Notes from the Field: Scouting the Pitchers in the Spring Showcase Games

The Spring Breakout event is one of the best ideas to showcase the game's next wave of stars MLB has done in years. This spring, the Red Sox roster was seen as one of the best in the league with the Big Three of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer anchoring the lineup, with a strong group of arms including Hunter Dobbins, David Sandlin, Connelly Early adding intrigue. Making things even more interesting, after traveling to Port Charlotte to play the Rays in MLB's event on Thursday evening, the Red Sox arranged to play a second prospect showcase game, the "Futures at Fenway South," with the majority of the Spring Breakout roster on Friday at home against the Twins. This allowed for an even better look at many of the hitters and a chance to see even more of the talented arms in the Red Sox system. Here are my thoughts on some pitchers from the two-game look and for more thoughts on some hitters check out yesterday's piece.

- Of all the pitchers the Red Sox used across the two showcase games, the most impressive was 18-year-old Juan Valera. Valera burst onto the scene last year showing mid-90s velocity, but was on the raw side. Based on this look, while he is currently ranked 19th in our prospect rankings, when we do our preseason update, he will definitely be rising. Valera showdd a four-pitch arsenal, with his velocity up across the board. His fastball sat 97-99 mph and hit 100 multiple times. He mixed in two breaking balls: a slider at 89-92 mph and sweeper at 86-88 mph. He also showed in a changeup at 91-94 mph. The 94 mph changeup was perfectly captured by Baseball America's Josh Norris and, as you can see, it has a ridiculous amount of horizontal movement for a pitch thrown so hard. Valera's arm is so quick it can get a bit out of sync and cause him to lose the zone, as was the case in his third inning, but for the first two he was absolutely dominant. 

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Notes from the Field: Scouting the Hitters in the Spring Showcase Games

The Spring Breakout event is one of the best ideas to showcase the game's next wave of stars MLB has done in years. This spring, the Red Sox roster was seen as one of the best in the league with the Big Three of Roman Anthony (pictured, right), Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer anchoring the lineup, with a strong group of arms including Hunter Dobbins, David Sandlin, Connelly Early adding intrigue. Making things even more interesting, after traveling to Port Charlotte to play the Rays in MLB's event on Thursday evening, the Red Sox arranged to play a second prospect showcase game, the "Futures at Fenway South," with the majority of the Spring Breakout roster on Friday at home against the Twins. This allowed for an even better look at many of the hitters and a chance to see even more of the talented arms in the Red Sox system. Here are my thoughts on some hitters from the two-game look. 

- There were several incredible moments in Thursday's Breakout game, but none stood out more than Roman Anthony's home run. In his third at-bat, Anthony went up against Rays pitching prospect Santiago Suarez (ranked seventh overall in the strong Tampa system by Baseball America and ninth overall by MLB Pipeline). After a couple of takes, Anthony got a 96.7 mph fastball up and on the inner half of the zone and absolutely demolished it, sending it 435 feet out to right field (a number that seems conservative, as both me and Chris thought it completely left the ballpark) with an exit velocity of 111 mph. The ease with which Anthony accesses his power is remarkable, and the way he fired his hips and was able to clear that fastball out were remarkable. He is the consensus top prospect in baseball (taking Roki Sasaki out of the equation) and this swing showed why. 

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Notes from the Field: Emptying the Spring Training notebook

In the middle of March, the SoxProspects.com Brass made our annual trip to Spring Training to catch the action on the back fields in minor league camp. I was able to spend a full week in Fort Myers this year, and as a result I was able to see more players than ever before. Today I’ll focus on some deeper names to watch out for this year.

One new name to keep on eye this year is right-handed reliever Christopher Troye. The Red Sox selected Troye in the 12th round of the 2021 draft, but he only threw 33 1/3 innings last year after missing the beginning of the season due to injury. He struck out 50 hitters last year, but also walked 24. In a live batting practice situation, he was around the zone and showed overpowering stuff. Troye has a big pitcher’s frame, listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds. He throws over the top and has deception in his delivery. His fastball worked 95-97 mph and he mixed in a high-spin breaking ball at 83-84 mph with 11-to-5 shape and a shorter, more horizontal cutter (which could have been a slider) at 88 mph. 

