Fall/Winter League Roundup: Castillo and Aguilas eliminated in a marathon game

We continue our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. Coverage 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 January 13 through 19.

Dominican Winter League

Rusney Castillo (pictured) continued to play for Aguilas, but his team fell short in a classic tiebreak game against Licey. The game lasted over 6 hours and ended with Licey celebrating a walkoff win in the bottom of the 13th. It was a solid week for Castillo as he went 6 for 22 with three runs, four RBI, and a walk. 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Castillo joins Aguilas; Willis keeps rolling

We continue our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. Coverage 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 January 6 through 12.

Dominican Winter League

Aguilas received reinforcements for the Round Robin portion of the DWL playoffs in the form of outfielder Rusney Castillo (pictured above, right). Following the elimination of Caguas in Puerto Rico, Castillo hopped across the Canal de la Mona and was immediately inserted as the Aguilas' leadoff hitter. He appeared in all five games for Cibaenas, going 4 for 22 with a pair of walks. His best effort came in Wednesday's victory when he doubled and drove in four. Catcher Jhon Nunez was the only other player to see action this week, going 1 for 9 with a walk and catching all 13 innings of the Este win on Thursday over Escogido. 

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Monthly Notes: Song's waiver status remains uncertain

Here are December's minor league notes:

• The 170th episode of the SoxProspects.com podcast is out, as Executive Editor Chris Hatfield and Director of Scouting Ian Cundall give updates on rankings and rosters while also discussing on the Rule 5 draft. They finish up with some trade rumors and mailbag questions. 
• The question of eligibility for pitcher Noah Song continues to linger. An existing rule that allowed athletes to forgo their military commitment was repealed and then re-instituted by the current administration. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the recommended policy takes effect for 2020 graduates, meaning Song would need to serve for two years before he could report to the Red Sox. Song applied for a waiver, but bureaucratic hurdles--such as the lack of a current Secretary of the Navy--have caused the case to linger. After initial reports came through that the waiver had been denied, it was clarified by Alex Speier of The Boston Globe that the waiver had simply not been recommended by the Chief Naval Officer at the Academy. The final decision rests with the Navy itself, and it is unclear how much consequence is carried by the lack of recommendation of the CNO. 
• The Red Sox had a solid Rule 5 draft, as they did not lose any of their players while also selecting three players. In the major league portion of the draft, they took Jonathan Arauz from the Astros. He is a 21-year old shortstop that spent time at both High-A and Double-A in 2019. Combined, he hit .249 with a .707 OPS in 115 games. He hit 11 home runs, 22 doubles, and stole six bases. In the minor league portion, the Sox took Raynel Espinal from the Yankees and Jose Espada from the Blue Jays. Espinal is a 27-year old right-handed pitcher who posted a 4.32 ERA in 75 innings at Triple-A. Espada is a 22-year old right-handed pitcher who tossed 11 2/3 innings between rookie ball and Single-A last year. 
• The Red Sox also made eight minor league signings. They include: catcher Jett Bandy, outfielders John Andreoli and Nick Longhi, left-handed pitcher Mike Kickham, and right-handed pitchers R.J. Alvarez, Domingo Tapia, and Robinson Leyer. 
• Longhi returns to the Sox after being with the Reds organization since the end of 2017. Last year, he played 111 games for Triple-A Louisville, hitting .283/.336/.463 with 28 doubles and 12 home runs. Witte has been with the Sox since 2013 when he was drafted in the 24th round. The 29-year old had just a .568 OPS in the Puerto Rico Winter League in 2019. Tapia returns to the Sox after posting a 5.18 ERA in 44 games last year with the PawSox. Leyer appeared in three games for Lowell and 15 games for Portland last season. 
• Andreoli returns to his home state after bouncing around with six different teams since his professional career began. Jennifer Toland of telegram.com wrote a piece about how he grew up as a Red Sox fan and is excited to prove himself this spring training. 
• Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic (subscription required) wrote a terrific piece about SoxProspects.com and how the site got started. McCaffrey spoke to founder Mike Andrews, Hatfield, and former staff member Chris Mellen. 
• Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked the Red Sox as the third best farm system of the past decade. He highlights the 2011 draft as well as the Sox great work in the international department as well.

