2016 Prospects Thread

[Spudboy]

https://9hop.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/arroyo.jpg

 

As usual, UN is correct.

 

Of course he is.

 

Just look at how stupid he looks compared to when he had the Moss flowing. Now maybe he grew up in the Barrio. I have no idea and really don't care enough to look it up. But that kid was brought up white. Just listen to him talk or sing! His cornrows smell of boredom and cultural appropriation. Any way you slice it, Arroyo is not from Africa.

 

 

I am so glad that I derailed this thread by mentioning Willy Mo. I am God.

[Slasher9]

[Jack Flap]

Who knew this would become such a lively thread.

[Slasher9]

[Station 13]

I believe that is missing a purse.

[moonslav59]

I believe that is missing a purse.

 

They photo-shopped it out of this picture, so ARod wouldn't be embarrassed while on his farewell tour.

[cp176]

The best thing to do now is to drop talk of what could or should have been with regard to Espinoza. It's a done deal. Pom Pom is here now. Hopefully he develops into a decent mid-rotation starter.

 

Also, speculation about a current prospect is just that. Moncada is from most reports an exceptional talent. One with about 1 year of pro ball in this country. As with many of the Cuban imports, it is safe to assume that he needs to work on some things to become ready for a diet of MLB ball. When he is ready for prime time the Sox will make the move.

 

Benintendi has had major league skills since Arkansas. He reinforced this idea by being consistent in his approach at all levels. The Sox had a need for his skills and he was called up.

 

I see no reason to get into cat fights over any of these matters. It serves little purpose other than to bore us.

 

 

Are you responsible for all of this? You are the best! End of f***ing story. My new hero. I saw what you were able to do.

[Dojji]

Can I just ask why Mauricio Dubon is not getting more attention on the prospect sites? He's currently hitting like a champ in Portland at only age 21, and apparently he's a good fielding SS too. Where's the love?

 

http://www.soxprospects.com/stats/batter.php?player=643289

 

I know the power isn't necessarily there, but this is a shortstop. Power is a luxury at short, not a necessity, and power is the only thing this guy seems to be lacking. And he's shown strides in his gap to gap power.

 

This kid has a real potential at his position. And nobody is even talking about him. Perhaps because he's blocked by Bogaerts? Either way that should change.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Dojji

[mvp 78]

Because even Soxprospects have said his recent numbers have come out from nowhere. It's not like he was mashing when the midseason lists came out.

[moonslav59]

It's also nice to see Kopech, Johnson and Owens doing well of late.

[cp176]

Can I just ask why Mauricio Dubon is not getting more attention on the prospect sites? He's currently hitting like a champ in Portland at only age 21, and apparently he's a good fielding SS too. Where's the love?

 

http://www.soxprospects.com/stats/batter.php?player=643289

 

I know the power isn't necessarily there, but this is a shortstop. Power is a luxury at short, not a necessity, and power is the only thing this guy seems to be lacking. And he's shown strides in his gap to gap power.

 

This kid has a real potential at his position. And nobody is even talking about him. Perhaps because he's blocked by Bogaerts? Either way that should change.

 

I am with you on this one. Mauricio Dubon is having a great season. His current numbers put him at the head of the class for Portland. He is also very smooth in the field. He very well might have a great career.

[moonslav59]

It's also nice to see Kopech, Johnson and Owens doing well of late.

 

Scratch Owens from this list.

 

The walks are killing me!

[Bellhorn04]

Groome is pitching today.

[Jack Flap]

groome is pitching today.

 

2 ip, 0 r, 1 h, 0 bb, 3 k

[Spudboy]

Groome is pitching today.

 

Where?

[Bellhorn04]

Where?

 

Gulf Coast League Red Sox.

[Slasher9]

2 ip, 0 r, 1 h, 0 bb, 3 k

 

time to bring him up.

[mvp 78]

Kopech with another 10K performance. Hope he progresses well next year!

[bowman]

time to bring him up.