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Right-hander Bradley Blalock is still in the process of rehabbing from Tommy John surgery last spring, but just over one year after his surgery, he was back on the mound throwing live batting practice, and his stuff looked good. He was 91-93 mph with his fastball and topped out at 94. He also showed all of his secondary pitches, which included a splitter at 84-86 mph with late drop, a slider at 82-84 mph and a curveball at 78 mph. The splitter especially was interesting, flashing above-average potential, and was significantly better than the changeup he showed prior to his surgery. Blalock will start the season in extended spring training, but the team hopes he might be ready to return in May. 

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Notes from the Field: Luis Perales and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz

In the middle of March, the SoxProspects.com Brass made our annual trip to Spring Training to catch the action on the back fields in minor league camp. I was able to spend a full week in Fort Myers this year, and as a result I was able to see more players than ever before. Today I’ll focus on a pair of pitchers who scouts were very impressed with this spring.

The one pitcher I was most interested to see in minor league spring training this year was 19-year old Venezuelan right-hander Luis Perales. Perales was one of the arms I had yet to see live since he signed, but the reports I got on him last year were outstanding. Scouts identified him as one of the best pitchers in the Florida Complex League, and after seeing him live for the first time, I can understand why. 

Perales does not have your prototypical pitcher’s size, listed at 6-foot-1, 160 pounds. He has definitely added strength already and is heavier than his listed weight, but he still has some room to add additional size as he physically matures. He throws from a high three-quarters arm slot and has a short arm action. His arm is very quick, and he hides the ball well, so hitters have a tough time picking him up.

In the outing I saw, Perales’ fastball velocity was not in mid-season form, but he still sat 94-97 mph and showed bat-missing ability with it up in the zone. The pitch has significant induced vertical break (the difference between the height of the pitch if it had no spin versus the height of the pitch with the spin induced by the pitcher), posting the second-highest average in the system last year, and as a result shows the sort of ride up in the zone teams look for. He complimented his fastball with two secondary pitches that each flashed at least above-average. His changeup came in 85-88 mph with late fade most of the time, but occasionally some cut as well. He also snapped off some impressive curveballs at 82-84 mph with sharp, 11-to-5 break. The pitch had solid depth, and he showed the ability both to land it in the zone and to bury it down and out of the zone when looking to put a hitter away. 

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Notes from the Field: Bryan Mata and Brandon Walter

In the middle of March, the SoxProspects.com Brass made our annual trip to Spring Training to catch the action on the back fields in minor league camp. I was able to spend a full week in Fort Myers this year, and as a result I was able to see more players than ever before. Today, we’ll focus on the top two pitchers in our rankings heading into our trip to Fort Myers.

The top pitcher in the SoxProspects rankings, right-hander Bryan Mata, is fully recovered from Tommy John surgery and had been optioned to minor league camp in time for us to see him on the back fields. While Mata’s velocity is back, his command and control are still a work in progress. His fastball sat 95-97 mph and he touched 98 mph, but it was very hittable when in the zone in this outing. Mata’s four-seam fastball lacks movement and is very straight, so his command needs to be there for that pitch to be successful. It is better to the arm side at this point, and in this outing, he had the tendency to cut off his delivery and yank the pitch to the glove side. 

Mata also showed all three of his secondary pitches: slider, changeup and curveball. He got whiffs with all of them, though all were inconsistent. His slider was his primary out pitch at 87-89 mph, but he struggled to find his release point with it, often holding it too long and yanking it glove-side. His changeup was a little more impressive in this one, flashing late dive down and away from a left-handed hitter’s bat, and he actually snapped off a few decent curveballs, including one that he got a whiff on from Twins shortstop Carlos Correa—who was hitting every inning while rehabbing in this one, as were Alex Kiriloff and Byron Buxton, making things a bit harder on Mata. His curveball has long, vertical break and flashed average potential. At the end of the day, spring training is all about building towards the regular season, and in flashes, Mata showed why he is so highly regarded. It is still unclear if he is a starter long-term, but with the arsenal he has, he could be very effective in a multi-inning bridge role at some point this year. 

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Notes from the Field: Dalton Rogers, Noah Dean, Nathan Landry and Alex Hoppe

In the middle of March, the SoxProspects.com Brass made our annual trip to Spring Training to catch the action on the back fields in minor league camp. I was able to spend a full week in Fort Myers this year, and as a result I was able to see more players than ever before. Over the next few articles, I’ll break down some of the players who intrigued me down there, starting with some recently drafted pitchers. 

