Fall/Winter League Roundup: Duran wins LBPRC Final's MVP

This week's roundup covers the week of January 18 through January 24. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through the first week of February.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

The week started off with outfielder and SoxProspects.com fourth-ranked prospect Jarren Duran's team, Caguas, already having clinched their spot in the league final. That left one spot remaining with Jack Lopez, Alan Marrero, and Jeremy Rivera playing with Indios de Mayaguez. On Monday, Rivera was the only one to play, going 3 for 5 with a home run, triple, two runs scored and four RBI as Mayaguez blew out Manati to take a 3-0 lead in the series. Rivera raked again on Tuesday, going 2 for 2 with a double and two runs scored as Mayaguez clinched the series win while Lopez went 0 for 3.

The best-of-seven final started on Thursday with Caguas shutting out Mayaguez with Duran hitting second and going 0 for 3 with a walk and run scored in the 4-0 win. Duran picked it up a bit on Friday with a 2 for 4 day with a double, two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk, with Caguas again winning 7-5. Over the weekend, Duran showed why he is such a highly regarded prospect and also his recent gains in power. On Saturday, he hit a three-run home run and a run-scoring double in yet another win. The series came to a quick end with a 7-6 Caguas win on Sunday. Duran started that game off with a leadoff home run, later walking in the game and scoring two more runs. 

Duran finished the series 5 for 15 with two doubles, two home runs, seven runs scored, six RBI, and three walks for which he was awarded the Final's Most Valuable Player award. It remains a strong possibility that Duran will compete in the Caribbean Series starting on January 31. Jeremy Rivera and Jack Lopez both hit well in the losing effort with Rivera going 6 for 13 with two doubles and Lopez finishing 5 for 13 with a double. Marrero did not appear in a game this week.

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Podcast Ep. #200: Interview with Red Sox CBO Chaim Bloom

Chris and Ian welcome Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom to celebrate our 200th episode. The guys discuss Bloom’s first year at the helm of the Red Sox, as well as Bloom’s start in the game. Bloom also talks through his experience at the Rays, taking the helm of an organization during a season altered drastically by a global pandemic, roster management, the draft, and much more. 

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Podcast Ep. #199: It's the Amuse Bouche

Welcome to 2021. The Commissioner is telling teams to prepare to start the season on time. Free agency and the hot stove are both heating up as well. And our episode is setting the table for bigger things to come. Still, we have some interesting moves to analyze, both made by the Red Sox and by other clubs. Another set of international free agents have begun to sign, and Chris and Ian have the run down on them and the first round of non-roster invitees. Additionally, rumors have been flying about a possible trade involving a young outfielder, and the guys share their thoughts before we crack open the mailbag for your questions. 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Rivera homers as play in Puerto Rico resumes

A Red Sox prospect is either in the finals, or on a team leading its semifinal series, in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia. The league in Puerto Rico was on pause and resumed on Sunday night, so action there was limited this week. Elsewhere the playoffs continued on as planned. This week's roundup covers the week of January 11 through January 17. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through the first week of February.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

With Jarren Duran and Caguas already in the finals, the other semifinal series finally resumed on Sunday after a two-week, COVID-related pause, with Mayaguez pummeling Manati 30-8. Jeremy Rivera (pictured) did his part in the blowout, going 4 for 6 with a home run, three RBI, and four runs scored. Alan Marrero also reached base in both of his plate appearances, going 1 for 1 with a walk and two runs scored. The best-of-seven series will continue on Monday, with Mayaguez up 2-0. 

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Scouting Report Updates: Jay Groome, Aldo Ramirez and more from Fall Instructs

The latest SoxProspects scouting report update features a pair of top 15 pitching prospects in Jay Groome and Aldo Ramirez, as well as three other players who participated in the 2020 Fall Instructional League. 

SoxProspects.com scouting reports are written by our scouting team, led by Director of Scouting Ian Cundall. 

Jay Groome, Left-handed pitcher

Physical Description: Very large pitcher's frame. Wide, mature upper body and filled-out lower half. Looks all of his listed height and weight. Average athlete. Height is imposing on the mound. Body will need maintenance and bears watching as he matures; has already had problems maintaining his conditioning. How his body develops will depend on how much work he puts in off the field both in-season and during the offseason. Came back from Tommy John surgery in late 2019 in excellent shape, visibly slimmed down, but returned to the mound in 2020 in noticeably worse shape.

