Fort Report: Mayer and Bleis debut; SoxProspects heads south

It was another exciting week down in Fort Myers with a few top prospects seeing MLB action for the first time. Both Marcelo Mayer and Miguel Bleis (pictured) gave fans a glimpse of their talent, while Eddinson Paulino did his best to put his name on the map. 

Staff arriving in Fort Myers

A SoxProspects.com contingent will be arriving in Fort Myers on Tuesday (weather permitting) and will stay through Monday. They will be providing frequent updates on Twitter throughout the week. Those without Twitter can follow along on the Twitter List on the right side of the home page. 

Chris and Ian released a podcast late last week to go over their early thoughts on MLB camp. One of the key players discussed was Jarren Duran who has looked good in limited action this spring. 

Mayer and Bleis debut

Two of the system's top three prospects saw their first action with the big league club this spring, with Marcelo Mayer and Miguel Bleis seeing action on Sunday and Monday. Mayer had a double and an impressive defensive play on Sunday, while Bleis delivered a two-run single off Alek Manoah and threw Brandon Belt out at home by about 25 feet on Monday. 

Casas continues to shine

Triston Casas remains one of the highlights of the spring, with an OPS of 1.333 over seven games. Over the last week, he has gone 4 for 13 with two doubles. He was also featured in a Boston Globe article ($) about his dedication to nutrition and how it ties in with his on-field performance. 

Other prospects impressing

Eddinson Paulino launched a solo home run against the Yankees on Thursday, and Stephen Scott went deep against the Braves on Tuesday. David Hamilton showed off his speed against the Twins on Saturday by swiping three bases. Hamilton is hitting .292 this spring with five steals in five attempts over 13 games. 

Murphy and Walter struggle against Toronto

While several offensive prospects have had impressive showings, it was rough for Chris Murphy and Brandon Walter against the Blue Jays on Monday. Murphy walked six in only 2 1/3 innings while allowing five earned runs. He threw only 24 of 57 pitches for strikes. Walter struck out three and did not walk anyone but did give up six runs on eight hits over two innings. Walter had been one of the impressive young pitchers in camp before Monday's struggles. 

Noah Song dealing with back tightness

Noah Song has been shut down with back tightness, and the Phillies do not expect him to be ready for Opening Day. The Red Sox will need to wait a little longer to see if he sticks on the 26-man roster for Philadelphia or is returned to Boston's organization. 

Transactions

The only transactions for the week were reassigning or optioning players to minor league camp. Players on the 40-man roster optioned to Worcester were David Hamilton, Ceddanne Rafaela, Brandon Walter, Bryan Mata, and Wilyer Abreu. Players not on the 40-man who were reassigned to minor league camp were Ryan Sheriff, Taylor Broadway, Jake Faria, Durbin Feltman, and Norwith Gudino.

Minor leaguers in major league games

We will continue tracking the players who are not in major league camp but get looks in MLB games. The full list, with current ranking in parentheses: Pitchers Skylar Arias, Cam Booser, Brendon Cellucci, Rio Gomez, Luis Guerrero (29), Joe Jacques, Robert Kwiatkowski, Sterling Sharp, Joey Stock, Jake Thompson, Jacob Webb, Brendan Nail, Cody Scroggins, Matt Dermody, Ryan Sherriff, Taylor Broadway (41), Norwith Gudino, Oddanier Mosqueda (48), Chase Shugart (57), Ryan Zeferjahn (58), and Ryan Miller; infielders Christian Koss (33), Daniel Palka, Nick Sogard, Niko Goodrum, Matthew Lugo (14), Niko Kavadas (20), Edwin Diaz, Ahbram Liendo, Alex Binelas (35), Blaze Jordan (15), Luis Ravelo (45), Eddinson Paulino (11), and Marcelo Mayer (1); catchers Stephen Scott (40), Ronaldo Hernandez (38), Elih Marrero and Caleb Hamilton; outfielders Marcus Wilson, Raimel Tapia, Narcisco Crook, Nick Decker, Gilberto Jimenez (39), Greg Allen, Max Ferguson, Juan Chacon, Karson Simas, Corey Rosier, Phillip Sikes, Tyler Dearden, Allan Castro (44), and Miguel Bleis (3); and utilitymen Ryan Fitzgerald (54) and Tyler McDonough (30). 

New players added this week are Miller, Liendo, Binelas, Jordan, Ravelo, Paulino, Mayer, Ferguson, Chacon, Simas, Rosier, Sikes, Dearden, Castro, and Bleis.

SoxProspects continued coverage of the 2023 spring training 

The 2023 Countdown to Spring Training series is nearing an end. Over the last week, prospects 11 through two in the rankings have been covered, with posts on Eddinson Paulino and Luis Perales, Roman Anthony and Brandon Walter, Mikey Romero and Bryan Mata, Nick Yorke and Ceddanne Rafaela, and Miguel Bleis and Triston Casas. 

Photo Credit: Miguel Bleis by Kelly O'Connor

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