This started last season and can be attributed to any number and combination of Bloom's moves.
There is a major bottleneck beginning to happen with the infield. Two of our best prospects (Mayer and Rafaela) were held back to last season's assignments despite proving they deserved promotion. Why? Three reasons.
#1: There are a lot of players in front of them.
#2: There are too many fringe prospects clogging the system ahead of them.
#3: MLB Depth(insurance).
A fourth reason could be in play. The brass has been deservedly abused this past year. Making our best players one step closer to the big clubs opens them up for more negative fan chatter. Especially if/when Ceddanne finds him some plate discipline. 4-B would be a money thing. Holding back half a year makes the player older when his 6 full seasons of control are over. (See Devers and Xander...)
I'll use Ryan Fitzgerald as a poster boy again. If he recovers from being passed over several times last season and gets back on track with the bat and plays some OK defense, he will need to be the next one added to the 40 and then to the big league Roster. If we have no intention of that, why are we keeping him? It hurts his career and it slows down what's behind him.
I won't even bring up the politics. You tell me David Hamilton and is fringy glove work and one decent month of AA is ahead of Ceddanne just because he's faster? Sure, OK. Thanks for correcting me. I didn't know these things.
There was a good possibility the glut in the minors could be cleared by trading our younger guys for a MLB starter. When the trade for Pirates' Reynolds came up, we had a casual interest as did the Yanks. But Pittsburg wanted a kings ransom of our best prospects in return, Mayer, Raphaela, others. The Marlins deal was close, some of our prospects for their SS or a SP.
I think the only trade we made of substance was JTaylor for Mondesi. Both injured players at the time. Mongo, as you point out, the glut is still there. His handling of the SS position, as well as 2-3 others, is going to cost Bloom his job. With Bogey, we had a chance to challenge for the playoffs. The Story, Kike', Mondesi, Chang disasters for MIF are hitting him in the face in the first two series.
As Portland was the team to keep an eye on last season with starting pitchers, this year it's the infield. Rafaela, Koss, Lugo and Kavadas along with the next strikeout king and Bloom trade acquisition, Binelas. Rafaela is also gifted in CF, of course, and Koss can play outfield as well. That group there could really impress soon.
Koss, in particular, is overlooked. He's steadily hit at every level and has a huge arm. Koss and Kavadas are in their age 25 and 24 years.
Kavadas might have hit his wall last year in Portland. If he knocks it down and does what he did in A and A+ ball, not clearing a way to Worcester would be criminal. That talk is very premature, though. It's very possible they found his development level and needs three years. TBD
The Portland site doesn't have much of a player roster set. Makes me wonder if a couple of Worcester players move there. Their season started after Worcester's. Worcester's got 5 games in 3 days to play, though, and that's if they get to play today. Buffalo. Brrrr
Reynolds would have been a good pickup, they may have won the last three games as he killed us. A lot of people are pretty well blocked in the OF with the three they have and Kike. There aren’t many moves to make there. Speaking of Kike, he’s stunk it up both in the field and at the plate. Arroyo hasn’t started to hit yet so hopefully Story comes back sooner than later as we’re at the point where he’d be a big lift over anyone in the middle of the IF. I liked Casas too but he doesn’t seem to have improved from last year.
There seems to be plenty of opportunity for anyone that can play 1B, 2B or C.
Well, Reynolds will kill us for quite some time. He's signed through 2030 with a club option for 2031. Low money, too. 8 years, $105M with this year and 2 more seasons under arbitration umbrella still. Basically getting his post-arbitration years for $15M per. Not bad. Fair-ish deal, I suppose. Henry's got more ammo to go low and cheap now.
Portland gets a new pitching coach and new pitchers, but same result. 3 starters off to great starts. 3-4 starts each with ERA at or under 1.00. Drohan (12th ranked Red Sox prospect), Van Belle and Sharp. I think Drohan is the only one RedSoxProspects.com thinks much about. Last year it was Bello, Murphy and Walter with Jay Groome thrown in for good measure.
This time of year is sort of fun in one aspect. Players getting off to hot starts begin to either fizzle out or show that they're really busting through. The two hot names of the system not named Marcelo Meyer this past Winter were Ceddanne Rafaela and Niko Kavadas. Both are struggling by recent standards, with BA's below .250 and only 3 HRs between them.
The Sox' 4th round pick last year just got promoted after hitting ,338 in Greenville. He went 3-for-6 in his first Portland game. BA at .350 and OBP at .495. The numbers really get interesting. 107 plate appearances resulted in 20 K's, 21 BB's and 28 hits. Doing the math on this, he's hitting .466 on balls in play in 80 official AB's. Thassum good, clean living right there.
On the hot start pitching front, Drohan had his worst outing by far. 5IP, 5H, 3ER, 3BB and 6K's.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on May 11, 2023, 08:04:29 AM
This time of year is sort of fun in one aspect. Players getting off to hot starts begin to either fizzle out or show that they're really busting through. The two hot names of the system not named Marcelo Meyer this past Winter were Ceddanne Rafaela and Niko Kavadas. Both are struggling by recent standards, with BA's below .250 and only 3 HRs between them.
The Sox' 4th round pick last year just got promoted after hitting ,338 in Greenville. He went 3-for-6 in his first Portland game. BA at .350 and OBP at .495. The numbers really get interesting. 107 plate appearances resulted in 20 K's, 21 BB's and 28 hits. Doing the math on this, he's hitting .466 on balls in play in 80 official AB's. Thassum good, clean living right there.
On the hot start pitching front, Drohan had his worst outing by far. 5IP, 5H, 3ER, 3BB and 6K's.
Saw a highlight of Rafaela making a great throw to get someone at the plate. The kid has a lot of talent, just needs time to develop consistency.
I'm surprised Mayer is still at Greenville hitting .337 and an OPS of .996
Quote from: longgame on May 11, 2023, 08:09:06 AM
Saw a highlight of Rafaela making a great throw to get someone at the plate. The kid has a lot of talent, just needs time to develop consistency.
I'm surprised Mayer is still at Greenville hitting .337 and an OPS of .996
At some point early last week, Mayer had some sort of shoulder discomfort. Kept him off the field for something like 4-5 games. Came back on Sunday, 0-4 with 4K's. Rafaela started hitting again, though.
Now that the Sox have embarked on a nosedive, the disgruntled fan always jumps to the call for "bring up the prospects". That will happen most seasons in Sept, sure.
But I have this lump in my throat that Bloom & Co. have doon such a sucky job of drafting and developing the farm that we really don't have more than one/maybe two prospects in the system to get any air time. Please tell me to be patient. Getting more in line with Fred's call to just clean house, top to bottom.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on May 16, 2023, 09:02:28 AM
Now that the Sox have embarked on a nosedive, the disgruntled fan always jumps to the call for "bring up the prospects". That will happen most seasons in Sept, sure.
But I have this lump in my throat that Bloom & Co. have doon such a sucky job of drafting and developing the farm that we really don't have more than one/maybe two prospects in the system to get any air time. Please tell me to be patient. Getting more in line with Fred's call to just clean house, top to bottom.
There may be one or two guys who will make it but it seems like they've got a lot of career minor leaguers. Can't imagine any of them giving a boost.
Shane Drohan will be making his AAA debut tonight in Worcester. He had a hiccup last week with his worse outing of the year with 5IP, 3R, 5H, 3BB and 6K's. It's been smooth sailing other than that. 1.32 ERA, 0.82 WIP, 36K and 9BB in 34 innings. I hope it's not too soon. I'd have liked to see him get a rebound game. I just looked it up - a 5th inning meltdown including his first HR of the year allowed.
I'm sure it will be on one of the NESN channels tonight. 6:45. I'll watch a little bit of it before the Hurricanes begin their effort to avenge the Bruins.
Another pitching prospect coming into form in Portland. Chih-Jung Liu from Tawain. He's the one that threw a 7-inning no-no a few weeks ago. He's a 24 year old in his 3rd year of US Minor League baseball. First two years not great. First 3 starts this season combined for an over 7.00 ERA. Last 5 games were much better. He had a 0.95 ERA with a .121 BA and WHIP at somehting like .085. The big blemish is the strike percentage at 60%. Walked 13 in 28.1 innings during that stretch, and 21 in 41 innings overall this season.
An easy to root for LHP long past his prospect is kind of gaining some steam in Worcester. One of the depth pieces for our depth pieces. Matt Dermody, a 32 year old with a little bit of MLB experience, mostly for the Jays in 2017. He started 12 games in A ball in 2014 before being sent to the pen. Ended up in Independent ball, Japan and Korea starting in 2020, where he became a starter. He did OK. The Cubs tried him out for a season as a swing man in AAA and did OK with a 3.74 ERA before releasing him. Sox signed him as is their MO. This year he has 7 starts with a 3.64 ERA. The one game he didn't start was a piggy-back off of a James Paxton start.
You'd think he didn't fool any bats with a .271 BA against him, but he does have 44K's in 42 IP. 69% Strike rate with only 6 walks in 42 innings - Oddly enough matching the HR's allowed. If we see him, it will likely be a brief stint with the perfect timing of a Red Sox starter being out for a game or two that lines up with his turn to pitch. DFA after that, and if he does half-way decent, he'll surely be claimed.
One more pitcher with a noticeable game last night. A lanky kid down in Salem named Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz. 19 years old, 6'3" and 160lb. Anyhow, last few starts had been walking some guys. Only struck out 13 in 22 innings. So last night he K's 10 in 5 innings with 1BB, 4H and 3ER. Even worse than the 3 runs is that it raised his ERA by 0.62 and is now 2.63.
