tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135798372024-03-28T23:29:13.515-04:00SoxProspects NewsThe web's #1 source on the Boston Red Sox farm system.Shawn McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15710984728193791500noreply@blogger.comBlogger7527125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-45510314467744591122024-03-28T09:00:00.335-04:002024-03-28T16:20:06.771-04:002024 SoxProspects Pre-Season All-Stars Pt. 2 - Pitchers<div style="text-align: justify;">For the second and final part of SoxProspects.com's 2024 Pre-Season All-Star list, we turn our attention to the mound and recognize seven of the more well-regarded pitchers in the Red Sox farm system. This group features two international signees who were just added to Boston's 40-man roster, three draftees, and two recent trade acquisitions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/perales-luis.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Greenville-Drive/Greenville-Drive-September-2-2023/i-HpdhRwx/0/DMnwNvFWHLXJhz87PSMfjWxPFBdsWpSgTWt3wpNXX/L/20230902_R7_1519-L.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/perales-luis.htm" target="_blank">Luis Perales:</a> Starting Pitcher, Greenville Drive<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perales, who turns 21 next month, is a Pre-Season All-Star for the second year in a row. Currently ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the organization, the right-hander is coming off a 2023 season in which he posted a 3.91 ERA (4.34 FIP) with 115 strikeouts to 50 walks over 21 starts (89 2/3 innings) between Salem and Greenville. After being promoted in mid-July, he pitched to a 4.95 ERA (6.07 FIP) with 44 strikeouts to 22 walks in eight starts (36 1/3 innings) for the Drive. The native Venezuelan was nonetheless added to Boston's 40-man roster in November for Rule 5 protection purposes and is slated to return to Greenville for the start of the 2024 campaign.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----<br /><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/gonzalez-wikelman.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Portland-Sea-Dogs/Portland-Sea-Dogs-July-23-2023/i-fbrqs4n/0/FCGsfvcKk6TfFg2t9shq7g4JQLnnXLbLjbMwvhC4t/L/20230723_R7_0237-L.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/gonzalez-wikelman.htm" target="_blank">Wikelman Gonzalez</a>: Starting Pitcher, Portland Sea Dogs</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gonzalez, who turned 22 earlier this week, is a Pre-Season All-Star for the third year in a row. Ranked two slots below Perales at No. 9 in the system, the hard-throwing righty was also added to Boston's 40-man roster in November. Last season, he overcame a rough start with Greenville and ended the year in Portland while forging a 3.96 ERA (3.33 FIP) with an organizational-leading 168 strikeouts to 70 walks in 25 total starts (111 1/3 innings) between the two affiliates. He tossed six no-hit innings in his first start at Hadlock Field on July 23 and was ultimately named the Red Sox' Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Like Perales, Gonzalez hails from Venezuela. He, too, is expected to return to Portland to kick off the upcoming season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/fitts-richard.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-March-16-2024/i-vr4QLtg/0/CLfZrrH3SMbkTWQQbTdkR5jGCvBb95T3KfSdMJn8Q/L/20240316_1614-L.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/fitts-richard.htm" target="_blank">Richard Fitts</a>: Starting Pitcher, Worcester Red Sox<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A newcomer to the organization, Fitts was acquired from the Yankees as part of the four-player trade that sent Alex Verdugo to New York in December. The 24-year-old right-hander was originally selected in the sixth round of the 2021 amateur draft out of Auburn and is coming off a 2023 campaign in which he earned Eastern League Pitcher of the Year honors by posting a 3.48 ERA (3.92 FIP) with 163 strikeouts to 43 walks over 27 starts (152 2/3 innings) for the Somerset Patriots. Fitts is now regarded as the No. 11 prospect in Boston's farm system and will open the 2024 season in Worcester's starting rotation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/sandlin-david.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-March-23-2024/i-gF5Pvsf/0/DktVKkjwwfJWSnFD2PNBnqM7JFCD9kmqS5qWjRXz9/L/20240323_5912-L.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/sandlin-david.htm" target="_blank">David Sandlin</a>: Starting Pitcher, Greenville Drive</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like Fitts, Sandlin is also entering his first season as a member of the Red Sox organization after being acquired from the Royals for John Schreiber last month. A former 11th-round draft selection of Kansas City coming out of Oklahoma in 2022, Sandlin was limited to just 14 starts last season due to an oblique strain. Before being shut down in early July, though, the 23-year-old righty put up a 3.51 ERA (3.68 FIP) with 87 strikeouts to 18 walks across 66 2/3 innings between Low-A Columbia and High-A Quad Cities. He is now rated as the No. 13 prospect in the system and is expected to be part of Greenville's rotation to begin the 2024 campaign.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/guerrero-luis.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="451" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Portland-Sea-Dogs/Portland-Sea-Dogs-July-23-2023/i-TtHDfqg/0/CS3sPDNnL3M5VBpL5Cm79f3drG92hvcQJ4zxJz2vV/L/20230723_R7_4807-L.jpg" width="151" /></a></div><b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/guerrero-luis.htm" target="_blank">Luis Guerrero</a>: Relief Pitcher, Worcester Red Sox</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Guerrero, 23, is a Pre-Season All-Star for the second consecutive year. The fiery righty out of the Dominican Republic represented the Red Sox at the All-Star Futures Game last summer and was recognized as the organization's Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. He spent much of the 2023 season with Portland, producing a 1.81 ERA (3.36 FIP) with 59 strikeouts to 30 walks over 43 appearances (49 2/3 innings) before receiving a promotion to Worcester in early September. Though he struggled in limited action with the WooSox (7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings), Guerrero is still arguably the top relief prospect in the system. He comes in at No. 27 in our rankings and will return to Worcester for the start of his third full professional season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/hoppe-alex.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-March-21-2024/i-8pGRFhM/0/CH6HfLPgkL569zFMSc6Fd9mGQJJdwX3BnLKBSFw9/L/20240321_0402-L.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/hoppe-alex.htm" target="_blank">Alex Hoppe</a>: Relief Pitcher, Portland Sea Dogs</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hoppe, 25, is a Pre-Season All-Star for the first time after an encouraging first full season in pro ball. The Iowa-born right-hander split the 2023 campaign between Greenville and Portland, posting a 4.10 ERA (3.68 FIP) with 64 strikeouts to 17 walks over 43 appearances spanning 48 1/3 total innings of relief. Like Guerrero, Hoppe was in big-league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring, but he did not get into any games and instead appears to be dealing with an undisclosed injury that could cost him the start of the 2024 season. Regardless, he is currently ranked as the No. 30 prospect in the organization.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/troye-christopher.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-March-21-2024/i-RjVM3Xr/0/zqPTV39rcjFMSFBQC43DcTGFTNCvnrJdBpK6vCmV/L/20240321_2623-L.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/troye-christopher.htm" target="_blank">Christopher Troye</a>: Relief Pitcher, Portland Sea Dogs<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A hard-throwing catcher-turned-reliever, Troye is also a Pre-Season All-Star for the first time. Like Hoppe, the 25-year-old righty split the 2023 season between Greenville and Portland, forging a 3.10 ERA (3.08 FIP) with 87 strikeouts to 36 walks in 38 total appearances (49 1/3 innings). He then appeared in eight games for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League, yielding six earned runs on 10 hits, six walks, and 11 strikeouts over 8 2/3 innings. That may translate to a 6.23 ERA, but it is worth noting that five of the six runs Troye gave up came in a single outing. With that being said, Troye -- our No. 34 prospect at the moment -- is set to return to Portland for the start of the upcoming season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: All by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Brendan Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535427377822772333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-31334706045560038762024-03-27T14:16:00.003-04:002024-03-28T16:26:34.853-04:002024 SoxProspects Pre-Season All-Stars Pt. 1 - Position Players<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b>Baseball is back. The Red Sox minor league squads will be getting underway this week. With that, the SoxProspects.com team has selected its annual Pre-Season All-Stars. We will begin with the hitters today and continue with pitchers tomorrow. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-----<br /></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/teel-kyle.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWMfF3BqbAhME1RxWkQ28i6vliN4-9rOd8DLM9bfApK73H0H8iJUqIPukUkuNCVRYa2daWhIqOtlN9WJWPXE6Kn43J1-pv1gUuTWlyftOQ9SSQ8mb3_E9vx9xuEYEVdVBQ9b4xkPK-kgWODQz_d0X7UEIy04DU0tYLS0jRBLSuMoEY3b0pMg7/s768/kyle%20teel.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />Catcher: Kyle Teel, Portland Sea Dogs</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Teel, drafted 14th overall last summer, enters his first full season of pro ball as a Pre-Season All-Star. The 22-year-old has already risen to third here at SoxProspects after putting up some big offensive numbers in 2023. He saw time with the FCL Sox, the Greenville Drive, and the Portland Sea Dogs last year, where he hit a combined .363/.482/.495 in 26 games. Teel saw some action in MLB games this spring and <a href="https://x.com/RedSoxPlayerDev/status/1771987553433854037?s=20" target="_blank">hit this bomb on the back fields</a>. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-----<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/jordan-blaze.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0G396lVf_SIkYDLM8BInY8pxKJ6nE35X2qYwY2lvgCxZBbD4rFRFx2MumbYeqOD3Nu6pbBIHgfjrXOMvEiTXj03WNnFO_OB58xq-5q418aNKrZb3UqA6oZcwfeD8PHgch84lcAVApiONU9Y0un3UFH8fOTRoF5tBG1l97BclJ7A2ARmQSMi1K/w160-h200/blaze%20jordan.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />First Base: Blaze Jordan, Portland Sea Dogs</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jordan makes his first appearance as a Pre-Season All-Star. He was the 89th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of high school, and has been spending time at both third base and first base. He will likely see a lot more time at first moving forward. After tearing it up for Greenville to the tune of a .324/.385/.533 slash line in 73 games, Jordan was bumped up to the Sea Dogs. With Portland, he had a .698 OPS in 49 games with six home runs and 10 doubles. Combined, he hit 18 home runs, 32 doubles, and a triple, and drove in 86 runs in 122 games. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-----<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/yorke-nick.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGBRH5joqyXZ3x5LSI3cHw4gbuCz6fnn1Zi7WS1-nk-C3W8kNjAHBvFgUnNuyw2u6L95zCg36CqMAZu4RByenUlfhHJthAWlgj98U-ctG5TOlogSkHktwKMh5b05rO97knFDCj4NP7IaTEEwm8c2KGZoVfNK5YuanE7KYjJmvdEgnyeGy5_i-/w160-h200/nick%20yorkeeeeeeee.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />Second Base: Nick Yorke, Portland Sea Dogs</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is Yorke's third time as a Pre-Season All-Star, with the other two seasons coming in 2021 and 2022. He was also named a regular SoxProspects All-Start for the 2023 season.<b> </b>The 21-year-old right-handed hitter spent all of last season with Portland, where he hit .268/.350/.435 with 43 extra-base hits in 110 games. He also drew 51 walks and stole 18 bases in 23 attempts. He is currently ranked sixth in the system. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-----</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/meidroth-chase.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEj_fsOuAnIsqPX9hLwXELa_mwIz8x5DU3N1lk_rMX-pAz_3ejglDe_DDjxcMjaWkc0UwLZgasBB82I8WJABMnK1_Z39wprWX3GlmFGWqTq7ErhnS2qdFScZyFjZBaYHITQ2FV4jjfaaKOn0qVRQ1ZFS-z-7dTXWhu-SgDCeD5TUOrqHfX5PEW/w160-h200/chase.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />Third Base: Chase Meidroth, Worcester Red Sox</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Meidroth makes his debut as a Pre-Season All-Star after he was selected as an All-Star for his 2023 campaign.<b> </b>The 2022 fourth-rounder spent time with Greenville and Portland last year, where he hit a combined .271/.408/.391 in 111 games. He maintained his impressive walk rate with the Sea Dogs, where he drew 59 walks in 91 games, good for a 14.9% walk rate. He was also named the 2023 Portland Sea Dogs Defensive Player of the Year. He is currently ranked 14th in the system. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-----</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/mayer-marcelo.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmz2EIAVgwi5SlJW2S1_oAzikd8tzSFrk6Y9vKrIMPfQrr0KjY_GPsmdsmKMfeMk36sfHm6_y417zvbJqsi05nFkCaMNRF2jVbblCEw2esei7EAYayqfVMCqWID_dyTBQBvCybrkmluuL-hin8WKIPVSWVnQtOUzuquI_kTXDY4SQKGNbhG_d/w160-h200/mayerrr.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />Shortstop: Marcelo Mayer, Portland Sea Dogs</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mayer makes it three consecutive seasons as a Pre-Season All-Star.<b> </b>The second-ranked prospect played very well for Greenville last season, hitting .290/.366/.524, including seven home runs, in 35 games. He was moved up to Portland, but struggled with an injury that sidelined him for a month and a half. The smooth-fielding shortstop saw action in some MLB games this spring, going 1 for 4 with a double. Here he is <a href="https://x.com/RedSoxPlayerDev/status/1771518508414775379?s=20" target="_blank">roping a ball 108 MPH off the bat on the back fields</a>. He will begin 2024 at Double-A. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-----</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/anthony-roman.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7Poy0gcLzzO02iyDDUsmsiXmnnUGMqhfpxLJldIeyTWuLBwPyEkSASob8hjqHFUVkNv4dFFCqLzfDsKOi2fApha8fZ6xe8sRFJYqepHgabzCib_5587aUV0MZugzmDQyZBpP9nGcIJc481Ndw3oLcMlx9Q-EHPaU3reZIj6NU0aH02VG_Kji/w160-h200/anthony.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />Outfield: Roman Anthony, Portland Sea Dogs</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A huge 2023 season for Anthony bumped him up to being the system's current top prospect. A 2022 second-round pick, Anthony hit .294/.412/.569 with 12 home runs in 54 games with Greenville last season. His impressive display of contact, power, and plate discipline earned him a handful of games with Portland, where he continued to hit, posting a 1.020 OPS in 10 games for the Sea Dogs. He was named the 2023 Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year as well as the 2023 SoxProspects.com Breakout Player of the Year. <b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>-----</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/bleis-miguel.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="615" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3_O3CAfx0chTbBEUtCRaPApDiBLZuCts3xy8CjOkm16FsMIYeSQSesVLcQrc-l6SfnJWX440lz8mH3Z5YMUpSDHBDbCZrDojOHfLKhmpv_sTeN1diKDFx8JkBtG9IbkRvJz1IFex5NZk7rEhg_X5q-Sgye7U1E7bC7lh9m0b0emuGL3FshVD/w160-h200/bleis.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />Outfield: Miguel Bleis, Salem Red Sox</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Bleis is now a four-time SoxProspects Pre-Season All-Star. He had a tough 2023 season that saw him play just 31 games due to injury, but his talent is unquestionable. He was signed as an international free agent in 2021 at 17 years, receiving the largest bonus that the Sox handed out in their January 2021 international free agent class. He is currently ranked fifth in the system, and is <a href="https://x.com/RotoClegg/status/1770502190651568638?s=20" target="_blank">shown here hitting a ball hard off an MLB pitcher on the back fields</a>. <b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>-----</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEoEM987eIiQVnm5Q1qYZsvjpQ3NXeQHVdW547T5gjDWVahi_pq_puxnTRu2iRsJcCFJbCPq4f-M064D3hyyBsifTKq6zFf90iLsLPX12LUlTOb2w-hb9Rueri9JvSguoGH0Nie8mac7Ixi3mZnXIAs5thALfdi9vNfhUnAY6IK1sgQgYhwAk/s768/castroo.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEoEM987eIiQVnm5Q1qYZsvjpQ3NXeQHVdW547T5gjDWVahi_pq_puxnTRu2iRsJcCFJbCPq4f-M064D3hyyBsifTKq6zFf90iLsLPX12LUlTOb2w-hb9Rueri9JvSguoGH0Nie8mac7Ixi3mZnXIAs5thALfdi9vNfhUnAY6IK1sgQgYhwAk/w160-h200/castroo.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />Outfield: Allan Castro, Greenville Drive</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Castro earns his first award of any kind from SoxProspects after a terrific 2023. After posting a solid .754 OPS for Salem, Castro hit .283/.355/.446 with 17 extra-base hits in 43 games for the Drive. The switch-hitter began his professional career as an infielder but was moved to the outfield in 2021. He was signed as an international free agent in July 2019 and is currently ranked 15th in the system. <b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>-----</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMXyMjEEcB_v13TeUICLzZupx2tBAH4qMCDLrgUZHcthNzo9mLBalrnI5qdtdfRW7L4mJPIlxlsENT3QMXOslziJW2fSK-iVnBgq54jIkK7ACxSfPMqjo7FHZdAK3ThbHVO9To2zda92PVSrSjYsgepyB-hr4l8CrIVb5gX9cUOwgtVUCyRMQ/s768/cesdpeds.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMXyMjEEcB_v13TeUICLzZupx2tBAH4qMCDLrgUZHcthNzo9mLBalrnI5qdtdfRW7L4mJPIlxlsENT3QMXOslziJW2fSK-iVnBgq54jIkK7ACxSfPMqjo7FHZdAK3ThbHVO9To2zda92PVSrSjYsgepyB-hr4l8CrIVb5gX9cUOwgtVUCyRMQ/w160-h200/cesdpeds.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br />Designated Hitter: Yoelin Cespedes, FCL Red Sox</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">At just 18 years old, Cespedes follows up his first season of professional ball by appearing as a Pre-Season Al-Star. In 46 games for the DSL Sox last year, Cespedes hit .346/.392/.560 with 15 doubles, four triples, and six home runs. The 2023 international free agent signing was considered by several scouts to be one of the most advanced hitters in the DSL. He is currently ranked 10th in the system, and <a href="https://x.com/IanCundall/status/1770814591141896388?s=20" target="_blank">here are a few swings from a batting practice session, courtesy of our own Ian Cundall</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Photo Credit: All by Kelly O'Connor </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br /></div>Nick Rabascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793067392812881019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-44260732330156962982024-03-26T12:00:00.427-04:002024-03-26T12:00:00.264-04:00Fort Report: Red Sox make late addition to bullpen, release former top prospect<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/jimenez-gilberto.htm" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-March-6-2023/i-QKdj35d/0/xBSqwD87JRGPHBR2DM7zZTCqnqx6Mv4ktDBrgBc3/L/20230306_1136-L.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>The start of the 2024 Major League Baseball season is just days away, which means it is now time for the final Fort Report of the year. The Red Sox closed out the Grapefruit League portion of their spring schedule over the weekend and will wrap up their two-game exhibition series against the Rangers in Texas later Tuesday afternoon before heading to Seattle for Opening Day. With that, here is a rundown of some key events that took place prior to the club leaving Fort Myers on Sunday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Anderson signed to one-year deal</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Red Sox added to their bullpen mix on Sunday by signing right-hander <b>Chase Anderson</b> to a one-year major-league deal. Anderson, 36, is a veteran of 10 big-league seasons and most recently split the 2023 campaign between the Rays and Rockies, pitching to a 5.42 ERA over 19 appearances (17 starts) spanning 86 1/3 innings of work.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anderson had been in camp with the Pirates on a minor-league contract this spring, but he opted out of that deal after appearing in four Grapefruit League contests and was granted his release on Saturday. The Red Sox obviously wasted little time in pouncing on Anderson, who will earn a base salary of $1.25 million and up to $500,000 in performance bonuses. With Boston, he figures to serve as a long reliever who can also make spot starts when needed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Giolito placed on 60-day IL, others could soon follow</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In order to clear a spot for Anderson on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox placed fellow righty Lucas Giolito on the 60-day injured list. Giolito, of course, underwent a successful right elbow ulnar collateral ligament repair with internal brace procedure earlier this month and will likely miss the entirety of the 2024 season as a result.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like Giolito, <b>Liam Hendriks</b> will also begin the season on the 60-day injured list as he continues to work his way back from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last August. <b>Chris Murphy</b>, meanwhile, could also be headed for the IL with an elbow injury that first popped up after his last outing on March 14. The 25-year-old lefty is scheduled to get a second opinion on his elbow from Rangers team physician Keith Meister early next month and may require surgery, <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/24/sports/red-sox-grissom-builds-up/" target="_blank">according to The Boston Globe's Alex Speier</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Rodriguez makes team, Cron does not</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Friday, a pair of veterans on minor-league deals with the Red Sox triggered the opt-out clauses in their contracts, giving the club 48 hours to decide if they would be added to the active roster or not. Ultimately, reliever <b>Joely Rodriguez</b> was informed on Sunday that he had made the team while first baseman <b>C.J. Cron</b> was told otherwise. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rodriguez will be the lone southpaw available to manager Alex Cora out of the bullpen to begin the season. <b>Brennan Bernardino</b> was in the mix all spring, but was somewhat surprisingly optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Monday night. Cron, on the other hand, is believed to be exploring his options on the open market but could be brought back by the Sox on a minors pact, <a href="https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/03/with-bobby-dalbec-likely-in-mix-red-sox-opening-day-roster-all-but-finalized.html" target="_blank">per MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the wake of these decisions, it now appears as though <b>Bobby Dalbec</b> will make Boston's Opening Day roster since he can provide positional versatility off the bench. <b>Lucas Luetge</b>, who had been competing with the likes of Bernardino and Rodriguez for a bullpen spot, will report to Worcester since his upward mobility clause is no longer in play.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Other transactions</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Red Sox released six minor-leaguers on Sunday: Cron, infielders <b>Joe Dunand </b>and <b>Lyonell James</b>, outfielder <b>Gilberto Jimenez</b>, and right-handers <b>Maceo Campbell </b>and <b>Garrett Ramsey</b>. Of those six, Jimenez stands out the most since he was once considered one of the top prospects in the organization. Originally signed out of the Dominican Republic for $10,000 in August 2017, the 23-year-old peaked at No. 4 in our rankings during the 2019 offseason. Despite showing signs of promise in the lower minors, he never advanced past High-A.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Key links</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ceddanne Rafaela</b> and <b>Justin Slaten</b> are among the rookies who have already been told that they have made the Red Sox' Opening Day roster. Rafaela and Slaten each reacted to the news in separate conversations with <a href="https://www.mlb.com/redsox/news/ceddanne-rafaela-makes-red-sox-opening-day-roster?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage" target="_blank">MLB.com's Matthew Ritchie</a> and <a href="https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/red-sox/how-rookie-pitcher-justin-slaten-found-out-he-made-the-team" target="_blank">WEEI.com's Rob Bradford</a>, respectively. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several members of the SoxProspects.com staff were in Fort Myers this past week for minor-league spring training at Fenway South. Among the key takeaways, both <a href="https://x.com/IanCundall/status/1772038264406348140?s=20" target="_blank">Ian Cundall</a> and <a href="https://x.com/SPChrisHatfield/status/1772034325745144104?s=20" target="_blank">Chris Hatfield</a> liked what they saw from 18-year-old infielder <b>Starlyn Nunez</b>, who is set to make his stateside debut in the Florida Complex League this coming season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For additional Red Sox prospect coverage, be sure to follow Ian (<a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a>), Chris (<a href="https://twitter.com/SPChrisHatfield" target="_blank">@SPChrisHatfield</a>), Chris Clegg (<a href="https://twitter.com/RotoClegg" target="_blank">@RotoClegg</a>), and the SoxProspects account (<a href="https://twitter.com/SoxProspects" target="_blank">@SoxProspects</a>) on Twitter/X if you don't already!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Minor-leaguers in major-league games</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/teel-kyle.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-March-16-2024/i-LwRrc2N/0/Dc5xVkDzM6cKSRXKtkfB5NGQ9X67jRRCnHgJKfvr6/L/20240316_0417-L.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>Each year, we track the players who are not in major-league camp who get pulled over for MLB games. Here is the final tally, with current ranking in parentheses, of the 54 minor-leaguers who were featured in Grapefruit League action this spring:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pitchers: <b>Jason Alexander</b>, <b>Brendan Cellucci</b>, <b>Felix Cepeda</b> (48), <b>Theo Denlinger</b>, <b>Jordan DiValerio</b>, <b>Juan Encarnacion</b>, <b>Zach Fogell</b>, <b>Gabriel Jackson</b>, <b>Robert Kwiatkowski</b>, <b>C.J. Liu</b> (56), <b>Wyatt Olds</b>, <b>Zach Penrod</b> (39), <b>Garrett Ramsey</b>, <b>Cody Scroggins</b>, <b>Reidis Sena</b> (49), <b>Noah Song</b>, <b>Dylan Spacke</b>, <b>Nate Tellier</b>, <b>Christopher Troye</b> (34), <b>Brian Van Belle</b>, <b>Jacob Webb</b>, <b>Jeremy Wu-Yelland</b>, and <b>Ryan Zeferjahn</b> (54).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Position players: <b>Roman Anthony</b> (1), <b>Alex Binelas</b>, <b>Kristian Campbell</b> (47), <b>Allan Castro</b> (15), <b>Juan</b> <b>Chacon</b>, <b>Cutter Coffey</b> (38), <b>Nick Decker</b>, <b>Kelvin Diaz</b>, <b>Drew Ehrhard</b>, <b>Albert Feliz</b>, <b>Max Ferguson</b>, <b>Jhostynxon Garcia</b>, <b>Mickey Gasper</b>, <b>Gilberto Jimenez</b>, <b>Blaze Jordan</b> (20), <b>Niko Kavadas</b>, <b>Christian Koss</b>, <b>Ahbram Liendo</b>, <b>Eduardo Lopez</b>, <b>Matthew Lugo</b> (55), <b>Elih Marrero</b>, <b>Marcelo Mayer</b> (2), <b>Tyler McDonough</b> (43), <b>Tyler Miller</b>, <b>Eddinson Paulino</b> (18), <b>Angel Pierre</b>, <b>Luis Ravelo</b> (45),<b> Phillip Sikes</b>,<b> Karson Simas</b>,<b> Kyle Teel</b> (3), and <b>Miguel Ugueto</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Gilberto Jimenez and Kyle Teel by Kelly O'Connor</i></div>Brendan Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535427377822772333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-19328897268877655202024-03-26T00:05:00.000-04:002024-03-26T00:05:26.729-04:00Podcast Ep #309: Boots on the ground in Fort Myers!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ian and Chris Clegg are back from the annual SoxProspects trip to Fort Myers with news from the backfields on a plethora of prospects. For the hitters, they go through a few guys at each position who stood out and then did the same with the pitchers based on projected starting level. Players discussed include Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Yoeilin Cespedes, Richard Fitts, Franklin Arias, Blake Wehunt and more!
