August 11, 2021 at 12:00 PM
Minor Notes: Rankings update, promotions, and minor league acquisitions
- July was the busiest month ever at SoxProspects.com, as the site gathered 2.83 million pageviews. A huge thank you to all the readers and forum members who made the new record possible!
- Chris and Ian recorded a pair of podcasts this week. The first covered the Trade Deadline and MLB Draft signing deadline, while the second went in-depth on the site's most recent ranking updates. There were some significant changes to the rankings, including an FCL pitcher jumping all the way from 54 to 20.
- Ian also wrote up a Scouting Scratch on a trio of Portland Sea Dogs pitchers. Josh Winckowski (pictured), Durbin Feltman, and Denyi Reyes all were covered in the most recent article, with Winckowski's changeup being the most divisive pitch that was written up.
- The July Players of the Month were Yairo Muñoz and Brian Van Belle. Muñoz was one of the biggest stories in the system as he hit safely in every game and now has a hitting streak of 31 games. Van Belle flew a bit under the radar, but he was dominant. He did not allow a run in 22 innings in July.
- Triston Casas made quite an impression playing for Team USA in the Olympics, leading the team to a silver medal. Casas led Team USA with three home runs and eight RBI. One of the home runs came off Sea Dogs teammate Denyi Reyes. Other notable performances included Johan Mieses hitting two home runs for the Dominican Republic, and Joey Meneses hitting .500 for Mexico.
- The Red Sox made three minor league acquisitions over the last week, with the most notable being a trade for Delino DeShields. DeShields was acquired from Texas in exchange for cash considerations. He was hitting .263/.392/.368 in 66 games in Triple-A, with 16 steals in 18 attempts. He has been playing center field for the WooSox since the trade.
- Also joining the system were pitchers Jose De Leon and Alex Claudio. De Leon was a former top prospect with Tampa Bay but has struggled with injuries and control issues. His fastball can reach the upper-90s, but so far it has translated to an 8.44 ERA in 48 innings at the big-league level. Claudio is a left-hander who has 344 innings pitched in the majors. He had solid numbers from 2016 to 2020, but he struggled this year with the Angels to the tune of a 5.51 ERA. He was designated for assignment on July 25.
- Blaze Jordan and Tyler McDonough were both promoted from the FCL to Salem on August 3, but strangely enough have yet to debut. Jordan hit .362/.408/.667 before the promotion and is now ranked 13th in the system. McDonough was the team's third-round pick in this year's draft.
- The other big promotion was Cameron Cannon being promoted from Greenville to Portland. The infielder hit .302/.351/.457 in 311 at-bats for the Drive.
- Two Red Sox prospects earned national accolades as they were named to MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week. Nick Yorke (pictured) was an easy choice after he hit .500/.625/1.056, and Jacob Wallace also made it after striking out nine and allowing just one baserunner over four innings. Wallace has struggled in 2021, but he has been much better over his last four appearances.
- ESPN's MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel released his midseason top 50 prospects, and the Red Sox had two players on the list. McDaniel ranked Marcelo Mayer as the 29th-best prospect in baseball, and Triston Casas was ranked 47th. Mayer made his professional debut on August 5, going 0 for 1 with three walks.
- Even with Chris Sale due to join the Red Sox this week, the minor leagues will still be full of major league talent. Matt Andriese and Ryan Brasier were both placed on rehab assignments with Worcester, and it sounds like Kyle Schwarber is getting close as well. Christian Arroyo and Danny Santana are also due back soon from their injuries.
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Players of the Week:
Nick Yorke, 2B, Salem Red Sox
5 G, 18 AB, 9 H, 1 2B, 3 HR, 7 R, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 1 K, .500/.625/1.056
With Cannon now in Portland, there is an opening in Greenville for Yorke. There is no word on when he will be promoted, but he is doing everything in his power to force Boston's hand. The 19-year-old has hit safely in 19 straight games, and he is hitting .370 since the start of June. The power has come on lately too, as he had four extra-base hits last week including three home runs.
Brandon Walter, LHP, Greenville Drive
2 G, 1-0, 11 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 3 BB, 13 K
After a dominant run in Salem, Walter hit a speed bump early on in Greenville. He has bounced back quickly, and he was dominant in his two starts last week. The 24-year-old left-hander was not ranked to start the year, but he is all the way up to 41 now. Drafted in the 26th round in 2019, Walter has seen a big increase in his velocity this season, which has in turn led to a big increase in his prospect status.
Photo Credit: Josh Winckowski and Nick Yorke by Kelly O'Connor