Bubba

Bell

Lancaster teammate Tony Granadillo had two hits and two RBI, and Rangers prospect Chris Davis homered for the California League squad. The 24-year-old Bell is hitting .347/.440/.604 with 16 homers and 10 steals for Lancaster. The Red Sox need to promote him to Double-A and see what he can do in a real ballpark.

The Red Sox are now going to find out whether Bell is a prospect after promoting him from Lancaster. The 24-year-old was hitting .370/.455/.665 in 322 at-bats in the California League. He’s at .308/.357/.462 in six games for his new team.

Bell’s fast start looked like it could be written off as a Lancaster-inspired fluke, but six of his 13 homers have been hit on the road and he’s batting .341/.451/.635 in away games. Also, he has a 22/34 K/BB ratio in 179 at-bats. He is 24, so the Red Sox should get him up to Double-A in order to figure out if they have something here.

Bell was a non-prospect until hitting .370/.455/.665 in 322 at-bats for Single-A Lancaster last season. Even in an offensive environment as extreme as that one, it was hard not to notice his numbers. When he slumped to a 746 OPS in 147 at-bats after a midseason promotion to Double-A, he became an afterthrought again. However, the 25-year-old is hitting .285/.365/.530 in the Eastern League so far this season. Perhaps there’s a chance he’ll emerge as a major league reserve.

He has seven hits and 10 RBI the last two days. The 24-year-old Bell had just six homers while hitting .290/.377/.418 in 359 at-bats at three levels last season. He’s not really a prospect, though playing in Lancaster could make him look like one before the year is out.

The Indians has just acquired Bell, who has batted .292/.346/.375 in just 24 at-bats for Triple-A Columbus, from the Red Sox at the end of spring training. The 28-year-old will give the Mets depth at Triple-A Buffalo.

Bell, 28, can’t really be called a prospect anymore. He posted a .765 OPS, six home runs and 49 RBI across 104 games at Triple-A Pawtucket last season.