What a game this is.
A bottleneck, maybe. Duvall is now getting active at Worcester. Still on the IL, but he will be starting reps at the DH in AAA....target date is Tuesday, May 30. The earliest he can come off the the 60 day is June 9.
A Duvall move may put Tapia out of Boston or some other backup like Valdez. Although Duval's overall health may limit his ability to play OF.
Some more moves today. Koss to Worcester. He was getting most of the SS starts in Portland before Mayer getting sent to AA. Also, Theo Denlinger going from Portland to Worcester. He's the one we got for Franklin German.
On Thursday this week the Sox will have to make a decision on Alfaro, the catcher in Worcester. I think his deal is he has an out clause on that date to go on the 40 man, or become a free-agent.
The way he is hitting this year, which is nothing new from what I understand, it could be a bonus for anyone needing a RH bat for DH and some occasional catching.
There's some chatter to finally give Dalbec one last chance to establish himself in Boston. Casas could use some retooling in AAA. With Casas struggling at the Mendoza line, Bobby is on a tear lately in Worcester. Yes, I said AAA, an old story. His latest line is pretty good.
In the month of May, Dalbec has batted 22-for-58 with three doubles, seven homers, 15 RBIs, 17 runs, nine walks, 18 strikeouts, and three stolen bases in 16 games while slashing .486/1.279/.793.
His K-rate dropped to the low 30's, too. My wife and I were watching part of a Worcester game a few weeks back and noticed he was wearing some clear glasses at the plate.
So, Casas did not get a start against a Righty last night. Refsnyder did in LF. They seem to be keeping Arroyo down in Worcester for a long rehab stint this time. A bunch of random little things might be adding up to a 'something is brewing' state these days.
Drohan had a not-so-nice, but effective bounce-back outing two nights ago. Only one hit, but he still walked too many. 6BB in 6 innings with a 48% strike rate.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on May 30, 2023, 03:05:16 PM
On Thursday this week the Sox will have to make a decision on Alfaro, the catcher in Worcester. I think his deal is he has an out clause on that date to go on the 40 man, or become a free-agent.
I noticed that Alfaro is still listed on the Worcester Roster this morning, and that no transactions have been posted. He did not play yesterday, though.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Henry will keep Bloom on another year, after another last place result. ANother year of patch work lineups. As an example, the Sox have an opportunity to extend Verdugo, who has been a life save on days Devers is hitless. However, today they extended Refsnyder for one year with a club option of 2025. Just another band-aid and a yawn toward budget over competitive baseball in Boston.
CBS SPorts did an article this week on free-agent pitcher for 2024. Boston was not considered as serious interest for Ohtani, Giilitto, or Cleveland's Bieber. Instead they were thought to be prominent in signing Eduardo Rodriguez again. Just another great slap in the face to their fans.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on June 03, 2023, 11:46:41 AM
I have a sneaking suspicion that Henry will keep Bloom on another year, after another last place result. ANother year of patch work lineups. As an example, the Sox have an opportunity to extend Verdugo, who has been a life save on days Devers is hitless. However, today they extended Refsnyder for one year with a club option of 2025. Just another band-aid and a yawn toward budget over competitive baseball in Boston.
CBS SPorts did an article this week on free-agent pitcher for 2024. Boston was not considered as serious interest for Ohtani, Giilitto, or Cleveland's Bieber. Instead they were thought to be prominent in signing Eduardo Rodriguez again. Just another great slap in the face to their fans.
I don't understand how they operate at all. They don't want premier pitching. They don't want to extend guys who are starters and real contributors. They need to fix this mess and we know that Bloom isn't the man for the job. At the beginning of the season I didn't want to watch them but they drew me in. Now I'm at the point where I don't want to watch them again, simply because they play so poorly.
David Hamilton is on the 7-day IL with a left thumb sprain.
One small change I've seen this year is less jumping around for a few key positions. Rafaela has mainly played CF. Mayer, Hamilton and Koss have mainly played SS, etc, etc. A couple of the guys have split time half and half in lower levels similar to Hamilton last year with 2b/SS. I hope this is a thought out strategy fix and not for some other reason.
From what I saw last year, I think Fitzgerald is getting a real screw job by the Red Sox. He can run circles around Valdez in terms of all around defender and especially 2B. We have Valdez in Boston for one reason only. Politics. Sure, he can hit - they BOTH can hit. Fitzgerald can play more positions. Valdez is poor at his best. I'm really sick of this crap. It disgusts me. Get rid of Reyes, add Fitzgerald and demote Valdez. Want ballplayers? Prove it. Don't pacify the fans with ongoing BS about defensive concerns. And stop trading for one-dimensional players. I'm ranting. Sorry.
Rafaela is doing well again after that rough start. In 20 games since May 13th. He's hitting .350 with 3 HRs, 15 RBI and 15 SB. Power numbers could be up a teensy bit, but is K-rate over that stretch is 15%. That's the big number for me.
Best stat of all. He has more SB that K's during that stretch.
Rafaela is not alone. Meidroth continues to force the issue. He's now hitting .302 after his call up to Portland after hitting .338 in Greenville. Power numbers need a bit of help, but he does hit the ball hard. 18% K rate, and a .455 OBP. What little I've seen of him, his defense was nice.
I've mentioned this slim drink of water before - Jose Ramirez. A pitcher in low-A Salem is gonna need a promotion to Greenville soon. A Starter, but only 6'-0" and 142lb, 20 year old kid. 1.24 ERA, 0.96 WHIP. He gives up about one BB too many per 9IP, but still goes 5-innings most starts with what appears to be an 85 pitch ceiling. Also has not given up a HR. I'm going to make a note to watch his start next week.
He came out of no-where. Previous two seasons were his first two in the US. 7.50 and 5.74 ERAs.
Some Worcester happenings. Valdez got HBP on the right arm and had to leave the game. David Hamilton is back, though. DH'd last night and got 2 hits and 2 walks. Bobby D went 4 for 6 with two dingers. Some non-prospect that subbed in for Valdez also had 2 dingers.
Another pitcher to watch. In Greenville - Dalton Rogers was Boston's 3rd round pick last season, is short for a starter at 5' 11". He's already been promoted to Greenville this year. 6 Innings of no-hit ball last night. 11K's and 1BB. He's had some problems with the walk bug, but they're only hitting .131 off him this year with 38k's in 41-1/3 innings with 26BB's.
Getting his 4th start tonight in Salem is our 32nd round draft pick from 2019. Had a 6.75 ERA in the GCL that year, no baseball in 2020 and an ERA of 4.27 with 1.51 WHIP in 2021. He missed all of last year(TJ?). Came back mid-May and has been lights out in 3 starts. 1.38 ERA with a 0.77 WHIP.
The Worcester games are using the automated ball/strike robotic system for three games this week. Last night (6/20), tonight and tomorrow night. My second time seeing it that I know of. Both times with Drohan on the mound. I had heard the zone was a little tighter. That might be true. They do not have the visual rectangle showing in the minor league telecasts, so no way to know for sure.
Worcester was down to one bench player by the time the 3rd inning rolled around. They lifted Hamilton and Valdez, each nursing injuries, but they didn't say if it was that or something else. This was right about the time we learned of Reyes becoming a healthy scratch. Worcester is also down Fitzgerald and Abreau, and I don't think Zimmer was available. I missed the Dalbec HR as the Red Sox were on by then. I did see him K, missing badly on some sort of slider after fouling off 6 pitches. That kid would be something if he got rid of that huge swing and miss issue.
No Rafaela in Portland last night. I was bummed as I turned it on to see him play. Yorke got 4 hits, though, and the catcher Nathan Hickey looked impressive in the batter's box. If he had an arm, he'd be king stud of our catching prospects. Alas...
I missed an interesting game in Worcester last night. The 'Sox sign this 33 year old ex-MLB bull-pen guy named Kyle Barraclough with 288 games under his belt. No MLB starts, 3 Minor League starts in 2012 and 2 more in Independent ball this year for High Point. So what does he do last night's start? 6IP, 1H, 0R, 4BB and 2K. How in the hell...? You can't make this stuff up. iono
Portland's 6:00 game times make it easy to catch a few innings on MiLB-TV before the big club plays, and it's worth a watch. Last night they took on the Phillies #2 prospect, a guy named Abel who throws 97-98MPH with decent breaking pitches. Portland lost, but they put up a good fight against him.
Mayer's swing timing looked a bit slow the last few times I saw him the past week or so, but he had no such problems last night. He took the flame-thrower deep after being robbed of a HR the previous AB. If this is any indication, Mayer may have his timing back and could get rolling in AA after a slow start.
Cedanne had a bad game. I think he was pressing with the AAA levels' recent IL vacancies. Catcher picked him off at 2B on a bang-bang missed call that should not have even been close. He slid in feet-first, though, kind of like Duran last year on a pick-off. Rookie mistake. He also K'd 3 times, but didn't look over-powered nor over-matched in doing so. He just lost the battles.
I would not be surprised to see Yorke and Mayer's fate being tied at the hip from here on out. Yorke's bat is back on track after last season's swing for the fences campaign. He appears to be back to what I saw early last season in Greenville. Mayer might only be a month or two behind him.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on June 22, 2023, 07:34:02 AM
I missed an interesting game in Worcester last night. The 'Sox sign this 33 year old ex-MLB bull-pen guy named Kyle Barraclough with 288 games under his belt. No MLB starts, 3 Minor League starts in 2012 and 2 more in Independent ball this year for High Point. So what does he do last night's start? 6IP, 1H, 0R, 4BB and 2K. How in the hell...? You can't make this stuff up. iono
Portland's 6:00 game times make it easy to catch a few innings on MiLB-TV before the big club plays, and it's worth a watch. Last night they took on the Phillies #2 prospect, a guy named Abel who throws 97-98MPH with decent breaking pitches. Portland lost, but they put up a good fight against him.
