Fall/Winter Leagues: Duran delivers RBI in playoff opener; Meneses goes deep

It was a light week for the winter leagues, as the Christmas breaks bled into the New Year's Day holiday as well. In several leagues, playoffs are now getting underway, including in Puerto Rico and Mexico. While Joey Meneses (pictured) was not integral to his team's bid toward the postseason, he drilled a three-run home run in Game 1 of Culiacan's series in the Mexican Pacific League. 

This week's roundup covers the week of December 28 through January 3. 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.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

The regular season wrapped up on December 30 with two final regular season games for each squad. Jarren Duran, the No. 4 prospect in the system, was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in the penultimate game before getting the finale off, dropping his average to .238 on the short season. He was ejected from Tuesday's contest for throwing his helmet.

Alan Marrero played in one contest, striking out twice in an 0-for-3 performance, while Henry Nunez Rijo did not pitch.

RA12 and Caguas are matched up in a semifinal, pitting Nunez Rijo against Duran. Nunez Rijo did not pitch in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series, while Duran went 0 for 2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. In the other semifinal, Marrero was 0 for 1 with a strikeout for Mayaguez in the opener. Game two of that series was postponed on Sunday due to two possible cases of COVID-19.

Mexican Pacific League 

Culiacan made the playoffs, finishing 2-1 over its final three games. Joey Meneses was 2 for 11 with a pair of RBI, including a double. Meneses provided a key hit in Game 1 of Culican's playoff series with Guasave, drilling a three-run home run as part of an 11-6 victory.

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Oddanier Mosqueda did not pitch in the regular season's penultimate week, while Jhonny Pereda was 4 for 17 at the dish, including a 2-for-4 performance on Saturday. Pereda and Caracas are three games back of Anzoatequi in the Central division. 

Jose Mendez, an 18-year-old shortstop signed by the Red Sox in July 2019 to a $200,000 bonus, has joined the Cardenales de Lara roster and made his season debut as a pinch runner on Saturday.

Australian Baseball League

Collin Willis played in two games out of four for Melbourne. He was 2 for 4 with a walk across those contests.

Colombia Professional Baseball League

Rivaldo Avila only saw brief action during the league's regular season, getting five at-bats over three games. His Monteria squad lost its first game of the three-team round-robin semifinal. Statistics are hard to come by, but he is unlikely to get much run in the playoffs.

Dominican Professional Baseball League 

The playoffs pushed on, but without Red Sox prospects—although their teams are currently playing, Johan Mieses, Joel Payamps, and Raynel Espinal have not been active.

Panama Probeis

The league announced on Sunday that it was postponing its season and would send a team of players from each of its teams to the Caribbean Series from January 31-February 6, rather than its league champion, as is customary. Jonathan Arauz, who was slated to play for las Aguilas along with Eduardo Vaughan, would be a strong contender for such an all-star squad given that he is one of only a few major leaguers from the country.

Photo Credit: Joey Meneses by Kelly O'Connor

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