Scouting Scratch: The changes that have unlocked Luis Perales' potential

A lot has been made of the impact the new Red Sox pitching infrastructure instituted by Craig Breslow, Andrew Bailey, Justin Willard and co has had at the major league level, with the club boasting one of the top pitching staffs in Major League Baseball two months into the season, and that despite several key arms spending time on the injured list. Less discussed, but no less important, are the substantial changes the organization has made at the minor league level as well, a process started even before the hiring of Breslow, Bailey, and Willard. The effects of these changes are probably most evident in the young arm who has made the biggest jump among the system’s arms this year and will return to his spot as the top-ranked pitcher in the system next week, 21-year-old right-hander Luis Perales. 

Coming into the year, Perales was seen as a volatile arm with impressive stuff, but held back by inconsistent command and performance. This year, Perales has been a different pitcher, showing improved command and consistency and dominating the South Atlantic League with 46 strikeouts to only 10 walks in 26.1 innings. His 3.42 ERA and 1.44 WHIP do not jump off the page, but those numbers are deceiving, illustrated by his 1.91 FIP and astronomically high .474 BABIP, that is largely due to a subpar Greenville defense. (A hiccup in his first start, in which he gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in one inning—but still struck out three—also accounts for nearly a full run of his ERA.) His strikeout rate has increased dramatically and his walk rate has dropped. He is generating much more contact on the ground and is giving up far fewer fly balls and home runs. Everything is trending in the right direction, and looking under the surface, several tangible changes that have allowed him to unlock this performance. 

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Scouting Scratch: Red Sox 2022 Rule 5 Preview

By 6:00 p.m. tonight, the Red Sox must decide which prospects to add to their 40-man roster to protect them from selection in the Rule 5 Draft, which is scheduled for December 7.

Currently, the 40-man roster is at 37 players, and if necessary, players such as Caleb Hamilton, Yu Chang, and Jake Reed can be removed from the roster in order to create more space. The Red Sox also have to make non-tender decisions by Friday, so if they know they are non-tendering someone like Franchy Cordero, Ryan Brasier, or Josh Taylor, for example, they could choose to open a spot by making that move today. 

Here is a short list of players who are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft and one man's opinion regarding their likelihood of being added to the roster.

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Scouting Scratch: Breaking down Brayan Bello

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a chance to see all of the ranked members of the Worcester and Portland rotations, save for Connor Seabold given he has been on the injured list. Here's my break down of the top pitching prospect in the system, right-hander Brayan Bello. 

23-year-old right-hander Brayan Bello has been one of the most impressive pitchers in the minor leagues this year, rising recently to number 49 on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list, and he recently earned a promotion to Worcester, putting him on the brink of the big leagues. In 56 innings, he has allowed only 35 hits and 15 earned runs, while striking out 76 and walking only 21. He has three starts with 10 strikeouts and a seven-inning no-hitter on his ledger already, and his swinging strike rate of 18.3% is 19th in all of minor league baseball of pitchers with at least 30 innings. 

Bello has an average frame and has filled out considerably since he signed. He now has a well-proportioned frame and sturdy lower half, but has maintained his athleticism and does a good job repeating his delivery. He throws from a three-quarters arm slot and has a very quick arm. His fastball has sat 95-97 both times I’ve seen him this year), topping out at 98. He generates easy velocity and can hold it, still hitting 97 in the fifth and sixth innings of recent outings. Bello will show both four-seam and two-seam variations, with the four-seam in the upper portion of that velocity range and two-seam coming in at 95-96 mph usually. The four-seam fastball is on the straight side and will show some bat-missing ability when he commands it up in the zone. His two-seam shows hard, late sink down and in on a right-handed hitter and is a pitch he really has made strides with this year.  

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Scouting Scratch: Red Sox 2021 Rule 5 Preview

By Friday, the Red Sox must decide which prospects to add to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Currently, the Rule 5 Draft is scheduled for December 9, but exactly when it would be held is unclear, should the team owners lock out the players on December 1.

Currently, the Red Sox 40-man roster is at 33 players, and if necessary, players such as Phillips Valdez, Jeisson Rosario and Hudson Potts could be removed from the roster in order to create more space. Because a lockout is possible, I don’t think it is out of the question for the Red Sox to overprotect players now and then figure out what to do after signing free agents later in the offseason once a CBA agreement has been reached. While I currently would not project this to be the case, it also would not surprise me if they ended up protecting eight or more prospects. 

Another possibility is the Red Sox make a trade before the deadline. Certain prospects, like Gilberto Jimenez and Ceddanne Rafaela, have no chance of contributing in the big leagues in the near term. While it could be a little difficult for the Red Sox to keep those developmental players on the 40-man roster for several years until they could make an impact at the MLB level, it might be easier for some rebuilding teams to do so. As a result, we could see the team look to make a trade like they did last year, when they traded Yoan Aybar, who needed to be protected, to the Colorado Rockies for Christian Koss, who does not need to be added until December 2022. 

Here's a short list of players who are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft.

Locks to be protected:
Jeter Downs, SS/2B

2021 highest level: Worcester
Even though he hit .190/.272/.333 this year, Downs has too much upside not to protect him. He did show flashes this year, notably at the end of the season and at the start of the AFL, but he also had long streaks where he was overmatched at the plate and clearly pressing. In the AFL, he is hitting .200/.385/.500 in 64 PA and has shown above-average raw power and the ability to take a walk, but also too much swing-and-miss and a poor approach that leads to him giving away too many at-bats. 

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Scouting Scratch: Breaking down the Arizona Fall League contingent

The Arizona Fall League is back after a one-year hiatus in 2020, and the Red Sox have an extremely strong contingent playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions this autumn, led by SoxProspects.com’s number one prospect, Triston Casas. The group is comprised of five* hitters and four pitchers, and eight of the nine prospects are ranked in the #SP60, including five in the top 20. Here are some thoughts on each Red Sox prospect heading to Arizona and what I will be looking for from each.

(* - Connor Wong has been with the Major League club on the taxi squad. He will likely now report

 following Boston’s elimination.)