Mayer's swing timing looked a bit slow the last few times I saw him the past week or so, but he had no such problems last night. He took the flame-thrower deep after being robbed of a HR the previous AB. If this is any indication, Mayer may have his timing back and could get rolling in AA after a slow start.
Cedanne had a bad game. I think he was pressing with the AAA levels' recent IL vacancies. Catcher picked him off at 2B on a bang-bang missed call that should not have even been close. He slid in feet-first, though, kind of like Duran last year on a pick-off. Rookie mistake. He also K'd 3 times, but didn't look over-powered nor over-matched in doing so. He just lost the battles.
I would not be surprised to see Yorke and Mayer's fate being tied at the hip from here on out. Yorke's bat is back on track after last season's swing for the fences campaign. He appears to be back to what I saw early last season in Greenville. Mayer might only be a month or two behind him.
Tied to the hip?????? They must be roped and tied as a twosome and no idiotic trade attempt by shitface Bloom for pitching help or a forlorn attempt to make the playoffs this year. They are not going to make it there in 2023. The past two embarrassing losses to the Twins confirmed that for me beyond a shadow of a doubt. Mayer at short and Yorke at second are musts for the Red Sox within a year or two. They must not be traded and it might be a good move by Henry to jettison Bloom just to play it safe that the moron Baseball Ops midget doesn't do something stupid to move one of them. There is a third baseman and catcher in the system who are looking good and hopefully they will be ready to step up for a new group of future Red Sox title contenders in the latter 20's. Not so sure about Devers right now. He still can't field and is swinging from his ass every time up. Maybe DH is his future since his defense has not improved from what I can see. BTW, we looked like shit today and who is this Garza puke we sent out there. Can'dt we do better than him and Ort and some of the other trash we seem to always get stuck with. We need a couple more Bellos and soon.
I caught the game again last night. Almost the same lineup. Hickey had the night off and the speedster Corey Rosier was promoted to AAA, and probably rightfully so. I hope his batting avg increase stays.
Rafaela had another tough night. He is pressing to the point it reminded me of Duran during his rough stretches in Boston the past couple of seasons. Undeniable talent, yes, but you know how it goes during these stretches. The Red Sox' patience is understandable based on what I've seen this week.
Boston has really got to like the plate approaches of Mayer, York, Meidroth and Kavadas. Probably Hickey as well. Kavadas needs that adjustment that we've been wanting Casas to make - meaning to recognize a meatball and mash it no matter when in the count you see it. He's got a 50% K-rate and a .215 BA as part of a stat-line that includes a .402 OBP. How in the heck?
My 2nd or 3rd time seeing Gambrell. When he's on, he's on. Blew through the first three innings like nothing. Then came the onslaught. 6 runs combined in the 4th and 5th innings. His crisp breaking balls became cement mixers best I can tell. I don't think he ever throws all that fast. The lady calling their games will blurt pitch speeds sometimes. I think he's throwing 92-93MPH fastballs.
I did get to see their Closer, Guerrero. There's some promise in that arm. Only a strikeout an inning and has 18 BB in 28 innings, but there's some life in that arm (96-97MPH, IIRC) with a hard breaking ball that has a decent drop.
Meidroth unleashed a couple strong throws from 3B, contradicting what I had thought earlier.
Binellas is an animal when he connects as he did last night. A stunning, eye-popping bad month of May with a .146BA and 62% K-Rate turned into a .356 June with 3 HR and 21% K-rate. He missed over a week (due to injury, IIRC), but lets hope that year long slump he had is done with.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on June 23, 2023, 12:08:45 PM
I caught the game again last night. Almost the same lineup. Hickey had the night off and the speedster Corey Rosier was promoted to AAA, and probably rightfully so. I hope his batting avg increase stays.
Rafaela had another tough night. He is pressing to the point it reminded me of Duran during his rough stretches in Boston the past couple of seasons. Undeniable talent, yes, but you know how it goes during these stretches. The Red Sox' patience is understandable based on what I've seen this week.
Boston has really got to like the plate approaches of Mayer, York, Meidroth and Kavadas. Probably Hickey as well. Kavadas needs that adjustment that we've been wanting Casas to make - meaning to recognize a meatball and mash it no matter when in the count you see it. He's got a 50% K-rate and a .215 BA as part of a stat-line that includes a .402 OBP. How in the heck?
My 2nd or 3rd time seeing Gambrell. When he's on, he's on. Blew through the first three innings like nothing. Then came the onslaught. 6 runs combined in the 4th and 5th innings. His crisp breaking balls became cement mixers best I can tell. I don't think he ever throws all that fast. The lady calling their games will blurt pitch speeds sometimes. I think he's throwing 92-93MPH fastballs.
I did get to see their Closer, Guerrero. There's some promise in that arm. Only a strikeout an inning and has 18 BB in 28 innings, but there's some life in that arm (96-97MPH, IIRC) with a hard breaking ball that has a decent drop.
Meidroth unleashed a couple strong throws from 3B, contradicting what I had thought earlier.
Binellas is an animal when he connects as he did last night. A stunning, eye-popping bad month of May with a .146BA and 62% K-Rate turned into a .356 June with 3 HR and 21% K-rate. He missed over a week (due to injury, IIRC), but lets hope that year long slump he had is done with.
Thanks Mongo. I couldn't remember Meidroth and Hickey and was to lazy to look them up under Red Sox prospects. No doubt because I was too pissed seeing how we let a 2-0 series load blow up in our faces with two crappy losses. Kavadas impresses me as having some real promise but Binellas to me is shit. He stunk it up when we got him in a trade and hasn't improved much since then. But you take Mayer, Yorke, Meidroth and Hickey and you have a nice foursome who could be a strong building block for our next hopefully outstanding team. Now we have to hope that we can draft some decent pitchers in the flesh derby coming up very soon.
Mongo, you and me are going to have our hands full if the playoff odds play out. Fangraphs now has our Wild Card chances at 11%. If that is not based on all the new guys headed to the IL, then we are fading fast.
So that means we-re getting closer to the Bloom FA mail order for lottos at the Deadline. As usual we will have to find the low-down on the A and AA players we get in return for dumping a lot of our starting lineup. I'm still recalling all the moving parts in the Benintendi trade. The only plus we got out of the five players in that deal was Winchowski, and it took him a couple years to locate his pitches.
Fred, that series was indeed frustrating. It was like two different teams. I hope we sweep the Chisox, but next week starts the real challenges again.
Yeah, Binellas had a decent A+ year going last season before getting to AA. Hopefully he's turning a corner. Plenty of time. Still only 23.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on June 23, 2023, 03:26:00 PM
Mongo, you and me are going to have our hands full if the playoff odds play out. Fangraphs now has our Wild Card chances at 11%. If that is not based on all the new guys headed to the IL, then we are fading fast.
So that means we-re getting closer to the Bloom FA mail order for lottos at the Deadline. As usual we will have to find the low-down on the A and AA players we get in return for dumping a lot of our starting lineup. I'm still recalling all the moving parts in the Benintendi trade. The only plus we got out of the five players in that deal was Winchowski, and it took him a couple years to locate his pitches.
I think Grambrell, who pitched last night for Portland was part of that prize. We also got De La Rosa in Salem, 20 year old relief pitcher. Still hopes we get a little more from it than residual Franchy damage and Winkowski. Then again, Benny's not been lights out, either. Injuries, but he's been playing most of the year for the Whitesox. I just saw he's hitting .272 and a .339 OBP, but only 1 HR.
I hope this year's deadline is nothing like last year's.
Portland had another promotion from Greenville make his starting pitching debut last night. Hunter Dobbins, a 23 year old 8th round pick from 2021 after two years of college. He had an A+ ERA of 2.63 with a ,95 WHIP that included only 5BB in 7 starts. He's average a hair over 1K per IP over his whole college and pro career.
Dobbins pitched 5 innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits with 5K. Unlike Coffey the other night, he did very well in his debut, pitching out of a pair of jams.
Yorke had the night off. I got to see Meidroth play 2B after some pretty good defensive games at 3B. He looked as active, able and ready at 2b as he did 3b. One GIDP turn had a hitch in it. His throw still beat the runner, but the Ump got the call wrong at 1b. An earlier GIDP had a very nice turn and made a semi close play out of a play that was never close to begin with. The play was helped by a quick, bad throwing angle feed from Mayer who had to charge a slow bouncer and was lucky to catch the lead runner. He did well on his popup and ground ball chances.
Rafaela had the night off again, which let me see Sikes in CF again. I saw nothing yet to suggest that he cannot field his position. He's another blazer with 27 SB on the year, but has hit near .250 at A, A+ and AA so far with a small amount of pop.
Binellas had a hit(dble), but had 2K's to resume that trend. Meidroth and Hickey both got 2 hits. If Hickey could throw, we'd be talking a lot about him He was DH last night.
One other guy from two nights ago I forgot to mention. A middle reliever named Spacke. He went in for Coffey and pitched 4 shut out innings of relief with 1H and 0BB, lowing his ERA to 3.03 in 17 games. Not a power pitcher. His opponents batting average was .265 last season, but has dropped to .211 this year. 20 walks in 32 innings is never a good thing, though. If he gets rid of that, who knows?
