June 29, 2015 at 1:00 PM
Weekly Notes: Top prospects on the move
Here are this week's minor league notes:
- With the season reaching the halfway point for the full season affiliates, several players were promoted last week, led by Manuel Margot's move up to Portland. Nick Rabasco, a Staff Writer for SoxProspects.com, saw Margot's Double-A debut in Reading, Pa., and he wrote up his scouting/journalistic observations in the most recent Notes from the Field column. Margot is currently the fifth ranked prospect on our site, but he will be moving up when the updated rankings are released this week.
- Two players made their major league debuts last week, with the recently promoted Deven Marrero and Jonathan Aro (pictured) each seeing some time with Boston. Marrero went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in his debut on Sunday, but he also made a great diving stop at second base to save a run in the eighth. Aro has had a rough time in his two appearances, surrendering three runs while recording only five outs.
- Marrero was the focus of a recent Scouting Scratch by SoxProspects.com Director of Scouting Ian Cundall, and Cundall noted that Marrero has had some inconsistencies on both sides of the ball recently in Pawtucket. Cundall also wrote about Bryce Brentz and Sean Coyle, who have both shown good power potential but also questionable hit tools as they try to make their way from Triple-A to the majors.
- Alex Speier of the Boston Globe talked about Aro's unusual career path, with Speier calling him the most unlikely player to appear for the Red Sox since Daniel Nava.
- Several major league players were moved around last week as well, with Joe Kelly, Steven Wright, Rusney Castillo, Travis Shaw, and Jeff Bianchi all moving from Boston to Pawtucket, while Shane Victorino and Ryan Hanigan were placed in Pawtucket on rehab assignments. Marrero and Aro were just two of the players going from the PawSox to the Red Sox, with Jackie Bradley Jr., Justin Masterson, and Matt Barnes shipping up I-95 as well.
- The promotions kept coming, as joining Margot in Portland are Sam Travis, who is currently ranked as the 16th prospect in the Boston system by SoxProspects.com, and Williams Jerez, who has turned his career around after moving from the outfield to the mound last year. Travis hit .313/.378/.467 over 66 games with Salem, while Jerez was only in Salem for five games, where he compiled a 0.73 ERA over 12 1/3 innings. The Red Sox can be aggressive with Jerez as he is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter.
- With Margot, Travis, and Jerez all leaving, the Salem Red Sox were short-handed, until they received reinforcements in the form of Mauricio Dubon, Derek Miller, and Jordan Procyshen from Greenville. All three figure to get regular playing time in Salem, with Dubon already alternating between second base and shortstop like he did in Greenville.
- The Red Sox announced the signings of five 2015 draftees and one undrafted free agent last week, Nick Hamilton, Jerry Downs, Danny Zandona, Max Watt and Kyri Washington all agreed to terms, and Chris Madera was signed out of Faulkner University in Alabama. Each player was selected in the 11th round or later, and while not every bonus has been reported, it is unlikely that any of the players will require a significant overslot bonus.
- In all, the Red Sox have singed 19 of their 39 draft picks, with all signs pointing to first-rounder Andrew Benintendi signing shortly.
- While his start to the season has been uninspiring, Yoan Moncada has steadily been making progress in Greenville. Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald caught up with Moncada last week, where they discussed his struggle with the curveball as well as the many differences between playing baseball in the United States and Cuba.
- Speier recently discussed which players in the Red Sox farm system have seen their stock rise or fall so far in 2015. Many of the players mentioned above are on Speier's list, including Margot, who along with Rafael Devers was named to the World team for the All-Star Futures game, which will take place at 3 p.m. ET on July 12.
- While the season is still in it's infancy for the short-season teams, three of Boston's four short-season clubs have gotten off to scorching starts. The Lowell Spinners are 8-1 after nine games, the GCL Red Sox are 6-0, and the DSL Red Sox2 are 19-5.
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Players of the Week 6/22-6/28
A pair of PawSox starters had fantastic starts this week, and with the staff deciding this was too close to call, we have decided to split the award and consider them Co-Pitchers of the Week.