The top prospect in our rankings, Triston Casas was an easy choice to send to the AFL given how much time he missed due to his participation in the Olympics. He was gone from May 24 to June 8 for qualifying and then again from July 16 to August 11 for the Games themselves, and during those roughly six weeks, he got just 38 at-bats for Team USA as the silver medal-winning squad’s starting first baseman. The experience Casas got on a huge stage helps make up for the missed time, but the AFL is an obvious chance to make up for those lost at-bats. For the minor league season, he ended up playing 86 games and got 371 plate appearances with Portland and Worcester, hitting .279/.394/.484 with 14 home runs and a 19.1% strikeout rate and 15.4% walk rate. The AFL should be great experience for Casas, as he will face quality, high-minors pitching, with some big names including 2020 first-round picks Asa Lacy, Bobby Miller, and Slade Cecconi.

Shortstop Jeter Downs (#SP60 no. 5) had a rough season in Worcester, but he heads to Arizona looking to build on a strong end to the season. Entering the last three weeks of the season, Downs was hitting .174/.259/.293 with 33.1% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate, but he closed strong by hitting .316/.372/.579 in his final 43 plate appearances. Despite his struggles, Downs did hit 14 home runs, steal 18 bases and played much improved defense at shortstop, where he was more agile than I expected and showed plenty of arm. He will never be a plus shortstop, but I think he could get to at least average and maybe above-average if he maintains his athleticism. The focus in Arizona for Downs will be at the plate. During the regular season, he looked tentative and had a lot of trouble on fastballs. He seemed to lose confidence at the plate as the year went on and was really pressing, swinging through fastballs and expanding the zone on secondary pitches once he was down in the count. His ability to handle velocity up in the zone is definitely a question mark. Something I will be keeping an open ear for is how his approach looks, as that was still on the raw side in Worcester. Downs still has the ability to develop into an everyday player, but he comes with more risk now than he did heading into the season. A strong AFL will go a long way to returning his prospect stock closer to where it was heading into 2021. 

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Scouting Scratch: Josh Winckowski, Durbin Feltman and Denyi Reyes

Over the past few weeks, I have traveled to see Portland and Worcester in person. This

is the second of several scouting notebooks breaking down what I’m seeing and hearing

about Red Sox prospects, starting with the Portland pitchers.

Right-hander Josh Winckowski has been one of the better Red Sox pitchers in the upper minors this year, opening eyes after he was left unprotected in the 2020 Rule 5 draft, then traded to the Mets and ultimately the Red Sox this past offseason. Recently, I got my first look at him in person and came away impressed. Winckowski has a strong, physical frame and looks all of his listed 6-4, 215 pounds. His fastball sat 94-96 mph in the first two innings before settling in at 92-94 mph. He does not try to miss bats with the fastball, but rather uses it to generate weak contact and get quick outs. He has solid control of it and does a good job keeping it out of the middle of the zone.

His slider is Winckowski’s bat-missing pitch. He throws it 82-86 mph and has advanced feel and confidence in it. He will throw it in any count and showed the willingness to throw it to—and ability to get swinging strikes against—hitters from both sides of the plate. The shape of the pitch varies some—sometimes showing more vertical, deep break, others coming in harder with more tilt—and this seems to be a deliberate choice to manipulate the velocity and shape depending on the hitter he is facing.

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Scouting Scratch: Brayan Bello, Jose Adames and Zack Kelly

Over the past few weeks, I have traveled to see Portland and Worcester in person. This is the first of several scouting notebooks breaking down what I’m seeing and hearing about Red Sox prospects, starting with the Portland pitchers.

Right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello is one of the Red Sox prospects whose stock has risen the most this season. Coming out of Fall Instructs, we reported that Bello was showing some of the best raw stuff of any pitcher that threw there. He has continued his ascension, building upon that impressive look, with raw stuff that has ticked up even more this year. In a recent start, Bello sat 95-97 mph and flashed a plus changeup and above-average slider. Even though he is not the biggest pitcher, he generates easy velocity. He is a good athlete with a lightning-quick arm that is so fast it can easily get out of sync with the rest of his delivery. His changeup is the more advanced of his two secondary pitches, working in the 85-88 mph range with late, diving movement. He can really pull the string on it and throws it with the same arm speed as his fastball. It is a potential plus pitch, one that could miss bats at the highest level. His slider lags behind some, but still has improved to the point where it will flash at least above-average potential. He throws it in the mid-80s with the pitch showing two-plane movement and solid depth. Bello has many of the ingredients teams look for in a starting pitching prospect. He has the potential for three at least average pitches, with one of his secondaries already looking like a major league-quality out pitch. His stock is on the rise both within the SoxProspects ranks and nationally. We currently have him as the third-ranked pitching prospect in the system, but he is pushing to move higher on that list. As several industry sources have asked me, “are we sure Bello isn’t the top pitching prospect in the system already?”

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Scouting Scratch: Connor Seabold, Eduard Bazardo, Raynel Espinal

Although the minor league season was postponed until May 4, the players at the Alternate Training Site (ATS) in Worcester have been able to get some work against players from outside of the organization in three sets of scrimmages against players from the New York Mets’ Site this month. Two of the sets were played at the Mets’ site in Brooklyn, but the teams played three games April 17-19 at Polar Park, and I was fortunate enough to attend two games—the first time I’ve seen live baseball since September 2019. Since these were only scrimmages, I won’t be doing a full scouting scratch, rather here is a compilation of notes from the two games headlined by standout performances from Connor Seabold.

- Connor Seabold got the start in the last game of the series and was solid, throwing six shutout innings, striking out five, while allowing five hits, walking two. The Mets lineup featured several former major league players, so it was a good test for him and he passed easily, even though he lacked feel for his best pitch. Seabold came out throwing 93-95 mph in the first before settling in at 91-94 mph. His control was plus, but his command was a little off and he lost it at times, especially in the second inning. Whenever it went, however, he was able to pitch through it and work out of trouble. Seabold’s best secondary is his changeup, but he only threw it a few times of the course of the outing. It was clear he lacked feel for it until his sixth inning off work when he threw a few good ones—both parts of that statement confirmed by Seabold in his post-game press availability. With his changeup lacking, he instead relied on his slider, which flashed solid-average potential. It ranged from 81-86 mph and had short, 10-to-4 break. He showed confidence in the pitch, which is an encouraging development as our previous reports had it as a clear third pitch and more on the developmental side. If that pitch can get to average, along with his increased velocity and plus changeup, that gives him three at least average pitches in his arsenal. Seabold also showed a fourth pitch, a curveball, that he has used sparingly before. It came in 75-79 mph with longer, 11-to-5 shape. He did not consistently snap it off and it seemed like a fringe-average pitch at best. Overall, it was an encouraging look, as Seabold was able to control a veteran lineup without his best pitch. 

