Slumps and injuries continue to dominate the landscape among the organization’s elite prospects. Here is the latest look at the developments on the farm.
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Last week: No. 1
Casey Kelly, RHP
The struggling Kelly was a bit better in his Saturday night start at New Britain, with the exception of one rocky inning when command issues resurfaced. After getting the first out of the second inning, Kelly gave up a triple, uncorked a wild pitch to allow a run to score, gave up a double, hit a batter and threw another wild pitch before getting another out.
When it was done, the 20-year-old had surrendered three runs, part of a five-inning, five-run (four earned) effort that left Kelly with a 4.97 ERA over his last seven starts. Opponents are hitting .303 against the righty.
The one positive? He did not walk a batter Saturday and has 21 strikeouts against just five free passes over a span of five starts.
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Last week: No. 2
Ryan Kalish, OF
We will keep Kalish right here until he can return from a hip flexor strain that has kept him out of action since June 11. When he comes back, there will be plenty of eyes on the promising Kalish. The Red Sox’ outfield situation remains in such flux that an intriguing prospect such as Kalish has to be on the radar for that big chance.
Also, Kalish has to prove that the slump in which he was mired before going on the DL was just an aberration. The 22-year-old’s average had fallen to .211.
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Last week: No. 3
Lars Anderson, 1B
A monumental slump (1-for-37) came to a noisy end on Wednesday when Anderson went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He followed that up with two hits the next day and another Friday, striking out just once in the three-game stretch.
Still, Anderson has whiffed 51 times in 51 games at the Triple-A level and continues to find no success against left-handers. He is now 2-for-42 (.048) with 18 K's vs. southpaws.
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Last week: No. 4
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Rizzo was among the many top Red Sox prospects to enter a funk in June, but he has emerged. Entering Sunday, the 20-year-old had a five-game hitting streak, during which he was 7-for-18 (.388) with three doubles.
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Last week: No. 5
Jose Iglesias, SS
As is the case with Kalish, evaluation on Iglesias remains on hold until he returns from injury. Three weeks after he was hit in the right hand with a pitch, Iglesias underwent some tests, which revealed a small crack, putting him on the shelf until early July, if all goes well.
The injury is mostly an issue when Iglesias, 20, throws a ball, but it is expected to heal completely and should not be a major issue going forward.
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Last week: No. 6
Felix Doubront, SP
With a major league win in his pocket, Doubront went back to Pawtucket and suffered a minor league loss in a start at Syracuse, despite allowing just two hits in five innings. Both hits were only singles, but they were mixed into an inning when Doubront issued two walks (one with the bases loaded), hit two batters and got called for a balk, which allowed a run to come in from third.
Chalk it up to one bad inning and move on. That’s what Doubront did, retiring the last 10 men he faced after the bases-loaded walk.
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Last week: No. 7
Josh Reddick, OF
With so many injuries to Red Sox outfielders, Reddick has been given every opportunity to get that major league break that so many dream of and to run with it. But three call-ups have resulted in a .160 (4-for-25) average for the big club this year, and Reddick’s 23-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio at the major league level over the last two seasons indicates some work still needs to be done in the realm of pitch selection.
Another 0-for-3 showing upon his latest demotion has put Reddick at .215 in 58 games for the PawSox. He was getting hot, however, before his latest call to the big club, so it may have been a case of bad timing.
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Last week: No. 8
Luis Exposito, C
We mentioned last week that while Exposito was driving in runs at a steady pace, his average was roughly 100 points below last year’s mark, the one mild concern in an otherwise quality campaign. He has shown indications of turning that around.
Exposito, 23, went 11-for-24 (.458) with two homers and seven RBIs in seven games entering Sunday. He has also doubled once and drawn five walks in the hot stretch, which leaves him tied for third in the Eastern League with 53 RBIs.
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Last week: No. 9
Stolmy Pimentel, RHP
Perhaps Pimentel, who is noted as a guy who throws strikes, is throwing too many. Opposing hitters have a .356 average against him in June after a horrid outing at Wilmington on Saturday that saw him give up eight earned runs on 10 hits in only 2 1/3 innings.
The Dominican Republic native has only walked 19 in 69 1/3 innings this year and has given up just one home run in his last nine starts. Consider the hit parade a bump in the road.
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Last week: No. 10
Reymond Fuentes, OF
The 2009 top pick is 5-for-19 with four runs scored, three RBIs and two stolen bases in a five-game stretch. In addition, he drew two walks. Doesn’t sound like much, but for a guy who is learning the merits of plate discipline, it’s huge. He has only 10 walks all year.
Still, we remain high on Fuentes due to his age (19) and exceptional speed (27 steals in 28 chances). If and when the discipline comes and he puts a little more meat on his lean frame, expect Fuentes to regain the notoriety he had immediately after the ’09 draft.