Lugo, the former SS, played 3B last night and showed a solid arm. His work in LF is a work in progress from earlier games I've seen. His offensive numbers are down this year. I wrote earlier that all of these promotions this year killed his PT in Portland, but he is getting lots of non-SS reps these days. Maybe he'll turn into that super-sub they've been lusting after for so long.
Jeees, when it rains, it pours. Koss(SS) in AAA put on the IL. Drohan taken out with the trainer in tow after only 4 innings and 56 pitches. Speiere is reporting it was just cramps. (phew!!!) Also, Valdez left the game early again. He's been in and out after getting a HBP over a week ago.
OK, so The Cedanne Rafaela watch is officially on. He's getting his trip to AAA. I hope whatever was getting him this week is done with.
Need some good news? Yordanny Monegro. 20 years old, 6' 4" had a rough year in FCL last year with an ERA over 7.00. TheSosProspects.com site didn't have a whole lot to say about him. He starts of this year with 3 starts, 20 K's in 15 innings with a 1.20 ERA. He got his Salem debut today going 5-innings with 11K's, 0R, 2H and 0BB. He hit 97 MPH and breaking balls in the upper 80's.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on June 25, 2023, 06:27:34 PM
Jeees, when it rains, it pours. Koss(SS) in AAA put on the IL. Drohan taken out with the trainer in tow after only 4 innings and 56 pitches. Speiere is reporting it was just cramps. (phew!!!) Also, Valdez left the game early again. He's been in and out after getting a HBP over a week ago.
OK, so The Cedanne Rafaela watch is officially on. He's getting his trip to AAA. I hope whatever was getting him this week is done with.
Need some good news? Yordanny Monegro. 20 years old, 6' 4" had a rough year in FCL last year with an ERA over 7.00. TheSosProspects.com site didn't have a whole lot to say about him. He starts of this year with 3 starts, 20 K's in 15 innings with a 1.20 ERA. He got his Salem debut today going 5-innings with 11K's, 0R, 2H and 0BB. He hit 97 MPH and breaking balls in the upper 80's.
The only thing I can figure out with the Rafaela move is the Sox will involve him in the Trade Deadline. As buyers, they need a pitcher. Team X wants to see Rafaela in AAA before the trade.
If Sox end up being sellers, they are ready to trade Duvall, so getting Rafaela ready to arrive in Aug-Sept as the backup to Duran in CF. Just a guess on a lazy summer afternoon in the Carolinas.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on June 26, 2023, 03:39:58 PM
The only thing I can figure out with the Rafaela move is the Sox will involve him in the Trade Deadline. As buyers, they need a pitcher. Team X wants to see Rafaela in AAA before the trade.
If Sox end up being sellers, they are ready to trade Duvall, so getting Rafaela ready to arrive in Aug-Sept as the backup to Duran in CF. Just a guess on a lazy summer afternoon in the Carolinas.
I'm looking forward to seeing how he does in Worcester after the rough week last week. I thought he would have been promoted when Zimmer went down. The Sox can't be playing this more low-key than they are. I think an Alex Speier tweet is the extent of it. No short articles on the MLB Red Sox site that normally happens when a top prospect gets a promotion. Fans will be clamoring for him if he does half way decent like they were for Duran, myself included. We saw how long it took for him to get ready to be even a part-time big league player.
We've got 3 guys in the Futures Game. Mayer, Yorke and Drohan.
I'm glad the Minor Leagues get back rolling tonight. Today, actually. 1:05 game time for Worcester. Walter scheduled to start unless Boston has a card up their sleeve. Might even see Rafaela's AAA debut.
Over the weekend, Drohan was scratched from his scheduled appearance at the Futures Game. Worcester announced that he will be skipped over his next scheduled start. Makes you wonder if he had figured into the Sox starting plans for the week or if it was coincidence. Someone would have to be released or moved to the 60-day IL, though. (40-man) Worcester also pitched Walter in a relief gig a few nights back, going 3 innings.
All 4 upper levels of the Minors are playing tonight On MILB-TV (Free with MLB package). Of particular interest to me is the 6:05 game in Salem. The Starting pitcher is a kid named Yordanny Monegro made his Salem debut last week with 11 K's over 5 innings with 2H and 0BB.
Another one to watch if you've not done so yet is Meidroth in Portland. He's made exceptional plays at 3B, SS and 2B over the past few weeks and puts together ABs that make you think of a real pro type of hitter. Not quite Justin Turner yet, but a sight better than many we see everyday in Boston. Mayer and Yorke bat in front of him.
Speaking of Mayer, don't be too over alarmed at that .190 BA so far. He's had a lot of loud outs including some great defensive plays made against him. He was a little out of timing the first week to two, but has been lacing some hard hit balls since. A SWEET swing, too.
The Sox have reached a point being between a rock and a hard place with pitching. Today's pitcher is TBD. The Rangers have their top three pitchers ready this series. We have TBD, Bello and Kutter. I suppose Paxton will be ready for Oakland. They're trying to give Pax some more rest between starts based on his history I guess.
Whitlock is probably headed to the IL. Houck, Sale and Kluber (/gasp) are already on the IL. The Sox are really vulnerable at the ASB for pitching unless the AAA guys will be the fill-ins. If the OPS guy was Dombrowski, we would be getting a good #4 or 5 guy to add to the rotation at the Deadline. With Bloom at the controls, who the he!! knows what he's thinking?
Paxton's wife was due yesterday. I think he's doing a Paternity leave thing this week at some point. Who knows what they're gonna do. They do have Walter, Murphy and Pivetta. Might not be the best options when trying to establish a bullpen. Perhaps that guy they got out of Indy ball who can all of a sudden start. Barclough. He's due to pitch tonight in AAA.
Turns out Drohan did pitch yesterday in AAA, but not very well.
Yu Chang looked much better, in relative terms seeing as he is still Yu Chang. Right now, that is better than Hamilton offensively.
Mayer and Yorke both looked great. Binellas might be coming around, though he's still a lot of swing and miss and likely always will. Meidroth was off. Hickey threw out a fast runner, but at least 2 others did get stolen bases.
Before the Portland game, I saw the first 3 innings of Salem's Monegro get his start. He pitched another 5-innings of shutout ball while being effectively wild. Pitched around 3BB, 1HBP and 4H and 56% strikes. He can cover 1B with ease and pitches with an energy Eck would love. Hopefully this not so great outing is the outlier.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on May 30, 2023, 02:50:12 PM
Some more moves today. Koss to Worcester. He was getting most of the SS starts in Portland before Mayer getting sent to AA. Also, Theo Denlinger going from Portland to Worcester. He's the one we got for Franklin German.
If nothing else, Denlinger sounds more intimidating for batters than Franklin German. All this alphabet soup of names going up and down the system is really getting tiresome for me. Maybe some others.
Reyes and Chang both did well in AAA rehab last night.
So what is with this Barraclough guy? He had a no-no going until the last out of the 6th. He began to lose it with the 3rd batter. The no-no was broken up by a 2-run dinger. All the typical tired symptoms were there at the end, but his pitch count was efficient going into the 6th. 3 starts now for a 33-year old career reliever with 288 MLB games under his belt. He's allowed 5 hits in 17 innings. The only real blemish is 8 walks in 17 IP.
Binelas continues to be red hot. His BA is now up to .229.
I had to make a note of this, the MLB Futures Game is July 16, 7 PM eastern time from Dodger Stadium. Marcelo Mayer was one of the early names. Maybe more Sox, I dunno. Bello and Raphaela have played in past games.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on July 05, 2023, 07:18:13 PM
I had to make a note of this, the MLB Futures Game is July 16, 7 PM eastern time from Dodger Stadium. Marcelo Mayer was one of the early names. Maybe more Sox, I dunno. Bello and Raphaela have played in past games.
Mayer, Yorke and the Portland reliever most often used at Closer named Luis Guerrero are the 'Sox representives. Drohan was on it, but they pulled him and Guerrero gets the nod.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on July 05, 2023, 07:30:23 PM
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on July 05, 2023, 07:18:13 PM
I had to make a note of this, the MLB Futures Game is July 16, 7 PM eastern time from Dodger Stadium. Marcelo Mayer was one of the early names. Maybe more Sox, I dunno. Bello and Raphaela have played in past games.
Mayer, Yorke and the Portland reliever most often used at Closer named Luis Guerrero are the 'Sox representives. Drohan was on it, but they pulled him and Guerrero gets the nod.
That's good to know. Something to watch as the big club seems to flounder about this time of year.
It's pretty obvious that we've seen a massive improvement with the Sox' system offensive play. The big names are doing better and some who nose dived last year rebounded nicely this year. A couple of guys are struggling to climb out of the holes they dug after promotions, but the reward potential is too big to pull the plug just yet. I strongly suspect the Sox eased way back on the system approach of hitting. It seemed to start with Yoshida, of all people.
Some of these guys are nearing their AAA assignments. The Red Sox have been very careful to not push that button just yet, even with the injury crisis they've had in Worcester. I don't blame them. That could make Valdez and Hamilton interesting trade chips, but only if Koss and Fitzgerald are ready to come off their IL stints soon. We still need plan-C in case of injuries. We can even delay pushing Mayer and Yorke up to Worcester for a while, which would also help Rafaela get some additional SS reps before getting that call.