 

Him and Kopech

[moonslav59]

soxprospects.com has a page where they project the rosters for upcoming years. Here's what they have as of now:

 

Pos 2017 2018 2019

SP1 Price Price Price

SP2 Porc Porc Porc

SP3 Pom Pom ERod

SP4 Wri ERod Kop

SP5 ERod Kop Wright

RP1 Kimb Kim Smith

RP2 Barn Smith Barn

RP3 Ross Barn Owens

RP4 Abad Owen BJohn

RP5 Kelly Kelly TBall

RP6 Hemb Wrig Work

RP7 Elias BJohn Martin

(DL Smith) Work

C1 Vaz Vaz Vaz

C2 Leon Swi Swi

1B Ram Ram Ram

2B Ped Ped Ped

SS Bogey Bog Bog

3B Shaw Mon Mon

LF Beni Beni Beni

CF JBJ JBJ JBJ

RF Betts Bet Betts

DH Pablo Pablo Devers

UT Holt Holt Holt

IF Hern Hern Hern

OF Young Shaw Travis

 

 

 

 

[cp176]

here comes Moncada.

[a700hitter]

Will Groome get inducted into the Hall of Fame before Joe Kelly wins a Cy Young?

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[TD]RED SOX MINOR LEAGUE NOTEBOOK: JASON GROOME ‘ECSTATIC’ TO BE WITH LOWELL SPINNERS AFTER EVENTFUL DRAFT PROCESS

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]09.01.16 at 10:48 am ET[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

By Ryan Hannable

http://fullcount.weei.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_2662-e1472694935588.jpgNo. 12 overall pick Jason Groome will start for the Lowell Spinners Friday night. (WEEI.com)

Highly touted 18-year-old left-hander Jason Groome finally can breathe a sigh of relief.

Groome was drafted No. 12 overall by the Red Sox in June’s MLB draft, signed a professional contract, started two games in the Florida Gulf Coast League and now is preparing to start for the short-season Single-A Lowell Spinners on Friday night.

On the surface it sounds like a pretty seamless and exciting process, but it was anything but smooth for Groome.

“I’m ecstatic now. I am finally living out my career,” Groome said Wednesday.

It was evident as a high school sophomore that Groome was a special talent pitching for Barnegat High School in Barnegat, New Jersey. The lefty helped Barnegat to its first 20-win season when he went 6-2 with a 0.57 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings.

With Groome being so talented, it was thought IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, would be the best place for him as he could get some of the best instruction in the country and potentially get more exposure than he would pitching in New Jersey.

Groome transferred there for his junior season and went 5-0 with a 0.98 ERA and 77 strikeouts against nine walks in eight starts. From a baseball perspective Groome loved it, but from an off-the-field perspective, something was missing. So he transferred back home following just one season.

“The baseball side of it and the strength part of it were 110 percent awesome,” Groome said. “You can’t get that training anywhere else. It’s second to none. Overall, I just felt like I needed to come back and be with my family for the last year before I was going off to pro ball or college. I just felt like I had to be around my family a little bit more. Down there we couldn’t compete for a state championship, so I figured why not come back and try and win the first one in Barnegat history.”

It wasn’t an easy transition returning home as the Barnegat team had to forfeit some of its games early in the season because of a transferring issue with Groome’s address. On the mound, he posted a 0.77 ERA with 90 strikeouts and 15 hits allowed in 39 2/3 innings. On April 11, he recorded 19 strikeouts in the first no-hitter in school history, facing the minimum number of batters over seven innings.

While he was dominant on the mound, it took a while to regain the trust of his teammates.

“I could feel like they were a little upset I left in the first place, but towards the end of the season we basically got back to where we were,” Groome said. “We remembered we were always there for each other and we became brothers once again. The season didn’t turn out the way we wanted to, but it was great playing with all those guys again.”

Groome had risen to the top of all the draft boards as he was being heavily scouted since the beginning of his junior season, but this is when things started to get even more difficult for him.

As the draft neared, he became the talk of the entire draft about how his stock was dropping because of character concerns and rumors swirling from his time at IMG regarding why he transferred out. Many pegged Groome to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft just a few months earlier, but it wasn’t until the No. 12 overall pick when Groome finally heard his name called by the Red Sox.