Photo Credit: Noah Song by Kelly O'Connor 

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Podcast Ep. #171 - Alex Speier talks Homegrown, his top 10 and the Sox system

New Year, new laptop, new podcast, and a new book out from our guest Alex Speier (@alexspeier). Chris and Ian spend an hour with the Boston Globe beat writer discussing his new book, Homegrown: How the Red Sox Built a Champion from the Ground Up, his Baseball America top 10 rankings and other thoughts from the system, and questions from our listeners in the mailbag. Heck, they even got Alex’s real-time “thoughts” on a transaction that broke during the chat!

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Willis a bright spot in Australian League

We continue our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. Coverage 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 of December 30 through January 5.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

The playoffs are underway in the Roberto Clemente Professional League, but not much happened with Red Sox players. Josh Tobias struggled, going 2 for 12 with a walk and a run driven in. Alan Marrero also saw action, who pinch hit and went 0 for 1, but he did score a run.The only other Sox player to see the field was Gregorio Reyes, who made one appearance and did not record an out before allowing a hit and a run.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Tobias stays hot, Arauz has big week in Panama

We continue our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. Coverage 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 of December 23 through 29.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

It was a quiet week for Red Sox prospects as the playoffs wrapped up in Puerto Rico, with only Rusney Castillo and Josh Tobias making appearances. Castillo appeared in five games for Caguas, making 17 at-bats but only notching three hits (one double) and striking out twice. Tobias collected three hits in eight at-bats, but struck out as many times as he continued his strong winter campaign. Additionally Tobias and Castillo both drove in a run and walked during the weeks action.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Velazquez continues to shine; updates on new signees

We continue our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. Coverage 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 of December 16 through 22.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

After a lot of action last week things slowed down a bit in the Puerto Rican league this week. Only four players saw action, led by Jantzen Witte who went 2 for 10 with a double, three walks, and four strikeouts. Rusney Castillo had a down week, going 4 for 15 (all singles) while striking out twice without recording a walk. Alan Marrero struck out in his only at-bat, and Josh Tobias went 3 for 8 with a double and four walks. 

Mexican Pacific League

It was another stellar week for Hector Velazquez (pictured, above) as his ERA sits at 1.80 over 10 innings. He made three one-inning appearances this week, with two coming out of the bullpen and one coming as an opener. In his three innings, he allowed one run on three hits, walking one while striking out four. After walking six batters over his first five innings this winter, he has regained his control and walked only one over his last five innings.

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Podcast Ep. # 170 - A string and two tin cans

Technical difficulties be damned (RIP Chris’ laptop), Chris and Ian cobbled together a mid-December Podcast to tuck under your tree. Noah Song’s active military service saga continues without a definitive resolution. We released new rankings and the guys talk about who’s new, who moved and why some guys need to be seen before getting ranked higher. With the Rule 5 Draft completed, and the Sox making picks, the 40-man roster is a little fuller. Chris and Ian talk about the new guys in the system, as well as the most recent signings. Before cracking open the mailbag, they talk through some of the trade rumors. Finally, they wrap up with a quick discussion of the departure of Brian Bannister and how that affects the coaching staff and system.

Listen in!

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Travis, Castillo lead Caguas in slugfest

We continue our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. Coverage 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 of December 9 through 15.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

Most of the action in the system this week comes out of the Puerto Rican league. Sam Travis (pictured) and Rusney Castillo combined for six hits as they helped Caguas to a wild 18-15, 11-inning win last Tuesday. Travis got things started with a first-inning grand slam before finishing 3 for 6 with six RBI in his only game action of the week. Castillo scored thrice as part of his 3-for-7 effort. Overall, he was 5 for 18 on the week with three RBI. Jantzen Witte got into three games, going 3 for 10 with a pair of doubles and pair of walks. After Alan Marrero broke out of his deep 0-for-28 slump last week, he came back with a triple as part of a 1-for-4 showing in three games. Josh Tobias got back into action, appearing in three games and going 2 for 10 with a homer and pair of runs scored.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Rivera gets hot, Castillo debuts

We continue our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. Coverage 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 of December 2 to December 7.

Dominican Baseball League

Marco Hernandez had a very solid week, going 5 for 13 with a double, two RBI, and two runs. His week included a 4-for-6 showing at the plate on Thursday. Domingo Tapia got into one game on the mound, tossing two frames and giving up a solo home run. He walked none and struck out one hitter.

