March 29, 2011 at 1:17 PM
Fort Report: March 29
Today's minor league notes:
▪ Drew Sutton, Nate Spears, Blake Maxwell, Jason Rice, and Dan Butler will travel with the big club for tomorrow's game at Houston. Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, Dennys Reyes, Bobby Jenks, and Daniel Bard are slated to pitch in the game.
▪ Alex Speier reports that the Pawtucket rotation will likely be Alfredo Aceves, Andrew Miller, Brandon Duckworth, Matt Fox, and Kyle Weiland, with Felix Doubront set to join the rotation in mid-April. That could leave veteran starters Lenny DiNardo and/or Adam Mills on the outside looking in.
▪ Elizabeth Dreeson tweets that Brandon Workman and Chris Hernandez are likely to start the season in Low-A Greenville. That could mean a promotion to High-A Salem for Ryan Pressly.
▪ Outfield prospect Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a two-run home run in the top of seventh on Monday to lead Boston to a 3-2 win over Toronto. Look for big things out of Hazelbaker in Salem this season - possibly a 70 stolen base, 20 home run season.
▪ Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports that Hideki Okajima, recently optioned to Pawtucket, expects to return to Boston sooner rather than later. He'll certainly be one of the first alternatives for the big club when the need arises, especially as his option can be used all season, meaning there aren't any limits on how many times he's sent back-and-forth between Boston and Pawtucket.
▪ Pawtucket broadcaster Dan Hoard brings us an interesting report on LHP Rich Hill, who is getting his fastball up to 92 mph this spring -- pretty impressive for a side-armer.
▪ Don't miss Speier's report on Caleb Clay and mustached minor league crew. The picture alone is worth the click.