May 23, 2016 at 3:30 PM
Weekly Notes: Rodriguez to start tomorrow for Pawtucket
Here are this week's minor league notes:
- After a setback in his rehab, Eduardo Rodriguez (pictured, right) is scheduled to make a start tomorrow for the PawSox. With that, check out SoxProspects.com's Assistant Director of Scouting Chaz Fiorino's write-up detailing Rodriguez's last start for Pawtucket. His stuff did not look like it did in 2015 in this particular start, so it will be interesting to keep an eye on Rodriguez tomorrow.
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com also wrote about a new knee brace that may be helping Rodriguez feel more comfortable.
- Blake Swihart was recently called up to Boston, as the experiment with leftfield has begun at the big league level. Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal wrote about how he has handled the position well so far.
- On Monday, the Red Sox recalled infielder Marco Hernandez and designated Sean O'Sullivan for assignment.
- The Red Sox also announced that Brian Johnson was placed on the temporary inactive list as he seeks help for anxiety issues.
- As the Red Sox continue to be investigated for their 2015 international signings from Venezuela, Ben Badler of Baseball America goes into more detail about package deals for international players.
- Tim Britton of the Providence Journal wrote about how PawSox manager Kevin Boles is losing his patience with some of his starters. He talked about Roenis Elias among others and the need for better fastball command. Elias went out and punched out 13 hitters the next day in a 3-2 win for Pawtucket.
- Marc Normandin of Over The Monster writes that he thinks Yoan Moncada looks ready to move up to Double-A Portland along with Andrew Benintendi. He also has some notes on Kyle Martin, Tzu-Wei Lin, and Marc Brakeman.
- Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com ponders whether Sam Travis could be ready to take over first base for Boston in the 2017 season in his minor league notebook.
Players of the Week 5/16-5/23
6 G, 16 AB, 5 H, 1 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, 8 K, .313/.450/.938
Drafted in the 15th round out of high school in 2014, the 20-year-old Kemp was scorching hot this past week after struggling early. Three of his five home runs, as well as 11 of his 18 RBI on the season, came in the past six games. Most of the damage Kemp did came in the past two games, with two hits in each game and seven RBI over those two games. He also had a multi-home run game on Saturday.
Kemp struggled with the GCL Red Sox in 2015, hitting just .234. On the positive side, he had a .373 OBP, posting 24 walks in 40 games. For this season, he is now hitting .236/.352/.461 in 28 games for Greenville.
2 G, 13 IP, 1-0, 0.69 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 7 H, 5 BB, 10 K
After a season that included many struggles in 2015 with Salem, Trey Ball has stepped it up this year and put together a fine season so far. He tossed seven shutout innings against Wilmington on May 16 and followed that up with a two-hitter against Winston-Salem this past Sunday.
Ball is now 2-0 for the year with a sparkling 1.86 ERA in 29 innings. He has given up just 16 hits and one home run, with opponents batting just .165 with a .484 OPS against him.
Photo Credit: Eduardo Rodriguez and Trent Kemp by Kelly O'Connor