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Daniel Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005784418965641398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-20171140654649634082024-03-15T11:07:00.000-04:002024-03-15T11:07:25.384-04:00Podcast Ep #308: Spring Breakout Game Preview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ian and Chris Clegg reunite to discuss the latest news from Red Sox camp, including Brian Bello’s extension and Ceddanne Rafaela and Justin Slaten’s strong performance so far. Next, they discussed the Red Sox roster for the spring breakout game and previewed the Braves’ roster as well. Finally, they wrap the episode up with a brief Spring Training trip preview and go through three players each that they are excited to see!
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Daniel Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005784418965641398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-6223034256319236252024-03-12T09:00:00.020-04:002024-03-12T09:00:00.141-04:00Fort Report: Sox extend Bello; Mayer makes spring debut<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/bello-brayan.htm" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3PNc_9qIfd4hANXfJt0fQFubFRPU2RDfsB-DR6ws6eL5nSdculwCHlvEGKjlRl52MNSwSTjdIJuGyr-7jxjQrwtn1Ga_917IqF59-0SZWkifK1HTExa875QZnC6BIwkU_BJ-KnGeZq3qVpsuqsinIXKFRb-_LuCgVE2C_krrmCHfJx9pSbrk/s320/belloooo.jpg" width="256" /></a></div></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Sox had a good week on the field, going 4-2, including a pair of wins over the Rays in the Dominican Republic. But that was all secondary news, as Boston locked up a promising young pitcher for the next six years. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bello signs six-year extension</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The biggest news this past week for the Red Sox was the announcement of <b>Brayan Bello</b>'s (<i>pictured</i>) contract extension. The deal is for $55 million and includes a seventh-year club option for $21 million. Bello will be a huge piece of Boston's rotation until at least 2029. The right-hander established himself last season, tossing 157 innings in 28 starts with a 4.24 ERA. That ERA ballooned due to an eight-run outing in his penultimate start, but he had a string of 21 starts from the end of April through August in which he had a 3.20 ERA. <br /></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mayer makes spring debut</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Marcelo Mayer, </b>our second-ranked prospect, appeared in a major league game for the first time this spring. He came in to play shortstop and in his only at-bat, <a href="https://twitter.com/RedSoxPlayerDev/status/1767266124318560297?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" target="_blank">he roped a double</a> down the left-field line. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Transactions</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Monday, the Sox agreed to terms on one-year contracts with the following players: OF <b>Wilyer Abreu</b>, LHP <b>Brennan Bernardino</b>, RHP <b>Isaiah Campbell</b>, 1B <b>Triston Casas</b>, RHP <b>Kutter Crawford</b>, INF/OF <b>Bobby Dalbec</b>, OF <b>Jarren Duran</b>, INF <b>Romy Gonzalez</b>, RHP <b>Wikelman Gonzalez</b>, INF <b>Vaughn</b> <b>Grissom</b>, INF <b>David Hamilton</b>, RHP <b>Tanner Houck</b>, LHP <b>Joe Jacques</b>, RHP<b> Zack Kelly</b>, RHP <b>Bryan</b> <b>Mata</b>, RHP <b>Wyatt Mills</b>, LHP <b>Chris Murphy</b>, RHP <b>Luis Parales</b>, OF <b>Ceddanne Rafaela</b>, INF <b>Pablo</b> <b>Reyes</b>, RHP <b>Justin Slaten</b>, INF <b>Enmanuel Valdez</b>, LHP <b>Brandon Walter</b>, RHP <b>Greg Weissert</b>, RHP <b>Josh Winckowski</b>, and C <b>Connor Wong</b>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The club has also released the following players: OF <b>Deundre Jones</b>, RHP <b>Nate Tellier</b>, LHP <b>Jorge</b> <b>Rodriguez</b>, RHP <b>Jordan DiValerio</b>, and RHP <b>Luis De La Rosa</b>. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>New podcast episode</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chris and Ian are back with the <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2024/03/chris-and-ian-are-back-together-after.html" target="_blank">307th edition</a> of the SoxProspects.com podcast. They discuss some recent transactions and how the <b>Lucas Giolito</b> injury is going to impact things. They also talk about Ian's article on Boston's draft strategy and how it has affected their ability to develop starting pitching. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Links</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tim Crowley of <i>NESN.com</i><a href="https://nesn.com/2024/03/chase-meidroth-may-deserve-more-credit-in-red-sox-farm-system/" target="_blank"> caught up with</a> <i>Baseball America's</i> Geoff Pontes, as well as our very own Ian Cundall, to talk about <b>Chase Meidroth</b>. Pontes talks about his belief that he can play third base, while Cundall dives into his offensive approach and profile. The 22-year-old is currently ranked 14th and is 4 for 17 with a double so far in spring action. <br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Minor leaguers in major-league games</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Each year, we track the players who are not in major-league camp who get pulled over for MLB games. Here is the list, with their current ranking in parentheses, of the 28 minor-leaguers who were featured in games over the last week. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pitchers: <b>Cam Booser</b>, <b>Chase Shugart</b>, <b>Luis Guerrero</b> (27), <b>Ryan Zeferjahn</b> (54), <b>Jorge Benitez</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Position players: <b>Jamie Westbrook</b>, <b>Chase Meidroth</b> (14), <b>Joe Dunand</b>, <b>Nick Yorke</b> (6), <b>Corey Rosier </b>(52), <b>Dalton Guthrie</b>,<b> Mark Contreras</b>, <b>Mark Kolozsvary</b>, <b>Nick Sogard</b> (53), <b>Romy Gonzalez</b>, <b>Nathan</b> <b>Hickey </b>(17), <b>Tyler McDonough</b> (43), <b>Marcelo Mayer</b> (2)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Brayan Bello by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Nick Rabascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793067392812881019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-48532122196781295032024-03-08T10:23:00.002-05:002024-03-08T10:25:04.557-05:00SPPod Ep. #307: An Exercise in Allocation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Chris and Ian are back together after a few episodes and jump right into the thick of Spring Training, talking about the recent transactions and the impact of the Lucas Giolito injury. They also discuss Ian’s recent article on the Red Sox draft strategy and how it has impacted the clubs ability to develop high end starting pitching. Finally, they close things out with your emails!
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Daniel Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005784418965641398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-17029415558087382932024-03-05T09:00:00.164-05:002024-03-05T09:00:00.253-05:00Fort Report: Song debuts; Cron signed to minor league deal<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/song-noah.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-February-29-2024/i-XQm7JBv/0/DKf4FnJZvz4h9qSBvrmp8pXxg9JtjVjC572wHH242/X4/20240229_R7_4147-X4.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a full week of games, with Boston going 4-3. Some highlights from the week were <b>Roman Anthony </b>going 2 for 2 against Detroit, <b>Noah Song </b><i>(pictured)</i><b> </b>earning a save against Tampa Bay, and Rule 5 pick <b>Justin Slaten</b> continuing to cement his place in the major league bullpen. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Grissom strains groin</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><b>Vaughn Grissom</b>'s status for Opening Day is in doubt as he is recovering from a groin strain. <b>Pablo Reyes</b> and </span><b>Enmanuel Valdez</b> are the two most likely candidates to get the start at second base on March 28 in Seattle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Latest podcast</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After recapping the first weekend of games and some recent transactions, Ian sits down with Geoff Pontes of <i>Baseball America </i>in the <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2024/02/podcast-ep-306tell-your-neighbor.html" target="_blank">latest episode of the <i>SoxProspects.com </i>Podcast</a>. They discuss some of the key underlying metrics they look at when evaluating prospects, and also talk about some upcoming rule changes for the minor leagues. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>CJ Cron signed to a minor league contract </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cron, 34, also received an invitation to spring training. He appeared in games for both the Rockies and Angels last season, and in 2022 he accumulated 29 home runs and 102 RBI. He is vying for a bench role with the Red Sox as a right-handed complement to <b>Triston Casas </b>at first base. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Five players released</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Andrés Núñez, Yusniel Padron-Artiles, Connor Butler, Enmanuel Martinez</b>, and <b>Bryant Zayas </b>all were released last week. Padron-Artiles was the only one who had appeared in the site's top-60 list, peaking at 58. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Key links</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jim Callis of MLB.com released his list of <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/boston-red-sox-top-30-prospects-list-2024-preseason" target="_blank">Boston's top 30 prospects</a>. The list is headlined by <b>Marcelo Mayer</b>, and has some interesting deviations from the <i>SoxProspects.com </i>list. <b>Franklin Arias </b>in particular has an eye-catching ranking. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prospects Live released their <a href="https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2024-preseason-top-100-prospects-list" target="_blank">2024 Preseason Top 100 list</a>, with five Red Sox prospects appearing in the top 75. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Minor-leaguers in major-league games</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Each year, we track the players who are not in major-league camp who get pulled over for MLB games. Here is the list, with current ranking in parentheses, of the 28 minor-leaguers who were featured in games over the last week:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pitchers: <b>Jason Alexander, Brendan Cellucci, Theo Denlinger, Jordan DiValerio, Juan Daniel Encarnacion, Garrett Ramsey, Cody Scroggins, Noah Song</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Position players: <b>Roman Anthony </b>(1)<b>, Alex Binelas, Allan Castro </b>(15)<b>, Juan Chacon, Cutter Coffey </b>(38)<b>, Nick Decker, Kelvin Diaz, Max Ferguson, Blaze Jordan </b>(20)<b>, Niko Kavadas, Christian Koss, Ahbram Liendo, Matthew Lugo</b> (55)<b>, Tyler McDonough </b>(43)<b>, Tyler Miller, Eddinson Paulino </b>(18)<b>, Angel Pierre, Luis Ravelo, Phillip Sikes, Karson Simas.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Noah Song by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div></div>Jim Crowellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07242721829102248162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-72029197018586498762024-02-27T20:13:00.002-05:002024-02-28T21:12:12.823-05:00Podcast Ep. #306:Tell your neighbor baseball is here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Red Sox Major League Spring Training games have started so Ian runs through some things he noticed during the first weekend of games and the recent transactions. Ian then sits down with Geoff Pontes of Baseball America to discuss some underlying metrics they look at with minor league hitters and pitchers and what those metrics show. They also discuss the key rule changes for the minor leagues this year, the reduction of the reserve list and the new complex league schedule, and the impact that could have on teams this year.