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Scouting Scratch: Jarren Duran, Jeter Downs, Michael Chavis and Michael Gettys

Although the minor league season was postponed until May 4, the players at the Alternate Training Site (ATS) in Worcester have been able to get some work against players from outside of the organization in three sets of scrimmages against players from the New York Mets’ Site this month. Two of the sets were played at the Mets’ site in Brooklyn, but the teams played three games April 17-19 at Polar Park, and I was fortunate enough to attend two games—the first time I’ve seen live baseball since September 2019. Since these were only scrimmages, I won’t be doing a full scouting scratch, rather here is a compilation of notes from the two games headlined by standout performances from Jarren Duran.

- Jarren Duran has carried over his performance from Red Sox spring training, where he was one of the most intriguing hitters in camp, to the ATS, where he has continued to show the power potential that has been unlocked by his swing change. I saw seven at-bats from Duran over the two games, and he hit two home runs in the second game. He hit the ball hard two other times and showed consistent ability to impact the baseball, an area in which he was lacking in the past. Duran is also more aggressive at the plate, as he seems to hunt fastballs early in the count and rarely gets cheated when he decides to swing. This aggressiveness is something pitchers could take advantage of, and he did show some swing-and-miss in the two-game look. Defensively, Duran has started to see time in the outfield corners more recently, but in this look he played center field. He was not really tested, but I did notice a few times that he took a false step or had trouble reading the ball off the bat, which has been an issue since he converted to the outfield. While his speed allows him to cover for these issues sometimes, it is a deficiency that could be magnified at the major league level. 

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Minor Notes: Draft review & undrafted signings continue

Here are Monday's minor league notes:

• The MLB draft is over but there will still be plenty of related content on SoxProspects.com over the next six weeks. The signing deadline for drafted players this year has been moved back from July 10 to August 1, so it may take a while before we start to hear finalized numbers for any of the four players drafted by the Red Sox.
• It is never too early to start talking about the Red Sox draft where they selected second baseman Nick Yorke, third baseman Blaze Jordan, and left-handed pitchers Jeremy Wu-Yelland and Shane Drohan. The SoxProspects.com Podcast team brought in industry expert Jim Callis from MLB.com to discuss the Red Sox draft strategy, the shortened draft format, and his thoughts on the Boston's selections.
• Just when it seems like the Red Sox undrafted free agent signings had slowed down, the team signed three more players this week. The first was Maceo Campbell, a right-handed pitcher from Longwood University. He is a redshirt junior after missing the 2019 season for undisclosed reasons. The six-foot, 21-year-old pitcher is a bit short for a traditional starter but worked as both a starter and reliever at Longwood. His body of work is very small, as he has only thrown a total of 22 2/3 innings between 2018 and a shortened 2019 campaign. In 2019, he threw 14 innings with 18 strikeouts and 13 walks while reportedly topping out at 96 mph. As SoxProspects.com Director of Scouting Ian Cundall points out, he is the third player the Red Sox have signed out of Longwood, including Kyri Washington (now a pro scout with the Red Sox) and infielder Michael Osinski who finished the 2019 season in Pawtucket.

• Next up was first baseman Cuba Bess (pictured, left) out of Grand Canyon University. The redshirt junior took his redshirt in 2018 after a knee injury forced him to miss the season, and Bess also missed the start of this season with a hamstring injury, ultimately only getting nine at-bats. Between his two injuries, Bess broke out in 2019, hitting .341/.476/.632 for GCU with 11 home runs, 18 doubles, and walking more than he struck out. 
• According to AZCentral.com, the Red Sox have been in touch with Bess ever since his senior year of high school when he was selected in the 39th round by Colorado. Those conversations really came to life after his breakout when he led GCU in average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. As WEEI.com's Rob Bradford writes, Red Sox scout Vaughn Williams knew other teams would be after Bess, so Williams sent a recruiting video to Bess from Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts the very moment the signing period opened. Bess' father, Johnny, was also drafted and played minor league baseball, making it as high as Triple-A.

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Minor Notes: 2020 draft class nearly finalized

Here are Monday's minor league notes:

• All eyes were on the MLB Draft last week, and there was a lot of discussion about the Red Sox first-round pick. Boston selected Nick Yorke, a high school second baseman from San Jose, CA, which was a surprise to everyone. The most bullish ranking for Yorke was from Baseball America, who had him ranked 96th, while Perfect Game USA ranked him at 236th. No media outlet had him ranked close to his 17th overall selection. 

• Chris and Ian recorded a podcast after the first night of the draft, discussing Yorke in more detail as well as going over the different strategies the Red Sox could employ on day two of the draft. 

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Scouting Scratch: Zach Schellenger, Joan Martinez and Yasel Santana

FORT MYERS, Fla -- 2017 sixth-round pick Zach Schellenger has had his injury issues over the last few seasons, but he finally looks healthy and is showing the potential that impressed many scouts in the Cape Cod League in 2016. After missing a significant amount of the season due at least in part to shoulder inflammation, Schellenger was very good with Greenville at the end of the year striking out 17 hitters and walking only 3 over 10 1/3 innings.

Schellenger has an ideal pitcher’s frame, listed at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds. He has no remaining projection and his delivery has effort. He throws from a three-quarters arm slot with a stiff delivery and a lot of moving parts.

His fastball sat 93-95 mph over his inning of work and showed hard boring action in on right-handers. He has an average command profile and reportedly has shown more velocity in the past as an amateur, but it is yet to be seen if that will ever come back. Even at 93-95, Schellenger can be effective and the pitch projects as a plus offering.

