Worcester Red Sox receiving high marks for role in getting top prospects ready for Boston

WORCESTER — There’s still plenty of baseball remaining in the 2022 season, but the Red Sox organization already has accomplished many of its goals from a developmental standpoint.

The WooSox have used 67 players (27 position players, 40 pitchers) this season, which is close to the organization's Triple A all-time record of 72 players set during the 2021 season. Worcester also has sent 21 players to Boston this season. The number of transactions is evidence the system is working.

Many of the organization’s top prospects have made an impact for the Red Sox this season, while other have fallen short of expectations.

Pitchers Connor Seabold, John Schreiber, Josh Winckowski, Ryan Brasier, Phillips Valdez, Kutter Crawford, Silvino Bracho, Brayan Bello, Michael Feliz, Kaleb Ort, Darwinzon Hernandez, along with catchers Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernandez, outfielders Jarren Duran, Rob Refsynder, Franchy Cordero and Jaylin Davis, and infielders Jeter Downs, Yolmer Sanchez, Jonathan Arauz all have played for Boston this season.

“It’s been great to see guys go up and have an impact on the positive side and show what they can do with that opportunity at the big league level,” Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham said. Boston manager Alex Cora and the big league staff “care about having that transition be effective and efficient. There will be ups and downs, and it’s certainly not easy to play in the big leagues, so there will be growing pains and we try our best to help prepare them for that.”

Since there’s a little over a month (42 games) remaining in the season, it’s a good time to check in on a few of the top prospects in the organization:

Triston Casas

There’s one player who could have been on the road to Boston already this season, but an early-season injury sidelined first baseman Triston Casas for 10 weeks.

When the 22-year-old returned from a high ankle sprain, he admitted it was frustrating to witness all the player movement, while he was on the mend.

The Red Sox don’t believe it was a major setback for Casas. He maybe didn’t get the amount of reps he wanted this season, and his goal was to reach the big leagues in 2022, but he did face plenty of upper-level pitching at Triple A.

He faced better overall velocity and improved his at-bats against left-handed pitching.

“He’s come back strong. He’s come back healthy,” Abraham said. “He picked up where he left off, but (the injury) limited him to get more experience, and that’s always vital when you’re talking about a guy who is close to an appearance in the big leagues.”

After the Red Sox acquired veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer at the trade deadline, the club reiterated its plan for Casas moving forward.

“We always have conversations with our players about how we feel about them, and one of the things we focus on is having these guys focus on what they can control,” Abraham said. “There are decisions that are made that sometimes don’t seem like they’re in the best interest of our players, but we ultimately have to make decisions that will help push the organization forward and get us closer to a World Series championship. The guys in the minor leagues need to progress and develop and do what they can to make an impact at some point.”

Brayan Bello

Bello’s progression moved quickly this season from Double A to Triple A before he made his debut with the Red Sox. Currently, the right-hander is on the injured list with a groin strain. His numbers with the Red Sox don’t jump off the page at the moment, but he’s learned from his success and failures already this season.

“He’s progressed fairly quickly, but he’s also made some pretty significant adjustment to his pitch mix. He’s also shown the ability to get upper level players out. He’s realized how hard it is to pitch in the majors,” Abraham said.

Bello, 23, possesses impressive velocity and routinely reaches upper 90s with his fastball. He can back it up with a nasty changeup and recently added a slider to his mix. While he cruised through the top minor league levels this season, he received a bit of a wakeup call when he reached Boston.

“It’s a really good learning experience for him to understand the importance of being consistent and basically succeeding with every pitch,” Abraham said. “Before he went on the IR, we started to see him turn the corner in terms of what he was expecting out there, and what we expect out of him. We’re really happy with the progress he’s made.”

Jeter Downs

Downs, 24, has made the biggest improvements from last season, which is one reason he was given an opportunity in his major league debut with the Red Sox this summer. He’s a big league defender and possesses power at the plate, but he needs to build more offensive consistency into his game.

“Understanding that he’s now major league depth for us, and he’s had an opportunity to go up there and make an impact very quickly, and for some guys that’s a difference-maker to show that they can have an impact at the major league level,” Abraham said.

When Downs was sent back to Worcester, he arrived even more motivated after his taste of the majors. The Triple-A field staff of manager Chad Tracy, bench coach Jose Flores, along with hitting coaches Rich Gedman and Mike Montville have had a major influence on Downs this season.

It also helps that he’s had another full season in the Red Sox organization. and he understands exactly what’s expected.

“We’ve seen tons of progress,” Abraham said of Downs.

Enmanuel Valdez

When the Red Sox acquired infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez at the trade deadline from the Houston Astros as part of the Christian Vasquez deal, Red Sox fans had no idea what to expect from the 23-year-old newcomer. He was sent to Worcester, and in the small sample size, he’s proven to be a welcomed commodity. The left-handed hitter crushed a pair of opposite-field home runs in his first three games with the WooSox.

“The first thing you see is the impact with the bat,” Abraham said. “He can drive the baseball to all fields and hit a couple of opposite-field home runs at Polar Park, which I haven’t seen too often from a left-handed hitter. It’s pretty impressive. He’s shown the ability to control the zone, and he hits the ball really hard.”

He also possesses defensive versatility. He has played mostly second base for the WooSox, but the organization is comfortable enough if they needed him to play shortstop.

“He’s a guy with some versatility and some athleticism,” Abraham said. “He’s a guy who can impact the baseball. He’s a guy who can change the game is all phases.”

During his minor league career, he has played first base, second base, third base, left field, right field and catcher.

—Contact Joe McDonald at JMcDonald2@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeyMacHockey.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: WooSox receiving high marks for getting top prospects ready for Boston