Farm report: Do Red Sox have MiLB reinforcements to replace Roman Anthony?

Boston s playoff hopes were dealt a potentially calamitous blow this week when rookie outfielder Roman Anthony suffered an oblique strain that will take him out of the equation for at least several weeks But as manager Alex Cora announced the Red Sox must move on Perhaps Anthony will be able to return for various postseason baseball His association must get there first though MLB progressing rosters expanded from to on Sept so even though the Red Sox may not be able to replicate Anthony s star quality they can at least fortify in quantity Teams get an additional position contestant and pitcher In Triple-A Worcester outfield options include Kristian Campbell and Jhostynxon Garcia who both made their big-league debuts this year and play multiple positions Garcia managed one hit and two walks in nine plate appearances during his brief five-game call-up earlier this month There s also -year-old Trayce Thompson who has seven years of big-league experience He leads the WooSox roster in right field innings and ranks second behind Garcia in center field innings Campbell was the first of Boston s Big Three prospects to get the call this year Unlike Anthony and shortstop Marcelo Mayer Campbell made the Opening Day roster A week later the Red Sox signed Campbell to an eight-year million extension In games since being optioned to Triple-A on June Campbell has slashed with hits nine doubles a pair of triples eight homers runs RBI walks and strikeouts The Red Sox named him Minor League Baserunner of the Month for August and he began September with a three-hit match in which he tripled doubled and homered A new slew of roster decisions indicate the Red Sox want to keep Campbell working in Triple-A though He was the only eligible -man position participant in Triple-A when rosters expanded this week but the Sox reacquired catcher Ali Sanchez and added him instead When the Red Sox placed Anthony on the injured list Wednesday utility-man Nick Sogard was the corresponding move Because he s versatile declared manager Alex Cora Red Sox outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia is back in Worcester after getting a taste of Major League Baseball earlier this summer Courtesy of the Worcester Red Sox Triple-A Next arm up Left-hander Payton Tolle dazzled in his big-league debut last Friday and is scheduled to take the mound again in Friday s series opener at Arizona s Chase Field Tolle won t be the last man up though Fellow lefty Kyle Harrison was a candidate to make his Red Sox debut Wednesday but a nagging ankle issue for the big-league club to opt for a bullpen tournament Harrison debuted in and has career big-league games under his belt He was in the Giants starting rotation mere minutes away from starting against the Dodgers when the Red Sox acquired him in the Rafael Devers pact and right now optioned him to Triple-A Harrison s new organization wants him to fine-tune his arsenal with a particular focus on off-speed pitches to complement what they feel is an elite fastball and because keeping him in the minors through July gave them an extra year of squad control After getting hit hard in his first three games Harrison owns a ERA over his last eight and opponents are batting with a meager OPS in that span His ankle has limited him to just one challenge in the last days though Former San Francisco Giants left-hander Kyle Harrison speaks to reporters at Polar Park in Worcester on June two days after being traded to the Red Sox for Rafael Devers Boston Herald Gabrielle Starr Like Tolle David Sandlin was among the prospects mentioned by chief baseball officer Craig Breslow in recent months when he spoke about fortifying the staff down the stretch The Red Sox decided to move the -year-old righty to the bullpen one start into his Triple-A promotion and he s struggled to a ERA and allowed at least one earned run in five of appearances since He has however yielded just one run a solo homer over his last three outings dating back to Aug Lefty Connelly Early is only six games into his WooSox promotion though that s three more than Tolle had under his belt when the Red Sox called him up last week Early is coming off back-to-back starts of at least five innings and no more than three hits and one earned run Shane Drohan could be a dark-horse candidate The -year-old lefty began the current WooSox season with seven strong outings six starts but a forearm injury sidelined him for over three months After three rehab outings in High-A Greenville he pitched scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in his return to Triple-A on Aug Double-A Arias promoted Franklin Arias the top position participant prospect in the Red Sox system has officially reached New England Earlier this week the Portland Sea Dogs reported that Arias a -year-old infielder ranked as Boston s No prospect according to MLB Pipeline has been called up to Double-A It was Arias second promotion this season and came after a solid stretch in High-A Greenville where he batted with a on-base percentage and more walks than strikeouts in August Arias has gotten off to a good start in Portland too In his first two games at Double-A he went for with a double and an RBI Teenage shortstop Franklin Arias has emerged as one of the breakout stars of the Red Sox minor league system this year Courtesy of the Salem Red Sox Pitching-wise Portland has seen the bulk of the organization s highest-profile arms already reach Triple-A and beyond but there are still a handful of promising talents working their way up Starting pitchers Hayden Mullins and Dalton Rogers in particular have stood out Mullins was - with a ERA and strikeouts over innings in his last five starts entering Thursday and Rogers was - with a ERA and strikeouts over innings over that same stretch Brooks Brannon has been Boston s best hitter in Portland just now batting with four home runs RBI and a OPS over games this month and Ahbram Liendo tallied stolen bases for the month bringing his season total to High-A draft picks shine After a tremendous start to the season in Low-A games AVG OPS hits Justin Gonzalez is just beginning to confront High-A after his late-August promotion He collected four hits and drove in a pair of runs in five Drive games before the end of the month So too are several of this year s draft picks who made their professional debuts in High-A or were promoted after brief stints at Low-A including middle infielder Henry Godbout The organization s first position participant selected No Godbout went for with four doubles five runs and two RBI in eight Drive games last month but missed two weeks with a hamstring injury Two of his hits and three of his six walks came in his Aug MiLB debut Fellow picks Mason White and Maximus Martin joined Godbout in High-A after beginning their pro careers in Low-A Salem White a fellow infielder collected eight hits in games after his first career promotion but four were doubles He also walked eight times to pair with his strikeouts Martin entered Thursday on a nine-game hitting streak dating back to his last Low-A tournament he went for with five walks in seven High-A games before the end of August Lefty Devin Futrell the organization s th-rounder in last year s draft proved he more than earned his early-August promotion he pitched to a ERA and opponent average in four starts totaling innings before month s end Johanfran Garcia Jhostynxon s younger brother continued raking in August with five home runs among his hits games The Red Sox also pulled off a sweet surprise flying the younger Garcia to New York for his big brother s MLB debut at Yankee Stadium Outfielder Nelly Taylor the organization s th-round pick in earned Red Sox Minor League Defensive Athlete of the Month honors Low-A Fajardo improving At years old Yhoiker Fajardo has ranked among the youngest players with any full-season minor league affiliate ever since his arrival in Salem Yet you wouldn t know it by the way he s pitched Fajardo has continued to dominate the Low-A level posting a ERA with strikeouts in innings over starts He s been even better in recent days allowing three earned runs over innings ERA with strikeouts and eight walks in his last five starts On Thursday he was named Carolina League Pitcher of the Month for August as well as Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month Fajardo was acquired last winter in exchange for reliever Cam Booser and Baseball America now has him ranked as Boston s No prospect Patrick Galle in the past few days became the first of Boston s newly drafted pitchers to be assigned to a minor league affiliate The th-round pick out of Ole Miss has so far allowed one unearned run through his first two professional appearances in Salem Two other newest draftees have also been assigned to Salem Jack Winnay a th-round pick out of Wake Forest and a former Belmont Hill star batted with a OPS in his first professional games Skylar King a th-round pick out of West Virginia has shown off several impressive speed with four stolen bases and three triples through his first games D Angelo Ortiz the -year-old son of Red Sox legend David Ortiz was promoted to Low-A in late July and has batted through his first games with Salem