Five players to watch at Triple-A
Who to follow in Worcester 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 Triple-A Worcester Red Sox.
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: Christian Koss
Age: 25
Bats/Throws: R/R
Positions: SS/2B/3B
Blurb: Koss was acquired for LH Yoan Aybar to free up space on the 40-man roster prior to the 2021 season. We saw him a bit in Spring Training 2022. Most notably he hit a walk-off homer in a two home run game. He was competent but unspectacular at High-A in 2021 before most recently slashing .260/.311/.430 with 22 doubles, 17 home runs, 84 RBI, and 16 stolen bases over 488 at-bats for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs in 2022. While that looks solid, his 137/25 strikeout to walk ratio plenty of room for improvement. He worked on his outfield defense during the 2022/23 Winter Ball season in Puerto Rico, adding to his versatility.
Name: Ryan Fitzgerald
Age: 28
Bats/Throws: L/R
Positions: 1B/2B/3B/SS/OF
Blurb: After a terrific Spring Training followed by an excellent April with the WooSox in 2022, the fan favorite known as Fitzy seemed destined for a callup at some point, especially as the injuries piled up with the big-league club. Unfortunately, the mulleted lefty ran into a slump that he was never quite able to pull out of and ended the season slashing .219/.309/.400 with 16 home runs and 72 RBI. He never got that cup of coffee. Nonetheless, he is still an interesting option because of the depth he provides, capable of playing all over the field while providing a competent left-handed bat with some power. The Red Sox have few left-handed hitting infielders on the 40-man and with that part of the field still in question, he’s well worth keeping an eye on.
Name: Oddanier Mosqueda
Age: 23
Bats/Throws: L/L
Position: Relief Pitcher
Blurb: There are currently two lefty relievers on the Red Sox 40-man roster- newcomers Joely Rodriguez and Richard Bleier. That’s it. A case could be made that Chris Murphy and Brandon Walter could fit into that role but it looks like they’ll at least be starting the season in the Worcester rotation which means Mosqueda will get a nice long look in Spring Training along with fellow NRIs Ryan Sherriff and Matt Dermody.
Mosqueda is about a decade younger than those two and more familiar with the Red Sox organization as he was signed as an international free agent back in July 2015 as a 16-year-old. The diminutive Venezuelan’s breaking stuff has been very difficult for lefties to hit in the minors and his fastball can top out at 94 mph although it typically sits closer to 91. He posted a 4.30 ERA over 58.2 innings at Double-A in 2022 with 4.30 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and 70 strikeouts to 20 walks.
Name: Nick Sogard
Age: 25
Bats/Throws: B/R
Position(s): SS/3B/2B/OF
Blurb: The reason to keep an eye on Sogard is the same as Ryan Fitzgerald- he’s a versatile infielder with a lefty bat (in Sogard’s case, a switch hitter). That’s where the similarities with Fitzy end. Sogard doesn’t have the same power, but he makes the most out of his ability in different ways. The Loyola product slashed .254/.359/.349 between Double-A and Triple-A in 2022, stealing 18 bases and walking 61 times to 88 strikeouts over 472 PA. A jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type who could nonetheless be useful off the bench due to his speed, defensive versatility, and batting eye.
Name: Ronaldo Hernandez
Age: 25
Bats/Throws: R/R
Position: C
Blurb: The tools are there. Ronaldo Hernandez has a cannon for an arm and very real power. The catcher from Arjona, Colombia slashed .261/.300/.451 with 17 homers at Triple-A in 2022 so why was he removed from the 40-man roster and not claimed by any teams in November? Defense, defense, defense. He simply doesn’t play well enough behind the plate to be in true consideration for a big-league role, and his bat isn’t so good that he can be plugged in regularly as a DH. With that said, there are only two catchers on the Red Sox 40-man (Reese McGuire and Connor Wong) and Jorge Alfaro has a mid-season opt out so if injuries come up in a bad way at catcher, he’s likely to get a call up, glove be damned.