Yeah. It's been a long time. Whatever.
PawSox.
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Brandon Moss.
Moss has been hitting a lot of 2Bs lately (up to 32 in 99 games!) and a lot less HRs. He's only hit 4 HRs since May 31st (date of the last MiL Update). Trade value may be down as a result, which is a shame for him because he doesn't really have a place on our big club to claim anyway.
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Clay Buchholz.
Buchholz's cumulative numbers in AAA are a bit more palatable now: 1.25 WHIP, 14 Ks in 8 IP (SSS alert!). Obviously, this is a developing story.
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George Kottaras.
His "batting" line is still pretty mediocre: .223/.290/.362. He's been a tremendous hitter away from Pawtucket, OPSing 0.893, which means he's been pretty awful at Pawtucket (.469!). His BABIP data suggest that he's been very lucky away and extremely unlucky at home. We can probably give him half the season in Pawtucket next year to determine whether he's truly a bust. MinorLeagueSplits.
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Notes on Pawtucket.
Murphy's OBP is down to .344. Ellsbury has struggled a bit since his return to AAA. Pauley and Hansack are both still doing their thing, so to speak. Craig Breslow is still awesome.
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Jed Lowrie...
...is the only AA hitting prospect worth mentioning. He's raised his SLG to .509 with a very Moss-like 31 2Bs. He does have 13 errors, and while we know those don't neccessarily mean a lot, they may suggest that he's stretched a bit at SS.
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Justin Masterson...
...has been truly Masterful. (Pun? Nailed it.) In 3 starts at the AA-level, 19 1/3 IP, 22 Ks, 0.62 WHIP. SSS for sure, but if he can keep this up through the end of the season...
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Notes on Portland.
Charlie Zink hasn't been "amazing", but he may deserve another chance at AAA. Especially at age almost-29. Bubba Bell may be proving the idea that the California League is an extreme hitters' league (.797 OPS, though to be fair, only 16 games thusfar). Michael Bowden is still struggling a bit in AA. He's kind of been mixing decent-good starts with truly awful ones.
Disclaimer: Many of the players at the A+-level are hitting well for the Sox. It's a hitter's haven. I'm trying to go with only "real" prospects.
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Aaron Bates.
Bates is OPSing 1.018 with an OBP not at all reliant on his high BA. 18 2Bs and 19 HRs in 320 ABs. He is a bit old (22) for the level, which probably means he needs to join Bubba Bell up in Portland to see if he's for real.
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Mark Wagner.
Right now, our best catching prospect. Looks like the Sox are being cautious with him, I would guess he'll finish the season at this level. Maybe winter ball, though he's said to be pretty polished defensively. .921 OPS probably isn't the real story in the California League, but he's worked a good number of walks.
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Notes on Lancaster.
A horrid league for pitchers, only Hunter Jones and maybe Kevin Guyette could be called anything near-impressive. Hard to read anything into the stats.
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Lars Anderson.
The organizatonal HR drought has reached Anderson as well, who still sports a good BA and OBP, but has seen his SLG go down to .450.
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Josh Reddick.
You may have seen his name in the Rotoworld sidebar recently, and he's described as similar to Brandon Moss. The only problem I have with the comparison is that Reddick's OBP would go down to "passable" if his BA were lowered simply to .300 from his current .321.
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Bryce Cox.
Cox is an example of why ERA (5.13) isn't a great way to judge pitchers. His WHIP is 1.18, and his GO/AO ratio of 2.67 is good. If he can get his K numbers up a bit, he could go back to being an elite-ish prospect.
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Notes on Greenville.
Josh Papelbon has been pretty awful lately, allowing a lot more hits en route to a 1.61 WHIP. Daniel Bard has shown some signs of life, but his star is still falling a bit. Jason Place continues to show flashes of his talent with an extremely low amount of consistency.
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Ryan Kalish.
We come again to a team with only one offensive prospect really worth mentioning. Kalish has been great for the Spinners: 18 for 21 in SB attempts, 1.011 OPS, 27 runs in 23 games. I'd like to see him hit for more power (a few more 2Bs, anyway), and the OPS will almost certainly go down a bit, either this season or as he moves up the system, but I'm pleased.
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Jose Capellan.
He doesn't have the ERA to back it up (3.60), but Capellan has been excellent for the Spinners. 1.03 WHIP with 34 Ks against 6 BBs in 35 IP? That'll get the job done.
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Caleb Clay.
I have to admit that I'm still waiting for the bottom to fall out. 9 Ks in 21 IP means he's a bit over-reliant on his defense, and the 1.38 WHIP is okay, not good, not great. Too many flyballs as well.
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Notes on Lowell.
Felix Ventura is old for the level, but he's struck out 26 in 18 2/3, which makes him worth mentioning. Nick Hagadone hasn't been impressive, but it's only 3 1/3 IP so far.
Notes on GCL Sox.
No one with any statistics that really stand out. Engel Beltre is well-regarded, and several starters (Emilis Guerrero, Pedro Perez, and Bajoczky Anthony) are performing "well".