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Scouting Scratch: Chase Shugart and Andrew Politi

FORT MYERS, Fla -- The initial returns on the Red Sox 2018 draft class were that the organization went heavy on hitters and potential bullpen arms.  Chase Shugart, the team’s 12th-round pick out of the University of Texas, was seen as one of these potential bullpen arms in part because of his frame (listed at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds). Despite his only making four starts after a long delay before his debut after his signing, I have now seen him twice and believe he has a chance to be a potential starting pitcher. In this Instructs start, he was very effective, throwing two perfect innings and striking out four.

Shugart is a plus athlete and doesn’t have any projection remaining, but his arm is loose and he repeats his delivery well. He throws from a high-three quarters arm slot and shows strong pitchability and feel on the mound.

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Scouting Scratch: Yoan Aybar

FORT MYERS, Fla - Left-hander Yoan Aybar was once seen as a raw but intriguing center field prospect. But after signing for $450,000 in 2013 and four seasons in which he failed to distinguish himself at the plate, Aybar moved to the mound in Spring Training 2018 and very quickly has established himself as one of the most intriguing bullpen arms in the Red Sox system. 

In his mound debut split between the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and a couple appearances with short-season A Lowell, he posted a 4.13 ERA with 27 strikeouts and 14 walks in 28 1/3 innings. While the line may not stand out, it was impressive for a young player who had spent four years as an outfielder, and he had some buzz coming into my Instructs look at him.

Aybar is still on the skinny side and doesn’t look like he will add much size. He is listed at 6-foot-2, 173 pounds, which looks accurate, and he has retained the athleticism he showed in the outfield. Aybar throws from a three-quarters arm slot with a simple delivery that has some effort. 

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Scouting Scratch: Alex Scherff

FORT MYERS, Fla --- Alex Scherff’s first full professional season had its ups and downs. The 2017 fifth-round pick initially struggled in an aggressive assignment to Low A Greenville. But after a rough April in which he allowed 19 runs, 18 earned, in 17 1/3 innings over four starts, walking 13 while recording just 11 strikeouts, he righted the ship in May and early June, posting a more palatable 2.60 ERA in six starts, striking out 24 and walking 8 in 27 2/3. His momentum was halted by an intercostal strain that kept him out almost two months, but after his return on August 8, the right-hander excelled for the rest of the season. After two rehab appearances in the Gulf Coast League, he returned to the Drive and made four starts, Allowing just 3 runs in 18 innings, striking out 16 while walking just two.

Looking to build on his strong return from injury, Scherff got the start in the Red Sox Fall Instructional League opener against the Orioles minor leaguers and threw three innings. He got into some trouble in the first inning, but fared better in the next two innings. In the outing, he allowed three hits while walking one and hitting one batter, recording two strikeouts and inducing four swinging strikes.

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Scouting Scratch: Mike Shawaryn

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Right-handed pitcher Mike Shawaryn has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the Red Sox system this year. In Portland, Shawaryn made 19 starts, throwing 112 2/3 innings with 99 strikeouts and a 3.28 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. After the trade deadline, Shawaryn was promoted to Pawtucket where he has made three starts and one relief appearence, throwing 21 1/3 innings, allowing 13 hits, 6 runs, and 1 home run while walking 8 and striking out 24. I got the chance to see Shawaryn’s Triple-A debut on August 3, an outing in which he showed both the promise that makes him one of the top pitching prospects in the system and the weaknesses that lead to questions about his future role in the majors. Shawaryn started off very strong in the start, but as the game went on, he started to get into trouble.

Shawaryn was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 draft out of Maryland. He excelled as a sophomore and was seen as a potential first-round draftee, but struggled his junior year, in part due to injuries, and fell in the draft. The Red Sox signed him for an over-slot bonus of $637.500 and he has steadily moved through the system, reaching the highest level of the minors in his second full season.

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Scouting Scratch: Durbin Feltman

Right-handed pitcher Durbin Feltman was the Red Sox third-round pick in the 2018 draft after a successful college career as the closer for Texas Christian University. Feltman signed quickly for the full slot value of $559,000, and with injuries to the two players the club selected ahead of him, Triston Casas and Nick Decker, Feltman has had a chance to really stand out in his pro debut.

Feltman has already advanced to Salem after making brief stops in Lowell and Greenville. With Lowell, he threw four innings, allowing no baserunners while striking out seven. With Greenville, he threw seven innings, allowing six hits, a walk, and a pair of runs while striking out 14. With Salem he has made two appearances thus far, striking out two, allowing one hit and walking two over two innings. He’s the first Red Sox draftee since Craig Hansen to advance past Greenville in their draft year and has established himself as the top pure relief prospect in the Red Sox system.

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Scouting Scratch: High-minors relief pitching

Since he converted to pitching in 2014, left-hander Williams Jerez’s development has been slow, but after being added back onto the 40-man roster this past offseason, he looks to be on the brink of making his big league debut at some point in 2018. Jerez’s velocity is among the best in the Red Sox system and his secondary pitches continue to develop.

In a recent look, which was also Jerez’s best outing of the year, he struck out five of the seven batters he faced over 2 1/3 perfect innings. Jerez showed off his potential, flummoxing several ex-major league hitters with both his fastball and secondary pitches. His fastball sat 96-98 mph and topped out at 99 mph. The pitch was on the straight side, so if his command is off, the pitch gets hit, which has been the case in several outings this year. Even during this excellent outing, when he was controlling the pitch well, he struggled to command the pitch arm-side. For this reason, refining his fastball command will be key for him to reach his potential.

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Scouting Scratch: Jalen Beeks

Following Tuesday night’s win, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that left-hander Jalen Beeks, the number five prospect in the most recent SoxProspects rankings, will make his major league debut Thursday against the Detroit Tigers. After being selected in the 12th round of the 2014 draft out of the University of Arkansas, Beeks has made a steady rise through the system, putting together solid performances at every level while tweaking his mechanics and arsenal along the way. This year, Beeks has been especially dominant in Triple-A Pawtucket, striking out 35.4% of hitters while cutting his walk rate down to 6.2%. Last year, he had set a career-high strikeout rate of 28.7% in Double-A Portland before earning a midseason promotion to Pawtucket, where he struck out 24.1% of hitters. During that time with the PawSox, he had what had been his lowest walk rate since 2016 at 8.2%.