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Monthly Notes: 40-man roster moves ramp up; rankings season begins

Here are November's minor league notes:

• Executive Editor Chris Hatfield and Director of Scouting Ian Cundall were busy with the Podcast in November, as they covered a wide array of topics. In episode 169, they went in-depth on their projections for who will be protected in the Rule 5 Draft, while also recapping the WSBC Premier12 Tournament and Noah Song's (pictured, right) potential military commitment. 

• Episode 168 covered MLB’s proposal to restructure minor league baseball. The proposed restructuring would bring significant changes to the minor leagues, including 42 teams that would lose their affiliations with major league clubs. The New York Times provided the full list of 42 teams, which included the Lowell Spinners, the only Red Sox affiliate on the list. 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Willis heats up in Australia, Corcino homers

We continue our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. Coverage 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 of November 25 to December 1.

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Dominican Baseball League

Marco Hernandez was the lone Red Sox representative to make an appearance for his club this week in the Dominican. The infielder made a pinch-hitting appearance where he struck out but did not appear in the field. Jhon Nunez, Domingo Tapia, and Joan Martinez each failed to make an appearance for their respective clubs.

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Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

It was a busy week for Red Sox position players in Puerto Rico, as only Matthew Lugo did not appear for his team. Sam Travis was the most active player on the week, collecting four hits in 13 at-bats and striking out only once. Edgar Corcino bounced back from a quiet opening game by launching his first home run of the season as part of a 3-for-7, 3 RBI week. For Mayaguez, Alan Marrero continued his slow start to the campaign with another hitless week and has now failed to reach base in 19 plate appearances. His teammate Jeremy Rivera (pictured) fared much better, however, reaching base four times (three singles, one walk) and driving in a pair of runners. Jantzen Witte also had a solid showing for Santurce this week, reaching base three times with a single and a pair of walks. Gregorio Reyes did not make an appearance on the mound for Manati. 

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Help Wanted: Scouting Report Manager, Web Editor, Social Media Specialist

We are opening three new positions at SoxProspects.com! For each of these positions, we're seeking a commitment through the end of 2020, 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. Here are the details of the positions:

Scouting Report Manager. A member of our Scouting Team, the Scouting Report Manager will review a subset of our scouting reports each week for accuracy, recency, grammar, and formatting, and work with the rest of the Scouting Team to update those reports as needed. Other responsibilities may include: (1) maintaining the public scouting log; (2) turning updated Scouting Reports into columns on SoxProspects News; and (3) scouting Red Sox affiliate games. We anticipate that the time commitment for this position could be roughly 2-4 hours per week. 

Web Editor (Content Specialist). A member of the web editing team, the Web Editor (Content Specialist) will be responsible for: (1) aggregating news articles about Red Sox prospects on a daily basis; (2) working with the News staff to ensure those links are included in our weekly notes posts; and (3) updating SoxProspects.com to post those links to our rankings pages each morning. We anticipate that the time commitment for this position will be roughly 15-20 minutes per day. Interested applicants could also branch out into other areas. 

Social Media Specialist (Game Time). The SMS will join our existing social media team and will take lead responsibility for live-posting intriguing content during Red Sox affiliate games. The overall time commitment will vary. We’re really looking for someone that follows those games regularly and is generally available to tweet in the evenings – it doesn’t need to be every day, but the more interest and availability, the better. The SMS could also contribute by starting posts on the SoxProspects Forum to drive interesting conversations. 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Travis homers, Hernandez scuffles

We continue our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. Coverage 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 of November 18 to 24.

Dominican Baseball League

After a solid debut last week for Licey, Marco Hernandez (pictured) struggled this week, going 1 for 13 with two walks. The only other player to see action was Jhon Nunez who went 1 for 4 in his only appearance. 

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Podcast Ep. #169: Why are we here?

It’s an existential question, and perhaps an appropriate one as the organization ramps up in the most pivotal offseason in recent memory. First, Chris and Ian recap the Sox representatives’ time at the Premier12 tournament, including a quick diversion into the latest news on Noah Song and his military commitment. It’s also everyone’s favorite time - the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft! Chris and Ian agree on the likely players - 4 of ‘em - added to the 40-man roster. Finally, after a quick examination of the list of 42 teams that would lose their affiliation under MLB’s radical realignment proposal, the guys got into a topic they’ve been teasing all offseason: the potential trade of Mookie Betts. What teams are potential landing spots? What is a realistic return? All that and more on this episode of the podcast!

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