So how did a team that started 30-39 and in fourth place in the first half finish 41-20? A combination of call-ups and improvement. The Sea Dogs got an influx of speed, power and contact on the offensive side of the ball. Second baseman David Hamilton only hit .240 during the season but hit 12 home runs and stole a franchise record 65 bases so far this season. On the basepaths he's become a certified Ricky Henderson type threat. If he gets on base more frequently he could be a future leadoff hitter for the Red Sox. As of now, they're going to need his speed and stolen base ability against the Patriots.
When the Red Sox traded Christian Vazquez, they got two prospects for him. Enmanuel Valdez has been a power hitting threat for the Worcester Red Sox but the other guy in the trade was 23 year old outfielder Wilyer Abreu. He's only hitting .231 but he's driven in 15 runs and drew 32 walks for a ,396 On-Base Percentage. If Hamilton is already on its a good chance Abreu can at least move him over if not get himself on. The Sea Dogs need their number two guy to get something done against the Patriots this coming week.
One of the bright spots of the season has been 21 year old Dominican outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela. He's currently the 6th ranked prospect in the entire system. At the plate he's been Alex Verdugo good hitting .277 with 11 home runs and 13 steals and in the field he's made some great Jackie Bradley Jr catches in centerfield. With the Sox pretty much foolishly trading Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts, the Sox are desperate for young outfield talent. If Enmanuel Valdez continues to hit home runs and Rafaela continues to hit solidly and field the way he has, there's your new outfield in 2024. As for this coming series, Rafaela needs to step up big time.
Usually batting cleanup now is their rising star, 23 year old first baseman Niko Kavadas. Kavadas was drafted in the 11th round last year and had 11 hits in 15 games for the Florida Complex and Salem to end 2021. This year he's been an absolute beast, hitting 14 home runs, drove in 48 runs and batted .286 before moving up to Greenville. There he hit .308 with 10 home runs and 28 rbis before going to Portland. Since his callup he's hit .200 with 2 home runs and 7 rbis. He may have hit the wall this season but this his only his second professional season. He could be a difference maker against Somerset if he can hit some balls out of the yard this coming week.
The true heart and soul of the team is their 24 year old second baseman/shortstop "Boss" Christian Koss. After coming to the franchise by an off-season trade before last season, he's emerged as the most dependable player on the Sea Dogs. He's hit .266 with 16 home runs and 82 rbis. When guys like Rafaela, Abreu, Kavadas and Hamilton are on base, Koss usually is the one driving them in. He's going to have to stay at the top of his game if they hope to topple the Patriots this week.
One of the underperforming members of the team has been 25 year old infielder Stephen Scott. He's only hitting .213 with 9 home runs and 41 rbis. He may not be in the organization much longer when younger and better players come up from Greenville so this could be his swan song. It would be nice to see him have the week of his life to make up for the season of disappointment.
One last hurrah for Scott?
Speaking of underperforming, 22 year old third baseman Alex Binelas is really struggling. After coming over in the Hunter Renfroe trade, he's hitting just .153 for Portland. The only silver lining is he's hit 11 home runs after already hitting 14 for Greenville earlier in the year. Hitting 25 home runs normally would be a good thing but not with a batting average THAT bad. Still, he may hit a few balls out of the yard this week and that's not a bad thing.
Rounding out the underperforming trio is 23 year old third baseman Hudson Potts. He came over in the Mitch Moreland trade in August of 2020 and struggled ever since. He hit just .217 last year and just .230 this season although he hit 11 home runs this year. With the rise of Niko Kavadas and Tyreque Reed due back from injury next year, Potts could be expendable. Like with Scott, hopefully he can belt a few home runs in the next week to help the Sea Dogs make the playoffs.
Another infielder doing not much of anything is 23 year old Nick Northcut. He hit .223 in Greenville and is hitting .208 this season for Portland. What got him to Portland was hitting 26 home runs for the Drive, but he only has 4 in the 26 games he's played for Portland. If his number is called, he better step his game up in the next week.
One of the members of the 2018 draft class still around is 24 year old outfielder Tyler Dearden. He's hitting just .262 with 6 home runs and 42 runs batted in. He's probably going to be in a rotation with Abreu, Rafaela and others this coming week. Hopefully he can get a few clutch hits in the next few games to help the Sea Dogs win.
One of the last outfielders on the team is 24 year old Izzy Wilson. He's only hitting .207 but has 12 home runs. If he can hit one out a few times this coming week, good. If not, oh well.
Rounding out the group is catcher Elih Marrero. The son of former Major Leaguer Eli Marrero, Elih is hitting just .211 with just 2 home runs. He does have 18 steals but a catcher shouldn't be a stolen base threat. Still, the Sox are going to need him to call good games behind the plate if nothing else against the Patriots.
On the other side of the ball the Sea Dog pitching staff has had their ups and downs but have settled into a rhythm to end the regular season. One of the reasons has been their starting pitching going 5 or 6 innings consistently. 23 year old left handed Shane Drohan has emerged as one of the top starters. Drafted in the 5th round of the 2020 draft, Shane is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA with a real string of quality innings heading into the showdown with Somerset. The junkballer is going to have to outwit the Patriots at some point in this series if the Sea Dogs hope to win the Division.
Drohan's partner at the top of the rotation is the returning 25 year old right handed pitcher Thad Ward. Ward was on a fast track to the majors but his 2020 season was wiped out by Covid and had to have Tommy John surgery just two starts into last year. He's on the comeback trail now and has posted a 2.43 ERA in 7 starts with Portland. They're treating him with kid gloves by only having him go 4-6 innings a whack but if he can keep his ERA down against the Patriots, Ward may be an integral part in locking up the Division.
