Podcast Ep. #270: '22 in Review, pt. 4, low-minors hitting

Closing out 2022, Chris and Ian finally closed out the '22 in Review series with the low minors hitters after a slow(-ish) week of news. First, there was the matter of Nathan Eovaldi leaving and being replaced by Corey Kluber, with a look at how the 2023 pitching staff appears to have rounded out. Then we got into the minor leaguers, led by a review of what 2022 meant for the deepest part of the system. You know Marcelo Mayer, but what of Miguel Bleis and Nick Yorke? What do the guys think of the players lurking just behind them in the rankings? The answers, plus more of your emails, await! 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Lugo and Hernández continue to shine

With the regular seasons winding down and the playoffs set to begin in a few of the leagues, fewer players will be getting playing time. Mathew Lugo and Ronaldo Hernández (pictured) continued their great winters, while a new signing had a solid week in Venezuela. This article covers games from December 19 through December 25. Full statistics are also available on the Fall & Winter Leagues page. 

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Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League

With the regular season ending next Wednesday, teams are in the final playoff push. Mathew Lugo and Caguas are currently in first place, while Henry Núñez and Juan Montero are just a few games back with Ponce. Núñez and Montero did not see game action this week, partly because their team only had three games with all teams off for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Lugo went 3 for 8 over two starts with two strikeouts and a stolen base. 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Hernandez goes yard, Lugo stays hot

As the calendar reaches the end of December, the Caribbean winter leagues are beginning to reach the end of their regular seasons. The Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League stretches just into the new year, while the playoffs in the Dominican Professional Baseball League began on Sunday. Many Red Sox minor leaguers are still in the mix as they help to try and make the Caribbean Series.

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Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League

The standard-bearer for farmhand performance in Puerto Rico this week was Matthew Lugo. The infielder was 8 for 22 on the week, including a trio of multi-hit games. He also had a 3-for-5 performance, including four RBI and a home run on December 15 against Mayaguez. Juan Montero was 0 for 2 in one game with Leones, but he did score a run and draw a walk. The pitching was much less strong, as both Henry Nunez and Nate Tellier both had one appearance. Nunez surrendered three runs across his two-inning stint, while it was one run on a hit and a pair of walks in one inning for Tellier.

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Podcast Ep. #269: Much Ado About Everything

Xander Bogaerts is gone. Red Sox fans are furious. And in the week following that bombshell, the team designated Jeter Downs and Eric Hosmer for assignment and traded Hoy Park after mere weeks in the organization while the last of the big free agents came off the board. Chris and Ian tried to make sense of it all, plus actual news on what might be in store for Noah Song, public relations, Trevor Story's arm, and whether FSG should sell. 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Lugo homers, Sox sign minor league pitcher

Another week of winter ball is complete, as Matthew Lugo (pictured) and Henry Nunez put together some fine performances in the Roberto Clemente League. The Sox also signed a new arm to a minor league deal, and he has been pitching in the Venezuelan League. 

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Dominican Professional Baseball League 

Infielder Nick Sogard joined Toros Del Este this past week and made his debut. He played in five games and went 5 for 17 (.294) with five singles, a walk, and a hit by pitch. He scored twice and knocked in two. He also played some shortstop and made a nice play in the hole. No other Sox players played in the Dominican League this past week. 

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Podcast Ep. #268: Free Agents and Rule 5 and X Gon...e

We all had a hell of a week on Wednesday. First, the Red Sox reportedly came to terms with Kenley Jansen and Masataka Yoshida. Then came reports that the team was making progress with Xander Bogaerts. Then came an incredibly eventful Rule 5 Draft in which the club lost three players, including one huge surprise. Then the big one, as those earlier Bogaerts reports proved entirely incorrect and he signed with the San Diego Padres. Chris and Ian had a lot to unpack, and so they did! 

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Podcast Ep. #267: Rankings Rundown

The guys ring in the coming of the Winter Meetings with a full rundown of the official end-of-season Top 60. Chris and Ian discuss the movers and shakers and some of the debates up and down the list. Plus, the Red Sox finally did some stuff, so the guys talked Joely Rodriguez and the Hoy Park/Inmer Lobo trade. And as always, your emails! 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: German impresses, Rafaela wraps up stint in Puerto Rico

Another week of winter ball action is in the books. Down in the Dominican Republic, Victor Santos and Franklin German (pictured) impressed out of the bullpen for their respective clubs. Elsewhere, Jeter Downs was released from the Indios de Mayaguez in Puerto Rico while the Criollos de Caguas announced that Ceddanne Rafaela was done playing for them. In other bullpen-related news, Henry Nunez hurled five scoreless innings of relief for Leones de Ponce, and Darwinzon Hernandez put together two quality outings in Venezuela.

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Dominican Professional Baseball League

Victor Santos made his 11th appearance of the season for Escogido on Friday. The 22-year-old right-hander retired all three batters he faced in a scoreless seventh inning. He now owns a 1.88 ERA and 1.19 WHIP across 14 1/3 innings in this year's Dominican Winter League. Franklin German, meanwhile, got into two games for Aguilas last week. The 25-year-old righty allowed one hit and struck out one over two scoreless frames. In a similar fashion to Santos, German's ERA now sits at 1.88 ERA through 14 1/3 innings of work.

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SoxProspects.com end-of-season rankings countdown: The Top Ten

From the home office in Sioux City, Iowa, here are the Top Ten Prospects in the Boston Red Sox minor league system. 

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10. Luis Perales

Preseason Rank: Unranked

2022 Stats: 13 games, 11 GS, 35 2/3 IP, 1.77 ERA, 20 H, 50 K, 20 BB, 1 HR @ FCL, Salem

"The raw stuff is great, he just needs to get healthy." It's a refrain that seemingly always applies to some mysterious arm in the low minors. Almost always, it doesn't happen. Either the pitcher never really gets healthy, or he does, and the stuff is just not what those initial glowing reports indicate. Once in a great while, however, there is a Luis Perales. Signed back in 2019 to a modest $75,000 bonus, word of Perales' talent started spreading as soon as that fall's Tricky league. A 2020 lost to COVID and a 2021 in which various injuries limited him to two innings in the DSL dropped him off of the rankings entirely. He returned to competitive action on June 10, allowing two runs in three innings for the FCL Red Sox. He would go on to make eight more appearances at that level, allowing just one earned run in total. In his July 11 start, he faced nine batters striking out eight of them. In 25 dominant innings, he surrendered only 10 hits, walked nine, and struck out 34 (36.2% of batters faced). His control wobbled some after a promotion to Salem, but he continued to miss bats and impress scouts. Developmentally, he will need to show that he can handle a starter's workload: he was understandably handled carefully, never facing more than 15 batters or going beyond three innings in any appearance. 

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