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Daniel Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005784418965641398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-29446561075751411552024-02-27T09:00:00.410-05:002024-02-27T09:00:00.249-05:00Fort Report: Mata injures hamstring; Anthony and Teel make spring debuts<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/mata-bryan.htm" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Worcester-Red-Sox/Worcester-Red-Sox-September-4-2022/i-Rjq2PRH/1/FSnsFBG2BHg7MqSgmDwMFp6VcXGQLZXGXGJj97Pnn/L/20220904_5240-L.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>With exhibition games already underway, the SoxProspects.com team is back with the first Fort Report of the spring. Following Monday's walk-off win over the Phillies at JetBlue Park, the Red Sox are 3-1 in Grapefruit League play and 4-1 on the spring overall after defeating Northeastern University last Friday. Because Opening Day is still more than a month away, there are still plenty of important decisions that need to be made in the coming weeks. Having said that, here is a rundown of some key things that have happened since Boston held its first full squad workout eight days ago:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mata injured</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bryan Mata </b><i>(pictured, left)</i>, who is competing for a spot in the Sox' Opening Day bullpen, has been shut down from throwing due to a right hamstring strain. The right-hander sustained the injury during a fielding drill last week and will be sidelined for the time being, per manager Alex Cora.<span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mata, 24, was once heralded as the premier pitching prospect in the organization but has dealt with a plethora of injuries since being added to Boston's 40-man roster in November 2020. The native Venezuelan is now out of minor-league options, meaning he must make the Red Sox' 26-man roster out of spring training or he will otherwise be exposed to waivers. To that end, he is in the same predicament as fellow righty <b>Justin Slaten</b>, who was acquired from the Mets following December's Rule 5 Draft.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Anthony, Teel make Grapefruit League debuts</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunday's win over the Twins at JetBlue Park provided Red Sox fans with a potential glimpse of the future, as top prospects <b>Roman Anthony </b><i>(pictured, bottom right)</i><b> </b>and <b>Kyle Teel</b> both appeared in a major league spring training game for the first time in their respective careers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anthony, Boston's starting center fielder, went 0-for-1 with two walks, a run scored, and a strikeout out of the nine-hole. Teel, meanwhile, replaced starting designated hitter <b>Masataka Yoshida</b> in the bottom of the sixth inning and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Rodriguez brought back on minor-league deal</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Veteran reliever <b>Joely Rodrigue</b> was re-signed to a minor-league contract late last week. The 32-year-old lefty received an invite to major-league camp after posting a 6.55 ERA (4.71 FIP) with 14 strikeouts to six walks in 11 relief appearances (11 innings) for the Red Sox as part of an injury-riddled 2023 campaign.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition to Rodriguez, the Sox also have southpaws <b>Jorge Benitez</b>, <b>Cam Booser</b>, <b>Lucas Luetge</b>, and <b>Helcris Olivarez</b> in camp as non-roster invitees. At present, Boston is relatively thin when it comes to left-handed relief options. <b>Brennan Bernardino</b> appears to be a lock to make the team after standing out last season, but the same cannot be said for the likes of <b>Joe Jacques</b>, <b>Chris Murphy</b>, or <b>Brandon Walter</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Hendriks signed to two-year contract</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the topic of injured relievers, the Red Sox signed three-time All-Star and reigning American League Comeback Player of the Year <b>Liam Hendriks</b> to a two-year, $10 million contract last Tuesday. The deal includes a mutual option for 2026.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hendriks, who recently turned 35, underwent Tommy John surgery last August and is therefore not a lock to pitch this season. <a href="https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/02/liam-hendriks-sets-aggressive-goal-for-red-sox-debut-but-contract-about-2025.html" target="_blank">As the right-hander explained to reporters in Fort Myers</a>, however, his goal is to return to a major-league mound around the July 30 trade deadline.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Getting to know David Sandlin</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last Saturday, the Red Sox traded reliever <b>John Schreiber</b> to the Royals for pitching prospect <b>David Sandlin</b>. A former 11th-round draft selection of Kansas City coming out of the University of Oklahoma in 2022, Sandlin debuted at No. 13 in our organizational prospect rankings. You can read the 23-year-old righty's scouting report in its entirety by clicking <a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/sandlin-david.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Latest podcast</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On episode No. 305 of the SoxProspects Podcast, Ian Cundall and Chris Clegg discuss the acquisition of Sandlin as well as the signings of Hendriks and fellow rehabber Michael Fulmer. They also go through what they believe the top pitching prospects in the system need to do in order to take a step forward in their development. You can listen to the episode in its entirety by clicking <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2024/02/podcast-ep-305-enter-sandlin.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Key links</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Shane Drohan</b>, who the Red Sox lost to the White Sox in December's Rule 5 Draft, underwent nerve-decompression surgery on his left shoulder last Thursday. The 25-year-old southpaw is expected to begin a throwing program after the end of spring training, <a href="https://x.com/scottmerkin/status/1760774044490879001?s=20" target="_blank">according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a whirlwind 2023 that saw him resume his professional baseball career, <b>Noah Song</b> is back with the Red Sox in Fort Myers and is vying for a spot with Double-A Portland or Triple-A Worcester to begin the 2024 season. <a href="https://theathletic.com/5301304/2024/02/26/noah-song-red-sox-spring-2024/" target="_blank">As he recently explained to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic</a>, the 26-year-old Naval Academy product has been working to make up for lost time and development this spring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In case you missed it, Ian went really in-depth in analyzing<a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2024/02/how-red-sox-draft-strategy-has-affected.html" target="_blank"> how the Red Sox' draft strategy has affected their ability to develop homegrown pitching as of late</a>. It's an insightful read that is well worth your time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, our annual top 60 countdown is ongoing and you can follow along on our X/Twitter feed (<a href="https://twitter.com/SoxProspects" target="_blank">@SoxProspects</a>). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Minor-leaguers in major-league games</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/anthony-roman.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-March-24-2023/i-g4q2fQZ/0/DD4kLzTWF53gKVTbZLFHVGprxKPwh574sTZCWzG5G/L/20230324_5369-L.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>Each year, we track the players who are not in major-league camp who get pulled over for MLB games. Here is the list, with current ranking in parentheses, of the 31 minor-leaguers who have been featured through the first five games of the spring:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pitchers: <b>Brendan Cellucci</b>, <b>Theo Denlinger</b>, <b>Jordan DiValerio</b>, <b>Zach Fogell</b>, <b>Gabriel Jackson</b>, <b>Nathan Landry</b>, <b>CJ Liu</b> (56), <b>Zach Penrod</b> (39), <b>Cody Scroggins</b>, <b>Dylan Spacke</b>, <b>Nate Tellier</b>, <b>Brian Van Belle</b>, and <b>Ryan Zeferjahn</b> (54),</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Position players: <b>Roman Anthony</b> (1), <b>Alex Binelas</b>, <b>Kristian Campbell</b> (47), <b>Allan Castro</b> (15), <b>Juan Chacon</b>, <b>Nick Decker</b>, <b>Max Ferguson</b>, <b>Blaze Jordan</b> (20), <b>Niko Kavadas</b>, <b>Christian Koss</b>, <b>Matthew Lugo</b> (55), <b>Elih Marrero</b>, <b>Tyler McDonough</b> (43), <b>Tyler Miller</b>, <b>Eddinson Paulino</b> (18), <b>Phillip Sikes</b>, <b>Karson Simas</b>, and <b>Kyle Teel</b> (3).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Bryan Mata and Roman Anthony by Kelly O'Connor</i></div>Brendan Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535427377822772333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-64687618129646755962024-02-22T00:23:00.001-05:002024-02-22T00:23:45.126-05:00Podcast Ep. #305: Enter Sandlin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks=s250" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="73" data-original-width="250" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks" width="250" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With spring training ramping up, the podcast is back with a different lineup than usual as Ian and Chris Clegg are running things this week. We start off with some college baseball talk and then move on to discuss the Red Sox trade with the Royals where they acquired a very interesting starting pitching prospect. We also briefly touch on the signings of Liam Hendriks and Michael Fulmer, before going through what the top pitching prospects in the system need to do to take the next step in their development!
<span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">SoxProspects on Patreon</a> for the details.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A special thank you to <a href="https://www.theludlowthieves.com/home" target="_blank">The Ludlow Thieves</a> for our intro/outro song, All the Money. Check them out on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ekhs60Z39xhywwUm9uX0A" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oxQMO2bE85OKFTZtrzZ5w?autoplay=true&v=A" target="_blank">Spotify</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us at <a href="mailto:podcast@soxprospects.com">podcast@soxprospects.com</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Twitter</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/spchrishatfield" target="_blank">@SPChrisHatfield</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/iancundall" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">@SoxProspects</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Listen Links</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soxprospects-com-podcast/id309680652" target="_blank">Subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2h1ksi3pOpmHtxtBg4BXNU" target="_blank">Listen on Spotify</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/soxprospectscom-podcast" target="_blank">Subscribe on Stitcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://feeds.libsyn.com/23777/rss" target="_blank">RSS Feed for your favorite podcatcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwy0TNxlgwVx4vdAxeV7GYjb4mfVYugZ" target="_blank">Listen on YouTube</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/podcast.htm" target="_blank">Podcast Archive</a></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe title="Embed Player" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/30061238/height/128/theme/modern/size/standard/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/0c2c53/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes/font-color/FFFFFF" height="128" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" style="border: none;"></iframe></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Chris Hatfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13995524464888490589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-39650139658568585672024-02-13T11:31:00.004-05:002024-02-13T11:31:46.876-05:00Help Wanted: SoxProspects Social Media Specialist<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We are looking for an enthusiastic Social Media Specialist to join the SoxProspects Staff immediately! We're seeking a commitment of at least through the end of 2024, but ideally we are looking for someone who will want to stick around with us for the long-term if there’s a mutual fit. We are hoping that this position will help work on expanding our social media presence beyond Twitter, while also serving as a backup on Twitter. We expect that the commitment would be a few hours per week during the baseball season, and less in the off-season. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As for requirements, we’re looking for someone with flexibility to be able to post using the site’s social media platforms as needed, maybe a couple times per day, including during business hours (ET). This does not mean being on call around the clock, but it will not work if the applicant is totally unavailable to post during the entire workday every day. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We’re looking for someone with experience posting content to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. And maybe some base level familiarity with Threads and Blueksy. We’d also love a go getter that can work on their own without much hand holding or oversight. To be upfront, we all work remotely, there’s little to no face-to-face interaction, and we all have real jobs. So the expectation is that after some onboarding this person will take the bull by the horns. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We also hope that applicants will have a strong attention to detail, a professional attitude, a perfunctory understanding of baseball stats, and a familiarity with SoxProspects.com and the Red Sox minor league system. Top-to-bottom expertise is not necessary, but the more background the applicant possesses already, the better. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a great opportunity for an aspiring digital specialist to gain experience! Members of the SoxProspects staff have gone on to write for ESPN.com, Baseball Prospectus, the Baltimore Sun, MLB.com, and MiLB.com, among other outlets! Others have gone on to become part owners of the site! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a volunteer position. However, we still try to hold ourselves to a high standard. Applications should be thoughtful, organized, and professional. If you are interested in applying, please email info@soxprospects.com. Please provide a resume and/or a basic overview of your skills and experience with respect to the requirements outlined above. We look forward to hearing from you!