Introducing Patreon Game Updates

Here at SoxProspects, we are always trying to think of new ways that we can bring content to our readers—and to listeners of our podcast. In our most recent edition of the SoxProspects Podcast, we announced our newest feature: Patreon Game Updates.

We'll be introducing this feature next week as a pilot program. The series will feature short audio recaps of games scouted in person by staff members, and it will be exclusive to our Patrons on Patreon.com who pledge $2 per episode and up. As we described on the most recent episode of the show, these short clips will give us the opportunity to provide our Patrons with detailed updates that expand beyond what we feature on the podcast itself. 

For example, on a given night, Chris might go deep into the starting pitcher's pitch count, what was working, what wasn't, details from at-bats, and the like. Or Ian might get into more details on at-bats by a certain hitter or hitters that night, analyzing more minutiae than we have time to do on the regular show.

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Fort Report: Chavis highlights first cuts from big league camp

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• The SoxProspects podcast team eagerly previewed their upcoming trip to Fort Myers in their most recent episode. Chris and Ian discussed the prospect standouts so far in major league camp, as well as the players they are most excited to see this spring. The guys will be in camp from Wednesday, March 20, through Sunday, March 24. Be sure to follow their reports here on the News Page, on Twitter (@SoxProspects, @IanCundall, @SPChrisHatfield, @MikeAndrewsSP, @JamesDunneSP), and of course on the Podcast!

• Also included in this weeks podcast was the introduction of SoxProspects newest feature, Patreon Game Updates! This feature will provide exclusive audio recaps of live games attended by the SoxProspects staff, providing unparalleled coverage of the systems top prospects and beyond. For details on how you can gain access to this Patreon exclusive feature see this article, and of course, tune in to this weeks episode of the podcast to hear what you can expect from the staff themselves.

• The  #SP40 social media countdown marched on this week, with number nine prospect CJ Chatham, number eight prospect Antoni Flores, and number seven prospect Bryan Mata all being featured.

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Podcast Ep. #154 - SoxProspects Spring Training trip preview

JetBlue is bustling. There’s new grass on the field. The Sox are playing and getting geared up for the defense of their World Series victory. (It never gets old saying that) And with Spring in the air, Chris, Ian, Mike and the team are getting ready for their annual trip to the Fort. In this preview episode, Chris and Ian talk about the prospect stars from the first few weeks of major league camp, with Michael Chavis and Darwinzon Hernandez off to particularly hot starts. Then they break down the guys they are most looking forward to seeing on the back fields of minor league camp. And to close it out, they break open the mailbag to talk about the highest ceilings in the system.

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Fort Report: Hernandez continues scoreless spring

Here are Monday's minor league notes:

• Darwinzon Hernandez continued his impressive spring on Friday with three shutout innings against the Orioles. He allowed just one hit, one walk, and struck out four to extend his scoreless streak to seven innings. 

• The #SP40 social media countdown has dipped into the top 10. The past four days included Travis Lakins at 15, the powerful Danny Diaz at 14, 2018 draftee Brandon Howlett at 13, right-hander Mike Shawaryn at 12, 2018 second-rounder Nick Decker at 11, and flamethrower Durbin Feltman at 10. 

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Fort Report: Lin homers off Scherzer, Feltman set to debut

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• Tzu-Wei Lin (pictured) has gotten off to a great start this spring, hitting .389 with a 1.172 OPS while playing second base, shortstop, and center field. Lin homered off of Max Scherzer on Tuesday as part of a 2-for-4 performance. 

• Lin was part of this week's #SP40 social media countdown, coming it at number 22. Also included were Chase Shugart at number 21, the high-upside Gilberto Jiménez at 20, hard-throwing right-hander Alex Scherff at 19, 2018 High School All-American Nick Northcut at 18, power-hitting first baseman Josh Ockimey at 17, and, this morning, speedy outfielder Jarren Duran at 16. 

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Fort Report: Chavis hits 4th home run, Hernandez impresses

Here are Monday's minor league notes:

• The SoxProspects.com social media team continued with the #SP40 updates. Here they are in case you missed any: #30 Jhonathan Díaz, #29 Josh Taylor, #28 Colten Brewer, #27 Bobby Poyner, #26 Pedro Castellanos, #25 Zach Schellenger, #24 Denyi Reyes, and #23 Sam Travis.

