Weekly Notes: Top prospects continue to produce

Here are this week's minor league notes:

• With the first month of the season in the books, several top 20 prospects started the season off strong. Some of the more impressive players in April were Garin Cecchini, Henry Owens, Anthony Ranaudo, Brandon Workman and Sean Coyle (pictured). For a full recap of the April performances, read SoxProspects.com's Editor-in-Chief Mike Andrews' article on ESPN Boston. 

• Cecchini and Ranaudo have been particularly impressive, and they won the SoxProspects.com Player and Pitcher of the Month awards for April. Each player has carried that success over into May, as Ranaudo allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings in his start on Thursday, while Cecchini has gone 3 for 8 with two walks and a double. 

• Managing Editor Matt Huegel and Northeast Scout Ian Cundall joined Executive Editor Chris Hatfield to offer some first-hand observations on some of the system's top prospects in the most recent SoxProspects.com Podcast. Huegel and Cundall have seen Portland and Pawtucket several times already this season, and they go into plenty of detail on the players. 

• Cundall stayed busy, also writing a Scouting Scratch on Rubby De La Rosa and Pete Ruiz. De La Rosa has looked better after struggling to begin the season, while Ruiz looks like a major league arm, showing a strong three pitch mix that has produced 24 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings. 

• PawSox manager Gary Disarcina agreed with Cundall's assessment, telling Tim Britton of the Providence Journal that De La Rosa's last start "was his best outing" and "a glimpse of what we could see in the future."

• The only thing to slow down Coyle this season has been a thumb injury that caused him to miss a few games. Aaron McFarling of The Roanoke Times reported that it was a bone bruise, and Coyle admitted he tried to come back a bit prematurely. His production did not suffer, as he is still hitting .313/.370/.716 on the season. 

• After struggling in the majors, Jackie Bradley Jr. (pictured) knew he needed to make adjustments. In a conversation with Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, Bradley noted that one change he is making is closing up his stance. After getting beaten by fastballs up-and-in, he compensated by opening up his stance to try and get around on the pitches. It was not successful, and now he is trying to go back to where he was in spring training. 

• Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports had an interesting quote in a recent article. An American League scout told Passan after Allen Webster's debut that the young right-hander reminds him of Adam Wainwright, the ace pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.

• In another fine article, Tim Britton talks with Ryan Rowland-Smith about his difficult 2012 season, and what he can learn from Daniel Bard. 

• Alex Wilson has  been inconsistent during his short time in the majors, but as Jason Mastrodonato of MLB.com reports, he is earning respect. 

• To keep up with all the recent transactions in the system, be sure to check out our Transactions page. 

Photo Credit: Sean Coyle and Jackie Bradley Jr. by Kelly O'Connor

Tweet