Fall/Winter League Roundup: Rodriguez tweaks knee, Castillo rakes

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 26 - January 2.

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Eduardo Rodriguez (pictured) tweaked his right knee slipping on a wet mound during his start for Magallanes on Tuesday, lasting just 1/3 of an inning and allowing two runs before exiting. The Red Sox are not concerned with the injury, though it is the same knee that Rodriguez injured during spring training last season. Rodriguez pitched to a 8.59 ERA in six first half starts with the Red Sox while recovering from that ailment before settling in with a 3.24 ERA with 79 strikeouts and 28 walks in 77 2/3 innings in the second half.

The league's round-robin semifinals began on Monday and the Tiburones, Caribes (Carlos Tovar has completed his season and is inactive), Tigres, Aguilas (Austin Maddox has completed his season and is inactive), Bravos (Luis Ysla), and Cardenales (Deiner Lopez is inactive) are in the mix.

Dominican Baseball League

The Dominican Baseball League began its round-robin semifinals this week, with the Aguilas Cibaenas, Tigres del Licey, Leones del Escogido, and Gigantes del Cibao in competition. In three games this week, Hanley Ramirez was 3 for 12 with a double and two walks. Marco Hernandez was 0 for 9 with a walk. Roenis Elias made starts for the Aguilas last Tuesday and this Monday, throwing ten total innings and allowing three runs on nine hits and six walks, punching out eleven. Left-handed reliever Fernando Abad made two appearances, going 1 2/3 shutout innings with three strikeouts and a walk. 

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League

Catcher Christian Vazquez took part in three games this week, going 2 for 10 with a double and bringing his slash line to .237/.333/.320 this winter. Rusney Castillo has had more offensive success in Puerto Rico and that continued into this week as he was 7 for 15 with a double, including back-to-back three-hit performances on Monday and Tuesday. Outfielder Joseph Monge played in one game going 0 for 2 and shortstop Jeremy Rivera was 2 for 4 in two games. Francisco Lopez-Soto pitched a scoreless 2/3 of an inning, walking two.

The first round of the league's playoffs begin on Tuesday with Carolina facing Santurce (Vazquez, Monge, Lopez-Soto) and Mayaguez (Rivera) facing Caguas (Castillo) for seven-game series.

Photo Credit: Eduardo Rodriguez by Kelly O'Connor

Tweet