:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55248923/20150303_9518_L.0.jpg)
June marks the month of the All-Star Games for both the Sally League and the Carolina League. Those two leagues, of course, are the hosts of Red Sox minor-league squads, specifically Low-A Greenville and High-A Salem. Both games will be played on June 20. That is, of course, less than a week away at this point, and both rosters have been announced. Let’s take a look at the Red Sox prospects who will be appearing in the games.
Greenville
Logan Boyd
Boyd is not a major prospect in the Red Sox farm system — Sox Prospects doesn’t even have him in the top-60 in the organization — but he’s having a very strong season for the Drive. The 2015 19th round pick has pitched to a 4.26 ERA in his first 12 starts. This obviously isn’t great, but that mark has jumped from 3.17 in his last two starts, and these rosters were announced prior to his last outing. Boyd features a low-90s fastball to go with a breaking ball and changeup.
Stephen Nogosek
Nogosek is one of the more exciting prospects on the Drive roster, which honestly says more about the Drive roster than anything else. I don’t mean to knock the relief prospect, though, as he seems like someone destined to move quickly after this game. The righty is the 20th best prospect in Sox Prospects’ organizational rankings and has pitched to a 2.51 ERA this season with 40 strikeouts and 11 walks in 32 1⁄3 innings.
Roldani Baldwin
Baldwin is one of the more underrated prospects in the Red Sox farm system, though much of the catcher’s future comes down to whether or not his defense can stay up to snuff. Offensively, he’s a very solid player even if he’s not a future star. This season, he is hitting .276/.309/.506 in his first 41 games.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8677245/2017_MLB_Draft.png)
Salem
Dedgar Jimenez
Jimenez, a 21-year-old lefty, has come out of nowhere this season to be a major contributor in Salem’s rotation. Through his first 12 starts (63 innings), he has pitched to a 3.27 ERA while posting solid strikeout and walk rates. He’s been able to put up these solid numbers despite allowing a career-high line drive rate along with a .345 BABIP. For as well as he’s pitched this season — and he’s certainly deserving of this All Star bid — Jimenez’ stuff just doesn’t appear to be that of a guy who can succeed in the majors.
Trevor Kelley
Kelley is a former 36th round pick who has quietly been very good in a relief role over the last couple of seasons in the Red Sox organization. This season, the righty boasts a 1.69 ERA with a decent strikeout rate and a very good walk rate. He’s not your typical relief prospect, as his fastball hardly ever reaches 90 mph and his breaking ball is just okay. He has success based on his sidearm delivery, and he doesn’t project as a major-league player.
Michael Chavis
Chavis is the All-Star of All Stars here. He has easily been the most impressive Red Sox prospect of the season and has boosted his stock to an almost immeasurable extent this season. Many minor-league All Stars are organizational players getting recognition for good performances. Chavis, hopefully, is much more than that.
Chad de la Guerra
de la Guerra was a 15th round selection by the Red Sox back in 2015, and he is hitting for the first time in his professional career in 2017. This season, through his first 231 plate appearances, the lefty is hitting .312/.384/.495 against High-A pitching. Like so many others on this list, he is almost certainly just an organizational piece, but he deserves this honor all the same.
Josh Ockimey
For the second straight year, Ockimey is putting up huge numbers in the first half. He’s hitting for average, drawing walks, keeping his strikeout rate manageable, and, most importantly, hitting for power. Of course, he did the same thing in 2016 and struggled mightily down the stretch. It’s always good to see your prospects play well enough to earn and All-Star bid, but the Red Sox are really looking for a full season out of Ockimey.