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>Mike Andrewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061970871556564069noreply@blogger.comBoston, MA, USA42.3600825 -71.058880114.049848663821152 -106.2151301 70.670316336178843 -35.902630099999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-64503485798384613422024-02-13T08:00:00.011-05:002024-03-20T13:45:56.363-04:00How the Red Sox draft strategy has affected the club's pitching development<div>For years, any discussion of the Red Sox farm system has eventually turned to the organization's struggles to develop homegrown pitching, especially impact starters. This is clearly an area Craig Breslow was brought in to improve, and this offseason he has already made sweeping changes to the pitching infrastructure. He brought in Andrew Bailey as the major league pitching coach, Justin Willard as director of pitching, and Kyle Boddy as a special advisor, also overhauling almost the entire Worcester pitching apparatus with new coaches and catchers. This group is tasked with developing a group of pitching prospects that is deep, with many arms with major league potential, but many, if not all of those arms profile best as multi- or single-inning relievers. In the current SoxProspects top 60, the highest-ranked pitcher is <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/perales-luis.htm" target="_blank">Luis Perales</a></b> at 7, and there are only three other pitchers in the top 20: <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/gonzalez-wikelman.htm" target="_blank">Wikelman Gonzalez</a></b> (9), <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/fitts-richard.htm" target="_blank">Richard Fitts</a></b> (11), and <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/monegro-yordanny.htm" target="_blank">Yordanny Monegro</a></b> (20). From 21-40, we have 13 pitchers ranked, most of whom either already are or profile as relievers. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/dobbins-hunter.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-98MMgGG/0/X4/i-98MMgGG-X4.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>Developing starting pitching is not easy, but other systems have certainly had more success at it than Boston. So what are teams like the Mariners and Dodgers doing that has allowed them to have a stream of major league-ready arms coming through their system, including high-end starting pitchers? Overall, the Red Sox have done a good job with the players they’ve had in the system. <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/bello-brayan.htm" target="_blank">Brayan Bello</a></b> is up at the major league level and drastically improved during his time in the organization. Perales and Gonzalez are both international signees who have steadily improved as they’ve progressed. Draftees such as <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/dobbins-hunter.htm" target="_blank">Hunter Dobbins</a></b> <span style="background-color: white;">(highest-ranked Red Sox draftee in the system at 23rd)</span> and <b><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/drohan-shane.htm" target="_blank">Shane Drohan</a></b> also made steady progress as they moved up the ladder, but overall, there is still a lack of starting pitching prospects. </div><span></span><div><br />Given the effort the Red Sox have put into modernizing their pitching development, especially starting in September 2015 with the appointment of Brian Bannister to Director of Pitching Analysis and Development, their continued relative inability to develop a top starting pitching prospect stands out. The top recent pitcher to come through the system, Bello, and the top two pitching prospects in the system all came via the international market, where the Red Sox have done a good job of identifying pitchers and developing them. The amateur draft is a different story, however. <span style="background-color: white;">Diving into the club’s draft history from 2018-2023 reveals a lack of resources (high picks and bonuses) devoted to pitchers, especially compared to other organizations that have successfully developed multiple homegrown starters and top pitching prospects. Digging into where the most successful major league starting pitchers and high-end pitching prospects came from, it appears that the Red Sox have made it more difficult for themselves to develop these high-end pitchers by primarily allocating their draft resources toward hitters.</span></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br /><b>Red Sox Drafting Trends</b><br />The last time the Red Sox drafted a starting pitcher in the first round was in 2017 with Tanner Houck. Since then, the Red Sox’s drafts have skewed heavily towards hitters. Interestingly, this goes directly against what they did in the previous six years, which also coincided with the introduction of the bonus pool system in 2012.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>From 2012-2017 (six drafts), the Red Sox drafted and signed 77 pitchers who received 56% ($25,126,500) of their total bonus money spent. </li><li>In those same drafts, they signed 86 hitters who received 43% ($19,377,200) of the bonus total. (These numbers could be slightly off, as bonus information wasn’t available for some post-10th round signings from 2012-2014 who all received under $100,000)</li><li>The Red Sox gave out seven $1,000,000 bonuses and six bonuses between $500,000 and $1,000,000 during this period. Notable names on that list include: </li><ul><li><b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/groome-jay.htm" target="_blank">Jay Groome</a></b> (2016 1st round, 12th overall, $3,650,000)</li><li><b><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/ball-trey.htm" target="_blank">Trey Ball</a></b> (2013 1st round, 7th overall, $2,750,000)</li><li><b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/houck-tanner.htm" target="_blank">Tanner Houck</a></b> (2017 1st round, 24th overall, $2,614,500)</li><li><b><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/johnson-brian.htm" target="_blank">Brian Johnson</a></b> (2012 supplemental 1st round, 31st overall, $1,575,000)</li><li><b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/kopech-michael.htm" target="_blank">Michael Kopech</a></b> (2014 1st round, 33rd overall, $1,500,000)</li><li><b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/buttrey-ty.htm" target="_blank">Ty Buttrey</a></b> (2012 4th round, 151st overall, $1,300,000)</li><li><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/light-pat.htm" target="_blank"><b>Pat Light</b> </a>(2012 supplemental 1st round, 37th overall, $1,000,000) </li></ul></ul></div><div>Since 2018, the Red Sox’s draft strategy has drastically changed. They’ve gone heavy on hitters early on and devoted very little resources, both in terms of early picks and bonus money, towards pitchers. Instead, they have flipped towards a volume-based approach with pitchers, taking more pitchers than hitters but rarely going over slot for them and primarily targeting them in later rounds.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>From 2018-2023, the Red Sox drafted and signed 60 pitchers, but these pitchers only made up 19% ($9,919,850) of the total bonuses they gave out during that time. On the flip side, the 53 hitters they selected in this period received 81% ($40,970,100) of the total bonuses.</li><li>The earliest the Red Sox have selected a pitcher since 2018 was 99th overall in the 2022 third round with <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/rogers-dalton.htm" target="_blank">Dalton Rogers</a></b>. They also selected two other pitchers in the third round during this time, <b><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/feltman-durbin.htm" target="_blank">Durbin Feltman</a></b> in 2018 (pick 100) and <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/zeferjahn-ryan.htm" target="_blank">Ryan Zeferjahn</a></b> in 2019 (pick 107).</li><li>The highest bonus the Red Sox have given to a pitcher since 2018 is $600,000, to Shane Drohan in the final round of the shortened 2020 draft.</li><li>They have only given out only four bonuses greater than $500,000 to pitchers in these six years (Drohan $600,000, Feltman $559,600, Zeferjahn $500,000, and <b><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/loubier-blake.htm" target="_blank">Blake Loubier</a></b> $500,000). </li><li>During that same time frame, they have given out 18 bonuses of more than $500,000 to hitters.</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_ESdBkrAcjvjnE62GMsD-xklv7Y90dETQFIacYw7Q8oTafy_T_w5_6HL7iNUFUmO8IzHUYMK9POoiaFnq_DJw9cm2Yw8oWQF945hHEIMvrA45tY_VAim9ZqXTZZbdP88IfkG3ShYGeKMP8XrI633NxhAtum1lejW0P9ElmrB8GLi8cPSaMDn/s1510/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-12%20at%2012.05.35%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="1510" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_ESdBkrAcjvjnE62GMsD-xklv7Y90dETQFIacYw7Q8oTafy_T_w5_6HL7iNUFUmO8IzHUYMK9POoiaFnq_DJw9cm2Yw8oWQF945hHEIMvrA45tY_VAim9ZqXTZZbdP88IfkG3ShYGeKMP8XrI633NxhAtum1lejW0P9ElmrB8GLi8cPSaMDn/w640-h80/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-12%20at%2012.05.35%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>They have only given seven pitchers over-slot deals in these six years (4 were in 2019) and the most over-slot they’ve gone for any pitcher is $375,000 over for Loubier in 2019.</li><li>In the same period, they’ve gone over slot for hitters 14 times, including over $1 million over slot for <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/anthony-roman.htm" target="_blank">Roman Anthony</a></b>, <a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/zanetello-nazzan.htm" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Nazzan Zanetello</a>, and <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/jordan-blaze.htm" target="_blank">Blaze Jordan</a></b>.</li><li>Looking at just the last three drafts (2021-2023), they have given out only one overslot deal to a pitcher, Hunter Dobbins in the 8th round of 2021, who received $197,500, which was $8,600 overslot.</li></ul><b>Industry-wide Drafting Trends</b><br /><span style="background-color: white;">The Red Sox aren’t alone in prioritizing volume with pitchers from 2018-2023. 27 out of the 30 MLB teams have selected more pitchers than hitters during this time, but with how hitter-focused the Red Sox have gone with their bonus resources, I was curious if this was a trend we were seeing across the game. After looking at every team's draft in the same window, the Red Sox stand out as an outlier:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnm2j5WhfKr6LFzKf2G1ubX0ILiM1iecCaprYEIP8RclcgNoYE1-9KGlBnyFwsvwH19n1DM8r34UZUazMf95bDrbywhJkzAN6KWohNEAYaPN-_7LN1agooIrrKuKP3bN6kLoupfUYqW5cIl4kWN2ByU1Z4nGkZUT61pxQgJLRdn1P4Pznyh9jd/s1416/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-12%20at%209.54.40%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1416" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnm2j5WhfKr6LFzKf2G1ubX0ILiM1iecCaprYEIP8RclcgNoYE1-9KGlBnyFwsvwH19n1DM8r34UZUazMf95bDrbywhJkzAN6KWohNEAYaPN-_7LN1agooIrrKuKP3bN6kLoupfUYqW5cIl4kWN2ByU1Z4nGkZUT61pxQgJLRdn1P4Pznyh9jd/w640-h386/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-12%20at%209.54.40%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white;">The Red Sox devoted the lowest percentage of their draft bonuses to pitchers than any other MLB organization at just 19%. The only other teams below 30% were Baltimore at 22% and Oakland at 26%.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">20 teams devoted at least 40% of their bonuses to pitching. 9 devoted over 50% of their bonuses to pitching.</span></li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiua4Q_EeYYPSmeTp5Cp1EiCmpP_wgrdmCONLA6ohXQXjLrFr5tEMSiro2ucjYyXb2AC9n44b_sOTqQtZGl_L8gmFhVFYASjaA_AYL86c6vpeFhXwMFjAwfO2Rg32cycVkdtCgjRRUJZ1LlSYzg_Y27MeH5mrZyF1_5WwVHR6qLRaOw7JG51wT5/s1406/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-11%20at%2011.39.28%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1406" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiua4Q_EeYYPSmeTp5Cp1EiCmpP_wgrdmCONLA6ohXQXjLrFr5tEMSiro2ucjYyXb2AC9n44b_sOTqQtZGl_L8gmFhVFYASjaA_AYL86c6vpeFhXwMFjAwfO2Rg32cycVkdtCgjRRUJZ1LlSYzg_Y27MeH5mrZyF1_5WwVHR6qLRaOw7JG51wT5/w640-h378/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-11%20at%2011.39.28%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white;">The Red Sox committed the lowest total bonus amount to pitchers at $9,919,850. The next-lowest amount for pitchers was Houston at $12,760,299. Houston’s <i>total</i> bonus outlay during this time was the lowest in baseball, though, so that still represented 37% of their total. Oakland was the only other team that did not give at least $15,000,000 in bonuses to pitchers. </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">19 teams gave at least $25,000,000 in bonuses to pitchers and 9 teams spent at least $30,000,000. </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">The Red Sox were the only team not to give a $1,000,000 bonus to a pitcher in this six-draft stretch. In fact, every other team gave at least two such bonuses. Philadelphia gave out two (Mick Abel, $4,075,000 and Andrew Painter, $3,900,000), while Houston and Oakland each gave out three.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Again, this is a matter of allocation, not total spending: Even though the Red Sox were 24th out of 30 teams in total bonus money spent in this period, a figure reflecting the size of their bonus pools more than anything else, they were 6th in total bonus amount given to hitters. </span></li></ul><span style="background-color: white;">Digging into some exemplar teams' drafts even further, the lack of resources devoted to pitchers by the Red Sox stands out even more. Here is a chart showing the distribution of bonuses given to pitchers and hitters from 2018-2023 by the Red Sox and four other teams who have had success drafting and developing pitchers in this time frame.