I've got a surprisingly deep no-trade list right now. Mayer, Yorke, Meidroth, Rafaela, Bleis, Roman Anthony, Blaze Jordan and the Salem Catcher Brannon Brainer. Hickey and Bonaci might be on that list, too. That's just position players. The biggest surprise is still Meidroth(3B, SS, 2B). He could be the rare Rookie to survive early stints with Alex Cora. He became Portland's best hitter before his first laundry day. There are a few others in Salem who've yet to hit their professional strides that others may have ear marked.
Upper level pitching is iffy. Go to Worcester and it goes to hell. The Portland guys coming from Greenville to well almost right away.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on July 10, 2023, 09:08:58 AM
It's pretty obvious that we've seen a massive improvement with the Sox' system offensive play. The big names are doing better and some who nose dived last year rebounded nicely this year. A couple of guys are struggling to climb out of the holes they dug after promotions, but the reward potential is too big to pull the plug just yet. I strongly suspect the Sox eased way back on the system approach of hitting. It seemed to start with Yoshida, of all people.
Some of these guys are nearing their AAA assignments. The Red Sox have been very careful to not push that button just yet, even with the injury crisis they've had in Worcester. I don't blame them. That could make Valdez and Hamilton interesting trade chips, but only if Koss and Fitzgerald are ready to come off their IL stints soon. We still need plan-C in case of injuries. We can even delay pushing Mayer and Yorke up to Worcester for a while, which would also help Rafaela get some additional SS reps before getting that call.
I've got a surprisingly deep no-trade list right now. Mayer, Yorke, Meidroth, Rafaela, Bleis, Roman Anthony, Blaze Jordan and the Salem Catcher Brannon Brainer. Hickey and Bonaci might be on that list, too. That's just position players. The biggest surprise is still Meidroth(3B, SS, 2B). He could be the rare Rookie to survive early stints with Alex Cora. He became Portland's best hitter before his first laundry day. There are a few others in Salem who've yet to hit their professional strides that others may have ear marked.
Upper level pitching is iffy. Go to Worcester and it goes to hell. The Portland guys coming from Greenville to well almost right away.
Well said Mongo. I will only add that the front office and coaching staff must NOT guess wrong on these players as the team has done in the past with others. Mayer, Yorke, Meidroth, Jordan and possibly Rafaela seem to be keepers and future stalwarts for our team. OTOH, Hamilton looked like shit in his inaugural test with the Red Sox, seemingly to be outclassed at the plate. He does NOT look like someone who will hit enough and I still think U Chang is a mediocrity.d Bloom traded for a lot of prospects from other teams and most of them look like bums as by now we know Bloom is a crapola judge of talent. What happens in the next few months is critical to the future of our team. Mistakes must not be made with our best players mentioned above.
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on July 10, 2023, 10:38:33 AM
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on July 10, 2023, 09:08:58 AM
It's pretty obvious that we've seen a massive improvement with the Sox' system offensive play. The big names are doing better and some who nose dived last year rebounded nicely this year. A couple of guys are struggling to climb out of the holes they dug after promotions, but the reward potential is too big to pull the plug just yet. I strongly suspect the Sox eased way back on the system approach of hitting. It seemed to start with Yoshida, of all people.
Some of these guys are nearing their AAA assignments. The Red Sox have been very careful to not push that button just yet, even with the injury crisis they've had in Worcester. I don't blame them. That could make Valdez and Hamilton interesting trade chips, but only if Koss and Fitzgerald are ready to come off their IL stints soon. We still need plan-C in case of injuries. We can even delay pushing Mayer and Yorke up to Worcester for a while, which would also help Rafaela get some additional SS reps before getting that call.
I've got a surprisingly deep no-trade list right now. Mayer, Yorke, Meidroth, Rafaela, Bleis, Roman Anthony, Blaze Jordan and the Salem Catcher Brannon Brainer. Hickey and Bonaci might be on that list, too. That's just position players. The biggest surprise is still Meidroth(3B, SS, 2B). He could be the rare Rookie to survive early stints with Alex Cora. He became Portland's best hitter before his first laundry day. There are a few others in Salem who've yet to hit their professional strides that others may have ear marked.
Upper level pitching is iffy. Go to Worcester and it goes to hell. The Portland guys coming from Greenville to well almost right away.
Well said Mongo. I will only add that the front office and coaching staff must NOT guess wrong on these players as the team has done in the past with others. Mayer, Yorke, Meidroth, Jordan and possibly Rafaela seem to be keepers and future stalwarts for our team. OTOH, Hamilton looked like shit in his inaugural test with the Red Sox, seemingly to be outclassed at the plate. He does NOT look like someone who will hit enough and I still think U Chang is a mediocrity.d Bloom traded for a lot of prospects from other teams and most of them look like bums as by now we know Bloom is a crapola judge of talent. What happens in the next few months is critical to the future of our team. Mistakes must not be made with our best players mentioned above.
Thanks, Fred.
I agree. I think David Hamilton was called up before it was time for him to be called up. He struggled for 3-4 months in the middle of last season in AA Portland before closing it out with a nice September. He started out doing well in AAA Worcester, but fell out of his tree as Eck would say. His average fell down into the .250's before getting hurt. He had just gotten back into action when the injury to Reyes. Just an "un-lucky" bit of Roster management. (aka trading for too many players not yet ready, but need 40-man roster protection. Oooops, was that out loud?)
I think Hamilton will end up doing OK in the big leagues, but like you said, was out-classed. Perhaps out of his depth. It was simply too soon. Unlike Jeter Downs, I think Hamilton has a chance. The stint might even help his development.
Given there’s some decent prospective talent in the system and Bloom’s record for trades, I’d be happy if he stayed away from most of these guys. On the other hand the Sox played themselves into contention just as the ASB hit as I suspected, putting their direction at the deadline in question. It’s just hard to imagine them spending talent and money on guys for a short run to have the chance to go against much better teams in the postseason. Besides, anyone dealing front line pitching which is what they need, is going to want too much in return.
Quote from: longgame on July 10, 2023, 03:05:57 PM
Given there’s some decent prospective talent in the system and Bloom’s record for trades, I’d be happy if he stayed away from most of these guys. On the other hand the Sox played themselves into contention just as the ASB hit as I suspected, putting their direction at the deadline in question. It’s just hard to imagine them spending talent and money on guys for a short run to have the chance to go against much better teams in the postseason. Besides, anyone dealing front line pitching which is what they need, is going to want too much in return.
That's a narrow line to walk for Bloom. One night he says to himself, "this team just isn't good enough to spend some of the farm on a good pitcher. Then the next night he concludes, "this is year four for me, the fans at Fenway are begging for a playoff team, I've got to save my job."
I see Bloom taking the middle road. He will not make any big moves either selling or buying. He has got Story and Sale coming back so they will rationalize that they don't need to make a big splash.
They will need to cut someone. I see Kike being the odd man out despite Cora's affection. Quite frankly I don't think Bloom cares a bit about what Cora wants. Bloom will do what he will do regardless of Cora's wishes. Hernandez is an overall impediment given Duran's performance. Hernandez is likely to generate the best return. Moreover I do not think the fans would make much of a fuss over his leaving not as if that would stop.Bloom.if they did.
Quote from: elktonnick on July 10, 2023, 08:57:28 PM
I see Bloom taking the middle road. He will not make any big moves either selling or buying. He has got Story and Sale coming back so they will rationalize that they don't need to make a big splash.
They will need to cut someone. I see Kike being the odd man out despite Cora's affection. Quite frankly I don't think Bloom cares a bit about what Cora wants. Bloom will do what he will do regardless of Cora's wishes. Hernandez is an overall impediment given Duran's performance. Hernandez is likely to generate the best return. Moreover I do not think the fans would make much of a fuss over his leaving not as if that would stop.Bloom.if they did.
I hope that will be the case. Never been a big Kike fan and he's really hurt the team on the field and at the plate this year. As you said, Bloom seems to march to the sound of his own personal drummer so I'd hope he'd make that move. I'd much rather see Duran continue to evolve and then a big problem is solved for Bloom, we could do a lot worse (and have) than an outfield of Yoshida, Duran and Verdugo. They absolutely need to know what the deal will be with Story and if and when he's coming back because they have not found a solution at SS that delivers on both sides of the ball. That one position seems to hurt us a lot. Pitching is its own saga.
I dont know I this is on another thread. Chris Cotillo thinks Kike is soon to be gone., if not out the door this week. Apparently causing problems with mgt. and he thinks possibly in the clubhouse. "His cocky ways around people this year." The final straw ... the worst fWAR in MLB right now
Down in A ball Roman Anthony seems to have found his stroke. In fact Baseball Prospectus just put him on their Top 50 of all MLB prospects at #9. That's even ahead of Marcelo Mayer at 10. He is hitting .362, 1.331 OPS at Greenville, and the coaches have converted his ground ball outs and .125 avg into a different swing giving him doubles and homers.
He was just drafted last year out of high school, and has moved rapidly up the later, being the youngest player on the Greenville Drive roster.
I was surfing through the player notes on SoxProspects.com this morning and noticed that a Salam SP named Luis Perales was being promoted. He's their #7 ranked prospect. I've not been paying much attention to him as he was having his pro-ball struggles. His ERA after his June 3rd start was 5.74. His ERA for his last 5 starts since is 0.68. Opponents BA .092. 36K's in 26IP. I think it's safe to say he's turned it around.