Beeks is undersized for a starting pitcher, part of the reason why many people suspected he would end up in the bullpen long-term, an outcome that is still a possibility, although less so than coming into the year. He has a strong lower half and has filled out his 5-foot-11, 195-pound frame with no remaining projection.

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Scouting Scratch: Tanner Houck

First-round pick Tanner Houck had an up and down first pro season with Lowell. He threw 22 1/3 innings, allowing 21 hits and walking eight while striking out 25, good for a 3.63 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. I had the chance to see Houck three times earlier in the season and wrote about it in an earlier Scouting Scratch. Recently, I caught his penultimate start. In that two-inning outing, in the first inning he showed the potential premium stuff that led the Red Sox to take him 24th overall before running into trouble in his second inning, albeit as a result of some poor defense. 

Houck hasn’t altered his delivery since he entered the organization, starting on the first base side before stepping towards the third base dugout and coming across his body. While the delivery isn’t what you look for in a starter, he repeats it well and more importantly is comfortable with it. It is off-putting, especially for right-handed hitters. When he’s keeping the ball down, he will generate a lot of weak contact on the ground. 

In the first inning of this start, he showed all three of his pitches and showed a much-improved changeup compared to earlier in the season to compliment his fastball and slider. His low arm slot does give left-handers a good look at the ball, making development of his changeup a key for him to stick as a starter long term.

In the first inning, Houck sat 93-94 mph with his fastball. The pitch showed life and sink and elicited two swinging strikes, one against a righty and one against a lefty. He threw seven of his eight fastballs for strikes and commanded the offering down in the zone, overwhelming the Staten Island hitters. 

Houck mixed in both his secondary pitches as well, both to great effect. His threw his slider 80-82 mph, slower than earlier in the year, but it had more depth and tilt. The pitch was still sweepy and at times later in the outing he got on the side of it, but it flashed above-average potential. 

The improvement on his changeup was most encouraging, as he showed more feel than earlier in the season. He had rarely mixed the pitch in early in the year, but on this occasion he showed confidence in the pitch and threw it with deceptive arm speed. It was especially effective against left-handed hitters, eliciting a pair of swinging strikes on changeups that showed late fade, falling off the table down and out of the zone, away from the hitter’s swing path. 

While Houck dominated in the first inning, flashing three above-average pitches and the ability to control all of them and locate down in the zone, he ran into trouble in the second and his stuff wasn’t as crisp. The inning was lengthened by two defensive misplays, most notably an error by the third baseman on a potential double play ball that could have ended the inning, but Houck’s fastball velocity took a slight tick down to 91-93 mph, and it lacked the finish it had in the first inning. He struggled to locate the pitch and left a few up in the zone, where the pitch flattened out. 

Houck’s secondary pitches also came and went more in the second inning. He threw a few average-to-better ones, but also some below-average ones, including getting on the side of his slider. 

Even though the second inning wasn’t as good as the first, this was still the best Houck’s stuff had looked overall. In other outings, his velocity was higher, but on this day he showed the ability to locate his fastball at 93-94 mph with sink, and if he can comfortably pitch at that velocity it will give hitters a lot of trouble. Similarly, if he can continue to refine his changeup and improve his consistency with both his secondary offerings, it will go a long way to alleviating concerns that he is a potential bullpen arm long-term.

Photo credit: Tanner Houck by Kelly O'Connor

Ian Cundall is Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter @IanCundall.

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Scouting Scratch: Quick-hitters from Lowell

Although he has struggled in the second half of his first professional experience, Michael Osinski has been one of the better hitters in the Lowell lineup. As of September 6, Osinski has hit .259/.328/.348 in 177 plate appearances (including three games in the Gulf Coast League before a quick promotion to Lowell). He came out of the gates quickly, hitting .341/.385/.427 in his first 23 professional games, but from August 5 to September 5, he scuffled to a .171/.267/.263 line in 20 games.

Osinski was selected in the 31st round in this year’s draft out of Longwood University—from where the Red Sox previously drafted outfielder Kyri Washington in 2015—and signed for a $25,000 bonus. A shortstop in college, the 6-2, 195 pound Osinski has split time between third base and shortstop since he signed, playing 18 games at third and 13 at short. Long-term, Osinski is unlikely to stick at shortstop, as he is a fringe athlete, a below-average runner, and lacks the fluidity or range to play up the middle. At third base, Osinski has a below-average arm and his footwork is poor. He has struggled with the move as a result, making eight errors and posting just a .822 fielding percentage. 

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Scouting Scratch: Sam Travis and Justin Haley

Coming off an ACL tear that ended his 2016 season early, first baseman Sam Travis sought to reestablish himself as a potential first baseman of the future for the Red Sox this year. With the team only signing Mitch Moreland to a one-year deal, Travis could claim the first base job entering 2018 with a good, healthy season. Unfortunately, the 2017 season hasn’t gone according to plan—Travis did receive his first big league call up in May, but he has been unable to answer the biggest question mark in his game: his lack of power. 

For the season, Travis has six home runs and 14 doubles in 342 plate appearances in Pawtucket, good for a .375 slugging percentage to go along with a .270 average and .351 on-base percentage. Over his most recent stint in Pawtucket, from July 18 through the end of August, his lack of power was even more glaring, as he managed just five extra-base hits—two doubles and one home run—in 160 plate appearances, good for a .338 slugging percentage and .065 isolated power mark. 

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Scouting Scratch: Potential Sept. call-ups Jalen Beeks, Bryce Brentz

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- With the September roster expansion around the corner, today's Scouting Scratch focuses on the two PawSox not currently on the Red Sox 40-man roster most likely to be added to the big league club for the stretch run—left-handed pitcher Jalen Beeks and outfielder Bryce Brentz.

Beeks has been one of the most consistent arms in the Red Sox system this year. He started the season with a return to Portland, where he had spent the second half of 2016 with fine, if uninspiring results (65 1/3 IP, 4.68 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 56 K, 28 BB). This year, returning to the Sea Dogs' rotation following a stint pitching in the bullpen in the Arizona Fall League (for the purpose of limiting his innings, reportedly, rather than exploring a potential move into that role), Beeks saw great improvement, putting up a 2.19 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 22 walks and 58 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings. Since his June 3 promotion to Pawtucket, he has continued to put up similar numbers, a 3.45 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 26 walks and 88 strikeouts in 86 innings.

