Prospect Bottlenecks - Hoarding?

[Sea Dog 23]

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.

[MongoLikeSox]

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.

[Sea Dog 23]

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.

[MongoLikeSox]

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.

[MongoLikeSox]

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.

[Sea Dog 23]

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.

[longgame]

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. 

[MongoLikeSox]

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. 

[MongoLikeSox]

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.

[MongoLikeSox]

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.

[MongoLikeSox]

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.

[MongoLikeSox]

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...

[MongoLikeSox]

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.

[SeaBeachFred]

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.

[MongoLikeSox]

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.