Fall/Winter League Roundup: Castillo helps Caguas win championship

This continues our series of weekly roundups of the Fall/Winter Leagues. Coverage will continue every Monday into January. 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 January. This week's roundup covers the period from January 22 to 28.

Mexican Pacific League

Hector Velazquez did not appear in a game this past week as his team, Mayos de Navajoa, dropped the championship series four games to three.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League 

Ivan De Jesus Jr. wrapped up the regular season by going 0 for 3 with a walk in the finale. Rusney Castillo (pictured) finished strong, going 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, and a run.

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Podcast Ep. #133 - Six Degrees of Ivan De Jesus

Chris and Ian return to talk about the glacial pace of the offseason. Henry Owens has left the system. JD Martinez still hasn’t signed with the Sox. And while the big headlines tarry, the club has signed some minor league free agents, including Ivan De Jesus Jr. who returns to the club for his third stint. The guys go over non-roster invitations, touching on Chad De La Guerra’s rise from 17th round pick to big league camp. They break down the club’s AAA rule 5 pickups. Finally, they cover both Baseball America’s and Baseball Prospectus’ rankings of the Red Sox system.

Listen in!

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Velazquez takes tough-luck playoff loss

This continues our series of weekly roundups of the Fall/Winter Leagues. Coverage will continue every Monday into January. 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 January. This week's roundup covers the period from January 15 to 21.

Mexican Pacific League

They Mayos de Navojoa trotted out game one winner Hector Velazquez (pictured) in the fifth game of their semifinal series against Jalisco. Despite a very strong effort by the righty, Navajoa dropped a 3-0 decision. Velazquez allowed just one run on three hits in five innings, striking out three without issuing a walk, and inducing eight groundball outs. Overall, Velazquez surrendered only two runs in 10 innings in his two starts in the semi-final series. Navojoa prevailed in game six to advance to the league championship series against Culiacan. 

Velazquez is likely to start in game three on Tuesday if Navojoa holds to its rotation, with los Mayos in a 2-0 hole.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Castillo homers twice, Velazquez picks up a playoff win

This continues our series of weekly roundups of the Fall/Winter Leagues. Coverage will continue every Monday into January. 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 January. This week's roundup covers the period from January 8 to 14.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League

After struggling over his first three games, Rusney Castillo (pictured) broke out this week. He went 8 for 21 over six games, with two home runs, a double, and one walk to go along with two hit-by-pitches. It was a rougher week for Ivan De Jesus Jr., as he went 4 for 18 with two doubles and three walks. Jeremy Rivera performed well in limited playing time, going 1 for 3 with a double and two runs scored, and Joseph Monge went 0 for 1 in his first appearance of the season.

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Minor Notes: Minor league coaching staffs set, battle for the PawSox continues

As the baseball world waits for the hot stove to heat up, there have been a few pieces of notable news relating to Boston's minor league system over the last few weeks, as well as a few important updates from the SoxProspects.com staff.

• The Red Sox announced the 2018 field staffs of their minor league affiliates earlier this week. In Pawtucket Kevin Boles will return for his fifth year as manager, where he will be rejoined by hitting coach Rich Gedman and assistant coach Bruce Crabbe. New to the staff is pitching coach Kevin Walker, who held the same position in Double-A Portland last season. 

Portland’s coaching staff got a major overhaul, with Darren Fenster coming in to replace Carlos Febles (pictured with Michael Chavis), who moved up to become Boston’s third base coach and infield instructor. Fenster led Greenville to the South Atlantic League Championship in 2017, and this will be his seventh year overall in the Boston system. Paul Abbott will be his pitching coach after spending the last two years in Salem, and Lee May Jr. is staying on as hitting coach.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Velazquez throws well as playoffs begin

This continues our series of weekly roundups of the Fall/Winter Leagues. Coverage will continue every Monday into January. 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 January. This week's roundup covers the period from January 1 to 7.

Dominican Baseball League

The semifinals will continue through January 18, but no Red Sox prospects appeared in games this past week.

Mexican Pacific League

Hector Velazquez's Navojoa squad came into the playoffs as the number three seed in the 3 vs 4 matchup. Velazquez (pictured, right) started game two of the series on Tuesday, throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. He also earned the win, while Navojoa won the series 4-1 advancing to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile for Mazatlan, outfielder Aneury Tavarez led off each game of their series, which ultimately ended with a 4-2 series loss. Tavarez struck out in half his at-bats and finished 6-for-22 (.273) with a double, 2 runs, a RBI, and a walk.

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Help Wanted: Social Media Specialist

We are looking for an enthusiastic Social Media Specialist to join the SoxProspects Staff immediately! We're seeking a commitment of at least through the end of 2018, but ideally we are looking for someone who will want to stick around with us for the long-term if there’s a mutual fit. We are hoping that this position will manage the SoxProspects Twitter account, help coordinate our strategy for other social media platforms, and input stats on our rankings pages 2 days per week during the season. In total, the commitment is a few hours per week during the baseball season, and less in the off-season. 

As for requirements, we’re looking for someone with flexibility to be able to post using the site’s social media platforms as needed, maybe a few times per day, including during business hours (ET). This does not mean being on call around the clock, but it will not work if the applicant is unavailable to post during the entire work day every day. In terms of the stats entry, that generally needs to happen by 9:00 am on the two days, and it takes about a half hour once you get the hang of it.

