First up on the list is 24 year old right handed pitcher Jacinto Arrendondo. He signed as an undrafted free agent prior to the 2020 season but we all know Covid wiped that out. He was 2-2 with a mediocre 4.09 ERA out of the bullpen last year for Salem and is 1-0 with a 3.95 ERA in 6 games this year. If he's mediocre in single A, how's he going to look once he reaches Portland and Worcester?
Up next is the injured 21 year old right handed pitcher Bradley Blalock. Blalock was drafted in the 32nd round back in 2019 and as with everyone, missed 2020 due to Covid. He was 3-6 last year as a starter for Salem but won't be seen for over a year since he had Tommy John surgery on March 17th. So much for him this season.
Up next is 23 year old left handed pitcher Brendan Cellucci. He was drafted in the 12th round back in 2019 out of Tulane University and has flat out sucked ever since. He had a 5.25 ERA in 8 games in Lowell before going 2-3 with a 5.30 ERA out of the bullpen last year in Salem. He's 1-1 with an 11.70 ERA so far this season and its unlikely he'll be around much longer if he pitches like this. The MLB Draft is next month and Chaim Bloom could blindfold himself and pick a name out of a hat that could do better unless Cellucci picks up the pace.
Next up is 25 year old right handed pitcher Casey Cobb. He was an undrafted rookie free agent in 2020 out of Alabama University and thrived last year for Salem and Greenville. So far he's struggled this year with a 6.48 ERA in 8 games but its only May.
Up next is 24 year old right handed pitcher Jordan DiValerio. He was an undrafted rookie free agent in 2020 out of St Joseph's and was 9-4 with a 5.72 ERA out of the bullpen in Salem last year. He's 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA this season and it doesn't look like he's going to dominate Single A pitching, let alone Double and Triple. Oh well, there's always this coming draft to find a replacement.
Up next is 23 year old left handed pitcher Shane Drohan. Shane was the 5th round pick in 2020, one of only four guys drafted due to Covid. Last year he was 7-4 with a 3.96 EA for Salem as a starter and is 2-2 with a 4.46 ERA this year in six starts for Greenville. If he can start dominating single A pitching it may be a clue he's ready for Double A and beyond.
Moving right along is the 23rd round pick in the 2018 draft, 23 year old right handed pitcher Ryan Fernandez. Ryan was one of Lowell's best pitchers in 2019 and was dominating Salem last season before getting called up to Greenville at the end of the season. He's been mediocre to start the season but so has everyone else on the staff it seems. Its a shame he lost 2020 to Covid because his development would have been further along by now.
Up next is Jordan Leandre's buddy, right handed pitcher Grant Gambrell. Gambrell was one of the PTBNLs in the Andrew Benintendi trade. Benintendi is currently leading the AL in batting for the Kansas City Royals while Gambrell went 1-6 last year for Greenville. He's been injured to start this season so time will tell if he ever pans out.
Next is converted batter now right handed pitcher Michael Gettys. Gettys was drafted in the second round by the San Diego Padres as a power hitting outfielder in 2015. After flopping as a hitter, he was signed as a pitcher last year by the Red Sox. He's 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA this season so time will tell if he can make a comeback as a pitcher.
Up next is 24 year old right handed pitcher Robert Kwiatkowski. He was a perfect 6-0 last season for Salem and is 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA for Greenville this season. He was signed as an undrafted minor league free agent before the 2020 season and time will tell if he can take the next step this season.
Up next is another injured pitcher, 27 year old Austin Lambright. This fella right here hasn't played since 2019 due to injuries and Covid. If he comes back from the Injured List, he may be able to help win a few games this year. If not, he's just another minor league waiver pickup that didn't work out.
Up next is 23 year old right handed pitcher Chih-Jung Liu. He was signed out of Taiwan at the end of the 2019 season but as usual his 2020 season was lost due to Covid. Last year he was 5-1 for Salem as a starter but posted a 4.29 ERA. This year he's 0-2 with a 4.58 ERA and it doesn't look like he's improved. Such is the case with Greenville this season.
Up next is last year's 7th round pick, 22 year old right handed pitcher Wyatt Olds. Olds had a terrible senior year at Oklahoma when he was drafted but had a respectable end of the year with Florida Coast and Salem. This year he's 0-2 with an 8.68 ERA in 5 starts so far. If he doesn't turn it around, Chaim Bloom looks like a fool for wasting a 7th round pick on someone who wasn't even good in college, let alone the pro's.
