Weekly Notes: International signing period begins

This week's minor league notes:

• The 2012-2013 International Signing Period kicked off on July 2 with a flurry of activity. The Red Sox signed Dominican right-hander Jose Almonte for $610,000 and Panama shortstop Javier Guerra for an undisclosed amount. Almonte was rated as the 17th-best International Prospect by Baseball America. Alex Speier of WEEI.com reported that the Red Sox signed two more players from Panama in June, outfielder Gregori Titts and left-hander Luis Ramos.
  
  
• SoxProspects Digital Correspondent Jonathan Singer spoke with Boston's new Director of International Scouting, Eddie Romero, Jr., about changes in the club's philosophy and adapting to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
  
  
• Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury are continuing their rehab assignments, and both are currently playing for Double-A Portland. In eight games between the GCL and Portland, Crawford has batted .292 with a .452 on-base percentage and .417 slugging percentage. He discussed his rehab with Sea Dogs radio broadcaster Mike Antonellis. 
  
  
• In five rehab appearances, Ellsbury is batting .200 with two extra-base hits, four walks, and four strikeouts.
  
  
• Baseball America released their Midseason Top 50 prospects list on Thursday, and the Red Sox were well-represented. Matt Barnes was the highest-rated player at number 13, while Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley, Jr. (pictured) were back-to-back at numbers 31 and 32, respectively.
  
  
• After dominating for the first two months of the season, Barnes has hit a wall recently. In his last three starts, he has thrown 8.1 innings while allowing 14 runs on 16 hits. He allowed a total of eight runs in the first 72.2 innings this season.
  
  
• Meanwhile, Bradley has continued to roll at Double-A, and he shows no signs of stopping. Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald penned one of the best pieces written about a Red Sox prospect this year as he covered Bradley's dominance in-depth. Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal also wrote a piece on how Bradley is learning from the major league outfielders rehabbing in Portland.
  
  
• Thomas also talked with Anthony Ranaudo, and the right-hander chalked his recent struggles up to "a little dead arm from finally getting back on a five-day routine." Ranaudo has thrown more than five innings only once in his nine starts this season.
  
  
• After tossing 105 innings with a 2.40 ERA in Pawtucket, Justin Germano exercised his July 1 opt-out, giving the Red Sox 48 hours to put him on the 25-man roster or lose him to free agency. The Red Sox called him up on July 3 and sent Clayton Mortensen down to Triple-A.
  
  
• Three Sea Dogs were selected to represent the Eastern League in the Double-A All-Star Game. Outfielder Bryce Brentz, left-hander Chris Hernandez, and first baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez will all take part in the game on July 11 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
  
  
• Ever since Daniel Bard was sent down to Triple-A, he has struggled to command his pitches, leading to numerous walks and wild pitches. After his appearance on Monday, he told our Senior Editor Matt Huegel that he was trying to be too perfect with his mechanics, and he is now trying to get back to the delivery that made him one of the best relief pitchers in baseball.
  
  
• Henry Owens was set to make his return from the disabled list last night, but the game was postponed. He had been on the DL since June 23 after getting hit on the head with a ball during batting practice.
  
  
• Yeiper Castillo was promoted to High A Salem. The 23-year-old right-hander had a 3.92 ERA in 78 innings in Greenville.
  
  
• Garin Cecchini recently saw his 10-game hitting streak come to an end. During the streak, he batted .410 with three extra-base hits, six stolen bases, and six walks in 45 plate appearances.
  
  
• Pete Ruiz, who has been on the DL since May 23 with a hip injury, and Chris Carpenter, who underwent right elbow surgery on March 29 to remove bone spurs, have both started making rehab appearances with the GCL Red Sox.


Photo Credit: Jackie Bradley, Jr. by John Corneau/Lowell Spinners


Jim Crowell is a Staff Writer for SoxProspects. You can follow him on Twitter @CrowellJim. Jonathan Singer is the Digital Correspondent for SoxProspects. You can follow him on Twitter @Jonathan_Singer.

Tweet