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Scouting Scratch: Late-round 2017 draftees

LOWELL, Mass -- With Brett Netzer’s promotion earlier this month, the Lowell lineup is on the thin side. 2017 13th-round pick Garrett Benge out of Oklahoma State is one of the most intriguing of those who remain. Benge has minimal projection in his 6-foot, 205-pound frame and is already a below-average runner with a questionable defensive profile. What Benge does bring to the table is a nice left-handed swing and solid-average bat speed. Benge starts in an open stance and utilizes a leg lift timing device. He has a small hitch in his load, but has quick hands once he gets going forward. In recent looks, Benge has shown an all-fields approach and some feel for hit. His pitch recognition needs some work and he only has gap power at present, but he has some upside at the plate. 

There are more questions, however, about Benge’s defense, as pre-draft reports (including one from Jim Callis on the SoxProspects.com Podcast) predicted. His arm is fringy for third base and his footwork and glove are below-average. He already has nine errors in 32 games and could have had several more on throws in the dirt that were successfully scooped by his first baseman. With his frame and offensive profile, a move to second base could be beneficial, but he doesn’t have the athleticism you like to see up the middle. If Benge hits enough then the Red Sox can figure out a defensive home at a later date, but the below-average defensive profile puts a lot of pressure on his bat to produce. 

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Scouting Scratch: Nick Duron, Denyi Reyes and Yorvin Pantoja

LOWELL, Mass. -- Based on his statistics this season, Spinners’ right-hander Nick Duron may not seem like someone to watch, but that is far from the case. In 36 2/3 innings, the 21-year-old has 4.42 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with only 25 strikeouts compared to 13 walks. Duron’s development has been slow since he was drafted in the 31st round of the 2015 draft out of Clark College, a junior college in Vancouver, Washington. He had committed to  and signed for only $75,000. He threw 26 1/3 innings with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox after signing, striking out 28 batters while allowing just 5 runs on 20 hits and 5 walks, but then missed all of 2016 with an injury.

The first thing that stands out with Duron is his athleticism and frame. Duron’s only other scholarship offer out of high school was to play football at Western Oregon University, and he looks the part. He is listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds and is very muscular, but he hasn’t lost any of his football athleticism and has a very live arm. 

Duron throws from a three-quarters arm slot and starts with a wide base. His delivery is controlled with some effort including a stab behind and short, quick arm action forward. Duron’s arm is very quick, so much so that it often gets out of sync with the rest of his delivery. He has a tendency to miss to his glove side when his arm gets out ahead of his body, and he struggles to locate on the inner half of the plate to right-handed hitters. Given he only committed full time to baseball in 2015 this isn’t a surprise, but as a result his command and control suffer. 

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Scouting Scratch: Jake Thompson and Brett Netzer

LOWELL, Mass. -- One of the last members of the 2017 draft class to sign, right-hander Jake Thompson made his professional debut on August 3 against Hudson Valley, a team boasting one of the more prospect-laden lineups in the New York-Penn League. Thompson only threw one inning, featuring all four of his pitches over the 21-pitch outing. He allowed three hits—all on weak contact—and two runs while striking out two.

Thompson is listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and has a filled-out frame with a thick lower half. He will be 23 in September, making him old for a 2017 draftee, and doesn’t have much physical projection remaining. Thompson threw exclusively from the stretch, starting on the first base side of the rubber, and has few moving parts to his delivery. He threw from a three-quarters arm slot with some effort and short arm action, and utilized a medium leg kick. He has some deception, hiding the ball behind his body until late. He showed plus arm speed and did a good job keeping his line to the plate. 

Thompson’s fastball sat 94-96 mph. The pitch was on the straight side with average life. He got one swinging strike with the pitch on his final pitch of the evening, at 94 mph, up-and-in against a right-handed hitter. 

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Scouting Scratch: Joan Martinez, Juan Florentino and Jared Oliver

Today’s Scouting Scratch focuses on a trio of relief pitchers promoted from Lowell to Greenville in the first week of August.

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The highest-ranked prospect in the SoxProspects rankings of the trio of pitchers we’ll cover today is Dominican right-hander Joan Martinez, currently the 44th-ranked player on the list. In 17 1/3 innings with Lowell, Martinez had a 1.56 ERA and 0.92 WHIP and struck out 13 while walking four. Martinez carried that strong performance into his first week in the South Atlantic League, striking out seven while allowing just one batter to reach in five innings, that on a walk. 

The 20-year old Martinez looks his listed 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, but still has some projection on his frame. Martinez throws from a three-quarters arm slot and has a very quick arm. His control is impressive considering that his delivery leaves a lot to be desired. It is a high-effort, hard-to-repeat delivery with a lot of moving parts, and he doesn’t utilize his lower half. Martinez starts in the stretch with his hands set at his waist. He utilizes a medium leg kick and has a long arm swing behind before landing on a stiff front leg and falling off to the first base side. 

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Scouting Scratch: Tanner Houck

LOWELL, Mass. – In June, the Red Sox selected right-handed pitcher Tanner Houck out of the University of Missouri in the first round of the draft. Houck made his final collegiate start on May 23, but although he signed on June 21, his first professional start didn’t come until July 17 (a typical wait for a top pick, likely spent building strength on the organization’s shoulder program). Houck has now made four starts for the Short-Season A Lowell Spinners, going 7.1 innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits and three walks, striking out nine and posting a 3.68 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. 

I saw Houck’s first three starts—his fourth start, of course, which was on the road, happened to be his best start. In this start, he went 3 innings, struck out four and allowed just one baserunner, that on a dropped third strike. Although Houck hasn’t yet had to turn a lineup over or worked deep into a game, these initial looks have provided a solid basis of what to look for with Houck going forward.

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Scouting Scratch: Under-the-radar Portland prospects

Though Michael Chavis’ promotion to Portland on June 22 got most the attention, infielder Chad De La Guerra also got a call up that day after an impressive half season in Salem where he put up a .294/.368/.463 line with five home runs. Since his promotion, De La Guerra has continued to hit, slashing .315/.394/.489 with three more home runs over 105 plate appearances. 