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRL4PMtNKou-gbhzm6jHm-EAqnyuqsAL8hp1ueOa3y3nFMSTliR1XT5oijTmDDfaYgWIo44xtsbE3GeIqmqetakonvGX1DWrbHbfAKAVFX8zorAo-E2OLHG_G4HWw_YYiro6eQgMJ0OMYwXdY5PmifuEbmtSOI_9ch2INqtJWII_OnDOJl4pf/s1446/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-12%20at%2012.24.04%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="1446" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRL4PMtNKou-gbhzm6jHm-EAqnyuqsAL8hp1ueOa3y3nFMSTliR1XT5oijTmDDfaYgWIo44xtsbE3GeIqmqetakonvGX1DWrbHbfAKAVFX8zorAo-E2OLHG_G4HWw_YYiro6eQgMJ0OMYwXdY5PmifuEbmtSOI_9ch2INqtJWII_OnDOJl4pf/w640-h232/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-12%20at%2012.24.04%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>2018-2023 Boston Red Sox draft bonus allocation: 19% pitchers, 81% hitters</li><ul><li>Pitchers: 0 bonuses greater than $1,000,000 and 4 between $500,000 to $999,999 </li><li>Hitters: 14 bonuses greater than $1,000,000 and 4 more between $500,000 to $999,999 </li></ul><li>2018-2023 New York Yankees draft bonus allocation: 39% pitchers, 61% hitters</li><ul><li>Pitchers: 4 bonuses greater than $1,000,000 and 3 more between $500,000 to $999,999 </li><li>Hitters: 7 bonuses greater than $1,000,000 and 5 more between $500,000 to $999,999 </li></ul><li>2018-2023 Tampa Bay Rays draft bonus allocation: 45% pitchers, 55% hitters</li><ul><li>Pitchers: 7 bonuses greater than $1,000,000 and 6 more between $500,000 to $999,999 </li><li>Hitters: 11 bonus greater than $1,000,000 and 7 more between $500,000 to $999,999 </li></ul><li>2018-2023 Seattle Mariners draft bonus allocation: 48% pitchers, 52% hitters</li><ul><li>Pitchers: 7 bonuses greater than $1,000,000 and 4 more between $500,000 to $999,999 </li><li>Hitters: 10 bonuses greater than $1,000,000 and 4 more between $500,000 to $999,999 </li></ul><li>2018-2023 Los Angeles Dodgers draft bonus allocation: 50% pitchers, 50% hitters</li><ul><li>Pitchers: 6 bonuses greater than $1,000,000 and 5 more between $500,000 to $999,999 </li><li>Hitters: 6 bonuses greater than $1,000,000 and 2 more between $500,000 to $999,999</li></ul></ul><b>Where do the top major league pitchers come from?</b><br />Developing starting pitchers is very difficult, and the Red Sox aren’t alone in struggling in that area. Given the lack of resources in the draft they have used towards pitchers, I was curious how the top pitchers last year entered professional baseball. In 2023, there were only 28 qualified pitchers that achieved three or more fWAR:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>23 of the 28 entered baseball through the amateur draft. </li><li>11 were first-round picks (including supplemental round), one was a second-round pick, two were third-round picks, five were fourth-round picks and one each came from the fifth through eighth rounds. </li><li>Four were originally signed as international prospects (Pablo Lopez, Framber Valdez, Luis Castillo, and Freddy Peralta) and Kodai Senga was signed as a professional international free agent.</li></ul>With how the draft is structured right now, bonus amounts are just as important as where these pitchers were drafted. <br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>14 of 23 received at least $1 million in bonus money.</li><li>An additional four received between $500,000 and $750,000. </li><li>Only 5 of the 23 received a bonus of less than $500,000 (Spencer Strider $449,300, Jordan Montgomery $424,000, Kyle Bradish $397,500, Merrill Kelly $125,000, Miles Mikolas $125,000)</li></ul>Looking at the pitchers with greater than 3 fWAR in 2022 reveals similar trends:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>19 of 26 entered baseball through the amateur draft.</li><li>12 were first-round picks (including supplemental round), one was a third-round pick, four were fourth-round picks and one each in the sixth and eighth rounds.</li><li>12 of 19 received at least $1,400,000 </li><li>An additional four received between $500,000 and $750,000. </li><li>Only 3 received less than $500,000 (Shane Bieber $420,000, Corey Kluber $200,000, Merrill Kelly $125,000)</li></ul><b>Where do the top pitching prospects come from?</b><br />The next area I wanted to explore was the national top prospects lists to see where the pitching prospects on those lists came from. Baseball America recently released its 2024 Top 100 and similar trends to what we saw with the top-performing major league pitchers last year emerged from the 31 pitchers who made the list:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>30 were selected in the amateur draft, with only one signed as an international prospect (Luis Morales, Oakland, $3,000,000 bonus)</li><li>15 of the 30 were selected in the first round (including supplemental round), 3 were selected in the second round, 5 in the third round, and 1 each in the fourth through seventh rounds. </li><li>23 received at least a $1,000,000 bonus.</li><li>5 of the remaining 8 pitchers received between $500,000 and $999,999. </li><li>Only 3 pitchers received less than $500,000: Chase Hampton (2022 6th round, $497,500), Nick Frasso (2020 4th round, $459,000), and Gavin Stone (2020 5th round, $97,500)</li><li>Of the 9 pitchers selected in rounds 3-7, five of them received an over-slot bonus.</li></ul>Looking at the 2023 Baseball America Top 100 list, similar trends emerge from the 27 prospect arms on their list (excluding Kodai Senga, who was 16th):<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>25 were selected in the amateur draft, while two were signed as international prospects (Eury Perez, Miami, $200,000 and Luis Ortiz, Pittsburgh, $25,000). </li><li>13 of the 25 were selected in the first round, 3 were selected in the second round, 3 were selected in the third round, 1 in the fourth round and 5 in the fifth round.</li><li>17 received at least a $1,000,000 bonus.</li><li>3 of the remaining 8 pitchers received between $500,000 and $999,999. </li><li>5 pitchers received less than $500,000: Bryce Miller (2021 4th round, $400,000), Hunter Brown (2021 4th round, $325,000), Tanner Bibee (2021 5th round, $259,400), Brandon Pfaadt (2020 5th round, $100,000) and Stone (2020 5th round, $97,500)</li></ul><div><b>Conclusion</b></div><span style="background-color: white;">The Red Sox’ hitter-centric approach in the amateur draft in the last six years has been very successful in producing potential high-end position players (<b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/casas-triston.htm" target="_blank">Triston Casas</a></b>, <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/anthony-roman.htm" target="_blank">Roman Anthony</a></b>, <a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/mayer-marcelo.htm" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Marcelo Mayer</a>, and <b><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/teel-kyle.htm" target="_blank">Kyle Teel</a></b>), but it has left the system imbalanced, with a surplus of position players and little potential starting pitcher depth. There is more certainty when drafting hitters, as pitchers are a riskier demographic than hitters, and the data shows the chances of a first-round pitcher turning into a major leaguer are lower than those for position players (<a href="https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/how-often-do-first-rounders-make-the-big-leagues/" target="_blank"><i>Baseball America</i> had an interesting article that dives into this data here</a>). The data also shows that the drop-off in the likelihood of a pitcher making the majors who is drafted in the first round compared to the second is much higher than that of hitters, so if a team wants to give itself the best chance to develop homegrown impact starters, draft resources need to be devoted there.</span></div><div><span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">The Red Sox’s hitter-centric strategy could still be successful in developing a balanced roster, especially if the pitching staff was buoyed by external investment in the free agent market and/or via trades of hitting prospects for pitching. The best example of such a hitting-for-pitching swap is Arizona sending prospect Jazz Chisholm, then in Double-A, to Miamif for Zac Gallen, who had a few major league starts under his belt. Another example would be the deal Tampa and Cleveland struck last year, swapping Kyle Manzardo for Aaron Civale. However, it is not always as simple as moving a hitter for a pitcher, as teams often want starting pitching prospects for their established starters, and that’s not something the Red Sox have had to offer beyond Bello in recent years. As a result, the team finds itself with a number of young major league and potential major league arms, but with questions about how many are capable of becoming the impact starters they need. </span></span></div><div><br />With a new chief of baseball operations sporting a pitching-centric background and a revamped pitching infrastructure, it will be interesting to see if the club’s draft tendencies start to change going forward. Teams like the Yankees and Mariners have shown that potential high-end starters can be found in the mid-to-late first round and beyond, while still allocating plenty of resources to hitters. An approach like that could make sense for the Red Sox to help balance out the system and give this new development staff the best chance to develop a consistent pipeline of potential starting pitcher prospects coming through the system. </div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">All bonus information was sourced from </span><span style="text-align: left;">Baseball Reference</span><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">draft pages and the </span><span style="text-align: left;">Baseball America</span><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;"> MLB Draft Database. Two-way draftees were given a designation of either hitter or pitcher depending on what they have done in the minor leagues and what their most likely MLB position was. Padres 2023 7th-round pick Tucker Musgrove ($175,000 bonus) was omitted from the study as he has yet to debut as a two-way player and it isn't clear what his ultimate position is most likely to be, unlike the other two-way draftees.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Hunter Dobbins by Kelly O'Connor.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ian Cundall is Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/iancundall" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a>.</i></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Ian Cundallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249094137900302137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-57605209692565185432024-02-11T12:01:00.000-05:002024-02-11T12:01:30.481-05:00Podcast Ep. #304: Back for more in '24<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks=s250" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="73" data-original-width="250" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks" width="250" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a month to recharge, the podcast is back... and so is Theo Epstein? After the offseason of our discontent, we finally got some good news after Winter Weekend seemed to present a low point for Red Sox fandom. Plus, there's a new batch of minor league free agents and international amateur signees to discuss, and as always, your emails!<span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">SoxProspects on Patreon</a> for the details.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A special thank you to <a href="https://www.theludlowthieves.com/home" target="_blank">The Ludlow Thieves</a> for our intro/outro song, All the Money. Check them out on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ekhs60Z39xhywwUm9uX0A" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oxQMO2bE85OKFTZtrzZ5w?autoplay=true&v=A" target="_blank">Spotify</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us at <a href="mailto:podcast@soxprospects.com">podcast@soxprospects.com</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Twitter</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/spchrishatfield" target="_blank">@SPChrisHatfield</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/iancundall" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">@SoxProspects</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Listen Links</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soxprospects-com-podcast/id309680652" target="_blank">Subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2h1ksi3pOpmHtxtBg4BXNU" target="_blank">Listen on Spotify</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/soxprospectscom-podcast" target="_blank">Subscribe on Stitcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://feeds.libsyn.com/23777/rss" target="_blank">RSS Feed for your favorite podcatcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwy0TNxlgwVx4vdAxeV7GYjb4mfVYugZ" target="_blank">Listen on YouTube</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/podcast.htm" target="_blank">Podcast Archive</a></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe title="Embed Player" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/29893053/height/128/theme/modern/size/standard/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/0c2c53/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes/font-color/FFFFFF" height="128" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" style="border: none;"></iframe></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Chris Hatfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13995524464888490589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-6398908079945713362024-01-22T12:00:00.002-05:002024-01-22T12:00:00.132-05:00Fall/Winter Roundup: Koss homers as Caguas wins 21st LBPRC title<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/koss-christian.htm" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5koCCzxjGKQ1LJikGFJU2FE074Gpp_liqMs2fJr4jYC0TKrEM1yZ7bk8m1_GBFRryrFo7MigliGWruHHu5gyjvbL5TWPxX3TfAujNhG1dT6hwjo6ggdiFQ_rQ_WKg9qUkX2xVVqs7DORxKCWt5Y5piajGfTXogFmYVpyzdkOwNm6UVFEFnnG/s320/koss.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>Red Sox minor league action in the winter season has come to an end with the Roberto Clemente League wrapping up its season. Caguas took home the championship. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Caguas captured its 21st LBPRC championship, winning the series five games to three. It was a productive series for both Sox farmhands, as <b>Christian Koss </b>(<i>pictured</i>) played in seven of the eight games for Caguas. He went 5 for 20 with a home run, three RBI, and a stolen base. His home run and all three of his RBI came in Game Two, when Caguas exploded for 13 runs in the win. He also picked up a single and a stolen base in the eighth and final game of the series, a 4-1 Caguas win. <span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Left-hander<b> Jorge Benitez</b> appeared in four of the eight games on the mound for Caguas, totaling 4 2/3 innings pitched. He surrendered six hits, three runs, three walks, and struck out seven. In Games One and Six each, he tossed a scoreless inning with no walks and two strikeouts. He picked up the save in Game Six as well. In the final game of the series, he threw two innings and allowed one run with three strikeouts. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Christian Koss by Kelly O'Connor</i><br /></div>Nick Rabascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793067392812881019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-76955543343191663402024-01-08T12:00:00.002-05:002024-01-08T18:23:03.587-05:00Fall/Winter Roundup: Caguas moves to LBPRC final, Jorge Benitez shines<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/koss-christian.htm" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="375" height="256" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Portland-Sea-Dogs/Portland-Sea-Dogs-May-28-2023/i-C8SvkL5/0/97462f2d/S/20230528_0319-S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The calendar has flipped to 2024 and with that, the winter league seasons are beginning to come to a close. Red Sox minor leaguers are only still playing in the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League and one team has already punched its ticket to the championship series, while Game 6 in the other best-of-seven semifinal series is on Monday night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Caguas took down Santurce in five games to advance to the championship series. Two farmhands are playing for Caguas: <b>Jorge Benitez</b> and <b>Christian Koss </b><i>(pictured)</i>. Benitez pitched in three games and contributed 4 1/3 no-hit innings over Games 2, 3, and 5. He pitched two frames in the deciding contest and struck out four Santurce hitters against one walk, his only of the playoffs. He had a punchout each in his other two appearances. Koss appeared in each of the series' first three contests, with a 1-6 line, including four strikeouts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They are the only two to appear in the postseason to date, as <b>Vaughn Grissom</b> suited up for now-eliminated Santurce, while <b>Juan Montero</b> did not factor into any of the first five games in the series between Ponce and Gigantes de Carolina. Gigantes leads the series, 3-2. If Ponce wins Game 6, Game 7 is scheduled for Wednesday. The championship series, for the right to represent Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series, begins Friday.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-----<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Photo Credit: Christian Koss by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Shawn McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15710984728193791500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-35449501878344554352024-01-02T12:00:00.274-05:002024-01-02T12:00:00.136-05:00Fall/Winter Roundup: Grissom acquired from Braves in stunning trade<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=grisso000vau" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="180" height="270" src="https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-photos/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto/w_180/v1/people/687093/headshot/milb/current" width="180" /></a></div>The first winter roundup of 2024 is highlighted by none other than <b>Vaughn Grissom </b>(pictured, left), who the Red Sox stunningly acquired from the Braves this past Saturday in exchange for left-hander <b>Chris Sale</b> and cash considerations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grissom, who turns 23 later this week, was originally selected by the Braves in the 11th round of the 2019 amateur draft. The right-handed-hitting infielder broke in with Atlanta in August of 2022, most notably recording his first career hit (and first career home run) against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. He has appeared in a total of 64 big-league contests over the last two seasons and has batted .287/.339/.407 with nine doubles, one triple, five homers, 27 RBIs, 29 runs scored, five stolen bases, 13 walks, and 49 strikeouts while seeing playing time at both middle infield positions. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Florida native with Puerto Rican roots, Grissom has spent part of his winter playing in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente by joining the Cangrejeros de Santurce last month for the final weeks of the regular season. With that, we will now get into how Grissom, and a few other members of the Red Sox organization, have fared with their respective winter ball clubs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC)</b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grissom debuted for Santurce on December 9 and appeared in 13 regular season games, going 11 for 43 (.256) with one double, three RBIs, three runs scored, one stolen base, four walks, and eight strikeouts. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder put up those numbers at the plate while making six starts at third base and seven starts in left field. That is notable since Atlanta <a href="https://www.elnuevodia.com/deportes/beisbol/notas/vaughn-grissom-a-debutar-con-los-cangrejeros-de-santurce-en-la-liga-invernal/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social" target="_blank">reportedly wanted Grissom to gain some experience in the outfield</a> before ultimately electing to deal him to Boston.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sticking with position players, catcher <b>Juan Montero</b> got into five games for Leones de Ponce this winter. The 21-year-old backstop went 2 for 9 (.222) with a double, a walk, and three strikeouts. From behind the plate, he committed just one error in 20 chances over 18 defensive innings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Elsewhere, <b>Jorge Benitez</b> put the finishing touches on a strong winter with Caguas. Altogether, the 24-year-old lefty posted a 0.60 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 20 strikeouts to seven walks over 14 relief appearances spanning 15 innings of work for the Criollos. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Christian Koss</b>, meanwhile, was a late addition to Caguas' roster <a href="https://x.com/CriollosCaguas/status/1739360618782621984?s=20" target="_blank">after signing with the club on Christmas</a>. The versatile 25-year-old got into five games before season's end and went 3 for 11 (.273) with a double, three RBIs, one run scored, one stolen base, and two strikeouts. He made two starts in right field and one start in left field.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Three of the four teams mentioned here have made it to the semifinals in the LBPRC playoffs. Beginning on Tuesday night, Santurce will host Caguas and the Gigantes de Carolina will host Ponce in <a href="https://x.com/LBPRC/status/1741926748197879847?s=20" target="_blank">a pair of best-of-seven series</a>. The winners will face one another in the league finals, which are set to begin on Friday, January 12.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM)</b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Toros del Este, the only LIDOM club with any Red Sox representation this winter, failed to qualify for the postseason as a result of a last-place finish. <b>Enmanuel Valdez</b>, who did not play after November 11, went 4 for 36 (.111) with two RBIs, four runs scored, one stolen base, seven walks, and nine strikeouts over 11 games (47 plate appearances). In addition to drawing seven walks, the 25-year-old second baseman was hit by a pitch on four separate occasions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Pablo Reyes</b>, on the other hand, got into 20 games for Toros. The right-handed hitting 30-year-old slashed .262/.377/.492 with three doubles, four home runs, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored, one stolen base, 11 walks, and nine strikeouts across 78 trips to the plate. After making starts at five different defensive positions in that stretch, Reyes -- <a href="https://x.com/TorosdelEste/status/1736807527252472247?s=20" target="_blank">by instruction of the Red Sox</a> -- was taken off Toros' roster on December 18.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Vaughn Grissom via MiLB.com</i></div></div>Brendan Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535427377822772333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-53511069371903422482023-12-30T20:22:00.001-05:002023-12-31T00:14:40.705-05:00Pitch Clock: Sale trade, Giolito signing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks=s250" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="73" data-original-width="250" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks" width="250" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On today's Pitch Clock, Chris H., Ian, and special guest Chris Clegg discuss the Chris Sale-for-Vaughn Grissom trade and Lucas Giolito signing.<span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">SoxProspects on Patreon</a> for the details.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A special thank you to <a href="https://www.theludlowthieves.com/home" target="_blank">The Ludlow Thieves</a> for our intro/outro song, All the Money. Check them out on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ekhs60Z39xhywwUm9uX0A" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oxQMO2bE85OKFTZtrzZ5w?autoplay=true&v=A" target="_blank">Spotify</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. 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Still, the guys tried to make sense of it all, as well as taking a quick look at the Tyler O'Neill trade, which went down shortly after our last episode. Maybe we just need to keep recording so that moves can happen a day or two later?<span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">SoxProspects on Patreon</a> for the details.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A special thank you to <a href="https://www.theludlowthieves.com/home" target="_blank">The Ludlow Thieves</a> for our intro/outro song, All the Money. Check them out on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ekhs60Z39xhywwUm9uX0A" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oxQMO2bE85OKFTZtrzZ5w?autoplay=true&v=A" target="_blank">Spotify</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us at <a href="mailto:podcast@soxprospects.com">podcast@soxprospects.com</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Twitter</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/spchrishatfield" target="_blank">@SPChrisHatfield</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/iancundall" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">@SoxProspects</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Listen Links</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soxprospects-com-podcast/id309680652" target="_blank">Subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2h1ksi3pOpmHtxtBg4BXNU" target="_blank">Listen on Spotify</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/soxprospectscom-podcast" target="_blank">Subscribe on Stitcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://feeds.libsyn.com/23777/rss" target="_blank">RSS Feed for your favorite podcatcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwy0TNxlgwVx4vdAxeV7GYjb4mfVYugZ" target="_blank">Listen on YouTube</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/podcast.htm" target="_blank">Podcast Archive</a></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe title="Embed Player" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/29277058/height/128/theme/modern/size/standard/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/0c2c53/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes/font-color/FFFFFF" height="128" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" style="border: none;"></iframe></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Chris Hatfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13995524464888490589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-82163965852433138422023-12-18T11:00:00.027-05:002023-12-18T11:00:00.131-05:00Fall/Winter Roundup: Reyes picks up three hits<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/benitez-jorge.htmg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 0em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvQk8Gl6g7UrJxPm8nsu7Bfj9KDrgB2LmBUuykXBW_Ly3Vbs2JA5WvmX4nnixZLuQdu3kpYc8Gd2PrG8Sg413esWjjdynbUqay8LVTc-GjxFxvxEypsXwW4UDZwFwiuG4rKw8SD2FJdnTeFf6VGgHcqoGaq0358h6i_H_Lg5oKwKjbhJpifTr/s320/jorge.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Dominican Professional League and Roberto Clemente Professional League, the only two leagues with Red Sox players in action, each continued this past week. The 2024 Rookie Development Program will get going in January. This post covers games from December 11-17. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Pablo Reyes</b> only got five at-bats this past week, but he made them count. The infielder went 3 for 5<b> </b>with a trio of singles. He is now slashing .262/.377/.492 in 65 at-bats this winter with four home runs. <b>Enmanuel</b> <b>Valdez </b>did not play. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Jorge Benitez </b>stayed hot, keeping his scoreless streak going.<b> </b>The left-hander only pitched one inning this past week, but it was a clean one. He did not allow a run and struck out one without issuing a free pass. He has now thrown 12 1/3 innings with 14 strikeouts and just three walks without allowing an earned run. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Jorge Benitez via MLB.com </i><br /></div>Nick Rabascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04793067392812881019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-2355730421189179832023-12-11T20:30:00.040-05:002023-12-11T20:30:00.128-05:00Fall/Winter Roundup: Benitez racking up scoreless streak<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-WBdprLb/0/X2/i-WBdprLb-X2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" height="437" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-WBdprLb/0/X2/i-WBdprLb-X2.jpg" width="350" /></a></div>The winter leagues continued on this week with two leagues having participants from the Red Sox system in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. This pattern will continue until the 2024 Rookie Development Program gets going in January and likely the 2024 Caribbean Series from February 1-9. This post covers games between December 4-10.