Mechanics: Medium-effort delivery. Throws from a high three-quarters arm slot. Starts on the third base side from the wind-up. Starts with his feet close together and slightly pointed towards the on-deck circle on the first-base side. Utilizes a high leg lift and is upright and stiff. Hides the ball briefly when he brings it behind his back and then again behind his head as he comes forward. Delivery is inconsistent and has gotten noticeably stiffer as his athleticism and coordination have regressed. Has trouble getting his arm in sync with the rest of his delivery. Has a tendency to open up his front side early while his arm lags behind and comes through late. When arm is out ahead, will miss up to the glove side; when it drags behind, tends to miss arm-side.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Meneses, Pereda stay hot

The postseason continued for multiple leagues, while another wrapped up their regular season. Joey Meneses and Jhonny Pereda (pictured) both stayed hot this past week, as Meneses helped send his team to the finals. 

This week's roundup covers the week of January 4 through January 10. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through January.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

The semifinal series kept going this past week for Caguas and RA12, as Duran went 0 for 4 in the second game, got a day off in the third game, and bounced back in the fourth game with a 2-for-4 performance, including a double and a walk. Duran hit in the number two spot for Caguas in both games. Henry Nunez Rijo appeared in the third game for RA12, getting the first two outs of the sixth inning while walking two, allowing a hit, and striking a hitter out. He did not allow a run. Caguas swept the series, going 4-0 against RA12 and will play in the finals. 

The other series between Manati and Mayaguez has been dealing COVID-19 cases all week, so they were unable to take the field, and haven't played in games since January 2. 

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December notes: Winter leagues, podcasts, and scouting updates

Here are December's minor league notes:

• Some winter leagues started in the second half of November and the rest got going over the month of December. The most prominent Red Sox prospect to participate is the fourth-ranked prospect on the SoxProspects.com rankings, outfielder Jarren Duran (pictured, right). His team in the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, Criollos de Caguas, has made the playoffs but Duran has struggled a bit, hitting only .236/.386/.273 to end the regular season. Like almost all winter league stats, the struggles come with the caveat of being over a very small sample size of 55 at-bats.

• Every Monday, you can get a weekly roundup of all the Red Sox prospect action in the fall and winter leagues on the SoxProspect.com news page. Here are the five released in December: Week of November 23-29, Week of November 30-December 6, Week of December 7-13, Week of December 14-20, and Week of December 21-27.

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Fall/Winter Leagues: Duran delivers RBI in playoff opener; Meneses goes deep

It was a light week for the winter leagues, as the Christmas breaks bled into the New Year's Day holiday as well. In several leagues, playoffs are now getting underway, including in Puerto Rico and Mexico. While Joey Meneses (pictured) was not integral to his team's bid toward the postseason, he drilled a three-run home run in Game 1 of Culiacan's series in the Mexican Pacific League. 

This week's roundup covers the week of December 28 through January 3. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through January.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

The regular season wrapped up on December 30 with two final regular season games for each squad. Jarren Duran, the No. 4 prospect in the system, was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in the penultimate game before getting the finale off, dropping his average to .238 on the short season. He was ejected from Tuesday's contest for throwing his helmet.

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Fall/Winter Leagues: Duran has mixed week & playoffs start in some leagues

Action in the winter leagues continued in a week shortened by Christmas. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through January. This week's roundup covers the week of December 21 through December 27.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

Outfielder and fourth-ranked prospect Jarren Duran started the week hot, going 4 for 9 with four runs, a double, and four RBI over the first two games of the week. After struggling to start the season, those two games raised his average to .289. However, Duran again struggled after his return from the two-day Christmas break, going 0 for 7 over the weekend with four strikeouts and two walks. His season average returned to .250 to start the week, but his on-base percentage remains strong at .405.

Alan Marrero continued his trend of playing in one game a week, going 0 for 2 with a strikeout on Wednesday. Henry Nunez Rijo did not pitch in a game this week and shortstop Matthew Lugo continued his rehab but has yet to be cleared to appear in games.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Duran rights the ship; Lugo may join Manati

Action in the winter leagues continue, with the Australian Baseball League being the most recent league to kick off. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through January. This week's roundup covers the week of December 14 through December 20.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

The week started off poorly for Jarren Duran (pictured, right), as he went 1 for 8 with four strikeouts in the first two games, dropping his average to .087. He got a day off on Thursday and came back looking like his old self, finishing the week going 7 for 13 with four RBI, five runs scored, three steals, three walks, a double, and an outfield assist. The three-game surge raised his average up to .250 as he gets back on track after the slow start. 

Alan Marrero only appeared in one game but he made it count, going 3 for 4 with two doubles and a run scored. He's hitting .571 in limited action thus far. 

Shortstop Matthew Lugo, who is ranked 16th in the system, has yet to appear in Puerto Rico due to a wrist injury he suffered at Fall Instructs. His rehab is almost complete, and he hopes to get cleared to appear in games soon. 

