Fall/Winter Roundup: Venezuelan Development Program ends, Juan Centeno hits

This continues our weekly roundups of the Fall and Winter Leagues, highlighting performances from players in the Red Sox organization. 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 of December 3-9.

Dominican Baseball League

Jhon Nunez (pictured) was the only player to appear in the league in its penultimate week, hitting 2 for 8 with an RBI and three strikeouts in three games.

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Continuing a strong performance in Venezuela, Enmanuel De Jesus retired the only batter he faced this week with a groundout. He has seven strikeouts in seven innings of work, the last three frames of which are scoreless.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

Juan Centeno headlined the Puerto Rican winter league with a 4 for 10 week, including a pair of two-hit games. He had a pair of doubles with an RBI and two walks. Jeremy Rivera was 1 for 6 with a run and an RBI across three games.

Australian Baseball League

Harrison Cooney had a rough outing on Sunday, allowing three runs on just one hit as he walked four batters in 2/3 innings. Jake Romanski saw time in four games, going 2 for 14 with a run and an RBI.

Venezuelan Development Program

Boston's entry in the five-team circuit swept the Dodgers' team two-games-to-none to win the "Parallel League" championship on Friday and Saturday. Boston took game one by a 9-8 score in 11 innings. After falling behind 5-0, the Sox got on the board with a solo home run from Oscar Rangel in the sixth, then tacked on three more on an Isaias Lucena single and Rangel sac fly in the seventh. After the Dodgers added three more in the bottom of the seventh, Pedro Castellanos tied things up with a grand slam in the top of the eighth. Things remained tied until Leonel Vazquez scored on two errors around a Ricardo Cubillan double in the 11th. Oddanier Mosqueda and Rafael Gomez each threw two scoreless innings of relief to allow the Sox to come back and win, the latter picking up the decision.

In game two, the Sox again fell behind, this time 4-0 after two and a half innings. Carlos Tovar cut the deficit in half with a two-run shot in the bottom of the third, while three singles and three walks put the Sox up 6-4 in the fourth. Cubillan scored an unearned run on a wild pitch in the sixth, then Tovar hit another two-run homer in the eighth for the 9-4 final. Beiker Pineda, Jose Gonzalez, and Luis Rivero combined to hold the Dodgers scoreless after Pineda allowed an inherited runner to cross in the third after entering with no outs on the board.

Boston finished 22-9-3 on the year. Castellanos led the squad offensively--as he should have, arguably, being a bit advanced for the league having spent the year in Low A--with a stellar .458/.531/.819 line and six home runs after hitting just one during the season in the U.S. On the mound, Christopher Acosta struggled as the starter in game one of the championship, but otherwise shined to a 1.73 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, striking out 24 and walking just 4 in 26 innings in his return to the mound for the organization after being suspended following extended spring training in 2016. The rest of the Red Sox rotation--Jesus Rosillo, Yorvin Pantoja, Yoelvis Guedez, and Alvaro Leal--also shined, with Rivero and Pineda leading the bullpen. Be sure to check http://soxprospects.com/fall-winter.htm for full stats, as well as http://www.ligaparalela.com/equipo/BOS/Boston.

Photo Credit: Jhon Nunez by Kelly O'Connor

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