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM)</b></h4>Looking at the weekly rosters, <b>Enmanuel Valdez</b> is not listed on their team roster for Toros del Este. However, infielder <b>Pablo Reyes</b> <i>(pictured, left)</i> is still listed on the Este roster and appeared twice this past week. On Thursday against Cibao, he went 1 for 4 and on Friday against Aguilas he went 2 for 4 with a double, run scored, and RBI. The 30-year-old, who is on the 40-man roster now, has a slash line of .233/.333/.483 over 60 at-bats over the winter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Newly signed <b>Jorge Benitez </b>just keeps cranking out scoreless appearances for Caguas. His scoreless streak has continued to 11 1/3 innings and added a strikeout and allowed two hits while closing out Sunday's 7-2 win for Caguas. His season statistics now have him with 13 strikeouts, three walks, and seven hits over his 11 1/3 innings. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><i>Photo Credit: Pablo Reyes by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i><i>Will Woodward is a Co-Owner and Senior Staff Writer for SoxProspects.com.</i></div>Will Woodwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13473809780926329642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-91433037412515920632023-12-10T17:02:00.001-05:002023-12-10T17:02:13.190-05:00Podcast Ep. #302: Verdugone, Rule 5 exodus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks=s250" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="73" data-original-width="250" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks" width="250" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the last moment, the Winter Meetings gave us plenty to discuss. First, the Red Sox moved Alex Verdugo to, of all places, New York, with the Yankees sending three arms in return. Then, the organization lost NINE players in the Rule 5 Draft, while a tenth was traded in exchange for a pick in the Major League portion. At the very least, the club kept a tradition alive by selecting a Yankee in the minor league portion. the guys discussed the comings and goings, and then responded to your emails. (NOTE: this episode was recorded before the Tyler O'Neill trade.)<span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">SoxProspects on Patreon</a> for the details.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A special thank you to <a href="https://www.theludlowthieves.com/home" target="_blank">The Ludlow Thieves</a> for our intro/outro song, All the Money. Check them out on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ekhs60Z39xhywwUm9uX0A" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oxQMO2bE85OKFTZtrzZ5w?autoplay=true&v=A" target="_blank">Spotify</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us at <a href="mailto:podcast@soxprospects.com">podcast@soxprospects.com</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Twitter</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/spchrishatfield" target="_blank">@SPChrisHatfield</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/iancundall" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">@SoxProspects</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Listen Links</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soxprospects-com-podcast/id309680652" target="_blank">Subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2h1ksi3pOpmHtxtBg4BXNU" target="_blank">Listen on Spotify</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/soxprospectscom-podcast" target="_blank">Subscribe on Stitcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://feeds.libsyn.com/23777/rss" target="_blank">RSS Feed for your favorite podcatcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwy0TNxlgwVx4vdAxeV7GYjb4mfVYugZ" target="_blank">Listen on YouTube</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/podcast.htm" target="_blank">Podcast Archive</a></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe title="Embed Player" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/29010258/height/128/theme/modern/size/standard/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/0c2c53/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes/font-color/ffffff" height="128" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" style="border: none;"></iframe></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Chris Hatfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13995524464888490589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-20110449922011201842023-12-04T12:30:00.002-05:002023-12-05T12:00:42.993-05:00Fall/Winter Roundup: Three minor leaguers play in U23 World Cup Qualifier; Benitez continues hot start in Puerto Rico<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://soxprospects.com/players/asigen-albertson.htm" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="240" height="300" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-March-6-2023/i-NCg7D6m/0/14560fc1/S/20230306_2287-S.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The calendar has flipped to December and for the remaining winter leagues, the regular season is now in its final month as teams jockey for playoff position. Aside from the usual goings-on in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, a trio of Dominican farm hands participated in the WBSC U23 World Cup Qualifier that took place in Nicaragua.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>WBSC U23 World Cup Qualifier</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eleven nations spent the final week of November in Masaya, Nicaragua competing for one of four places in the U23 World Cup, which will take place in 2024 in China. The Red Sox organization had three representatives, all of which competed for the Dominican Republic, which finished in eighth place with a 1-3 record.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Albertson Asigen </b>appeared in three of the games and went 1 for 8 with a triple. He added a run and an RBI, playing both center and right field. He was joined in the field by <b>Claudio Simon</b>, who played three games at third base and spent one contest as a designated hitter. He was 0 for 11 with six strikeouts, but did score a pair of runs and stole two bases.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Railin Perez</b> was the only pitcher that made the journey and he was able to get into two games. Argentina touched him for two runs in just 2/3 of an inning on a hit and three walks. However, both outs were strikeouts. He pitched better against Nicaragua, with 1 1/3 innings of shutout ball, even if he did allow four hits and another free pass.<span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">----- <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's been a strong winter for <b>Victor</b> <b>Santos</b>, who last pitched on Tuesday against Licey and had his worst outing of the season, but it certainly wasn't poor. Santos contributed 5 1/3 innings and surrendered three runs on seven hits. He walked one hitter and struck out four. It was his longest outing of the year and the first in which he allowed multiple runs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Neither <b>Pablo Reyes</b> or <b>Enmanuel Valdez</b> appeared this week. Reyes last played on November 22, while Valdez hasn't gotten into a game since November 11. However, <b>Ryan Fitzgerald</b> was a late addition to Licey and has gotten into two games this week. He was 0 for 7 with a run. He walked once and struck out four times.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">----- <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Red Sox signed <b>Jorge Benitez</b> to a minor league deal<b> </b>November 22 and he's been pitching in Puerto Rico for Caguas. His scoreless streak has continued to 10 1/3 innings and added a strikeout across his 2/3 innings of work this week.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Albertson Asigen by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i><br /></div>Shawn McGrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15710984728193791500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-14938520465162941142023-12-02T23:45:00.002-05:002023-12-02T23:45:33.452-05:00Podcast Ep. #301: End-of-season Rankings/Winter Meetings Preview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks=s250" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="73" data-original-width="250" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlYSRrmH7qpPjG0yeOzccf0ubACa8y2IIYSyBS3MNmOiU2lLJXPZfdQIz9zpe2boPoyr-YhukCDiSsSP1w5G22QBDRyLUyQ-AzGzKZID-Fp8341oa6GF7xYE-KZgvLH-5UhnIPtGye-8h1osb6WoQxN8VWckobF2bE1hFZgBpfeS6ILbwWks" width="250" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So it turns out the Rule 5 protection and non-tender deadlines led to a somewhat eventful week! First, the Red Sox turned some heads by declining to add Shane Drohan to the 40-man roster on Tuesday. Then, they swung a minor trade with Seattle on Friday in addition to non-tendering Wyatt Mills. Analysis of all this and some minor league comings and goings, plus your emails, await!<span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">SoxProspects on Patreon</a> for the details.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A special thank you to <a href="https://www.theludlowthieves.com/home" target="_blank">The Ludlow Thieves</a> for our intro/outro song, All the Money. Check them out on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ekhs60Z39xhywwUm9uX0A" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oxQMO2bE85OKFTZtrzZ5w?autoplay=true&v=A" target="_blank">Spotify</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us at <a href="mailto:podcast@soxprospects.com">podcast@soxprospects.com</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Twitter</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/spchrishatfield" target="_blank">@SPChrisHatfield</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/iancundall" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/soxprospects" target="_blank">@SoxProspects</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Listen Links</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soxprospects-com-podcast/id309680652" target="_blank">Subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2h1ksi3pOpmHtxtBg4BXNU" target="_blank">Listen on Spotify</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/soxprospectscom-podcast" target="_blank">Subscribe on Stitcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://feeds.libsyn.com/23777/rss" target="_blank">RSS Feed for your favorite podcatcher</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwy0TNxlgwVx4vdAxeV7GYjb4mfVYugZ" target="_blank">Listen on YouTube</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/podcast.htm" target="_blank">Podcast Archive</a></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe title="Embed Player" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/28901173/height/128/theme/modern/size/standard/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/0c2c53/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes/font-color/fffdfd" height="128" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" style="border: none;"></iframe></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Chris Hatfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13995524464888490589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-33911677934979602282023-11-27T12:00:00.160-05:002023-11-27T12:00:00.149-05:00Fall/Winter Roundup: Fitzgerald debuts for Licey; Santos continues to impress<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.soxprospects.com/players/fitzgerald-ryan.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Worcester-Red-Sox/Worcester-Red-Sox-July-30-2023/i-DM24Drv/0/0265d847/L/20230730_R7_0828-L.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>This week's roundup features a familiar face in <b>Ryan Fitzgerald</b> <i>(pictured)</i> spreading his wings in the Dominican Republic and a newcomer to the organization in <b>Jorge Benitez</b> pitching well down in Puerto Rico. Speaking of encouraging performances on the mound, <b>Victor Santos</b> remains a steady presence for the Leones del Escogido.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Victor Santos</b> was solid yet again in his third start of the winter for Escogido last Wednesday. Going up against Estrellas on the road, the 23-year-old righty picked up the winning decision while allowing just one earned run on three hits and one walk to go along with a season-high of seven strikeouts over five strong innings of work. In five appearances for the Leones this season, Santos is now 2-0 with a 0.96 ERA and 0.96 WHIP across 18 2/3 total frames.<span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the position player side, neither <b>Enmanuel</b> <b>Valdez </b>nor <b>Pablo Reyes</b> have seen much action for Toros as of late. Valdez last appeared in a game on November 11 while Reyes left last Wednesday's game against Aguilas in the seventh inning due to apparent discomfort, <a href="https://x.com/TorosdelEste/status/1727503944421699612?s=20" target="_blank">per the team's X/Twitter account</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ryan Fitzgerald</b>, meanwhile, signed with Licey a week ago Monday and has appeared in four games for the Tigres thus far. In those four contests, the left-handed hitting 29-year-old has gone 4 for 13 (.308) with one home run, two RBIs, two runs scored, one walk, and four strikeouts while seeing playing time at shortstop and third base.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Jorge Benitez</b> officially joined the Red Sox organization on a minor-league contract last Wednesday. A former 2017 ninth-round draft selection of the Mariners out of Leadership Christian Academy in Puerto Rico, Benitez has been pitching for the Criollos de Caguas this winter. The 24-year-old lefty notched his fourth hold on Saturday and has yet to allow a run through his first seven relief appearances (9 2/3 innings) of the season. Additionally, he has struck out 11 and walked only three of the 37 batters he has faced.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Ryan Fitzgerald by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div>Brendan Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15535427377822772333noreply@blogger.com