Two more players being promoted after the break. Blaze Jordan earned a promotion to Portland by hitting .324 for Greenville. The other one getting promoted seemed kind of odd. Wikelman Gonzalas struggled big time out of the gate. but settled down with his 6/3 start. His most recent start was a disaster. 7ER's in 5IP. The previous 4 games were outstanding at 1.29 ERA adn 36K's in 21 innings.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on July 13, 2023, 08:58:06 AM
Down in A ball Roman Anthony seems to have found his stroke. In fact Baseball Prospectus just put him on their Top 50 of all MLB prospects at #9. That's even ahead of Marcelo Mayer at 10. He is hitting .362, 1.331 OPS at Greenville, and the coaches have converted his ground ball outs and .125 avg into a different swing giving him doubles and homers.
He was just drafted last year out of high school, and has moved rapidly up the later, being the youngest player on the Greenville Drive roster.
I've made it a point to watch him. This tall, lanky kid can rake. No idea how he even got promoted to Greenville, but he's cruised since. Even missed almost a week with Strep Throat in the middle of all that. Opposite field power, too. I keep waiting for him to fall out of that tree, but so far, so good.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on July 11, 2023, 07:02:15 PM
I dont know I this is on another thread. Chris Cotillo thinks Kike is soon to be gone., if not out the door this week. Apparently causing problems with mgt. and he thinks possibly in the clubhouse. "His cocky ways around people this year." The final straw ... the worst fWAR in MLB right now
The Kike dynamic is something I'd like to not have to see in Boston anymore. Can we get anything for him? Who knows. It'll depend on how much salary we eat. I know why they gave him a $10M extension last year, and it was a smart move. It was never worth it, but it was a smart move. Sometimes the disgruntled employees have a point. This was hush money as much as it was a goodwill gesture towards the long lost clubhouse.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on July 13, 2023, 09:32:51 AM
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on July 11, 2023, 07:02:15 PM
I dont know I this is on another thread. Chris Cotillo thinks Kike is soon to be gone., if not out the door this week. Apparently causing problems with mgt. and he thinks possibly in the clubhouse. "His cocky ways around people this year." The final straw ... the worst fWAR in MLB right now
The Kike dynamic is something I'd like to not have to see in Boston anymore. Can we get anything for him? Who knows. It'll depend on how much salary we eat. I know why they gave him a $10M extension last year, and it was a smart move. It was never worth it, but it was a smart move. Sometimes the disgruntled employees have a point. This was hush money as much as it was a goodwill gesture towards the long lost clubhouse.
Mongo and Sea Dog, perhaps something has gotten by you since we have had a plethora of info and team propaganda to try and digest the past couple of months, but we have a problem maybe developing within our farm system..........NAMELY TOO DAMN MANY LEFTHANDED HITTERS AND NOT NEARLY ENOUGH RIGHTIES. Already our main team is loaded with southpaws and when you have guys like Teel (our No. 1. Draftee), Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and a few more batting from the left side we had better be sure that some of our righties develop well enough to be able to grab some of those positions so we have a balanced group of young players who can help us get out of the dregs and get us back into the World Series before the end of the decade. Not to through cold water on this topic but it is something we need to keep in mind.
One of the constants of the Red Sox over the past twenty years has been their inability to develop pitchers. It is not my imagination that pitchers today and Red Sox pitchers in particular are injured more today than in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Dr Andrews the noted orthopedic surgeon said in an interview in 2017 that one of reasons for this increase in pitching injuries is poor mechanics.
To my way of thinking the team that can figures out it is better for their pitchers to focus on proper mechanics and pitches that do not put undue strain on the forearm and elbow. will achieve a significant advantage.
Curt Schilling years ago noted that teams that avoided having their starters being placed on the IL tended to do better than those who did not.
If it were up to me I would stay away from pitchers who depend on the cutter and I would not encourage it in the minor leagues.
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on July 13, 2023, 03:25:27 PM
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on July 13, 2023, 09:32:51 AM
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on July 11, 2023, 07:02:15 PM
I dont know I this is on another thread. Chris Cotillo thinks Kike is soon to be gone., if not out the door this week. Apparently causing problems with mgt. and he thinks possibly in the clubhouse. "His cocky ways around people this year." The final straw ... the worst fWAR in MLB right now
The Kike dynamic is something I'd like to not have to see in Boston anymore. Can we get anything for him? Who knows. It'll depend on how much salary we eat. I know why they gave him a $10M extension last year, and it was a smart move. It was never worth it, but it was a smart move. Sometimes the disgruntled employees have a point. This was hush money as much as it was a goodwill gesture towards the long lost clubhouse.
Mongo and Sea Dog, perhaps something has gotten by you since we have had a plethora of info and team propaganda to try and digest the past couple of months, but we have a problem maybe developing within our farm system..........NAMELY TOO DAMN MANY LEFTHANDED HITTERS AND NOT NEARLY ENOUGH RIGHTIES. Already our main team is loaded with southpaws and when you have guys like Teel (our No. 1. Draftee), Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and a few more batting from the left side we had better be sure that some of our righties develop well enough to be able to grab some of those positions so we have a balanced group of young players who can help us get out of the dregs and get us back into the World Series before the end of the decade. Not to through cold water on this topic but it is something we need to keep in mind.
It is lopsided, but not void. Rafaela, Yorke, Meidroth and a few years later already for Bleiss and Brannon.
Quote from: elktonnick on July 13, 2023, 08:18:18 PM
One of the constants of the Red Sox over the past twenty years has been their inability to develop pitchers. It is not my imagination that pitchers today and Red Sox pitchers in particular are injured more today than in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Dr Andrews the noted orthopedic surgeon said in an interview in 2017 that one of reasons for this increase in pitching injuries is poor mechanics.
To my way of thinking the team that can figures out it is better for their pitchers to focus on proper mechanics and pitches that do not put undue strain on the forearm and elbow. will achieve a significant advantage.
Curt Schilling years ago noted that teams that avoided having their starters being placed on the IL tended to do better than those who did not.
If it were up to me I would stay away from pitchers who depend on the cutter and I would not encourage it in the minor leagues.
Is the Cutter the new Screwball when it comes to ruining pitchers' arms?
I think the additional factor of revolving door bullpens and rotations that make these guys throw as hard as they can more often doesn't help. Even the pitching-rich teams like Tampa and New York have been struggling mightily in recent years with pitching injuries.
One odd, seemingly backwards statistic that doesn't make sense. MLB had 87 pitchers make 25 or more starts in 1992. Last year was 94.
For what it's worth the screwball is no risker pitch to throw than the curve ball. The late Mike Marshall believed it was safer. Warren Spahn threw a pitch similar to the screwball which was what today they call a circle change. IMHO Spahn was the greatest pitcher of the post WW2 era.
Quote from: elktonnick on July 14, 2023, 02:01:59 PM
For what it's worth the screwball is no risker pitch to throw than the curve ball. The late Mike Marshall believed it was safer. Warren Spahn threw a pitch similar to the screwball which was what today they call a circle change. IMHO Spahn was the greatest pitcher of the post WW2 era.
I think every time I hear that name(Spahn), I look up his stats. Just amazing. 8 straight years of leading the league in complete games AFTER turning 36. Not a late bloomer, though, as he won something like 204 games before that stretch even started. Even the offense for a pitcher factor was interesting in that he went quite a few years of multi-HR seasons that ended when he turned 42(ish).
I had a pitcher on my Sr League team. Hardest thrower in the league. Came out both seasons throwing no-hitters, but lost the extra zip by 5th-6th game. He started throwing a pitch akin to a change. I heard that later on he was pitching two games a weekend during travel tournaments with that Change being a primary pitch.
Blaze Jordan got his first AA homer out of the way last night. 2-run game winner at Reading in the 9th. The rest of the team struck out 16 times.
Enmanuel Valdez went out with a hammie situation early in the Worcester game. Fitzgerald is on a rehab assignment in the FCL. Only one game so far, last night, and that was to DH. Still a ways away from getting back to Worcester, I suspect.
Roman Anthony with his 8th dinger for Greenville in 18 games. .365 BA, 1.379 OPS and one more BB than K. Always fun to see short bursts of time stats when hot. If we're still talking about him like this in a month.... 'oy!
Some more fun stuff from the Minors.
Wikelman Gonzalez started a 3-pitcher No Hitter for Portland yesterday. He pitched 6 innings allowing 1 run on 4 walks while striking out 10. That gives him 19 K's in 12 IP while allowing 1R, 4H and 5BB in his 2 starts since being promoted.
Also in Portland, the 2022 promotion turned disaster named Alex Binelas has turned it around. At one point in May he was hitting .174 with a K-rate of 49%. He's hitting .295 since June 1st with 9 HRs in 27 games and an OPS of .983.
Yordanny Monegro is still on fire in Salem. He did allow his first run in 4 starts since his promotion. The last start only lasted 3.2 innings, but that was because of a 77 pitch count, which is close to his limit.
Nathan Hickey is quietly putting together a huge year. Monthly splits are as consistent as you'll see with 30 points separating the worst and the best. His .286 July average is also his average on the year. He can hit the cover off the ball. He's got 15 HRs between A+ and AA. 29% K-rate is high, and the 2-out, RISP BA of .239 both need improvement. His caught stealing numbers are still low, but are increasing. He's "up" to 12% now, which is much better than a month or so ago. I've not seen a lot of the bad catcher behind the plate thing with him as I've seen with Alfaro and a little bit with Ronaldo Hernandez. I'm going to pay more attention. It's tough sometimes to see play detail with these Minor League telecasts.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on July 24, 2023, 09:27:25 AM
Some more fun stuff from the Minors.
Wikelman Gonzalez started a 3-pitcher No Hitter for Portland yesterday. He pitched 6 innings allowing 1 run on 4 walks while striking out 10. That gives him 19 K's in 12 IP while allowing 1R, 4H and 5BB in his 2 starts since being promoted.