The highest drafted pitcher in the Red Sox 2022 draft class having been selected in the third round out of Southern Mississippi, where he worked exclusively in relief in his one season playing for the Golden Eagles, left-hander Dalton Rogers only threw one inning in game action while I was down there, but he showed off a polished arsenal that should get him to at least Double-A Portland in pretty short order. Rogers is undersized, listed at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, with minimal remaining physical projection. He has a deceptive delivery, and his 92-94 mph fastball plays above that velocity. It is tough to pick up and has good shape, allowing it to play up when he locates it up in the zone. He got four swinging strikes with the pitch in his inning of work, two each from right- and left-handed hitters. For his secondary pitches, he showed an 82-mph slider with long, sweepy, 2-to-8 shape and an inconsistent changeup at 85-86 mph. 

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Notes from the Field: Darwinzon Hernandez, Zach Schellenger and Jared Oliver

At the end of March, the SoxProspects Staff made their annual trip to Minor League Spring Training. Over the next few weeks their notes and observations will be featured on SoxProspects News. Here is the eight feature from Spring Training highlighting three final Red Sox pitching prospects.

21-year old left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez has filled out considerably after signing for just $7,500 out of Venezuela back in 2013. Now listed at 6-foot-2, 245 pounds, Hernandez has a thick, strong lower half and mature frame. The second-ranked left-handed pitching prospect in the system, he opened 2018 in the High A Salem rotation.

During this Spring Training outing, Hernandez threw four innings at the Twins complex in the High A game, striking out six. His fastball sat 92-94 mph in the first, topping out at 95 mph with late life and appearing to get on hitters quick. He later settled into the 89-92 mph range. His command wavered throughout, which will continue to be a focus in his development going forward. Hernandez’s arm slot and the drop-and-drive in his delivery make it difficult to command consistently, and he projects to have only a fringe-average command profile into the future.

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Notes from the Field: Kutter Crawford, Brett Netzer and more

At the end of March, the SoxProspects Staff made their annual trip to Minor League Spring Training. Over the next few weeks their notes and observations will be featured on SoxProspects News. Here is the eighth feature from Spring Training highlighting five more Red Sox prospects.

6-foot-1, 190-pound right-hander Kutter Crawford the club’s sixteenth-round selection in 2017, signing for $125,000 out of Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. Crawford threw three innings, striking out four hitters including striking out the side in his first inning of work. There is effort in his delivery, and his four-pitch mix flattened considerably while his command faltered after the first inning, indicating a relief profile down the road. Crawford’s fastball was 91-93 mph, complemented by a cutter at 85-87 mph, a curveball at 77-78 mph, and a changeup that was thrown sparingly and tough to distinguish from the cutter because of its similar velocity. It’s a fringe-average package across the board, with the cutter, coincidentally his go-to pitch, showing hard, late cutting action.

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6-foot, 195 pound second baseman Brett Netzer was drafted in the third round of the 2017 draft and signed for $475,000. In a very limited look, Netzer appeared to have a quick, smooth, line drive stroke from the left side with bat control and the ability to recognize spin. In his first at-bat during a game, he was in a 2-2 count and stayed right on curveball that was up-and-away, spraying a line drive to left-field for a hit. Netzer also impressed with his soft hands and actions at second base taking ground balls during morning workouts. However, his average arm, average speed and fringe power gives him a second base-only profile, putting lots of pressure on the hit tool. He opened the year in High A Salem.

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Notes from the Field: Roniel Raudes and Jhonathan Diaz

At the end of March, the SoxProspects Staff made their annual trip to Minor League Spring Training. Over the next few weeks their notes and observations will be featured on SoxProspects News. Here is the seventh feature from Spring Training highlighting two more intriguing Red Sox starting pitching prospects.

Roniel Raudes threw five innings in the High-A Salem game facing Rays minor leaguers. It was one of the standout performances of the trip for me, as Raudes struck out six hitters, elicited 11 swinging strikes, and missed bats with all four pitches.

The undersized right-hander is listed at 6-foot-1, 160 pounds. I suspect he’s a bit heavier and stronger than listed, and given that he is still just 20 years old, there’s still some physical projection. Raudes’ delivery immediately stands out—he will often crouch down and swirl his hands around his head in a circular motion pre-wind-up. Surprisingly enough, it does create some deception and seems to disrupt the timing of hitters. He doesn’t do it every pitch, and will other times just go straight into his delivery, so hitters are left wondering whether he’s going to do it or not, disrupting their timing and concentration with his varying looks and times to the plate. 