Up next is 24 year old right handed pitcher Yusniel Padron-Artiles. He was a 22nd round pick in 2018 and had a hideous season last year for Greenville, going 3-7 with a 5.60 ERA. This year he's 2-2 with a 6.84 ERA. It seems like the entire Greenville pitching staff is full of late round picks that are struggling. Can't say that I'm surprised, former Sox GM Dave Dombrowski gutted the farm system to win in 2018 and his late round picks weren't expected to amount to much.
Up next is the often-injured right handed pitcher Aaron Perry. He was a 14th round pick back in 2017 and pitched in exactly 22 games since. He posted a 6.26 ERA in Salem last year and is yet to pitch this season. If he ever gets healthy he may be serviceable at least in the minors.
Up next is 21 year old left handed pitcher Jorge Rodriguez. Jorge was drafted as a teenager out of Mexico in 2018 but struggled last year in Salem, going 5-6 with a 5.46 ERA. Before he went on the injured list this year he allowed 2 runs in 3 1/3 innings. He's still young so its not the time to write him off, let's see how he responds to adversity.
Up next is 25 year old right handed pitcher Devon Roedahl. He was a 27th round pick back in 2019 and did well in Salem last year, going 7-5 with a 2.52 ERA and 11 saves as Salem's closer. This year he's 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA to start the season. If he's struggling to put away Single A hitters how is he going to foul Double and Triple A batters? Time will tell.
Up next was Dombrowski's 9th round pick in the 2019 draft, right handed pitcher Cody Scroggins. Last year he dominated at Salem, posing 6 saves and a 1.33 ERA but struggled on a call-up to Greenville. So far he's allowed 4 runs in 10 innings pitched out of the bullpen. Its too early in the season to write him off but he needs some serious improvement to make it to Portland.
Up next is 2020 undrafted rookie free agent, 25 year old right handed pitcher Brian Van Belle. Brian was 4-3 with a 4.10 ERA in 18 starts last year for Salem and so far he's 1-1 with a hideous 7.36 ERA in 6 starts this season. Just like with almost every Greenville pitcher, undrafted and late round picks rarely develop and he's no different if he flames out.
Up next is injured 2020 4th round pick Jeremy Wu-Yelland. Yelland was 2-4 with a 3.91 ERA for Salem and Greenville last year but is yet to pitch this season. He's dealt with back injuries but hopefully he gets over them so he can get back on track.
Up last on the list of pitchers is 24 year old right handed pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn. Ryan was the third round pick in 2019 and got his ass handed to him in Salem last year, going 1-4 with a 6.91 ERA in 12 starts. This year he's 2-0 with a 3.46 ERA and doing better. Essentially he's one of Dombrowski's last early round draft picks and if he doesn't develop, it says more about Dave than it does about Ryan.
Moving on to the position players, we begin with 24 year old backup catcher Alex Erro. Erro was a 2019 17th round pick and hit .242 in 90 games last year for Salem. So far he's hitting .222 which isn't going to cut it. If he can't hit Single A pitching, how is he going to hit Double or Triple A pitching? Then again he's a 17th round pick so that may be too much to ask.
Up next is 2019 5th round pick, catcher Jaxx Groshans. Drafted 12 round in front of Erro, Jaxx hasn't fared much better than Alex has. He hit .262 in Salem last year and only .211 so far this season. You can only have so many stud catchers in your system so you're going to have to deal with sub-par production and some of the levels. Unless Chaim Bloom wants to draft a catcher early in this coming draft, Erro and Groshans are what they got in Greenville.
Moving on to the infield we get 21 year old third baseman Alex Binelas. Binelas was the centerpiece of the Hunter Renfroe trade and he's been as good as advertised so far this season. He's hitting .280 with 7 home runs with 20 walks so far. The Red Sox are in big doo-doo if Rafael Devers is traded or walks in free agency but down the road Binelas could be their starting third baseman worst case scenario.
Up next is 24 year old shortstop Ricardo Cubillan. Cubillan managed to play for all four minor league teams last year at least once and is setting himself up as a utility player in the future. If he doesn't learn how to hit, he may not make it past Double A again.
Up next was Salem's second best player last year, 25 year old first baseman Joe Davis. Davis hit .333 with 10 home runs before being called up to Greenville at the end of the season. He hit another 9 home runs after his callup and so far this season he's gotten off to a cold start, hitting just .182 with 4 home runs. Its still early to write Davis off and he's more likely to make it to Portland than he is to regress the whole season. Time will tell.
