2016 Prospects Thread

[Hugh2]

Trey Ball had a good night. 6 1/3 innings with 10 K's. 5 hits and 2 BB's. Four of the hits were singles and he had 4/1 GO/FO. Also reportedly his velocity has returned this spring as well. I still haven't given up on Ball developing into a good middle of the rotation starter.

[cp176]

i think that he might be healthy for the first time in a while. he has some good talent.

[mvp 78]

@redsoxstats Nice start to the season for Trey Ball. Through 4 starts 23 IP, 1.95 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 58% ground ball rate, and 2 big strikeout nights.

[a700hitter]

Chris Marrero has 6 Homers and is OPSing at 837 -- both better than Sam Travis. Maybe he will build some good trade value.

[Hugh2]

Chris Marrero has 6 Homers and is OPSing at 837 -- both better than Sam Travis. Maybe he will build some good trade value.

 

He's a 27 year old with poor defense and a MiLB track record at AAA for about 5 seasons. He could OPS 1.000 right now and his trade value wouldn't be much more than what it is now.

Edited May 17, 2016 by A Red Sox fan named Hugh

[Emp9]

Castillo's Walk-off Base Hit:

 

http://atmilb.com/1TlS19z

[Emp9]

Swihart Throws out Baserunner:

 

http://atmilb.com/1TrieHl

[Jack Flap]

The Red Sox announced Saturday that Triple-A starting pitcher Brian Johnson was being placed on the club’s temporary inactive list while seeking help for anxiety issues.

 

http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2016/05/21/red-sox-pitching-prospect-brian-johnson-placed-on-temporary-inactive-list-for-anxiety-issues/

[cp176]

Is Trey Ball really starting to do this?

[a700hitter]

The Red Sox announced Saturday that Triple-A starting pitcher Brian Johnson was being placed on the club’s temporary inactive list while seeking help for anxiety issues.

 

http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2016/05/21/red-sox-pitching-prospect-brian-johnson-placed-on-temporary-inactive-list-for-anxiety-issues/

I hope the kid gets help and overcomes this quickly.

[Emp9]

Trey Ball had a good night. 6 1/3 innings with 10 K's. 5 hits and 2 BB's. Four of the hits were singles and he had 4/1 GO/FO. Also reportedly his velocity has returned this spring as well. I still haven't given up on Ball developing into a good middle of the rotation starter.

 

Oh that's just great... more quality starts./s/. : )

[Emp9]

Watching Young in LF last night was a bit ugly. Our current platoon of two months in LF: .680 OPS & sub-replacement level defense, as one writer put it today. Can't help but think... Well, I'm about 95% sure Castillo would have made that play last night. And if the Red Sox aren't worried, evidently, about how much offense they get out of LF. What then, is the problem with promoting Castillo?

[Kimmi]

I always thought that Castillo should have been our regular left fielder to start the season. It's in the team's best interest to figure out exactly what they have in him, whether their intent is to keep him or trade him. Not to mention that Holt serves the team much better as a super utility guy.

[cp176]

Watching Swihart move in left has made me realize once again that if a player is athletic and wants to do it and has baseball instincts they can do it. Given the choice, I think that our best bet is to leave Swihart out there until we know what we have. He knows how to play baseball at the ml level. No need to waste time with Castillo in Fenway Park at least until he learns how to play.

[cp176]

Last year, i was on the Shaw/Hernandez kick. This year, I am betting on Hernandez once again. He is going to be a starting infielder for someone some day. It might be us. Like all the kids, he just needs to get his shot. Ultimately, he won't be just a utility player.

[Jack Flap]

I always thought that Castillo should have been our regular left fielder to start the season. It's in the team's best interest to figure out exactly what they have in him, whether their intent is to keep him or trade him. Not to mention that Holt serves the team much better as a super utility guy.

 

Same here. I thought he should have been up with us all last season (when not hurt, obviously) as well, and his production couldn't have been much worse than what we ended up getting from Victorino et. al.

 

However, it's becoming a tougher and tougher argument to make as he continues to hit so poorly in Triple-A.

[Bellhorn04]

Same here. I thought he should have been up with us all last season (when not hurt, obviously) as well, and his production couldn't have been much worse than what we ended up getting from Victorino et. al.

 

However, it's becoming a tougher and tougher argument to make as he continues to hit so poorly in Triple-A.

 

The Sox FO seems to be on a roll with their decisions. Swihart looked like a pretty legit outfielder last night.

[User Name]

Dombrowski bitches!

[Jack Flap]

The Sox FO seems to be on a roll with their decisions. Swihart looked like a pretty legit outfielder last night.

 

Yeah, he looks pretty natural out there (which is refreshing after the Hanley adventure last year). Nice to see his bat starting to pick up, too.