Also in Portland, the 2022 promotion turned disaster named Alex Binelas has turned it around. At one point in May he was hitting .174 with a K-rate of 49%. He's hitting .295 since June 1st with 9 HRs in 27 games and an OPS of .983.
Yordanny Monegro is still on fire in Salem. He did allow his first run in 4 starts since his promotion. The last start only lasted 3.2 innings, but that was because of a 77 pitch count, which is close to his limit.
Nathan Hickey is quietly putting together a huge year. Monthly splits are as consistent as you'll see with 30 points separating the worst and the best. His .286 July average is also his average on the year. He can hit the cover off the ball. He's got 15 HRs between A+ and AA. 29% K-rate is high, and the 2-out, RISP BA of .239 both need improvement. His caught stealing numbers are still low, but are increasing. He's "up" to 12% now, which is much better than a month or so ago. I've not seen a lot of the bad catcher behind the plate thing with him as I've seen with Alfaro and a little bit with Ronaldo Hernandez. I'm going to pay more attention. It's tough sometimes to see play detail with these Minor League telecasts.
Mongo, looking at catcher for 2024 - to pair with Wong - Steven Scott was hitting .284 and .902 OPS at Worcester earlier this year. For some reason they sent him down to Portland, maybe for fundamentals retraining, I don't know. Nathan Hickey is projected arrival in Boston in 2025. Interesting if they will go out and get a FA catcher for next year. They surely have some top talent down the road in Teel and Brannon.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on July 24, 2023, 09:43:42 AM
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on July 24, 2023, 09:27:25 AM
Some more fun stuff from the Minors.
Wikelman Gonzalez started a 3-pitcher No Hitter for Portland yesterday. He pitched 6 innings allowing 1 run on 4 walks while striking out 10. That gives him 19 K's in 12 IP while allowing 1R, 4H and 5BB in his 2 starts since being promoted.
Also in Portland, the 2022 promotion turned disaster named Alex Binelas has turned it around. At one point in May he was hitting .174 with a K-rate of 49%. He's hitting .295 since June 1st with 9 HRs in 27 games and an OPS of .983.
Yordanny Monegro is still on fire in Salem. He did allow his first run in 4 starts since his promotion. The last start only lasted 3.2 innings, but that was because of a 77 pitch count, which is close to his limit.
Nathan Hickey is quietly putting together a huge year. Monthly splits are as consistent as you'll see with 30 points separating the worst and the best. His .286 July average is also his average on the year. He can hit the cover off the ball. He's got 15 HRs between A+ and AA. 29% K-rate is high, and the 2-out, RISP BA of .239 both need improvement. His caught stealing numbers are still low, but are increasing. He's "up" to 12% now, which is much better than a month or so ago. I've not seen a lot of the bad catcher behind the plate thing with him as I've seen with Alfaro and a little bit with Ronaldo Hernandez. I'm going to pay more attention. It's tough sometimes to see play detail with these Minor League telecasts.
Mongo, looking at catcher for 2024 - to pair with Wong - Steven Scott was hitting .284 and .902 OPS at Worcester earlier this year. For some reason they sent him down to Portland, maybe for fundamentals retraining, I don't know. Nathan Hickey is projected arrival in Boston in 2025. Interesting if they will go out and get a FA catcher for next year. They surely have some top talent down the road in Teel and Brannon.
I think the Scott demotion was a very short-lived needs-based thing. I'm not sure he even made it into a game. He's still in Worcester and had a two 3-run HR game recently. His CS numbers are the nearly same as Hickey's. Better than Hernandez behind the plate, I think. I just don't see any of them enough to tell much. They all look bad to me these days with that one knee up thing they've been doing.
Scott's bad offensive year last year is beginning to look like the odd year. Still, even that bad year he had below 25% K-rate. Could have been typical Red Sox system over-meddling.
As much as I've been raving about the Farm this past couple of months, they're now in a struggling mode. Could have been trade talk related. To save space, if you're not named Ceddanne Rafaela, you're in a slump of some sort at the plate or got injured.
Pitching has been mixed. The "I hope it isn't bad news" news is Wikelman Gonzales went to the Development List after a scorching start to his AA tenure. Keeping fingers crossed on that one.
Roman Anthony was amongst the key prospects who have nose-dived after the All Star break, batting .196 for the next 2-1/2 weeks. His August start got much better, hitting .348 with 2 HR and 2 BB over his last 6 games. On a side note, it's refreshing to see a Minor League batting slump only last a couple of weeks instead of months on end like so many had last year.
Wikelman Gonzalez followed last weeks big start with a 4IP, 8K, 5BB and 1R night. He hit the 90 pitch count to get out of the 4th, so did not come back out. His achilles has been Walks. Now 4 games into his AA stint, he's sporting a 1.71 ERA, BA .117, 21 IP, 31 K's and 14 BB's including a 61% strike pct. He's still only 21. Hopefully he gets some pitch command soon.
Brooks Brannon is now out for the year in Salem. Well, 60-day IL, but the math.....
I'm sure they were all watching the trade wire as we were. You're dreaming about playing in Fenway Park and worrying about being dealt to Cleveland. Maybe a guy ahead of you gets moved and you get a chance. Then they are adjusting for different levels (something that distinguishes Rafaela). Like I don't worry much about draft picks, I can't get worried about slumps in the minors. They're there to learn how to battle through those - or not and let's wash them out now.
The reason I firmly believe that Bloom has to be cashiered after this season is because I don't WANT HIM BEING THE GUY WHO INSTITUTES TRADES THIS OFF SEASON. TRYING TO SAVE HIS JOB HE JUST MIGHT GO HOG WILD OVER A COUPLE OF MEDIOCRE PITCHERS AND DENUDE OUR TOP PROSPECTS OF GUYS LIKE MAYER, JORDAN, YORKE AND THE LIKE. I don't trust this guy at all. To me he is a colossus incompetent and unless he is done away with we will be talking about another dismal season about this time next year. For pete's sake get rid of him Pruney.
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on August 09, 2023, 03:27:51 PM
The reason I firmly believe that Bloom has to be cashiered after this season is because I don't WANT HIM BEING THE GUY WHO INSTITUTES TRADES THIS OFF SEASON. TRYING TO SAVE HIS JOB HE JUST MIGHT GO HOG WILD OVER A COUPLE OF MEDIOCRE PITCHERS AND DENUDE OUR TOP PROSPECTS OF GUYS LIKE MAYER, JORDAN, YORKE AND THE LIKE. I don't trust this guy at all. To me he is a colossus incompetent and unless he is done away with we will be talking about another dismal season about this time next year. For pete's sake get rid of him Pruney.
Fred, no doubt the inaction /passive-aggressive, whatever you call it, by Bloom the past two years of hoarding prospects has stacked up large groups prospects. He has to go -- NOW --- and not keep screwing this up. We now have 70-75 prospects that have to be traded, or exposed to the Rule 5 draft in the next few months.
Looking at the 40-man that we are protecting, there are about 15 who can come off that list. Names like Dalbec, Refsnyder, Valdez (and Turner/Paxton moving on for better FA deals). That latter group includes about a half-dozen dumpster dives for the bullpen that nobody in MLB really wants. It's a real mess that he has made.
I think this year's Rule-5 Draft is going to be more about the Minor League phase. It pretty much always is. The MLB phase is mostly pitchers. Last year saw 15 players get nabbed. 13 of them were pitchers. 3 were from us, but we got 2 back.
The Minor League portion is where we need to be careful, though. This means no dumpster diving before the draft. The more we dive, the more we lose. Simple as that. We get to protect up to 38 Rule-5 eligible Minor League players by placing them on the 38-man AAA roster. There are no placement rules for drafting teams in this phase. It's a free-for-all. I think they pay something like $25k each. This is where the Yankees lose 1/2 dozen pitchers every year.
So next season is Bloom's #5 at the helm. Aside from Rafaela, anyone seeing any help being ready for next season? Sogard at utility infielder. Koss can play everywhere, but got injured this year after hitting the AAA brick wall. Not Bloom's fault. The AA pitchers promoted to AAA pitchers hit brick walls again. Valdez can't field. Maybe Abreu? I'd like to see Abreu in Boston this Fall just to see what he can do up there. Seriously, that's about it. I really can't see the rest of the big names start filtering in until 2025.
So that batch of kids that made up Winckowski, Pivetta, Wong and Verdugo represents the usable haul we got from 2020 Betts, Benny and Workman trades. That channel dried up to just a no-fielding Valdez. Why? Because Bloom could not handle the trades part of his job. We got nothing for a lot of guys that left us at the end of seasons after 2020. That's one HUGE part of the "Tampa Way" that he wrote before coming to Boston. When he did pull that trigger, he got projects and incomplete players.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on August 12, 2023, 09:46:16 AM
I think this year's Rule-5 Draft is going to be more about the Minor League phase. It pretty much always is. The MLB phase is mostly pitchers. Last year saw 15 players get nabbed. 13 of them were pitchers. 3 were from us, but we got 2 back.
The Minor League portion is where we need to be careful, though. This means no dumpster diving before the draft. The more we dive, the more we lose. Simple as that. We get to protect up to 38 Rule-5 eligible Minor League players by placing them on the 38-man AAA roster. There are no placement rules for drafting teams in this phase. It's a free-for-all. I think they pay something like $25k each. This is where the Yankees lose 1/2 dozen pitchers every year.