The applicant should also have experience with posting content to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. We’d also love a go getter that can work on their own without much hand holding or oversight. To be upfront, we all work remotely, there’s little to no face-to-face interaction, and we all have real jobs. So the expectation is that after some onboarding the new hire will take the bull by the horns. 

We also hope that applicants will have a strong attention to detail, a professional attitude, a perfunctory understanding of baseball stats, and a familiarity with SoxProspects.com and the Red Sox minor league system. Top-to-bottom expertise is not necessary, but the more background the applicant possesses already, the better.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an aspiring digital specialist to gain experience!  Members of the SoxProspects staff have gone on to write for ESPN.com, Baseball Prospectus, the Baltimore Sun, MLB.com, and MiLB.com, among other outlets! Others have gone on to become part owners of the site!

This is a volunteer position, as are all positions on the SoxProspects.com staff. However, we try to hold ourselves to a high standard. We will only consider applications that are thoughtful, organized, and professional. If you are interested in applying, please email info@soxprospects.com by 2:00 pm ET on January 26, 2018.  Provide a resume and a basic overview of your skills and experience with respect to the requirements outlined above. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Help Wanted: Contributing Editor

We are looking for an eager editor to join the SoxProspects Staff immediately! We're seeking a commitment of at least through the end of 2018, but ideally we are looking for someone who will want to stick around with us for the long-term if there’s a mutual fit. The hope is that the new editor will write 2 Cup of Coffees pieces per week, edit 2 Cup of Coffees per week, and be responsible for editing 25-35% of our other columns and features. The editor could also be responsible for backing up other editors or writers when they are temporarily unavailable. In total, the commitment is maybe 3-4 hours per week during the minor league season, and much less in the off-season. 

As for requirements, we’re looking for someone with prior collegiate (or professional) writing/editing experience. We’d love a go-getter that can work on their own without much hand holding or oversight. To be upfront, the whole staff works remotely, there’s little to no face-to-face interaction, and we all have real jobs. So the expectation is that after some onboarding the new hire will take the bull by the horns and run with it. It’s also very important that the applicant have a reasonable amount of availability to edit and write during business hours (Eastern Time). 

We also hope that applicants will have a very strong attention to detail, a professional attitude, some knowledge of AP style, and a basic familiarity with SoxProspects.com and  the Red Sox minor league system. Top-to-bottom expertise is not necessary, but the more background the applicant possesses already, the better.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an aspiring editor to gain experience! Members of the SoxProspects staff have gone on to write for ESPN.com, Baseball Prospectus, the Baltimore Sun, MLB.com, and MiLB.com, among other outlets! Others have also gone on to become part owners of the site!

This is a volunteer position, as are all positions on the SoxProspects.com staff. However, we try to hold ourselves to a high standard. We will only consider applications that are thoughtful, organized, and professional. If you are interested in applying, please email info@soxprospects.com by 2:00 pm ET on January 26, 2018.  Provide a resume and a basic overview of your skills and experience with respect to the requirements outlined above. A writing sample is not required, but can't hurt (if you do submit a sample, please submit only one). We look forward to hearing from you!

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SoxProspects welcomes new ownership team members

We’re pleased to announced that we added five new members to the SoxProspects.com ownership team this week! 

Senior Database Engineer Mike Reynolds has been with the site since April 2005.  In 2008, he took over responsibility for operating and maintaining the site's stats, schedule, and standings databases.

Senior Staff Writers Jim Crowell, James Dunne, and Will Woodward contribute to regular pieces on SoxProspects News such as Weekly Notes, the Fort Report, the Cup of Coffee, Fall-Winter League Round-Up, our draft coverage, and other features. Jim joined the staff in July 2011, followed by James and Will in November 2011.

Senior Web Editor Matt Picard joined the staff in February 2013. He handles web updates to the main site, including transactions, team rosters, and player pages. He has also been working with Mike Reynolds on improvements to the stats database.  

They join Editor-in-Chief Mike Andrews, Executive Editor Chris Hatfield, and Director of Scouting Ian Cundall as members of the site’s ownership team.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Elias kicks off playoffs in DR

This continues our series of weekly roundups of the Fall/Winter Leagues. Coverage will continue every Monday into January. 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 January. This week's roundup covers the period from December 26 to 31.

Dominican Baseball League

Roenis Elias (pictured) got the start in Aguilas' first playoff game. After three shutout innings, Elias fell apart in the fourth inning and ended up surrendering three runs (two earned) on four hits. He struck out five and walked just one. Aguilas has a 2-1 record so far in the league's round-robin semifinal round and will continue action tomorrow. The semifinals will continue through January 18.

Mexican Pacific League

Esteban Quiroz played in two games and went 2 for 7 with a double, three walks, and two runs scored as Mexico wrapped up its regular season. Aneury Tavarez joined Quiroz and Mazatlan this past week and played in three games. He went 3 for 10 with a home run and three runs scored. Hector Velazquez made another start and allowed just one unearned run in 3 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out three and walked two. Mazatlan and Velazquez's Navojoa squad have both advanced to the playoffs as well.

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