Fall/Winter League Roundup: Raudes returns to action; Grullón homers

The fall/winter leagues have been going on for a few weeks, but with the Arizona Fall League cancelled, play has been limited. The Mexican Pacific League started on October 15 and was the only league in action until mid-November when the Dominican and Nicaraguan leagues started play. With more players seeing game action, we will begin our weekly updates on the performance of Red Sox prospects. 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 up to September 22. 

Mexican Pacific League

Joey Meneses, who was signed in February to a minor league deal and re-signed in November, already has 99 at-bats for Culiacan in 26 games. He's hitting .283 with three home runs and six doubles while playing third base. This is notable as he has mostly played first base and right field in his career.  Marcus Wilson went 0 for 4 in his first game on November 3, but after a COVID-19 outbreak shut the league down for a couple weeks, he left and is no longer on the active roster. 

Dominican Professional Baseball League

Deivy Grullón, who got a brief cup of coffee with the Red Sox in September after being claimed off waivers from Philadelphia, has gotten off to a hot start for Aguilas. He's hitting .444/.444/.778 with a home run in nine at-bats, and his team notably put all of us on notice in a tweet that his nickname is "El Pulpo," or "the Octopus" in Spanish. On the pitching side, both Denyi Reyes and Raynel Espinal have started their campaigns without allowing runs, with Reyes tossing four shutout innings in his first start for Escogido and Espinal notching 1 1/3 innings over two appearances for los Gigantes.

A handful of games have already been postponed due to COVID-19 in the first week of play, so fans should expect some changes to the schedule as the season progresses. 

(Nicaragua) National Professional Baseball League

Appearing in relief in his first game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2018 season, Roniel Raudes allowed two runs and two walks in two innings pitched, then followed that up with one run on a hit and two walks in two innings while picking up a pair of strikeouts. Left-hander Nixson Munoz was also hit hard in his debut, allowing two runs while recording only two outs. Munoz had tremendous numbers in the Dominican Summer League in 2019. 

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

The league in Venezuela kicks off on the 27th, with Enmanuel De Jesus the only confirmed participant at this time.

Panama Professional Baseball League

This league will kick off by the end of November, with Jonathan Arauz and Eduardo Vaughan, the organization's two native Panamanians expected to see playing time as teammates for las Aguilas Metropolitanas.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

When play begins in December, this will be a league to keep an eye on. Jarren Duran will be playing for Caguas, and he will be joined in the league by others, likely including Henry Nunez Rijo, Alan Marrero, and perhaps Matthew Lugo. Others like Christian Vazquez and Christian Arroyo are currently listed on teams' reserve lists, but it is doubtful that they will play.

Australian Baseball League

After taking the league by storm in 2019, Colin Willis will return as a member of the Melbourne outfield when play begins on December 18. 

Photo Credit: Joey Meneses by Kelly O'Connor

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