The third starter behind these two is the elder statesman 26 year old right handed pitcher Brian Van Belle. He's been perfectly mediocre as he's gone 6-4 with a 4.58 ERA. He's going to have to pitch at least once in this series and what better time to make a great start than with the season hanging in the balance?
Van Belle better be ready
The fourth starter is actually a sad story. 29 year old Kyle Hart made his Major League debut for the Red Sox in 2020 but fell flat on his face. He was straight up batting practice for the Worcester Red Sox and got demoted to Portland where he hasn't been much better. With other pitchers scheduled to work their way up, Hart is definitely on the way out. If he has one last win in him for Portland, hope its this week when the Sea Dogs really need it.
One of the spot starters for the Sea Dogs is 27 year old journeyman Sterling Sharp. He got cut by the Minnesota Twins organization and signed with the Sea Dogs in August. He's 1-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 6 starts in Portland and this could be a good cap to an underwhelming career to help the Dogs beat the Patriots when it matters.
The long reliever on the team is the 27 year old Rio Gomez. Quite frankly the only reason he's still in the organization as he's pushing 28 and struggling in AA is his father was the late Pedro Gomez who began his career in Boston. He's 2-0 with a hideous 5.91 ERA and could be on his way out. Still, like with some of the others, he has one shot at a moment of glory if he can stone the Patriots cold this week.
For the relief pitchers, first is newcomer Taylor Broadway. The 25 year old righthander was the player to be named in the Jake Diekman trade. He was chosen 19 picks after the Sox took Daniel McElveny in the 6th round last year and so far he's struck out 7 batters in 3 2/3 innings without allowing a run. Having a guy like him come in and toss zeroes at the end of the season is a nice bonus to have, hope he keeps it up.
Another late edition to the Sea Dogs is 24 year old righthander Ryan Zeferjahn. He was a late call up from Greenville and so far he's 2-0 without allowing a run in 7 1/3 innings. If he and Broadway can lock down the middle innings after guys like Drohan, Hart and Ward, the Sea Dogs may have a chance against the Patriots in this coming week.
One of the most durable relievers Portland has had this season is 26 year old lefthander Brendan Nail. He's 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA in 38 innings this season. As long as he doesn't walk anyone this coming week, he should be an integral piece of the puzzle against Somerset.
23 year old lefthander Oddanier Mosqueda needs to step this week big time. The kid is 5-3 with a 4.50 ERA in 56 innings. He's been hit or miss this season but one good week coming up would make up for the misses. Who knows, maybe some clutch performances could lead to a call up to Worcester next season.
The defacto leader of the middle relievers is 28 year old former San Diego Padres right hander Brett Kennedy. He had a cup of coffee in the big leagues in 2018 for the Padres and now he's 3-6 and 3.93 ERA for Portland. He has the experience to get minor league batters out so hopefully he can step up this week to guide the Sea Dogs to the playoffs.
One of the disappointments for Portland the second half of the season has been 2019 9th round pick Cody Scroggins, the 26 year old right hander. He's allowed 8 runs in 7 innings since being called up from Greenville although he can make a difference by dominating the Patriots in this series. A week of good pitching would make up of 7 innings of crap for sure.
Now for the trio of late relievers, first up is 24 year old right handed pitcher Dylan Spacke. Mr. Spacke has been a complete disappointment going 1-5 with a 5.95 ERA in 62 innings this year. Just like with Scroggins, all he has to do is not suck for one week and the Sea Dogs are going to the playoffs. Maybe he's just having an off-year, who knows?
Live long and prosper
Next us is a familiar face, 24 year old right handed pitcher Jacob Wallace. UConn's closer in 2019 was drafted by the Colorado Rockies and came over in the Kevin Pillar trade in September of 2020. This year he's 7-2 with a 3.95 ERA. He usually comes in after the starters are done to vulture wins and he can make a statement that he can be a difference maker this week against Somerset. He may not be the closer for Portland right now but he could be for Worcester next year.
Wallace may get the job done
Last but not least is the team's closer, 26 year old right handed pitcher Michael Gettys. Drafted in the second round in 2014 by the San Diego Padres as an outfielder, he signed with the Red Sox after the 2020 season. He was hitting .200 in Worcester last year before being converted into a pitcher. He pitched reasonably well in Greenville and has gone 2-0 with 6 saves while allowing just 2 earned runs in 16 innings. If he can continue to dominate batters like he has, if the Sea Dogs have a lead in some of the games against Somerset, the games are as good as over. He doesn't have to be Mariano Rivera, but just for one week a real string of dominance would be nice.
There's been others this season that's been called up to Worcester like Brayan Bello, Nick Sogard, Jake Thompson, Caleb Simpson, Chris Murphy, Bryan Mata, Devlin Granberg, Pedro Castellanos and Brandon Walter along with guys on the injured list like Ryan Fernandez, Tyreque Reed and Zach Bryant, plus guys on the "Developmental List" like Will Dalton and Oscar Rangel that's contributed but this is what they have now. Also shoutout to all the Boston Red Sox players that came through in rehab appearances like Tyler Danish, Chris Sale, Josh Taylor among others. There's six games to go in the regular season and if the Sea Dogs can beat the Patriots in 2 of the next six games, they're the second half champs. Then they'd play a best of three game series with.....the Patriots....again to decide who faces the Southeast champion in a best of five game series to crown the Double A champion. Good luck to the Sea Dogs. Lord knows the Boston Red Sox got nothing to play for so may as well jump on the Portland bandwagon.
The Boston Red Sox are back in action tomorrow night against the New York Yankees. Nick Pivetta (9-11, 4.29 ERA) takes on Gerrit Cole of the Yankees. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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