Fall/Winter League Roundup: Abad debuts, Hernandez goes deep again

Here is a recap of the past week's action in Fall and Winter leagues. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through the offseason. This week's roundup covers the period of December 12 - December 18.

Dominican Baseball League

It was a solid week for Marco Hernandez (pictured), who went 5 for 19 with a triple and a home run. He now has three home runs in his last eight games. Outfielder Junior Lake, who signed with the Red Sox last week, also played well, going 6 for 22 with a double, home run, and three walks.

Left-hander Fernando Abad made his debut last week, allowing one unearned run over two one-inning appearances for Este. Elsewhere, Roenis Elias was also let down by his defense, as he surrendered three unearned runs over 2 2/3 innings in his only start of the week. He walked two and struck out two.

With the World Baseball Classic set to begin in less than three months, Hanley Ramirez will be warming up by playing for Licey, and his debut is expected to come early this week.

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

After debuting last week, Eduardo Rodriguez took the mound again on Thursday, getting roughed up for two runs on six hits over 3 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out three. In two appearances this week, Luis Ysla allowed one run over 2 2/3 innings.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League

It was a down week for the Red Sox contingent in Puerto Rico. Rusney Castillo went 3 for 11 with a walk and Christian Vazquez went 1 for 13 with a walk, while Jeremy Rivera and Joseph Monge each went 0 for 2.

Venezuelan Liga Paralela

The season came to an end last week, with Lara defeating Caracas in the finals. Red Sox infielder Deiner Lopez appeared in the deciding game for Lara, the native Venezuelan playing for the affiliate of his LVBP club rather than the Boston entry, going 1 for 4 in the 1-0 victory.

Though it fell short of a championship, it was still a successful season for the Boston squad. The team was led offensively by Pedro Castellanos, who hit .369/.431/.515 with nine doubles and two home runs in 103 at-bats. The 2016 Red Sox Minor League Latin Program Player of the Year continued to hit after a great season in the Dominican Summer League (DSL), and he is expected to debut stateside with the Gulf Coast League (GCL) Red Sox next season. 

Lorenzo Cedrola, who was the 2015 Latin Program Player of the Year, also played well, batting .358/.429/.383. Similar to his stats in the GCL this season, he did not hit for much power, but he has shown the ability to hit for average and get on base at a good clip. Marino Campana was not on the radar after hitting .182 in 44 at-bats in the GCL this season before heading back to the DSL in July, but he hit .325/.386/.442 and was second on the team with four home runs. He led the team in hits with 39, but he also led in strikeouts with 26 in 120 at-bats.

On the mound, Jose Gonzalez's 0.44 ERA in 20 1/3 innings stood out above the rest, and he also led the team with a 0.84 WHIP. He struck out 22 and walked five. The 18-year-old was dominant in his second stint in the DSL this season as well, pitching to a 1.32 ERA over 68 innings with 61 strikeouts. Victor Garcia was able to work around some control issues to put up a 1.71 ERA over 21 innings. He struck out 21 and only allowed 10 hits, but he also walked 16. There were high expectations for Eduard Bazardo after he put up a 0.79 ERA and struck out 48 over 45 1/3 innings in the DSL this season. He did not disappoint, tossing 27 2/3 innings while striking out 27 and allowing only seven runs.

Photo Credit: Marco Hernandez by Kelly O'Connor

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