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Notes from the Field: 2017-2018 International Signees and more

At the end of March, the SoxProspects Staff made their annual trip to Minor League Spring Training. Over the next few weeks their notes and observations will be featured on SoxProspects News. Here is the sixth edition of Notes from the Field from Spring Training 2018 highlighting two more Greenville relievers and several 2017 international signees.

Though he went undrafted out of Western Carolina as a junior last year, left-hander Brendan Nail signed for $125,000 after a strong Cape Cod League season, that mark significantly representing the most the Red Sox could pay him without his bonus counting toward its draft signing bonus cap. Nail has an average frame and starts on the first base side of the rubber. He throws exclusively from the stretch from a high three-quarters arm slot with short arm action behind. He does a good job hiding the ball with his body and was tough for hitters to pick up, especially left-handers. 

Nail’s stuff does not stand out, however, so command and deception are how he will have to succeed. His fastball sat 86-89 mph and showed cut. He mixed in a breaking ball at 75-80 mph that looked like a curveball at lower velocities and more like a slider when thrown harder. 

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Notes from the Field: Juan Florentino, Oddainer Mosqueda and more

At the end of March, the SoxProspects Staff made their annual trip to Minor League Spring Training. Over the next few weeks their notes and observations will be featured on SoxProspects News. Here is the fifth edition of Notes from the Field from Spring Training 2018 taking a look at four more young arms.

Dominican right-hander Juan Florentino was one of the bullpen standouts in the lower minors last year, putting up a 0.96 ERA with 25 strikeouts to only 2 walks in 18 2/3 innings in Lowell, them moving up to Greenville and posting a 2.12 ERA and 18 strikeouts to 4 walks in 17 innings in Greenville. Last year, Florentino’s fastball sat 93-95 mph, but this spring his velocity was down to 89-91 mph. The drop in velocity may have been because this look was in a simulated game, so he may not have had the same adrenaline as he would if he were facing opposing hitters. Alternatively, he may have been working on his secondary pitches and fastball command and wasn’t airing it out. However, that he was placed back in Greenville to start the 2018 season after a very successful stint in Low A last year—plus that his partner-in-crime in Joan Martinez, who similarly dominated the two levels with Florentino, did receive a promotion to Salem—suggests that perhaps the velocity drop was consistent, and his performance this season in this relatively conservative placement bears watching.

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Notes from the Field: New Greenville Arms

At the end of March, the SoxProspects Staff made their annual trip to Minor League Spring Training. Over the next few weeks their notes and observations will be featured on SoxProspects News. Here is the fourth edition of Notes from the Field from Spring Training 2018 taking a look at three pitchers who were assigned to Greenville to start the season.

2017 22nd-round pick Hunter Haworth only threw in six games in the Gulf Coast League in his pro debut, but showed enough in Spring Training that he will be making the jump to Greenville to open the 2018 season in the Drive’s rotation. Haworth threw four innings in a simulated game at the complex on Sunday, showing off a four-pitch mix.

Haworth has a strong pitcher’s frame, listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. He looks the part on the mound and has minimal remaining projection. Haworth starts on the first base side and throws from a high three-quarters arm slot. His delivery has some effort, including a stab in back. He gets good plane on his fastball, throwing the pitch 89-91 mph. He did leave one up in the zone that was hit for a home run, but otherwise was effective with the pitch. 

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Notes from the Field: Joan Martinez and Hildemaro Requena

At the end of March, the SoxProspects Staff made their annual trip to Minor League Spring Training. Over the next few weeks their notes and observations will be featured on SoxProspects News. Here is the third edition of Notes from the Field from Spring Training 2018 taking a look at two pitchers who were assigned to Salem to start the season.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The top relief prospect currently pitching in that role in the Red Sox system, right-hander Joan Martinez threw twice during our time in Spring Training as he ramped up for the regular season. Martinez has shown steady improvement each time I’ve seen him, the first time coming at Fall Instructs in 2016, but rather than his velocity increasing, it was the improvement on his secondary pitches that was most noticeable this year. Martinez’s fastball sat 94-96 mph, a tick down from his peak last year, but both his splitter and slider flashed above-average potential. The splitter is a new weapon for Martinez—last spring, he only featured a well below-average changeup. He throws the pitch 87-89 mph with late tumble down and away from left-handed hitters. Given his arm-heavy delivery and three-quarters arm slot from the first base side of the rubber, a pitch to neutralize lefties will be key for his development, and his splitter looks like it could be the pitch to do that. 