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Podcast Ep. #198: You're throwing a curveball

It’s December, and despite the lack of major league player movement Chris and Ian had plenty to discuss. We finally know what the realignment of the minor leagues looks like and which teams that will remain a part of the Red Sox system. There have been some moves to look at as we welcome Hunter Renfroe and Garrett Whitlock to Boston. Chris and Ian take a quick trip through the winter leagues. We released new rankings and go into detail on a few of the guys who made significant moves. And finally, the guys get to your excellent questions.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Duran debuts, Pereda stays hot

The fall/winter leagues have been going on for a few weeks, but COVID-19 factors have resulted in the cancellation of the Arizona Fall League as well as several games across the various winter leagues. Coverage of the winter leagues will continue every Monday into January. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through January. This week's roundup covers the week of December 7 through December 13. 

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

SoxProspects.com's fourth-ranked prospect, Jarren Duran (pictured), made his winter debut this past week. He tallied 21 plate appearances and picked up just one hit, but he did draw six walks, stole three bases, and scored five runs. He also struck out just three times, indicating some potential bad small-sample size luck. 

Dominican Professional Baseball League 

On the mound, Joel Payamps had a very solid week, appearing in two games, tossing three innings without allowing a run or a walk with four strikeouts. Raynel Espinal tossed two innings, allowing two hits and a run with two walks and a strikeout. 

Johan Mieses only got one plate appearance this past week but had the most productive outcome a hitter could have by hitting a pinch-hit grand slam for Este. Other Sox hitters did not have very eventful weeks, as Deivy Grullon went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in his only game, and the recently re-signed Cesar Puello went 1 for 4 with a single and a stolen base. 

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Scouting Report Updates: Garrett Whitlock, Tyreque Reed and Kaleb Ort

On Thursday, the Red Sox made three additions to the organization in the Rule 5 Draft. In the Major League phase, they selected right-handed pitcher Garrett Whitlock from the New York Yankees. Whitlock, who debuted at number 30 in the SoxProspects rankings, will need to stay on the major league roster for the entire 2021 season. In the Minor League phase, they selected first baseman Tyreque Reed from the Texas Rangers and Kaleb Ort from the Yankees—the third year in a row the Red Sox have taken a Yankee in the minor league phase. Reed and Ort do not have any roster restrictions going forward. Reed is likely ticketed for A-ball, while Ort will be looking to establish a role in the Triple-A Worcester bullpen.

Here are our initial reports on the trio, compiled from data and reports as well as our scouting sources across the game. Please note that these reports will be updated after we have seen these players in person.

Garrett Whitlock
Physical Description: Tall, sturdy frame. Looks the part of a prototypical starting pitcher. Little-to-no remaining projection.

Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm slot. Starts on the third base side of the rubber. Does not use a windup. Starts tall and gets well-above-average extension towards home plate. Really uses his size well in his delivery. Short arm action behind, hides the ball. Delivery is a little stiff, but he repeats it well.

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"Red Sox Prospectpalooza" on the Bradfo Sho

SoxProspects.com Executive Editor Chris Hatfield joined WEEI's Rob Bradford on the latest episode of the Bradfo Sho. Check it out!

"So many prospects to talk about, so little time. Fortunately we have SoxProspects.com and their executive editor Chris Hatfield to help guide us through the Red Sox farm system. Hatfield joins Rob Bradford to discuss the best and the brightest of the Sox minor-leaguers, picking through the Sox Prospects' recently-released prospect ranking. This podcast will make you smarter (and that's a good thing)."

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Reyes throws 5 more shutout frames; Pereda heats up in VZ

The fall/winter leagues have been going on for a few weeks, but COVID-19 factors have resulted in the cancellation of the Arizona Fall League as well as several games across the various winter leagues. Coverage of the winter leagues will continue every Monday into January. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through January. This week's roundup covers the period up to December 6. 

Dominican Professional Baseball League

Headlining the performances this week was Denyi Reyes, who pitched five shutout innings for Escogido, allowing just two hits. He struck out two batters and now has a WHIP of 0.46 on the year while not allowing a run over three starts. Joel Payamps also did not allow a run, delivering three scoreless frames across two appearances with two hits against two strikeouts. Raynel Espinal appeared in two games, delivering 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball. He allowed six baserunners on three hits and three walks while striking out one batter for Gigantes. Deivy Grullon did not fare well at the plate, hitting 1 for 11 across three games with four strikeouts. Johan Mieses played in just one game for Este with an 0-for-2 contest.

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Podcast Ep. #197: The Boston Globe's Alex Speier returns

Making his seventh appearance on the podcast, Alex Speier joins Chris and Ian for an enjoyable conversation. The guys discuss his prospect rankings, the challenges of ranking players who have missed a full year of development, and how much weight to put on performance at alternate training sites. And as always, the discussion crosses into so much more. Prior to talking with Alex, Chris and Ian go over the latest offseason news, including a just-announced trade, and pop open the mailbag to answer your questions. 