• The Red Sox posted a video of Michael Chavis' (pictured, right) "daily home run". It's said tongue in cheek, but it is almost true thus far. Over the first 17 at-bats of the spring, Chavis has 6 hits and 4 of those have been home runs. The small sample has resulted in a wild .353/.421/1.059 slash line for the top player on the SoxProspects.com rankings.
• Chavis is trying to make his preparation "boring" by going about things the same way every day as The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham writes. 
• Chavis wasn't the only top prospect with a strong recent performance after Darwinzon Hernandez threw another two strong innings on Sunday. He started the game and struck out 3 while allowing a hit and 2 walks. He has now not allowed a run in either of his 2 appearances this spring while striking out 6 over 4 innings.
• You'd imagine Red Sox ace Chris Sale would be hard to impress, but Hernadez has wowed him with his electric arsenal as MLB.com's Ian Browne writes. Alex Speier for The Boston Globe writes that the Red Sox will be patient with the 22-year-old.
  

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Fort Report: Dalbec and Chavis continue domination of Grapefruit League

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• Michael Chavis continued to show off his power on Wednesday with another home run in a 7-6 loss to the Orioles. Chavis, as highlighted by John Tomase of WEEI, has overcome many setbacks both on and off the field during his career, but due to a trust in his own abilities, is now on the cusp of breaking into the major leagues. 

• In a feature done by the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, Bobby Dalbec (pictured, right) discussed how his time with the Cape Cod League’s Orleans Firebirds has shaped his approach to hitting. Dalbec talked about how he became an adherent to the Ted Williams school of hitting, a connection he shares with fellow slugger J.D. Martinez. On the field Dalbec has started at both first and third base while continuing to rake, raising his average to .500. More importantly, Dalbec still hasn't struck out so far this spring.

• On the mound, Travis Lakins, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Colten Brewer each made their debuts. Brewer had mixed results during his outings, striking out five over two innings while giving up three earned runs. Lakins and Hernandez fared better in their appearances, each firing two scoreless innings while striking out one and three batters respectively.  

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Fort Report: Chavis on fire as spring games begin

Here are Monday's minor league notes:

• Red Sox minor leaguers have seen plenty of action early in Boston's first three games of 2019, with top prospect Michael Chavis (pictured) standing out. He is hitting .600 with a pair of three-run home runs, one to left field and one to the opposite field. Bobby Dalbec has also been impressive, as he has reached in all three of his Grapefruit League at-bats with a single and two walks after homering to dead center against Northeastern. Tate Matheny has also been hot, going 2 for 4 with a home run in two Grapefruit League games. 

• On the mound, Travis Lakins tossed a pair of scoreless innings despite allowing three hits. Denyi Reyes allowed a run in two innings of work.

• Christopher Smith of MassLive.com recently wrote a feature on Reyes, where Alex Cora is impressed with the right-hander's pitchability. 

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Fort Report: Shawaryn set to start against Northeastern

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• With games starting on Friday there will soon be a lot more news and updates on Boston’s minor leaguers. Mike Shawaryn (pictured) will get the first start of the spring, squaring off against Northeastern University. Christopher Smith of MassLive.com talked with Shawaryn about his 2019 outlook and what it was like to pitch out of the bullpen in the Arizona Fall League (AFL).

• Smith also had an interesting note on Darwinzon Hernandez, who has been pitching alongside the major league rotation this spring. Red Sox manager Alex Cora was surprised by the impressive spin rate on Hernandez’s curveball. It’s not too surprising to the fans who followed Hernandez this offseason, as MLB.com noted that Hernandez’s fastball had the highest spin rate in the AFL, and only two players had a breaking ball with a higher spin rate. 

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Fort Report: Full-squad workouts begin

The Fort Report will run every Monday and Thursday through the end of spring training, at which point we will transition back to our Minor Notes columns. Here are Monday's notes from Fort Myers:

• Today marks the first full-squad workout this season for the Red Sox. Pitchers and catchers reported on the 13th, and the first game will take place this Friday at 1:05pm against the Northeastern Huskies.
• It's hard to contain the excitement of the SoxProspects.com podcast team with Ian and Chris recording another episode on Friday taking questions from readers via email and Twitter. Some topics covered were the timeline for Michael Chavis’ debut, Ian talks about the ultimate role of Mike Shawaryn, they discuss the Trey Ball hitting project, and note that Jay Groome is throwing again.
• During the pod, they also discuss some of the recent prospect rankings. One of which was ESPN's Keith Law where he did not rank any Red Sox prospects in his top 100 and also did not mention one in his Impact 20 for 2019. However, one did make his list of players who just missed the top 100, and that was lefty Darwinzon Hernandez (pictured, above) where Law touts the improvement of his stuff but worries about his below average command. Finally, he ranked the 30 teams farm systems and put the Red Sox at 24 for the second year in a row where the positives are the 2018-19 class of draft, and international signings but the negatives are the graduations and injuries to the top prospects in the system.