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Notes from the Field: Alex Scherff

At the end of March, the SoxProspects Staff made their annual trip to Minor League Spring Training. Over the next few weeks their notes and observations will be featured on SoxProspects News. Here is the second edition of Notes from the Field from Spring Training 2018.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Although he was drafted in the fifth round, right-hander Alex Scherff received the third-highest bonus of any Red Sox draftee. Scherff was old for a high school draftee—he will play his first full professional season at 20 years old—but he showed off a big arm in high school, reportedly topping out in the high-90s. Scherff didn’t pitch last season after signing, so Spring Training provided my first opportunity to see him live. Starting for High A Salem, Scherff threw four innings in Sarasota against the Orioles and showed off an intriguing three-pitch mix. However, he also showed that he has a long way to go developmentally.

Scherff is listed at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, with a solidly built frame, especially in his upper body. He doesn’t have much remaining physical projection and is not a standout athlete. Scherff’s delivery is on the rough side and is something the Red Sox might tweak as he develops. Scherff starts on the first base side and throws from a high three-quarters arm slot. He uses a medium leg kick and has a slight trunk twist in his delivery before he comes forward. Scherff’s delivery is very stiff and arm heavy. He has a very strong, live arm, which he uses to make up for not effectively incorporating his lower half into his delivery. He struggled to find a consistent arm slot and release point in this outing, varying it from pitch to pitch. The change in slot was especially noticeable on his breaking ball, when he would come more over the top than when he threw his fastball.

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Notes from the Field: Jay Groome

At the end of March, the SoxProspects Staff made their annual trip to Minor League Spring Training. Over the next few weeks, their notes and observations will be featured on SoxProspects News. Here is the first edition of Notes from the Field from Spring Training 2018.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The top prospect in the Red Sox system, left-hander Jay Groome did not disappoint over his three innings of work for Low-A Greenville showing off better stuff compared to last season and overwhelming the Twins hitters. Overall, Groome struck out six over his three innings of work, allowing one hit and walking two. 

The impact of Groome’s offseason workout program, which included training with Chris Sale, was noticeable, as he looked in better shape compared to this time last year. He already has a large pitcher’s frame, especially for a nineteen-year-old, and will always have to watch his conditioning, so it was encouraging that he focused on this area over the off-season. 

Groome’s delivery was the same as past looks and he did a good job repeating it for the most part. He did lose his mechanics a few times, which impacted his control and led to a pair of walks. Both times, however, he righted the ship and struck out the next hitter. 

Groome came out strong, sitting 94-96 mph for the first two batters before dropping to 91-93 mph when he had to pitch from the stretch. This drop in velocity from the stretch held throughout—even in his third inning of work, he was still hitting 95 from the windup but never got higher than 93 with a runner on base. Groome’s command was better at lower velocities, but it was good to see him coming out with more velocity and able to reach back for more if he wanted to. Groome’s fastball overwhelmed the Low A hitters, and he got seven swinging strikes with it across 12 batters faced. Consistent fastball command will be key for Groome’s development going forward, and it will be interesting to see if he can harness the pitch at higher velocities or if he tends to sit at one velocity with the ability to reach back for more when ahead in the count. 

Groome mixed in both his curveball and changeup, with the former still well ahead of the latter. Groome threw his curve 80-85 mph, with the majority in the 80-82 mph range. He snapped off a couple well-above-average ones, including a backdoor breaking ball to a right-hander for a strikeout looking that followed a swinging strike on a curveball for strike two. The pitch showed tight rotation, 1-to-7 shape, and excellent depth through the zone. He does a good job snapping off the pitch and can either throw it for strikes or bury it down and out of the zone. 

Groome’s changeup was inconsistent but flashed average potential. He threw it 84-86 mph with deceptive arm speed, but the pitch lacked movement. Coming in, it looked like a fastball, but kept the hitters off balance because of the separation in velocity. He was throwing the pitch considerably harder than he threw it last season (80-83 mph), so he is definitely still developing a feel for the pitch. 

This type of strong performance from Groome was reportedly the norm throughout Spring Training, but unfortunately, he will start the season the disabled list in Greenville after suffering a mild flexor strain, according to Alex Speier. Groome struggled through injuries last season, with this same one ending his season early in August. It is somewhat concerning that he seems to be continuing to suffer muscle strains like these and the lat strain that cost him most of 2017’s first half, so this bears watching going forward, especially given his high-maintenance frame. 

Photo credit: Jay Groome by Kelly O'Connor

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

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