After Kopech departed in the Sale trade, I was one of many who thought the system aside from Devers and Groome was completely empty. There were some interesting arms in the lower minors, but no one that necessarily stood out as having a ton of upside.
But this year seems to be a different story. Outside of the obvious prospects (Groome and to a lesser extent Lakins) there are many arms that are starting to emerge. I'll go to lowest to highest ranked from Soxprospects.
Ty Buttrey. OPS against of .577 and 27 k's in 19.2 innings. Repeating AA, but taking a big step forward. His k/9 was 5 last year and is at 12 this year. Could be a case of him outclassing the level in his second year but that is a pretty big jump though in a SSS.
Stephen Nogosek - OPS against of .548 and 31k's in 22 innings. 22 and in Greenville.
Jamie Callahan - recently bumped up from AA where he had an .OPS against of .383 with 14k/9. Struggling a bit in AAA, but just a few innings so far. He's just 21 but could certainly make the team at some point
Darwinzon Hernandez - OPS against of .595. 11 k/9. Currently on the DL in Greenville. Just 20 years old.
Shaun Anderson - recently promoted from Greenville where he had an .OPS against of ..640 and 9k/9. He has struggled in Salem. He is 22.
Mike Sharwyn - had one awful outing which skews his .640 OPS against, but he has a dominant 13k/9 and has taken a big step forward. 22 in Greenville.
Jalen Beeks - OPS against of .604 and 10k/9. 23 and in Portland. He has credited his improvement from dropping his slider and adding a cutter Not out of the realm of possibility that he gets a September visit.
Lastly is Bryan Mata who was signed as an IFA. He was just assigned to Greenville at age 18 and may have the 2nd highest upside in the system, but is the most raw.
Beyond that there are high floor low ceiling guys like Roniel Raudes and Jake Cosart who haven't gotten it going this year. And Trey Ball, is Trey Balling.
All of these pitchers are either age appropriate or younger for their level.
Positionally it is still extremely thin, but Michael Chavis is knocking on AA with 24 extra base hits, and Devers AAA.
What do others think?
But this year seems to be a different story. Outside of the obvious prospects (Groome and to a lesser extent Lakins) there are many arms that are starting to emerge. I'll go to lowest to highest ranked from Soxprospects.
Ty Buttrey. OPS against of .577 and 27 k's in 19.2 innings. Repeating AA, but taking a big step forward. His k/9 was 5 last year and is at 12 this year. Could be a case of him outclassing the level in his second year but that is a pretty big jump though in a SSS.
Stephen Nogosek - OPS against of .548 and 31k's in 22 innings. 22 and in Greenville.
Jamie Callahan - recently bumped up from AA where he had an .OPS against of .383 with 14k/9. Struggling a bit in AAA, but just a few innings so far. He's just 21 but could certainly make the team at some point
Darwinzon Hernandez - OPS against of .595. 11 k/9. Currently on the DL in Greenville. Just 20 years old.
Shaun Anderson - recently promoted from Greenville where he had an .OPS against of ..640 and 9k/9. He has struggled in Salem. He is 22.
Mike Sharwyn - had one awful outing which skews his .640 OPS against, but he has a dominant 13k/9 and has taken a big step forward. 22 in Greenville.
Jalen Beeks - OPS against of .604 and 10k/9. 23 and in Portland. He has credited his improvement from dropping his slider and adding a cutter Not out of the realm of possibility that he gets a September visit.
Lastly is Bryan Mata who was signed as an IFA. He was just assigned to Greenville at age 18 and may have the 2nd highest upside in the system, but is the most raw.
Beyond that there are high floor low ceiling guys like Roniel Raudes and Jake Cosart who haven't gotten it going this year. And Trey Ball, is Trey Balling.
All of these pitchers are either age appropriate or younger for their level.
Positionally it is still extremely thin, but Michael Chavis is knocking on AA with 24 extra base hits, and Devers AAA.
What do others think?
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