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Scout Chatter: Aldo Ramirez, Brayan Bello and more from Fall Instructs

 The Red Sox recently wrapped up their 2020 Fall Instructional League, and this is the final installment of reports we received from Instructs. The data we’ve collected will be up on the News Page for your reading pleasure before we use it to update player page scouting reports, so forgive any inconsistencies until that point. Today, we focus primarily on pitchers the Red Sox signed as international free agents over the last few years. 

- 19-year-old Mexican right-hander Aldo Ramirez was the consensus top pitcher at Red Sox Fall Instructs. Though Eduard Bazardo showed more impressive stuff, long term, Ramirez projects as a more valuable player with a higher ceiling. Ramirez sat 92-95 mph, with a potential plus changeup at 85-89 mph and average curveball at 77-81 mph. His changeup is a potential weapon and could develop into a plus-to-better pitch given he already shows advanced feel for it and has a lot of confidence in it. He has a very good chance to remain a starter and has already shown solid strike-throwing ability. Ramirez was on the younger side of the arms in camp but is remarkably polished for his age and gives the Red Sox someone to dream on as a back-end starter with a chance for more given his youth and constantly improving stuff. 

- While Ramirez showed advanced feel and polish, right-hander Brayan Bello showed some of the best raw stuff at Instructs. The 21-year-old Dominican topped out at 98 mph and mostly worked 94-97 mph. His changeup was his best secondary pitch, flashing arm-side fade at 84-87 mph. Bello also showed off a slider at 84-88 mph that is a work in progress. The shape of the pitch varied and he struggled to consistently snap it off. Developing that pitch was clearly something he was focusing on, as scouts noted he used it a lot more than you would expect in some outings. Bello’s fastball-changeup combination and strike-throwing ability provide him with a solid floor as a reliever, and if he can improve his slider, he still has a chance to develop into a starting pitcher. 

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Scout Chatter: Gilberto Jimenez, Brainer Bonaci and more from Fall Instructs

This is the fourth article in our series relaying reports we received from the Fall Instructional League. The data we’ve collected will be up on the News Page for your reading pleasure before we use it to update player page scouting reports, so forgive any inconsistencies until that point. Today, we focus primarily on position players the Red Sox signed as international free agents over the last few years. 

- Multiple sources identified outfielder Gilberto Jimenez as the top prospect at Instructs, with one remarking that his pure tools are “scary.” The 20-year-old Jimenez had an excellent year with Lowell in 2019, hitting .359/.393/.470, but there were some red flags in his extremely high ground ball rate and low exit velocities. Jimenez’s swing was very slap happy, as he just looked to put the ball in play and use his speed to get on base. Things have changed now, however, as the young Dominican is now listed at 212 pounds, up significantly from where he was with Lowell. Even though he has added that much size, he still is an elite athlete and has only lost a little speed, now grading as a 70 runner rather than 80. From the left side this fall, he was timed at 3.95-4.05 while from the right-side he was timed at 4.12-4.15.

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Minor Notes: 40-man roster takes shape; scouting updates from Instructs

Here are November's minor league notes:

• With the Fall Instructional League taking place from October through early-November, scouts had a chance to view many of the prospects they missed out on seeing when the minor league baseball season was cancelled. Ian Cundall received numerous reports on how Red Sox prospects looked at Instructs, and he has documented some of these reports in his Scout Chatter series. So far there have been three installments, with the first highlighted by Jay Groome and Eduard Bazardo (pictured, right), the second by Nick Yorke and Blaze Jordan, and the third by Bradley Blalock and Durbin Feltman. 

• Cundall also joined Executive Editor Chris Hatfield on two episodes of the SoxProspects.com Podcast in November, with the first covering the recent wave of minor league free agent signings, and the second covering the Rule 5 Draft, the winter leagues, and Fall Instructs. 

• While the Arizona Fall League has been cancelled this year, other winter leagues are going on as usual. You can follow the weekly updates every Monday on the SoxProspects.com News Page, and also follow all the players and stat lines on the Fall and Winter Leagues page. 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Reyes keeps dealing, VZ starts up

The fall/winter leagues have been going on for a few weeks, but Covid-19 factors have resulted in the cancellation of the Arizona Fall League as well as several games across the various winter leagues. Coverage of the winter leagues will continue every Monday into January. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through January. This week's roundup covers the period up to November 29th. 

Mexican Pacific League

Joey Meneses played in all five games this week for Culiacan and continued to see most of his playing time at third base. He has also found himself hitting either fourth or fifth in the lineup and had another solid week, hitting .277 over 18 at-bats with 2 walks and a home run.

Dominican Professional Baseball League

Denyi Reyes (pictured, above) continued his torrid start to the winter season tossing four more shutout innings for Escogido. He now has yet to allow a run over eight innings with 10 strikeouts to just one walk. Righty Joel Payamps took a loss in his only appearance after giving up an earned run on two hits with two strikeouts for Estrellas.

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