“More so not the draft night, it was more so leading up to the draft — mainly the talk was how I was going to slip and stuff,” Groome said. “Me and my family just kept praying it was all going to work out how it was supposed to. When the Red Sox picked me, we had no idea. They are my favorite team, but we had no idea. My dream finally became a reality. It was awesome.”

The negative chatter surrounding the pitcher continued following the draft about how big of a risk the Red Sox took by drafting him, and the rumors never really went away until he officially signed on July 15.

Groome said the things that were said about him were tough to hear, but he credited his parents for helping him get through it all.

“My parents really helped me through that part because it was mainly just he-said, she-said stuff,” he said. “I am young, so it kind of gets to my head a little bit, but I have my parents and they just keep pushing me through it. They just kept saying as long as we know it’s not true, we know it’s not, so who cares if people are going to think it, as it will happen the rest of your career.”

The Red Sox, despite not selecting until No. 12 overall, were hot on Groome’s trail since he was at IMG. In fact, area scout Ray Fagnant was at all of Groome’s starts this past spring and visited him at his home on July 15, the day before the signing deadline.

Groome shared what Fagnant said to him.

“We picked you for a reason,” Groome recalled hearing. “You’re a special kid and your talent is second to none, so we took a chance and we’re happy we finally got you.”

After signing, Groome went down to JetBlue Park in Fort Myers to get accustomed to what it’s like to be a professional and be a member of the Red Sox. He got on the organization’s throwing program and soaked in all the information he could. Just about a month after being down there, he debuted in the Florida Gulf Coast League on Aug. 22 but was kept on a strict two-inning, 35-pitch limit as the organization is being very careful with him since he’s so young.

The 6-foot-6 lefty pitched in two games before before promoted this week. Over four innings, he’s allowed one run on three hits while not walking a batter and striking out eight. Groome admitted it’s tough only going two innings.

“It’s kind of a little bummer. I’m used to going out there and pitching until I get taken out of the game,” he said. “In my two starts down there I felt like I really pitched well. I have command of all my pitches and overall I just felt good in those four innings I threw down there.”

Groome will start Friday night in Norwich, Connecticut, against the Connecticut Tigers and could get one more start after that, assuming the Spinners reach the postseason. Pitching for Lowell at some point was the plan all along since he signed, but Groome is grateful for the opportunity.

“I was more so excited to get up here and face a different type of competition I guess I should say,” he said. “Most importantly, getting to represent another team on my chest. It’s a great feeling.”

As for the future, Groome noted it’s hard not to let his mind drift and think about potentially reaching the big leagues, and he’s not afraid to admit one of his long-term goals, which is an indication of just how good he can potentially be.

“That’s the eventual goal, but right now I know I am at the end of the ladder, but if I keep working and prove to everyone that I can do it there’s no reason why I can’t be up there in a short amount of time,” he said. “That’s the end goal and eventually to be a Hall of Famer, but you can’t rush the process, you just have to trust it.”

[Hugh2]

soxprospects.com has a page where they project the rosters for upcoming years. Here's what they have as of now:

 

Pos 2017 2018 2019

SP1 Price Price Price

SP2 Porc Porc Porc

SP3 Pom Pom ERod

SP4 Wri ERod Kop

SP5 ERod Kop Wright

RP1 Kimb Kim Smith

RP2 Barn Smith Barn

RP3 Ross Barn Owens

RP4 Abad Owen BJohn

RP5 Kelly Kelly TBall

RP6 Hemb Wrig Work

RP7 Elias BJohn Martin

(DL Smith) Work

C1 Vaz Vaz Vaz

C2 Leon Swi Swi

1B Ram Ram Ram

2B Ped Ped Ped

SS Bogey Bog Bog

3B Shaw Mon Mon

LF Beni Beni Beni

CF JBJ JBJ JBJ

RF Betts Bet Betts

DH Pablo Pablo Devers

UT Holt Holt Holt

IF Hern Hern Hern

OF Young Shaw Travis

 

 

 

 

 

Those aren't exactly projections. The disclaimer states that they are not trying to predict what the roster will be in actuality. They are predicting what the roster could/should look like with zero free agent signings or re-signings which effectively has a 0% chance of happening.

