Five players to watch at High-A
Who to follow at Greenville in 2023
For the next six weeks, I’ll be profiling five players from each level in the Red Sox system that I’m eagerly following heading into the 2023 season. This week it’s going to be the High-A Greenville Drive.
Previous write ups:
Five players to watch at Triple-A
Five players to watch at Double-A
Let’s go over the rules for how I select these prospects, or more specifically, who I DON’T select.
If a player is on the 40-man roster or has appeared in at least one major league game, they are excluded from the list. That means potential MLB rookies like Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Enmanuel Valdez won’t be included due to their 40-man status nor will MLB veterans like Niko Goodrum, Jake Faria, or Raimel Tapia. That’s it. Those are my only parameters.
On that note, lets dive on in.
Name: Nathan Hickey
Age: 23
Bats/Throws: L/R
Position: C
Blurb- A 2021 fifth round pick, it's unknown if Hickey is going to stick to catcher but his bat and eye give hope that he'll hit one way or the other as he demonstrated both power and patience in his first full season of pro ball. The Jacksonville native slashed .263/.415/.522 with 16 home runs and 62 RBI between Salem and Greenville over 328 PA in 2022. His approach is advanced for his level. Like Niko Kavadas, Double-A will be his first true test, but he’ll need a few more at-bats in Greenville first. His catching defense and arm are considered below-average, and it’s possible he’ll end up at first base or left field. He even played a little third base in college at Florida State.
Name: Blaze Jordan
Age: 20
Bats/Throws: R/R
Position(s): 3B/1B
Blurb- One of the coolest names in the minors also performed pretty damn well in his first full season at pro ball, actually improving his hitting upon a promotion to High-A toward the end of the season. When the smoke cleared, the YouTube sensation had hit 12 home runs and 30 doubles to go along with a .289/.363/.445 slash-line over 521 PA. Perhaps most encouragingly, his walk to strikeout ratio was 48-94 and he showed he could hit velocity better than some expected. He’ll have to hit as his third base defense isn’t anything impressive despite an arm that reportedly hit as high as 92 mph in high school.
Name: Eddinson Paulino
Age: 20
Bats/Throws: L/R
Position(s): 2B/3B/SS/CF
Blurb- The Red Sox may have kept Paulino at Low-A Salem all season to avoid losing him in the Rule 5 draft. That would explain why he was never promoted despite a strong 2022 season. The 20-year-old utility man can do a little bit of everything. He slashed .266/.359/.469 with 35 doubles, 10 triples, 13 home runs, 66 RBI and was 27-for-32 in stolen bases for Salem with 64 walks to 105 strikeouts. In another organization he might see more time at shortstop, but the presence of Marcelo Mayer, Mikey Romero, Blaze Jordan, and Brainer Bonaci has led to him playing all over the diamond and even some outfield. His defense grades out as passable, the quantity of his positional versatility more notable than the quality.
Name: Marcelo Mayer
Age: 20
Bats/Throws: L/R
Position: SS
Blurb- The most hyped Red Sox prospect in some time actually lived up to expectations in his first full season in pro ball, first slashing .286/.406/.504 with 26 doubles, 9 home runs, 40 RBI, and 16 stolen bases at Salem over 66 games. A promotion to High-A Greenville saw slash a .265/.379/.449 line over 25 more games with another four home runs. According to SoxProspects.com, the 20-year-old whiz kid's power, hit tool, defense and arm all rate as "potential pluses". The sort of player that the game just comes easy to, he's drawn comparisons from some scouts to a young Corey Seager. There’s fire with the smoke. The question now is just how much?
Name: Wikelman Gonzalez
Age: 20
Bats/Throws: R/R
Position: RHP
Blurb- - The young righty actually struggled a bit for Salem in 2022 posting 4.54 ERA over 81.1 innings with 98 strikeouts to 48 walks and a 1.365 WHIP. A late season promotion to High-A looked a lot better however, as he dropped a 2.65 ERA over four starts (17 IP) and struck out 23 while walking six (1.118 WHIP). Continually young for his level, Gonzalez offers a fastball that can reach 97 mph, a changeup with a spliter-like drop, an 11-5 curveball, and 10-4 slider. The fastball, changeup and curveball all grade out as "potentially above-average", according to SoxProspects.com, with his slider "potentially average".