Fort Report: Groome and Casas make spring debuts

Welcome to another week of the SoxProspects.com Fort Report. The Fort Report will run every Tuesday throughout spring training, catching you up on all things prospect-related in Fort Myers.

Here are this week's minor league notes:

• The 204th episode of the SoxProspects.com Podcast came out on Monday, with Chris and Ian breaking down players in camp as well as answering numerous questions from the mailbag. Some of the more notable camp performances they discussed were Gilberto Jimenez, Jarren Duran, and Jay Groome. 

• Jimenez, Nick Yorke (pictured, right), and Eduard Bazardo have all been getting more buzz lately after strong showings at the Fall Instructional League and Spring Training, and they recently had their scouting reports updated by the SoxProspects.com scouting team. While Yorke only had limited reps with the big league club this spring, he has impressed scouts and coaches alike. 

• Jeter Downs left the game on Monday with an injury to his side after diving for a ground ball while playing shortstop. The Red Sox will run more tests to determine if it is an oblique issue, which would likely sideline him for a few weeks. Downs was 4 for 9 with a home run and two walks so far this spring. Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe wrote about how Downs is impressing the Red Sox from the ground up. 

• Red Sox top prospect Triston Casas made his spring debut on Sunday, going 0 for 2 against the Twins. A non-baseball medical issue had kept Casas away from the team, but he is now cleared for all baseball activity. 

• Yankee fans have been keeping an eye on Garrett Whitlock to see if the Red Sox will return the Rule 5 pick this spring. It looks like they will be disappointed as Whitlock has left little doubt that he belongs on the major league roster, allowing one run over six innings, striking out seven without walking a batter. Scouts have been impressed with Whitlock as well as he is fully recovered from his Tommy John surgery. 

• The reports on Jay Groome from the Fall Instructional League were a bit disappointing, as the talented left-hander did not show the same arsenal that he had before Tommy John surgery. The good news is that his stuff took a step forward in his spring debut on Saturday, topping out at 97 in a scoreless inning of work. 

• The Bobby Dalbec three-true-outcomes tour continued last week as he went 3 for 13 with a home run, walk, and seven strikeouts. While his .304 average this spring looks impressive, it is unsustainable with his current strikeout rate of 52%. The home run last week was a grand slam that cleared everything in left field.

• Dalbec did not have the only grand slam of the week, as Michael Gettys launched one on Saturday. In an interview with Christopher Smith of MassLive.com, Gettys acknowledged that he had too much swing-and-miss in his game in the past, but after working with Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers, he believes he will make more contact this year. The early results from spring training support that conclusion. 

• After dazzling Red Sox fans last September, Tanner Houck got off to a slow start this spring as he walked five and gave up three runs while recording only two outs in his debut. He was able to get back on track on Wednesday against the Braves, striking out three over three scoreless innings. More importantly, his fastball was routinely up to 96 and 97 after averaging 93 last season. 

• With high school and college baseball in full swing, there is beginning to be more clarity around who the Red Sox will be targeting with the fourth overall pick. Alex Speier of The Boston Globe wrote about what the Red Sox are doing to prepare for the draft, and Speier noted four names who appear to be separating themselves from the rest of the pack -- Vanderbilt starting pitchers Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, and high school shortstops Jordan Lawlar and Marcelo Mayer. 

• For fans who are eager to see a finished product of Polar Park in Worcester, Dan Roche of CBS Boston posted a video that shows images of the park as part of an interview with WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg. 

Photo Credit: Nick Yorke by Kelly O'Connor

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