2022 Prospects

[moonslav59]

Cordero with a second tater tonight, now has 6.

 

Cementing his place in AAAA.

[moonslav59]

2023 might be a big season for Sox prospects or a spectacular fizzle out. Plenty of Sox prospects will, should or could get a chance to shine in the bigs next year. Here are the most likely to see time:

 

Casas 1B/DH

Bello SP/RP

Crawford SP/RP (graduated?)

Wong C2

Mata SP/RP

Winckowski RP/SP

E Valdez 2B/DH

German Set-up RP/Closer

Duran OF (graduated)

Downs Utility/SS-2B2

Murphy RP/SP

Walter RP/SP

R Hern C2/C3

Seabold RP/SP (graduated?)

 

Here is one for you: which of these guys has the best chance to not only see time in the bigs in 2023, but to make a difference:

 

Rafaela CF/2B

Ward SP/RP

Kavadas 1B/DH

Lugo SS

Binelas 3B

Grandberg LF

Feltman RP

Thompson RP

Wallace RP

Drohan SP/RP

[Larry Cook]

2023 might be a big season for Sox prospects or a spectacular fizzle out. Plenty of Sox prospects will, should or could get a chance to shine in the bigs next year. Here are the most likely to see time:

 

Casas 1B/DH

Bello SP/RP

Crawford SP/RP (graduated?)

Wong C2

Mata SP/RP

Winckowski RP/SP

E Valdez 2B/DH

German Set-up RP/Closer

Duran OF (graduated)

Downs Utility/SS-2B2

Murphy RP/SP

Walter RP/SP

R Hern C2/C3

Seabold RP/SP (graduated?)

 

Here is one for you: which of these guys has the best chance to not only see time in the bigs in 2023, but to make a difference:

 

Rafaela CF/2B

Ward SP/RP

Kavadas 1B/DH

Lugo SS

Binelas 3B

Grandberg LF

Feltman RP

Thompson RP

Wallace RP

Drohan SP/RP

 

I like Kavadas and granberg’s swing and their contact rate is high.

 

I think they could be surprise contributors next season especially if we are decimated by injuries again.

[Larry Cook]

At Worcester, wong with his 10th tater of the season.

 

Cordero with his 7th tater of the season.

 

Cassas with two walks on the night this far.

[Larry Cook]

At Portland Kavadas is two for three this far tonight, but sadly no walks.

[Hugh2]

2023 might be a big season for Sox prospects or a spectacular fizzle out. Plenty of Sox prospects will, should or could get a chance to shine in the bigs next year. Here are the most likely to see time:

 

Casas 1B/DH

Bello SP/RP

Crawford SP/RP (graduated?)

Wong C2

Mata SP/RP

Winckowski RP/SP

E Valdez 2B/DH

German Set-up RP/Closer

Duran OF (graduated)

Downs Utility/SS-2B2

Murphy RP/SP

Walter RP/SP

R Hern C2/C3

Seabold RP/SP (graduated?)

 

Here is one for you: which of these guys has the best chance to not only see time in the bigs in 2023, but to make a difference:

 

Rafaela CF/2B

Ward SP/RP

Kavadas 1B/DH

Lugo SS

Binelas 3B

Grandberg LF

Feltman RP

Thompson RP

Wallace RP

Drohan SP/RP

 

I’ll go with Ward, I don’t expect to see Kavadas until 2024….but if hits his way up and enough guys get injured you never know.

[moonslav59]

Bello looked good in AAA.

4.1 IP, 4H, 1ER, 2BB and 5K

[Larry Cook]

At Worcester, alamonte with another tater.

[Larry Cook]

Cassas up to 3 walks today.

[Larry Cook]

At Portland, Kavadas is now 3 for 4 and he has his first Portland walk of the season. His 87th walk of the season across 3 levels. Wow!

[Larry Cook]

Lugo with his 14th tater of the season.

[moonslav59]

Lugo with his 14th tater of the season.

 

...and then his 15th!

 

Lugo has been finally showing some signs of life.

 

Is it too late?

Edited August 20, 2022 by moonslav59

[moonslav59]

At Portland, Kavadas is now 3 for 4 and he has his first Portland walk of the season. His 87th walk of the season across 3 levels. Wow!

 

My fellow Domer!

[Hugh2]

My only concern about Kavadas is he doesn’t really have a defensive home, his defense is below average anywhere, reportedly.

 

I have a hard time believing a non obese young man can’t learn to play at least an average 1B or LF but I know very little of such things.

 

If you can hit, you can find your way on an MLB team, so Kavadas might have a fine MLB career in front of him, but not having a defensive home puts a ton of pressure on his bat. He HAS to hit.

[moonslav59]

My only concern about Kavadas is he doesn’t really have a defensive home, his defense is below average anywhere, reportedly.

 

I have a hard time believing a non obese young man can’t learn to play at least an average 1B or LF but I know very little of such things.

 

If you can hit, you can find your way on an MLB team, so Kavadas might have a fine MLB career in front of him, but not having a defensive home puts a ton of pressure on his bat. He HAS to hit.