Moving right along to 21 year old shortstop Antoni Flores. Flores was a star for the Dominican Sox in 2018 but has struggled to hit since coming to the US. He hit .232 for Salem last year and is currently hitting .160 this year. If he doesn't learn how to hit he's going to be released sooner rather than later.
Up next is the 24th ranked prospect in the Sox system, 21 year old shortstop Matthew Lugo. Lugo was the second round pick back in 2019 and hit .270 while swiping 15 bags for Salem last season. This year he's hitting .337 in 23 games this season and just like Alex Binelas, if Xander Bogaerts walks you may see Lugo in Boston in a few years if he keeps this pace up.
Up next was last year's 3rd round pick, 23 year old second baseman Tyler McDonough. He was chosen 11 slots before Alex Binelas and he hit .296 for Salem last season. He's gotten off to a cold start this year hitting .224 but the year is young. It'll be interesting to see if Binelas and McDonough develop together after being chosen in the same round just for different teams.
Hopefully he can develop
12 home runs in 23 games
Looking to improve on last season
Up next is 22 year old third baseman Nick Northcut. He was a 11th round pick back in 2018 and he hit 17 home runs last year for Salem. He's the epitome of all or nothing as he already has 12 home runs this season but only hitting .253. Still, power hitters are always valuable to have so as long as he keeps hitting the long ball, he'll advance in the system.
Up next is 21 year old third baseman Ceddanne Rafaela. If Binelas is the chosen one so to speak than Rafaela is the underdog. Rafaela was signed as a teenager to play in the Dominican League in 2018. Last year he hit .251 with 10 home runs and 23 stolen bases for Salem. This year he's already hit 7 home runs and 9 steals while hitting .292. If he and Binelas can both keep up the paces they're at, one of them could be traded for a piece the Red Sox need or insurance in case Rafael Devers walks.
Up next is the 10th round pick in the 2019 draft, 24 year old third baseman Stephen Scott. Scott had a mediocre 2021 in Salem but thrived in a call-up to Greenville, hitting .338 with 8 home runs in 39 games. This year Scott is struggling, hitting just .208 but still has 12 walks and two home runs. He's got plenty of time to turn things around this season and he's going to have to if he hopes to compete with Binelas.
Up last for the infielders is arguably the team's best player. The first round pick in the 2020 draft, 20 year old infielder Nick Yorke. Yorke was a phenom for Salem last season hitting .323 with 10 home runs before getting called up to Greenville. He finished the season hitting .333 for Greenville and was Boston's third ranked prospect. Unfortunately he's fallen flat on his face this season hitting just .238 with 2 home runs. There's still time to turn it around this season and at only 20 years old, he'll get every chance to do so. Don't count him out just yet.
Moving on to the outfielders we begin with 22 year old outfielder Nick Decker. Decker was the second round pick in 2018 after the Sox took Triston Casas in the first. He had a solid season in Salem last year but has just 7 hits in 56 at-bats so far this season. Its too early to count him out but he looks really bad to start this season. Time will tell if he can turn it around.
Next up was supposed to be Tyler Esplin but I already gave his profile in my Portland Sea Dogs preview. He was sent down to Greenville and is doing pretty well after his demotion. Maybe he'll be back in Portland this year.
Up last but certainly not least was Salem's best player last season and the 19th ranked prospect in the system, 21 year old outfielder Gilberto Jimenez. He was arguably the Dominican Sox' best player in 2018, Lowell's best in 2019 and Salem's last year. This year he's only hitting .256 but does have 4 home runs and 8 stolen bases. Jimenez has dominated at every level he's been in this year so he has plenty of time to get his average back to .300 by the end of this season. If he keeps hitting, he'll be in Portland in no time.
Its fairly obvious the reason for Greenville's struggles are the top prospects like Jimenez, Yorke and Davis haven't produced at the plate and the pitching hasn't been good. A lot of Greenville's pitchers were late round picks by the Dombrowski regime and undrafted players from the 2020 non-season. Because they all lost the 2020 season, development was delayed. Depending on longshots and castoffs on the pitching side aren't going to get you very far unless especially if the star bats start getting it done, just look at the Red Sox this year. Still, a lot of these guys are tabbed to be future stars so we'll see how things will go from here.
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