Ed Hand's Red Sox Affiliate Players of the Month (April)
The world feels empty during the offseason. Sure, transactions and free agency are fun. I guess it’s nice being able to spend more evenings with loved ones instead of yelling at the television screen too, but the reality is that when it isn’t baseball season, the world is a sadder, less fulfilling place. My seasonal depression is just as much a result of the absence of MLB baseball games as it is the lack of sunlight, freezing temperatures, and morbid contemplation over the passing of yet another year. To celebrate this return to life having meaning again, let’s take a look at the top performing hitter and pitcher at each level of the Red Sox minor league system. This past month.
Worcester Red Sox (Triple-A)
Hitter: David Hamilton
Blurb: The 25-year-old speedster put up a solid slash line (.263/.341/.450) while belting three home runs and going 13-for-15 in stolen bases over 92 PA in his first month at Triple-A, making the surprising decision to add him to the 40-man roster during the offseason make a bit more sense. An infielder by trade, Hamilton’s arm is below-average for shortstop, but he can handle second base and would provide instant energy as a role player if needed at the MLB level. For his efforts on the basepaths, Hamilton was named Red Sox Minor League Baserunner of the Month for April
Pitcher: Joe Jacques
Blurb: April wasn’t an especially good month for WooSox pitchers, but Jacques, a 28-year-old side-arm lefty taken from Pittsburgh in the MiLB portion of the Rule 5 draft, was heavily relied upon and did a decent enough job posting a line of 11.2 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 10 K (3.86 ERA). He was particularly effective against lefties and could at some point be a potential MLB option in a similar vein to Bobby Poyner.
Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A)
Hitter: Nick Yorke
Blurb: Written off as a bust by some after dealing with three separate injury stints in 2022, it was a little bit of surprise1 to see the 21-year-old Yorke start the season with the Portland Sea Dogs after spending the entire previous year in Greenville. Yorke quickly silenced doubters, however, slashing a hearty .284/.415/.552 over 82 PA with five doubles, two triples, three home runs, and three stolen bases. If the second baseman can stay healthy and keep up this level of production, a return to his former status as a top 100 prospect in all of baseball is very much in the cards.
Pitcher: Shane Drohan
Blurb: A fifth-round pick in the five round 2020 draft out of Florida State, Drohan took a step forward in 2022 when he added a curveball to his repertoire2. There was a ton of hype built around him in this year’s spring training due to reports that he had added a cutter and had bulked up his fastball velocity by 2-3 MPH during the offseason. Somehow, the 24-year-old lefty managed to surpass expectations posting a ridiculous line of 23 IP, 13 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 26 K (0.78 ERA, 0.74 WHIP). His video game-like performance earned him Red Sox Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month and Eastern League Pitcher of the Month for April.
Greenville Drive (High-A)
Hitter: Chase Meidroth
Blurb: Something of a forgotten man in the 2022 draft behind the hype of Mikey Romero/Cutter Coffey/Roman Anthony trio, fourth round pick Meidroth has been moved aggressively in comparison to his draftmates and it’s easy to understand why. Despite being listed at 5’9’, the 21-year-old second baseman3 is a polished hitter with a keen eye and well-developed approach that resulted in a chaotic .320/.521/.400 slash line over 71 PA in the April 2023. Meidroth’s 20-15 BB/K rate was especially impressive although his power did not reveal itself until after the month ended. Despite this, the organization named him Red Sox Minor League Hitter of the Month for April.
Pitcher: Isaac Coffey
Blurb: Like Worcester, Greenville hasn’t exactly been a shining beacon of success but a relatively unknown 22-year-old righty out of Oral Roberts who wasn’t even the first guy with the last name “Coffey” taken by the Red Sox in the 2022 draft posted some eye-opening numbers- 20.2 IP, 17 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 30 K (3.92 ERA, 0.92 WHIP). Before you get all excited and crown him a significant building block for the future, there are two notable red flags. The first is that of those 17 hits he allowed, seven were for home runs, a startling 41%. The second is that his velocity tops out at 91 mph, something that he compensates for with a deceptive delivery, and good command. Nonetheless, the K/BB rate is encouraging. He’s someone to keep an eye on.
Salem Red Sox (Low-A)
Hitter: Luis Ravelo
Blurb: There are more than a few solid prospects in Salem quietly running parallel behind the hype trains that are Miguel Bleis, Roman Anthony, and Luis Perales, and Luis Ravelo is most certainly one of them. The 19-year-old shortstop is generally considered more of a defense-first prospect but that didn’t stop him from slashing .295/.389/.426 with a pair of doubles and home runs, and nine RBI over 72 PA in April. The lower levels of the Red Sox farm are littered with middle infielders, but he’s got the arm, instincts, and range to stick at shortstop.
Pitcher: Nathan Landry
Blurb: Landry came into the season as a relatively unheralded college pitcher taken in the 15th round of the 2022 draft and placed in Salem with minimal expectations beyond “throw strikes”. The 23-year-old lefty from Canada4 didn’t allow a single run for the entire month posting a line of 10.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K (0.87 WHIP). Landry was rewarded for his efforts on May 2 with a promotion to High-A, the first promotion for any prospect in the system this season. He was also named Red Sox Minor League Reliever of the Month.
Honorable Mentions
Hitters: Wilyer Abreu (AAA), Ryan Fitzgerald (AAA), Matthew Lugo (AA), Corey Rosier (AA), Marcelo Mayer (A+), Blaze Jordan (A+), Miguel Bleis (A), Juan Chacon (A)
Pitchers: Matt Dermody (AAA), Ryan Sherriff (AAA), Brian Van Belle (AA), Theo Denlinger (AA), Angel Bastardo (A+), Christopher Troye (A+), Dalton Rogers (A), Jose Ramirez (A)
To me anyway
Drohan’s 2022 highlight was undoubtably a 14-strikeout outing for the Drive on June 6th with CBO Chaim Bloom in the audience.
Please avoid the low-hanging Dustin Pedroia comparisons until he’s at least doing this in Double-A, thanks.
In his youth, Landry played in a league with only two teams would play each other over and over again throughout the summer. Such is life for an aspiring baseball player in Quebec.
Copy Cat Writer. Could you please breakdown there skill sets with grades. Projection wise how do you project or predict players with out seeing them on the field? All you do is copy what a Baseball America Prsopect handbook would write or go digging on sites for reports on players and then being very creative as you and BallParkBuzz are you rewrite what you read into your own words. I understand you can fool the niece Red Sox nation fan who really has extremely little knowledge about the game never mind a minor league system. And lastly could you give us some info on these players you mention that nobody else has published. Hand your a fake writer.