Interestingly, along with the improved offensive production, De La Guerra primarily has played shortstop in 2017. Over his first two seasons in the organization, De La Guerra played mostly second base, appearing in only 11 games at short. Unfortunately, in the game I saw, De La Guerra played second base. At second, De La Guerra made all the routine plays, but was a little stiff and vertical when fielding ground balls. He showed average range, more to his glove side than up the middle. He did look a little tentative, preferring to stay back and let the ball get deep rather than attacking it. His arm looked average from second base, but I didn’t get enough of a look to say whether it could play on the left side of the infield. 

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Scouting Scratch: Michael Chavis

After two inconsistent and injury-plagued seasons, third baseman Michael Chavis has finally shown the talent that led the Red Sox to select him in the first round of the 2014 draft. After struggling in his first full season and losing last year to a pair of injuries—a left thumb injury that put him on the DL for six weeks and a broken finger that he tried to play through for three months before finally disclosing it to the team—he has had a breakout campaign at the plate, putting him into consideration for (and, in the case of Baseball America, onto) midseason Top 100 Prospect lists.

In 59 games with Salem, Chavis hit .318/.388/.641 with 17 home runs in 250 plate appearances. Since his promotion to Portland on June 22, Chavis has hit .281/.323/.526 with seven home runs in 124 plate appearances. While Chavis has raised his stock both within the Red Sox system and nationally, he still has areas of his game he really needs to work on in order to reach his full potential.

Chavis doesn’t have a build you’d expect for someone with his profile. He has a short, stocky frame and is listed at 5-foot-10, 190 pounds. Chavis has a well-developed lower half and strong upper body with minimal remaining projection. He looks to be in better shape this year than in the past and seems more agile as a result, but he is still only a fringe-average runner at best.

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Scouting Scratch: Trey Ball

PORTLAND, Me.-- Since he was drafted seventh-overall in the 2013 draft, left-hander Trey Ball has shown flashes of promise, but for the most part been wildly inconsistent. One need only look at his last two starts for evidence: the one I attended on July 7, one of the best of his career, and his follow-up effort on July 14, in which he gave up eight runs, seven earned, and failed to record an out in the second before being pulled. Here’s the Scouting Scratch from the first of those outings.

Age: 23

Height: 6-5

Weight: 215

Throws: Left

How Acquired: Draft, 1st Rd., 2013 (New Castle (Ind.) HS)

Line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K; 83 pitches, 55 strikes (66%); 15/24 first-pitch strikes (63%); 12 swinging strikes.

Trey Ball has a tall, lanky, pitcher’s frame. He has added size since he signed and looks his listed height and weight (taken from the Portland game notes, rather than his outdated 185-pound listing on the milb.com roster). He is an above-average athlete for a pitcher. Already 23 with a well-proportioned body, Ball doesn’t have much projection remaining. 

Ball threw from a three-quarters arm slot with a short arm action and average arm speed. He started his delivery with his glove high and in front of his face. He doesn’t use a wind-up, stepping back and going into his high leg lift before coming forward to the plate. Ball has some deception in his delivery, keeping the ball hidden behind his body until late. He mostly repeated his delivery throughout the outing, and when he did lose his mechanics, he was able to correct them quickly, working back twice to get hitters out after falling behind 3-0.

During the outing, Ball used all four of his pitches: fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup. Interestingly, Ball pitched backwards after the second inning, relying on his slider as his primary pitch. 

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Scouting Scratch: Jay Groome

In his first start of the 2017 season, left-hander Jay Groome allowed nine earned runs in an inning and a third before leaving with a lat injury that would keep him sidelined for two months. The start of the Lowell Spinners’ season coincided with the start of a rehab assignment for Groome, and I was able to attend Groome’s first two starts there.

Groome’s first start lasted just 2 1/3 innings before being interrupted mid-at-bat by rain. In that outing, he struck out three and walked one while allowing one hit. Five days later, Groome lasted 3 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and walking two with five strikeouts before leaving after 73 pitches. It was clear Groome was working out the kinks during these outings. He still showed flashes of why he is so highly regarded, while at the same time showing that he still has a long way to go developmentally.

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Scouting Scratch: Owens, Callahan and more from Pawtucket

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- In today’s Scouting Scratch, we’ll feature notes from a two-day, four game stretch in Pawtucket on June 17 & 18 against Rochester (MIN).

Left-hander Henry Owens was demoted to Double-A on Monday after a string of poor starts with Pawtucket. For the year, Owens has 60 walks in 69 innings, and in his last three starts he has walked 19 hitters in 15 2/3 innings. I was at the second start of that stretch, when he walked four over seven innings. This was a weird outing for Owens, who struggled for the first two innings, then retired 14 hitters in a row. His overall line was seven innings, three hits, two runs with four walks and five strikeouts. 

It was clear from the start that Owens was struggling with his mechanics. He has been tinkering with them significantly since the beginning of the year including raising his hands at the start and going to a full windup. The Red Sox announced along with the demotion that they plan to drop Owens’ arm slot from high three-quarters to a true three-quarters. At this point, something had to be done—even though Owens had a couple strong innings in the start I saw, it was clear something wasn’t right with his mechanics. Owens long limbs mean he has a lot of moving parts than can be tough to keep in sync. In this outing, Owens was starting on the third base side of the rubber, but his foot was landing on the first base side and pointing in different directions each pitch. His arm was also dragging behind, leading to him constantly missing high and arm-side. 

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Scouting Scratch: Quick-hitters from Pawtucket

I have had the chance to see right-hander Ty Buttrey three times over the past few weeks, during which he has had varying degrees of success. Buttrey’s stock has been rising fast since he moved to the bullpen full-time. His velocity has ticked up working in relief, especially this season, and he is missing considerably more bats. His velocity has varied slightly from outing to outing, sitting 92-95 mph and topping out at 96 mph in one outing and sitting 94-97 mph in the other two outings. When he is commanding the pitch down, it will show bat-missing ability, but when he misses location it is hittable, even with plus-plus velocity. 

Buttrey’s changeup has been his go-to secondary pitch, flashing plus potential at 84-86 mph. The pitch looks like a fastball until it falls off the table late. In the most recent outing I scouted, he showed how devastating the pitch could be, burying one down in the zone after four straight 95-plus mph fastballs and completely fooling the hitter. 

