see how the AA Portland Sea Dogs are doing. For those that don't know, the Sea Dogs play at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine. The Sea Dogs don't play today so they are currently 11-7 on the season.
                                                      Hadlock Field


1. Triston Casas

The number 1 overall prospect in the Boston Red Sox farm system is the 21 year old Casas. Drafted in the first round in 2018, he's lived up to the hype in Portland, hitting .328 with four home runs and 16 rbis for the Sea Dogs so far. If he keeps this up he'll be in Worcester in no time and possibly a September call-up.


2. Pedro Castellanos.

The 23 year old first basemen could be the replacement for Casas once Triston is eventually promoted to Worcester. He's hitting .266 with 2 homers and 11 rbis so far this season. He was an 18 year old Dominican teenager in 2016 and he's battled his way to Portland.


3. Hudson Potts
                                                                 
The 22 year old third basemen was one half of the return in the Mitch Moreland trade last August. Although Potts has been injured to start the season, he slammed 16 home runs two years ago at the age of 20 for the Texas Rangers' AA team. Hope he comes back healthy soon.


4. Ronaldo Hernandez

The 23 year old catcher was one half of the return from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Chris Mazza and Jeffrey Springs. Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom drafted Hernandez while in Tampa and sees something in him for the future. He's only hitting .235 with 2 homers but that could change as the season progresses.


5. Jeisson Rosario

The 21 year old centerfielder was the other half of the return for Mitch Moreland along with Hudson Potts. Rosario is only hitting .237 but also hasn't played in two years because of Covid wiping out last season. Once he gets his wind back, he could be a dangerous leadoff hitter for the Sea Dogs.


6. Bryan Mata

The 22 year old Mata was Boston's top pitching prospect until he had Tommy John surgery. He'll miss this season and parts of next season but look for him to bounce back in 2022.


7. Thaddeus Ward

The 24 year old Ward is the Sox number 3 ranked pitcher behind Tanner Houck and Mata but he too has gotten hurt. Hopefully it won't be for too long because he was Greenville and Salem's best pitcher in 2019. He lost a crucial year of development but we'll see if he can recover in 2021.


8. Frank German

The 23 year old German was the unsung prize for Boston when they traded a PTBNL to the New York Yankees for him and Ottavino. The Sox already fleeced the Yankees by nabbing Garrett Whitlock in the Rule 5 draft and German could be another steal once he gets acclimated to Portland. As with everyone else, his 2020 season was wiped out so it'll be interesting to see if German can bounce back this year in a new organization.


9. Josh Winckowski

The 22 year old flamethrower that was picked up in the Andrew Benintendi trade along with Franchy Cordero may be Portland's best pitcher. He has dominated so far, striking out 17 batters in 20 innings while holding a 1.80 ERA. The Red Sox definitely miss Benintendi over Cordero up in the big club, but if Winckowski can develop into a future star, the Sox should be happy with that.


As mentioned earlier, the season just started 3 weeks ago so it would be unfair to judge these guys good or bad already. Even though Casas and Winckowski have dominated, others like Hernandez and German have struggled. Its a long year and these guys have until September to make an impression. If nothing else it'll be fun to go to Portland and see these new guys in action for the first time like Rosario and Winckowski or the holdovers like Casas and Ward. Come on up to Portland and see these guys before they get called up to Worcester. Tune in this Thursday for part 3 when we check out how the High A Greenville Drive are doing so far.

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