Fort Report: Camp opens with new additions Downs and Wong

The Red Sox held their first full team workout on February 17 and with the start of spring training comes another year of the SoxProspects.com Fort Report. The Fort Report will run every Monday throughout spring training, catching you up on all things prospect-related happening down in Fort Myers.

Here are this week's minor league notes:

• Since the last Monthly Notes, the huge headline was obviously the finalized trade of Mookie Betts and David Price in exchange for Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs (pictured, right), and Connor Wong. The trade did not go down smoothly, and the first reports led the SoxProspects.com Podcast Team to put out an initial emergency podcast only to find the deal fall apart. Once the deal was revised and finalized, they released a second emergency podcast summing up the whole wild ride.
• With the new prospects in the fold, the SoxProspects.com scouting team was hard at work, putting together a post with updated scouting reports for both Downs and Wong. Downs is described as having the ceiling of an everyday player/occasional all-star and begins the year as the second-ranked player on the SoxProspects.com rankings. Wong projects as more of a super-utility player and is the system's top-ranked catcher, ranked 12th overall.
• Julian McWilliams writes for the Boston Globe about Downs' confidence and how he is learning from his mistakes. Downs spoke to former Twins major leaguer Torii Hunter and said, “He told me to make all the mistakes you can now in the minor leagues. Try new things."
• ESPN's David Schoenfield took a look at the most interesting non-roster player for all 30 teams. His selection for the Red Sox was no surprise, Jeter Downs.

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Scouting Report Updates: Jeter Downs and Connor Wong

Our first scouting report update post of the season highlights the two prospects the Red Sox received from the Dodgers in addition to Alex Verdugo in exchange for Mookie Betts and David Price. These reports, written by our Director of Scouting, Ian Cundall, will be further updated after we have seen the players in person, hopefully during our March trip to minor league Spring Training in Fort Myers, but for now have been compiled from reports obtained from those who have seen both Downs and Wong.

Jeter Downs, middle infielder

Physical Description: Athletic, twitchy. Minimal projection remaining in frame. Has gotten stronger since signing. Thick lower half.

Hit: Patient, polished hitter with advanced bat control. Simple swing. Has strong feel for hit and has refined his swing to allow him to tap into more power and hit the ball in the air to the pull side. Will use all fields. Has shown solid contact skills. Can get pull-happy at times and struggles with velocity up in the zone. Potential above-average hit tool.

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Podcast Ep. 174 - Emergency podcast -- Mookie Betts, take two

Here we go again. The siren is blaring. Mookie Betts is once again on his way to LA, along with David Price and cash to cover half of what Price is owed over the next three years. Coming back to Boston are Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong. Chris and Ian break down the new deal and answer your questions.

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Minor Notes: Casas leads Red Sox on national rankings as Betts trade looms

Here are January's minor league notes:

• It has been a busy month for the SoxProspects podcast team, who have recorded three episodes since the beginning of January. Episode 171 featured the now annual appearance of Alex Speier (Boston Globe) on the pod, and the group went over a number of topics including the offseasons transactions and Speier's new book, Homegrown. 

• Prior to the news breaking late Tuesday night Chris (@SPChrisHatfield) and Ian (@IanCundall) discussed what a then theoretical Mookie Betts trade would look like in the 172nd episode of the podcast. They further recapped the Red Sox offseason transactions and offered condolences to the families of Kobe Bryant and Red Sox scout J.J. Altobelli. Immediately following the news of the Betts trade breaking the team hopped in the studio for the 173rd episode to go over the reported terms of the deal and discuss what this means for the Red Sox going forward.

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Podcast Ep. #173 - Emergency Podcast -- Mookie Betts

This is not a test. The front office actually did it. Mookie Betts and David Price (plus some cash) are now Dodgers. Alex Verdugo and Brusdar Graterol are now Red Sox. And Chris and Ian are here for all of us.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Willis helps Melbourne to ABL final

We continue 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 the winter season. This week's roundup covers January 27 February 2.

Australian Baseball League

The only player in the Sox system to see action this week was once again Melbourne outfielder Colin Willis. The 27-year-old joined the Red Sox this offseason as a minor league free agent, and celebrated by crushing Australian League pitching to the tune of .427/.520/.612 in the regular season. Melbourne knocked off Auckland in the league semifinal two games to none despite an atypically quiet showing from Willis. The outfielder was 0 for 7 in the two games, walking twice and striking out four times. He drove in a run the hard way in Saturday's clinching victory, getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. He then came around to score as part of the Aces' decisive six-run fifth inning.

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