[Emp9]

Yeah, he looks pretty natural out there (which is refreshing after the Hanley adventure last year). Nice to see his bat starting to pick up, too.

 

Yeah, Swihart just upped his stock last night (if they wanted to go that route, they don't have to I suppose). Does anyone think that not being catcher he can concentrate more on his hitting skills? That chain-link fence swing on his 2-run 3B was amazing.

[Hugh2]

Espinoza pitched yesterday. 6 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 3 K's. Only 67 pitches through 6 innings so he was efficient with 10 ground outs to 3 fly outs.

 

Not only is this kid only 18, but he literally just turned 18 2 months ago. He's the youngest pitcher in A ball and 4 years younger than the average player. If he was a U.S. citizen he would be a senior in high school right now and he's pitching very well against competition thats on the same level as Division one college juniors and seniors.

 

The last time someone was hyped as much as him this early in their professional career was Bogaerts. Still, he's an 18 year old pitcher in low A so a lot can happen but the sky is the limit with this kid.

[mvp 78]

I thought high A was comparable to D1, not low A?

[sk7326]

I thought high A was comparable to D1, not low A?

 

You're right - although there are large gaps in D1 too. High-A compares favorably to the top college conferences for sure (SEC, Pac-12). It's why it would have been a bigger red flag for Benintendi to struggle at Salem, than it was a great sign that he mauled it.

 

That said, Espinoza doing what he is doing in a full season league as an 18 year old is great, the way it was for Devers. Devers is struggling in Salem, yes - but he is still younger than the first high schooler taken in the most recent draft.

[Hugh2]

You're right - although there are large gaps in D1 too. High-A compares favorably to the top college conferences for sure (SEC, Pac-12). It's why it would have been a bigger red flag for Benintendi to struggle at Salem, than it was a great sign that he mauled it.

 

That said, Espinoza doing what he is doing in a full season league as an 18 year old is great, the way it was for Devers. Devers is struggling in Salem, yes - but he is still younger than the first high schooler taken in the most recent draft.

 

That's more of what I'm getting at. Remember the average Low A player is a 22 year old who was drafted either out of highschool and has been in the system for a few years or they are a college draftee that has been in the system for 1-2 years, that's about on par with college ball. I think with someone like Benintendi who played in a big time conference the competition is more comparable to HIGH A ball. It's subjective.

[Hugh2]

I've read those comparisons too, and I've seen much contradictory comparisons as well. The problem is we are not truly comparing apples to apples here. A ball is usually a players first real taste of pro ball. Yes there are rookie levels and short season ball but must first round high school draftees spend their first (full) season in Low A and must college first rounders will go to high A their first full year. It's somewhat of a lateral move but at the same time half the guys or more they played with or against in college won't be there with them in high A. Thats why I think comparing high A to college ball makes more sense when we are talking about the best teams like Texas A&M, Florida, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. But even most D-1 schools are as good as those colleges.

 

Also we are talking about going from a few dozen games to over a 100 games in one season and switching from metal bats to wood bats in many cases too. I've heard that high A is comparable to college too, but I think it's a little trickier than that. I think the average high A team would destroy most D-1 schools, maybe not destroy but they should beat them...but I think most good D-1 schools should beat your average low A team if that makes sense.

[Kimmi]

Same here. I thought he should have been up with us all last season (when not hurt, obviously) as well, and his production couldn't have been much worse than what we ended up getting from Victorino et. al.

 

However, it's becoming a tougher and tougher argument to make as he continues to hit so poorly in Triple-A.

 

That's a fair point. Castillo is not helping his cause any.

 

I like Swihart in left field, I just don't like the idea of giving up on him as a catcher. Not saying the FO is doing that, but IMO, he needs to be getting everyday reps at catcher if he's going to develop at that position.

[Kimmi]

Dombrowski bitches!

 

Dombrowski gets a lot of credit for the roster moves that he has made. He's playing mostly with Theo's and Ben's pieces, but he is playing those pieces very well. The decision to put Hanley at 1B has worked out much better than I ever imagined.

[mvp 78]

@redsoxstats Benintendi 2-3 SB, OF assist today

 

Started AA: 2-19, 1 BB, 6 K

Since: 5-13, 2 BB, 3 K

[moonslav59]

My top Sox prospect list:

 

1) Moncada

2) Benintendi

3) Espinoza

4) Basabe (my sleeper pick last spring)

5) Devers

6) Kopech

7) Travis

8) T Ball

9) Hernandez

10) Dubon/Chavis

[Hugh2]

My top Sox prospect list:

 

1) Moncada

2) Benintendi

3) Espinoza

4) Basabe (my sleeper pick last spring)

5) Devers

6) Kopech

7) Travis

8) T Ball

9) Hernandez

10) Dubon/Chavis

 

Basabe over Devers? I haven't seen that yet. Why no love for Devers???