Beetle: Kike Hernandez is no longer sneaky bad, he’s just downright bad

While the Red Sox have railed off 8 of their last 9 games for wins, there has been one player who has been getting on the nerves of Zolak and Bertrand, and that would be Kike Hernandez.

Hernandez has struggled massively this season with both his bat and defensive play this season. Hernandez so far has a batting average of .221 in 2023 with only 6 homeruns and 31 RBI's, while defensively the shortstop has committed a league high 15 errors.

On Monday's addition of Zolak and Bertrand, we reacted to the possibility of the team DFA'ing the shortstop and how the player has turned from sneaky bad, to just straight up bad.

Beetle: They're going to let him go, they're gonna try and dump him. He's out of here. They're done with him.

Milliken: Because how bad of a look would it be? They got Pablo Reyes coming back after the All-Star break. Yu Chang is your starting shortstop because he can actually play the position, he's never going to hit, but he can play the position. And Christian Arroyo. When his roster spot was on the line. What has he done? He's hit .315 over his last seven games and had big hits. There's one guy you look at, the guy they gave a reset and when he came back, what does he do? He makes another throwing error at shortstop. 15 on the year, 14 throwing.

Beetle: Here is that tweet, by the way, that you reference from Chris Cotillo of Masslive. Red Sox have not been afraid to shake up the roster coming out of the break before, in 2021 Duran and Houck were called up on the first day of the second half. Have to wonder if Kike Hernandez is DFA by the time they get to Wrigley. Just DFA'd.

Milliken: Well, I think they would trade him. I think that would be the hope. So you can get a million maybe off for the luxury tax.

Beetle: I'm saying you have time to trade him once you DFA him, but you could keep him on the roster and try and move him. You could keep him on the roster and make calls, couldn't you? They could be doing that right now during the break.

Milliken: And nobody's taken it. They'll say DFA him and lower that price even more.

Beetle: That's what I'm saying. That's that's what I mean by they're just going to say goodbye. They just don't even want him there. They'll figure out the trade aspect of it after the fact. They're not trying to trade him, right, or maybe they are trying to trade him right now and nobody wants them.

Zo: Yeah, but the little things he brings to the table, his leadership qualities and, you know, his ability to bring out the best in those around him.

Milliken: He's been the worst player in all of baseball this year. The worst by war, he's -1.1. No one has been as bad in the league as Kike Hernandez.

Beetle: No longer sneaky bad, just downright bad.

While Chaim Bloom is getting some credit for the 2023 Red Sox being better than many expected, he also seems to be hitting on a number of prospects he has his fingerprints on.

Since joining the organization after the 2019 season, Bloom has emphasized the importance of having a consistent pipeline flooding the big league roster.

The 6 names below have a chance to do just that as Bloom's vision for the future starts to come into fruition.

After the departure of Xander Bogaerts over the offseason, all attention turned to Marcelo Mayer as the shortstop of the future for the Red Sox. So far, he’s looked the part down in High-A on both sides of the ball despite battling some shoulder soreness earlier this month.

Across 26 games, he’s slashing .315/.395/.537/.932 with 4 homers and 10 doubles for a 147 wRC+. It’s still a bit early for a promotion, but it’d be a surprise if he wasn’t heading up to Portland in June or July. He’s also hitting the ball harder than ever after adding muscle over the offseason, leading to his best exit velocity numbers yet.

MLB Pipeline now has him ranked as #5 prospect in all of baseball with Jordan Walker, Jackson Chourio. Jackson Holliday,  Elly De La Cruz ahead of him. Not a bad showing for Mayer’s age-20 season

Last season was nothing short of a disappointment for Nick Yorke, who battled injuries and his mechanics after a massive breakout in 2021. Yet, he flashed the impact bat the Red Sox front office dreamed on, while down in the Arizona Fall League. That’s carried right into 2023 in his first taste of Double-A.

Over 30 games, Yorke is hitting .267/.397/.483/.880 with 5 homers and 4 doubles for a 145 wRC+. His 16.3% BB% is as impressive as any of his marks on the season, showing that he’s controlling the zone despite going up against the best pitching he’s faced so far. Not to mention, Portland is not a fun place to hit in April and early May.

Yorke entered 2023 right outside of Fangraphs Top 100 list, but he has a chance to sneak back in if he continues to swing the bat like this.

Out of every name in the Red Sox system, nobody has seen their stock rise like Shane Drohan over the last few months. The 2020 5th-round pick had an average fastball velocity of 90.8 MPH in 2021 and is now up to 92.6 MPH. It’s become a game-changer in his arsenal and has led to a promotion to Triple-A after just 6 starts in Double-A.

In those 6 starts in Portland, Drohan dominated the competition with a 1.32 ERA/2.31 FIP in 34.1 IP. He hasn’t had any issues missing bats either, posting a 9.5 K/9 with an impressive 2.4 BB/9. Despite it being his age-24 season, there’s an interesting floor considering his stuff from the left side with some projection as well if his velocity continues to climb.

Entering 2023, SoxProspects.com had him ranked 12th in the system behind arms like Bryan Mata, Brandon Walter, and Luis Perales, but he’s moved up to 5th spot and is being viewed as the best pitching prospect in the organization.

All the attention has been on Enmanuel Valdez in 2023, but the other part of the Christian Vazquez return might be an even better player. After showing some interesting flashes during spring training before suffering a hamstring strain, Wilyer Abreu has done nothing but impress in his first shot at AAA. His profile of above-average corner outfield defense, power, and strong on-base skills could keep him in the big leagues for a long time.

In Abreu’s first 28 games at the AAA level, he’s slashing .294/.393/.480/.874 with 5 long balls, a 14.8% BB%, and a 122 wRC+. He’s even cut his K% despite moving up a level, going from 26.8% in Portland to 23% in Worcester. That was arguably the weakest part of his profile heading into 2023, so making strides in that department levels up the entire profile a bit.

It’s fair to question what his future in Boston might be with a crowded outfield being on the horizon this season and moving forward, but he could be an intriguing trade piece as well. But his approach at the plate seems to fit the type of hitters the Red Sox have been targeting as of late.

Similar to Abreu, David Hamilton wasn’t the focus of the package the Red Sox received for dealing Hunter Renfroe, but he’s showing much more than Alex Binelas. He’s flashed off a toolsy profile in Triple-A that has a chance to be an intriguing weapon on a big league bench. Especially with the current base-stealing environment in the big leagues.

Hamilton is registering a slashline of .266/.356/.511/.867 with 8 homers and 21 stolen bases in 36 games. He’s also been increasing his versatility as well, spending time at shortstop, second base, and soon to be center field. The defense at shortstop is definitely still a work in-progress, but as we’ve seen with Enmanuel Valdez, the Red Sox are willing to let guys develop defensively despite some warts.

It feels like only a matter of time before we see him in the big leagues in 2023. While I don’t believe the ceiling is that high, Alex Cora has shown his appreciation for speedy and versatile options off the bench.

There’s been a ton of hype surrounding Blaze Jordan since he was a teenager, and while questions continue to surround his bat, he’s producing at High-A alongside Mayer in his age-20 season.

Over the course of 31 games, he’s batting .287/.341/.500/.841 with 5 jacks and 9 doubles for a 118 wRC+. He’s also lowered his K% significantly from last season at High-A, going from 25.5% to 16.3%. There’s a ton of pressure on the bat with his limited defensive profile at first base, but he’s shown a knack for crushing breaking balls since entering the Red Sox system.

Chaim Bloom’s 2020 draft class has a chance to be pretty impressive, with Nick Yorke, Shane Drohan, and Jordan also surging early in 2023.