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Scouting Scratch: Quick-hitters from Portland

With Red Sox third basemen still struggling, the calls for Rafael Devers to come up to the big leagues will only continue to grow. After seeing Devers for three games recently, however, it is clear he still could use seasoning in the minor leagues. Devers can get pull-happy and overly aggressive hunting fastballs. As a result, he can be susceptible to off-speed pitches and extend his zone, chasing them. Even when he briefly falls into such streaks, Devers has the mentality and ability to turn things around quickly. He has shown this ability recently—after an 8-for-48 stretch over his final 12 games of May (.167/.226/.292, 1 HR), he is hitting .364/.397/.764 with 5 home runs. 

The minor league all-star breaks are upon us—the Single-A break is happening now, while the Eastern League’s game will be on July 12. Considering Michael Chavis’ continued assault on Carolina League pitching, it would not be a surprise to see the two promoted over the next month or so. Moving Devers up to Pawtucket would provide a further challenge for him, especially if the Red Sox are considering him as an option to fill the third base void at some point late in the season.  

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Nick Longhi has always shown an intriguing hit tool, but faced questions about whether he would hit for enough power for his bat to play at first base—questions that led to his retooling his swing during the offseason to generate more lift. After a frustrating April in which he hit just .182/.194/.288 with 1 double and 2 home runs—albeit with a .185 BABIP, suggesting extremely poor luck—he appeared to revert back to his typical self in May, hitting .290/.353/.376 with 5 doubles and one home run. But in June, Longhi seems to be turning the corner. He is hitting .309/.367/.564, slugging 8 doubles and 2 home runs in 15 games.

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Scouting Scratch: Travis Lakins

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- After a strong start to the year in a return to High A Salem, Travis Lakins earned a promotion to Double-A Portland on May 11. I took in his second start at the level on May 23 against Toronto affiliate New Hampshire. Here’s my Scouting Scratch.

Age: 22

Height: 6-1

Weight: 180

Throws: Right

How Acquired: Draft, 6th Rd., 2015 (Ohio State)

Line: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; 87 pitches, 56 strikes (64%); 12/20 first-pitch strikes (60%); 6 swinging strikes.

Following an impressive look during Spring Training last year, Lakins looked poised to break out in a system somewhat devoid of pitching prospects. The buzz intensified when Lakins was assigned to Salem to start the year, skipping Low A entirely. But Lakins struggled, putting up a 5.93 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in 91 innings before his season ended in late July due to a stress fracture in his elbow. 

In his return to Salem this April, Lakins excelled, putting up a 2.61 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 38 innings with a 43:13 strikeout to walk ratio. But Lakins has struggled in his four starts for Portland following his promotion, allowing 17 earned runs in 15 innings over four starts, striking out 10 and walking 11.

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Scouting Scratch: Hector Velazquez

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Although the Red Sox were banned from signing amateur international free agents during the 2016-2017 international period, they were still able to sign professional international players, and in February, the club signed right-handed pitcher Hector Velazquez from Campeche of the Mexican League. I got my first look at him on Monday night against Scranton (NYY), and here is my Scouting Scratch.

Age: 28

Height: 6-0

Weight: 180

Throws: Right

How Acquired: Purchased contract from Campeche of the Mexican League, Feb. 2013

Line: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 K; 92 pitches, 60 strikes (65%); 12/23 first-pitch strikes (52%); 6 swing-and-misses.

The 28-year-old Velazquez had a breakout season in 2016 pitching for Monclova (on loan from Campeche), throwing 131.1 innings of 2.47 ERA ball with 120 strikeouts and only 16 walks. Between the Mexican League last summer and the Mexican Pacific League during the winter, Velazquez threw 246 2/3 combined innings in 2017. As a result, the organization has been carefully managing Velazquez’s workload. He started the season on a pitch count, but in his most recent start he topped 90 pitches and showed off an intriguing pitch mix that could put him in contention for a major league start should the Red Sox continue to struggle with injuries and performance from their fifth starters.

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Scouting Scratch: Wrapping up April in Portland

Team: Portland Sea Dogs

Dates Scouted: April 7-9 vs. Reading and April 22 vs. Trenton (Doubleheader)

Over the first few weeks of the season, I’ve had a chance to see five Portland games and get an extended look at most of the team. Here is the final Scouting Scratch on Portland's infielders and another look at a few pitchers.

Nick Longhi began the season in the site’s top 10, but while he hasn’t come out as hot as newly minted top prospect Rafael Devers has, he still has shown some interesting tools as he adjusts to his new swing. Longhi used to utilize a toe tap and a swing tailored to hard contact gap-to-gap. This led to impressive extra-base hit totals (45 last year in Salem), but hadn’t translated to over-the-fence power with only ten home runs in 1,194 plate appearances entering 2017.

This offseason, Longhi changed things up and now is using a leg lift and an altered swing path more tailored to hit the ball in the air. Though the average hasn’t been there, Longhi has already matched his 2016 home run total with two. The second home run came in game one of the April 22 doubleheader against Trenton. Longhi got an 0-1, 93-mph fastball down and in. Longhi pulled has hands in and cleared his hips, golfing the ball out 410 feet, long over the left field wall, with an exit velocity of 110 mph.

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Scouting Scratch: Aneury Tavarez, Danny Mars and Cole Sturgeon

Team: Portland Sea Dogs

Dates Scouted: April 7-9 vs. Reading, April 22 vs. Trenton (Doubleheader)

Over the first few weeks of the season, I’ve had a chance to see five Portland games and get an extended look at most of the position players. Here is my Scouting Scratch on Portland's outfielders.

After a strong 2016 campaign with Portland and a solid winter playing in his native Dominican Republic, outfielder Aneury Tavarez was selected by the Orioles in last December’s Rule 5 Draft. Unable to make the already crowded Orioles outfield, Tavarez was returned to the Red Sox, and somewhat surprisingly was assigned to Portland once again to start the season. Through 14 games, he has done nothing but hit, showing he is more than ready for a promotion to Triple-A, slashing .377/.473/.475 in 74 plate appearances (Tavarez was in fact promoted to Pawtucket on Monday, May 1st). Over the course of the five games I scouted, Tavarez impressed, reaching base at least twice in every game.

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