May 31, 2016 at 1:00 PM
Weekly Notes: Travis out for the year, Luis Alej. Basabe stays hot
- Some tough news broke on Monday as the Red Sox announced that first baseman Sam Travis, the fifth-ranked prospect on SoxProspects.com, would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Allen Craig also went on the disabled list last week, so the corner infield depth in the upper minors took a big hit over the last seven days.
- With Blake Swihart seeing most of the opportunities in left field for Boston, Rusney Castillo (pictured, right) continues to stay buried on the depth chart. Castillo was the focus of Alex Speier's column last week, as the Boston Globe columnist discussed his struggles in Pawtucket. Entering Monday, Castillo was batting .248/.305/.326 over 141 at-bats for the PawSox, which is not what the organization expected when they signed him to a seven year, $72.5 million deal in 2014.
- In that same article, Speier talked to Ralph Treuel, Boston's minor league pitching coordinator, and he confirmed that both Anderson Espinoza and Roniel Raudes will have an innings limit somewhere between 100 and 110 this year.
- Jake Drehoff was promoted to Portland last week after throwing just under 90 innings over the last two seasons in Salem. The left-hander is very tough on lefty batters, and some scouts feel that he can be a specialist at the major league level. Last season he held lefties to a .234 average. This year, lefties are down to .143, although the sample size is small.
- Salem replaced Drehoff with another left-hander. Daniel McGrath was activated from the disabled list after missing over a month after being involved in a collision at home plate.
- The online fan voting for the Triple-A All-Star Game is officially underway, and fans can go and vote for their favorite prospects in both the International League and Pacific Coast League.
- With the MLB Draft less than two weeks away, possible targets for Boston's 12th overall pick are beginning to become more clear. One player who said he would love to be picked by the Red Sox is Jason Groome, who was being talked about as potentially the top overall pick only a month ago. The left-hander from Barnegat High School in New Jersey is a huge Red Sox fan, and his commitment to Vanderbilt University may cause him to fall in the draft.
- A local product who will also be under consideration at 12th overall is Justin Dunn, a right-handed pitcher from Boston College. Dunn is a late-riser who has a 1.35 ERA over 53 1/3 innings this year. He has started in only six of his 16 appearances, but has held batters to a .210 average, while striking out 55 and walking 15.
- With Eduardo Rodriguez set to start for Boston today, it will be interesting to see what his mechanics look like. Chaz Fiorino, SoxProspects.com's Assistant Director of Scouting, saw Rodriguez last week, and Rodriguez had a new, simplified delivery that you can see in this video.
Players of the Week 5/23-5/29
6 G, 20 AB, 6 R, 6 H, 1 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, 5 BB, 8 K, .300/.444/.650
While Luis Alejandro (pictured, right) is not as highly rated as his twin brother, Luis Alexander, he has really made a name for himself this year, batting .304/.395/.459 over 37 games for Greenville. Entering Monday, he had hit .392/.492/.588 over his last 15 games with six stolen bases. It has been an immensely impressive full-season debut for the 19-year-old, as his production has been far better than his twin brother.
1 G, 6 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 H, 0 R, 2BB, 5 K, 0.33 WHIP
Almonte fired six no-hit innings in his only start of the week. It was only his third start of the season, as he lowered his ERA to 2.25 over 16 innings. The bullpen could not finish off the no-hitter, but that does not take away from Almonte's dominance, as he threw 50 of his 82 pitches for strikes, while inducing 11 swings-and-misses.
Photo Credit: Rusney Castillo and Luis Alejandro Basabe by Kelly O'Connor