So next season is Bloom's #5 at the helm. Aside from Rafaela, anyone seeing any help being ready for next season? Sogard at utility infielder. Koss can play everywhere, but got injured this year after hitting the AAA brick wall. Not Bloom's fault. The AA pitchers promoted to AAA pitchers hit brick walls again. Valdez can't field. Maybe Abreu? I'd like to see Abreu in Boston this Fall just to see what he can do up there. Seriously, that's about it. I really can't see the rest of the big names start filtering in until 2025.
So that batch of kids that made up Winckowski, Pivetta, Wong and Verdugo represents the usable haul we got from 2020 Betts, Benny and Workman trades. That channel dried up to just a no-fielding Valdez. Why? Because Bloom could not handle the trades part of his job. We got nothing for a lot of guys that left us at the end of seasons after 2020. That's one HUGE part of the "Tampa Way" that he wrote before coming to Boston. When he did pull that trigger, he got projects and incomplete players.
Thanks, I read about the 38 man AAA group before, but completely forgot about it. To add to the grief, we got compensation picks in the 4th round for QO's on Eovaldi and JDM. The returns were a couple of infielders Justin Riemer, who suffered an ACL and will be suspended through much of next year. Also a high school SS Christian Campbell, who will be in the down in the system for some time at #54 in our prospects.
I also like Abreu. He has 15 homers at Worcester this year, and some value him as acceptable as an corner outfielder.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on August 12, 2023, 10:52:10 AM
Thanks, I read about the 38 man AAA group before, but completely forgot about it. To add to the grief, we got compensation picks in the 4th round for QO's on Eovaldi and JDM. The returns were a couple of infielders Justin Riemer, who suffered an ACL and will be suspended through much of next year. Also a high school SS Christian Campbell, who will be in the down in the system for some time at #54 in our prospects.
I also like Abreu. He has 15 homers at Worcester this year, and some value him as acceptable as an corner outfielder.
Abreau does have a decent enough arm, too. Maybe even for RF. His K-rate has dropped some this year and not afraid of taking a Walk. He's now got 16 HRs in 78 games.
MLB teams' rosters can only expand by one pitcher and one position player under the new rules this year. Gonna be interesting to see how the Sox play that one out.
edit: As if on cue, Abreu hit 3 more HR's today, bringing him up to 20. Dalbec hit a pair bringing him up to 30.
Rough day in Greenville. Apparently Mikey Romero, our 2022 1st rounder, had to be carried off the field after fielding a grounder. Some sort of leg injury. Second injury this season. Noah Song also had his first rough outing since coming back.
Can't figure out why so many of our prospects seem to come up injured, maimed or just pooped out by the time they are ready to make a move to the big club, but I have my own ideas why this may be so.
The transformation of the Sox into a really good contender with home grown talent, is on its way -- but may have to wait until 2025 to see their best forces on the field. Getting Raphaela and Mayer next year - Mayer will have to get up to AAA to be sure - will start the ball rolling.
But in 2025 the debuts of Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel will really fill the lineup with quality studs. Anthony will have to continue mashing to get there in 2025.
Greenville Drive 5, Hickory Crawdads (TEX) 2
The dominant debut from first-round pick Kyle Teel continued on Thursday night. The backstop did not record an out in any of his five plate appearances, going 3 for 3 with a double, two walks, a run scored, an RBI, and a stolen base. It was the fourth time Teel has recorded three hits in nine games with the Drive. Roman Anthony continued to shine as well, going 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Eddinson Paulino also doubled as part of a two-hit night, driving in a pair.
Dalton Rogers turned in a strong start, giving up one run on just two hits in five innings, striking out five and walking two. Joey Stock struck out four and allowed one hit in two scoreless innings of relief. Felix Cepeda finally saw his scoreless streak come to a close. After going unscored upon in 14 innings across his first eight Greenville appearances, Cepeda added to that with a scoreless eighth before surrendering a solo shot to South Atlantic League home run leader Abimelec Ortiz.
Seadog, I've been watching some of these guys off and on again this year. I think your assessment is spot on. Some ramblings to add to it, perhaps.
Abreu looks like he might be at least the solid sort of player we had hoped for. Nobody saw his offensive breakout season coming. Maybe breakout month is more like it. Still, he forced his way onto the team for at least a couple of weeks.
I would not be surprised to see an OF-5 made up of Duran/Yoshida/Rafaela*/Abreu/Refsnyder next season. The obvious flaw is 4 out of 5 are Lefties. (*Rafaela would not appear until 3rd week of April or something for 6 years of control as he is young).
As far as infielders go, it would be nice to see Mayer come back from his IL stint very soon and turn his AA season around. He's still not broken through at that AA level yet. It could easily end up being 2025 before we see him.
Second base going forward interesting, assuming the competition is between Valdez, Yorke and Meidroth. Nick Yorke is still having a nice season on both sides of the ball. Only 4 errors where the scorers actually charge defenders with errors, and I mean to say the score keepers seem loathe to credit a hit on close plays. The eye test on Yorke has matched what I've seen so far. He even seems ahead of the curve base-running from what little one can see with the MiLB telecasts. His swing is so much like the one he had before getting homer-happy last season. Enmanuel Valdez has a more explosive bat, but cannot field the position. Meidroth can play 2B, SS and 3B. I think Meidroth will end up being a very good all around hitter, though the past month has been iffy. Bloom and company need to be shot on sight if Yorke starts next year in Portland and Valdez is in Worcester.
They're gonna have to plow the road for Teel based on defense alone. They've got Scott and Hickey in front of him right now. If either of them could throw runners out they might have McGuire's job next Spring. Teel's just plain fun to watch behind the plate. Energy galore and can pounce out from behind the plate like few we've ever seen. Hickey is about as consistent a hitter BA-wise as you'll see. Good power, too.
Anthony had his slump and came back out of it, which is darned impressive at 19 years old. I'd love to see some improvement on that swing and miss. His K-rate has been in the mid 30's. Rosier(AA) is a nice hitter, too, but fielding has been iffy from what I've seen. Especially some of the throws. I've seen Anthony far less, so can't really comment.
There's some talent in spots down on the farm.
We'll still have to rely on the brain trust to a) not screw these guys up too badly and b) give them some supporting veteran players who can bring them along. Also, beyond Bello, someone will have to pitch too. Crawford may have earned himself a spot. Houck will be here too. Whoever is in charge needs to strengthen the team with those kind of moves, not go after the old and injured.
A far too early potential lineup for the playoff push in 2025. The only reason I did this is to illustrate what the lack of balance could look like. We'd have 7 LH batters and 5 players with 2 or less years of MLB experience. It would be a very young team. Lots of mistakes like we had last night with Wong's base-running gaffe. Can the Manager and organization teach and win at the same time?
Lack of balance aside, we'd have 2 "plus" defenders and 2 starters and 3 out of 4 bench players with great speed. There is a potential for a few more better than average defenders as time progresses.
Each of these prospects still needs to do some work to even get to Boston, let alone stay here for at least a few years.
(notes - Players' # of MLB years in 1st parens.)
(current MLB or Minor League level in last parens.)
(A "+" sign after the position is for plus defense.)
(5)Duran* - LF (MLB)
(9)Devers* - 3B (MLB)
(3)Casas* - 1B (MLB)
(2)Rafaela - CF+ (AAA)
(3)Yoshida* - DH (MLB)
(2)Abreu* - RF (AAA/MLB)
(R)Mayer* - SS (AA)
(R)Yorke - 2B (AA)
(R)Teel* - C+ (A+/AA) (Wong, Hickey or Scott if Teel is still a year away.)
Bench:
Meidroth (IF) (AA)
Hamilton* (MI) (AAA)
Rosier* (OF) (AA) (This is a stretch, though hitting and speed are nice.)
Wong (C) (MLB)
Waiting in the wings of mid-late 2026, though they could be busting the doors down in 2025 if their ascent doesn't slow.)
Bonaci# - MI (A+/AA)
Anthony* - LF (A+)
Bleiss - OF (A+)
Jordan - 1B/3B (AA)
The pitching is a whole different thing, but some of that young foundation is beginning to take shape. It looks better now than it did in March.
Been a rough week in Red Sox Land. Some good news, perhaps?
Grant Gambrell missed most of 2021 and all of 2022. He got in one game after being traded to us by the Royals in 2021. He had been dealing with some chronic heal pain in his right foot. They soon found out he had a benign tumor in that heel. He needed 5 surgeries to get it fixed. The last one he described somewhere as being liquid bone injections. Ended up doing a lot of rehabbing with Chris Sale.
So fast foward to last week. He had an impressive AAA debut and followup start last two outings. Gambrell started his year in Greenville, needing about 5-6 games to make things click and getting used to pitching again before going to Portland.
He continued to throw well in Portland, though his strike percentage (63%) could be higher. In 15 starts, he laid one egg giving up 6 runs in 5 innings two games after giving up 5 runs in 5 innings. 8 quality starts in 15 attempts while giving up 2 runs or less in 10 of 15 starts. I saw him pitch on MiLB TV more than anyone else. When he's on, there's a breaking pitch that fools hitter with regularity and I "think" he throws in the 94-95 MPH gas.
He got promoted to AAA last week and broke a growing tradition of starting pitchers bombing after being promoted from AA to AAA. In two starts for Worcester, he's gone 10.2 IP allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, 6 BB's and 14K's. I think the lone blemish of concern is 4 walks in his first start.
I think he's nearing the end of his season. 126 IP is more than twice his professional total before this season, and almost as much as he threw in 3 years of college ball.