Brian Johnson, LHP, Pawtucket Red Sox
1 G, 0-0, 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 7 K
Johnson did a great job of pounding the strike zone, throwing 71 of his 93 pitches for strikes, while inducing 12 groundouts in addition to his seven strikeouts. It was a great bounce back start for Johnson, who gave up four runs on 10 hits over six innings in his last appearance. His start on Wednesday was the fifth time this season he recorded double-digit swings and misses in a start, and it was also the third time that he had more than 20 strikes called by the umpire, showing that he had some of his best stuff across the board in this start.
Season Stats: 14 G, 8-4, 80.2 IP, 2.57 ERA, 23 ER, 63 H, 23 BB, 76 K
Steven Wright, RHP, Pawtucket Red Sox
1 G, 0-1, 9 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K
In his first start since being sent down from Boston, Wright was a tough-luck loser, as he pitched a complete game while allowing only one run in a 1-0 loss. Much like Johnson, Wright threw a ridiculous percentage of strikes, with only 17 of his 87 pitches missing the zone. He recorded 17 outs on the ground and his defense backed him up with an errorless game in the field. If there was ever a question as to whether the Red Sox would move him to the bullpen in Pawtucket or stretch him out as a starter, this game should settle it.
Season Stats (Pawtucket and Boston): 16 G, 5-4, 77.1 IP, 3.49 ERA, 30 ER, 69 H, 25 BB, 55 K
A pair of PawSox starters had fantastic starts this week, and with the staff deciding this was too close to call, we have decided to split the award and consider them Co-Pitchers of the Week.
Brian Johnson, LHP, Pawtucket Red Sox
1 G, 0-0, 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 7 K
Johnson did a great job of pounding the strike zone, throwing 71 of his 93 pitches for strikes, while inducing 12 groundouts in addition to his seven strikeouts. It was a great bounce back start for Johnson, who gave up four runs on 10 hits over six innings in his last appearance. His start on Wednesday was the fifth time this season he recorded double-digit swings and misses in a start, and it was also the third time that he had more than 20 strikes called by the umpire, showing that he had some of his best stuff across the board in this start.
Season Stats: 14 G, 8-4, 80.2 IP, 2.57 ERA, 23 ER, 63 H, 23 BB, 76 K
Steven Wright, RHP, Pawtucket Red Sox
1 G, 0-1, 9 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K
In his first start since being sent down from Boston, Wright was a tough-luck loser, as he pitched a complete game while allowing only one run in a 1-0 loss. Much like Johnson, Wright threw a ridiculous percentage of strikes, with only 17 of his 87 pitches missing the zone. He recorded 17 outs on the ground and his defense backed him up with an errorless game in the field. If there was ever a question as to whether the Red Sox would move him to the bullpen in Pawtucket or stretch him out as a starter, this game should settle it.
Season Stats (Pawtucket and Boston): 16 G, 5-4, 77.1 IP, 3.49 ERA, 30 ER, 69 H, 25 BB, 55 K
Bryan Hudson, OF, Lowell Spinners/Greenville Drive
5 G, 22 PA, 9 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 6 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 3 SB, .429/.455/.571
Drafted in the 15th round of the 2013 Draft out
of Mill Creek HS (GA), Hudson struggled in his first stint with Lowell last
year, and he returned there to start this season. After a scorching start that
saw him bat .385 over his first six games, the Red Sox quickly challenged him
with a promotion to Greenville, where he debuted on Friday and went 4 for 8 with
three steals over his first two games. This is Hudson’s second SoxProspects.com
Player of the Week award, with his last one coming in August of 2013 with the
GCL Red Sox.
Season Stats (Lowell and Greenville): 8 G, 38 PA, 14 H, 1
2B, 1 3B, 11 R, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 9 K, .412/.459/.500
Photo Credit: Jonathan Aro and Mauricio Dubon by Kelly O'Connor