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Podcast Ep. #153 - The Truck is There

Pitchers and catchers have begun to arrive in Fort Myers. Baseball is back and so are we. Chris and Ian bust open the mailbag to answer your questions. Would the Red Sox ever use an opener? Chris and Ian go deep on that, and the state of starting pitching development in the Red Sox system. The guys bat around some timelines for Michael Chavis’ debut. They look at the bullpen (again). Ian talks about the ultimate role of Mike Shawaryn. They discuss the Trey Ball hitting project. Jay Groome is throwing again. And finally, Chris and Ian take a look at the latest Sox system rankings from Keith Law at ESPN.com and from Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen at Fangraphs.

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Fort Report: Pitchers and catchers report, early injury news

Pitchers and catchers reported for spring training on February 13, and that signals the return of the Fort Report. These articles will run every Monday and Thursday through the end of spring training, at which point we will transition back to our Minor Notes columns. 

• On the most recent episode of the SoxProspects.com Podcast, Chris and Ian scored an interview with Red Sox VP of Amateur Scouting Mike Rikard. Rikard discussed the process that led to Andrew Benintendi (pictured, right) being his first pick as scouting director, whether the Red Sox envisioned Jay Groome would be available at pick 12 in 2016, and the early returns on the 2018 draft. 

• The SoxProspects.com scouting team has been busy updating scouting reports ahead of the 2019 season. The most recent updates include Triston Casas, Antoni Flores, Danny Diaz, Nick Decker, and Ryan Fitzgerald. Keep an eye on the Scouting Log which will be updated whenever a scouting report is refreshed. 

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Podcast Ep. #152: Red Sox VP of Amateur Scouting Mike Rikard

The countdown to Spring Training is on, and what better way to get geared up for the season than with a special guest: Red Sox VP of Amateur Scouting Mike Rikard! Mike shared insights on his career in the game-including almost 15 years with the Red Sox, the scouting process, and running a draft. With four drafts as the organization's scouting director under his belt, the guys also asked about some of his more noteworthy picks like Andrew Benintendi and Jay Groome, as well as the well-received class of 2018. Plus, Chris and Ian briefly discussed some of the team's slew of recent minor league signings.

Listen in!

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Minor Notes: Jenrry Mejia signs minor league deal, winter ball completes

Here are Monday's Minor Notes:

• Boston signed Jenrry Mejia to a minor league deal on January 30 after he was reinstated for the 2019 season. Mejia is most known for becoming the first and only player to receive a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball for steroid use as he failed three drug tests between April 2015 and February 2016. He also served as the Mets closer in 2014, earning 28 saves.
• Aneury Tavarez (pictured, right) will be returning to the system as he signed a minor league contract on January 26.
• Brian Ellington and Dan Runzler also were inked to minor league contracts on February 1.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Season wrap-up and a Jenrry Mejia update

With the Caribbean Winter Leagues complete and the Red Sox prospects eliminated from the Australian Baseball League playoffs, this will be the last Roundup of the winter. For final regular season stats on all Red Sox prospects who participated in these leagues be sure to check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page. This week's roundup covers the period of January 7-30.

The last winter league action is the 2019 Caribbean Series which will take place February 4-10 in Panama. 

Dominican Baseball League

The playoffs came to an end on January 23 with Chris Madera (pictured, above) and the Estrellas de Oriente taking home the title. Madera did not get much playing time over the last three weeks, going 0 for 4 in his only start. Jenrry Mejia, who signed with the Red Sox on Wednesday, made two starts for the Toros del Este in the playoffs. He won his first start after firing six shutout innings, walking one and striking out three while allowing seven hits. He did not fare as well in the next appearance, taking the loss after allowing three runs on five hits in only 2 2/3 innings.

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