 

It's more of an exercise to analyze system depth.

[moonslav59]

Those aren't exactly projections. The disclaimer states that they are not trying to predict what the roster will be in actuality. They are predicting what the roster could/should look like with zero free agent signings or re-signings which effectively has a 0% chance of happening.

 

It's more of an exercise to analyze system depth.

 

Yes, I should have added the disclaimer, but it does give a general sense of where we may be going forward, and where are strengths and weakness may be.

 

It's weird how they have Wright in the rotation in 2017 and 2019 but not 2018. I guess the departure of Pomeranz opened up his slot again.

 

They now have Pablo at 3B next year with Moncada at AAA. They list "acquisition" in the DH slot, instead of Young or HanRam.

[Hugh2]

Yes, I should have added the disclaimer, but it does give a general sense of where we may be going forward, and where are strengths and weakness may be.

 

It's weird how they have Wright in the rotation in 2017 and 2019 but not 2018. I guess the departure of Pomeranz opened up his slot again.

 

They now have Pablo at 3B next year with Moncada at AAA. They list "acquisition" in the DH slot, instead of Young or HanRam.

 

They probably don't update that thing everyday.

 

It could also be that they project him to start the year in Pawtucket for 30 days before they bring him up to regain a year of team control. Could be a good chance to let Pablo Sandoval rebuild some value too. If Pablo hits he can platoon DH with someone like Young and might make himself traded able at the deadline.

 

It could also very well be that Moncada plays himself into a starting role come opening day next year.

[moonslav59]

They probably don't update that thing everyday.

 

It could also be that they project him to start the year in Pawtucket for 30 days before they bring him up to regain a year of team control. Could be a good chance to let Pablo Sandoval rebuild some value too. If Pablo hits he can platoon DH with someone like Young and might make himself traded able at the deadline.

 

It could also very well be that Moncada plays himself into a starting role come opening day next year.

 

I agree- totally.

 

I think Young might be more valuable than what we may think, depending on who we have at DH next year. He's a lefty killer.

[Jack Flap]

Here's Soxprospects' new scouting writeup of 4th round pick Bobby Dalbec, who hit .386/.427/.674 with 7 HR in 34 games in Lowell... questionable hit tool, but huge power ceiling by all accounts.

 

http://news.soxprospects.com/2016/09/scouting-scratch-bobby-dalbec.html

[cp176]

Kopech, Dubon, and Moncada all off to great starts in Arizona. I like Dubon at short though and not in the outfield. A little early in his development to be projecting him as a utility player. I feel the same way about Hernandez.

[Nick]

Here's Soxprospects' new scouting writeup of 4th round pick Bobby Dalbec, who hit .386/.427/.674 with 7 HR in 34 games in Lowell... questionable hit tool, but huge power ceiling by all accounts.

 

http://news.soxprospects.com/2016/09/scouting-scratch-bobby-dalbec.html

 

AAA Moncada

AA Devers

A+ Dalbech

 

Pretty impressive depth at 3B....too bad we don't have one in the majors...

[Nick]

Yes, I should have added the disclaimer, but it does give a general sense of where we may be going forward, and where are strengths and weakness may be.

 

It's weird how they have Wright in the rotation in 2017 and 2019 but not 2018. I guess the departure of Pomeranz opened up his slot again.

 

They now have Pablo at 3B next year with Moncada at AAA. They list "acquisition" in the DH slot, instead of Young or HanRam.

 

Thanks for pointing out...I've spent much time at the site but I didn't know that projected lineup existed. It's a cool tool. You can get pretty good idea also as to when the players will become FA.

 

I go back and forth obviously but I'm not going to throw a fit if we stand pat this winter. Obviously there will be tweaking going on, especially with the bullpen.

 

And I'm 50/50 on signing EE. On one had I just don't see DD not addressing the "Ortiz" departure issue. I haven't really thought out how EE's money will choke off future extension of our younger players.

 

Now if for some reason, Price opts out then that will free up some money.

 

That's also why I hate to trade away future starting pitching talent such as Kopech and Groome.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Nick