 

Agreed, but we did carry a pretty much DH only player for 4 years, and there is now an opening at DH. I'm not saying Kavadas is ML ready, now, but it's easy to find a 1 year DH placeholder.

[notin]

...and then his 15th!

 

Lugo has been finally showing some signs of life.

 

Is it too late?

 

 

Too late? He’s 21…

[moonslav59]

My only concern about Kavadas is he doesn’t really have a defensive home, his defense is below average anywhere, reportedly.

 

I have a hard time believing a non obese young man can’t learn to play at least an average 1B or LF but I know very little of such things.

 

If you can hit, you can find your way on an MLB team, so Kavadas might have a fine MLB career in front of him, but not having a defensive home puts a ton of pressure on his bat. He HAS to hit.

 

Too late? He’s 21…

 

He's Rule 5 and not likely to be protected. True, A+ players are not usually protected, but the fact that he won't be protected does not bode well of his future, to some extent, right?

 

Is it too late to be part of the Sox future?

[moonslav59]

Sox OPS Leaders (200+ ABs)

1.060 Kavadas (what do expect from a Domer?)

.893 Rafaela (making a strong case for top 100 status)

.888 Sikes (not much talk on him)

.858 Casas (will we see him in September?)

.833 Jordan (perhaps his drop on soxprospects.com was premature)

.821 Mayer (not bad for first year, but...)

.821 Stewart (hardly talked about)

.809 Lugo (on the rise)

.797 Paulino (Will he be Rule 5 protected?)

.792 Granberg (Impressive for having only 9 XBHs)

.790 Sanchez (AAAA stamp of approval)

.783 Northcut (44 XBHs & 35 singles/ 23 BBs & 135 Ks)

.776 Bonaci (80 BB/ 78 Ks)

.773 Wong (next year's backup?

.745 RHern

 

Notables:

.761 Koss

.755 Binelas (despite the .203 BA)

.728 Downs

 

Less than 200 AB Notables

1.021 AAA Almonte (acquired for cash)

1.057 Meidroth (draftee off to a fast start & promoted to Salem)

.896 Bleis FCL

.893 E Valdez (Vaz trade 2B/DH type)

 

OPS Against (40+ IP)

.479 Frank German

.559 Bello

.559 Z Kelly

.562 Winckowski

.585 Walter

.587 Mata

.612 Murphy

.632 Keller

.637 Politi

.641 Wikelman

.648 Seabold

.658 Uberstine

.679 Drohan

 

[Larry Cook]

2022 9th round draft pick Brannon went 2 for 3 today. Now hitting .600 on the season.

[Larry Cook]

At Portland, Wilson with his 8th tater of the season.

[Larry Cook]

At Greenville, lugo with his 15th tater of the season.

McDonough with his 9th tater of the season.

[Larry Cook]

At Portland, Rafeala with his 10th Portland tater of the season.

[Larry Cook]

At Greenville, lugo with his 2nd tater of the night.

[Larry Cook]

At Portland, Kavadas got hit by a pitch. That is the 14th hit by a pitch this season for him, I think.

Seems like he is approaching don Baylor territory!

[Larry Cook]

At Portland, Kavadas with……. Wait for it…….. it’s worth the wait….. another walk tonight! His 88th walk of the season! Insane!

[moonslav59]

Lugo with back-to-back 2 HR games!

 

Tonight, he went 4 for 5. 2 HRs and a 2B and brought his OPS up to .837.

 

McDonough got over .700 with a 4 for 5 night and the cycle!

 

Jordan, Sikes, Jimenez and Garcia all had 2 hits. Sikes with a BB and a current OPS of .869.

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Observations from Worcester last night:

 

Casas is a hitter. He doesn't swing out of his shoes, but has a controlled line drive approach. He pulled a line single, then lined another over the shortstop off Cade Cavalli, a Washington starter also on the doorstep of the Show.

 

Wong looks about ready to make a big league roster as a back-up. He drilled a long gapper off the fence and made two great throws to pick off baserunners.

 

Valdez pulls his head and tries to go yard on every swing; he never cut down his swing behind in the count and Ked three times. He did pull one foul that completely left the ballpark and looked destined for an apartment building across the street. On D at second base, though, he looked way better than initial reports: totally competent, accurate arm, turned a quick DP.

 

Fitzgerald is a fan favorite and a good guy. He signed one ball through the net for my son, and then after an inning, tossed the ball from the last out to him. The initial throw didn't make it over the high net, but Fitzy took the time to grab the rebound and again target my son standing in the aisle.

 

Franchy is Franchy, still carrying himself like a major leaguer, still hesitant in the outfield and taking half swings on pitches that fool him. So they call him up again...

[moonslav59]

My only concern about Kavadas is he doesn’t really have a defensive home, his defense is below average anywhere, reportedly.

 

I have a hard time believing a non obese young man can’t learn to play at least an average 1B or LF but I know very little of such things.

 

If you can hit, you can find your way on an MLB team, so Kavadas might have a fine MLB career in front of him, but not having a defensive home puts a ton of pressure on his bat. He HAS to hit.

 

Observations from Worcester last night:

 

Casas is a hitter. He doesn't swing out of his shoes, but has a controlled line drive approach. He pulled a line single, then lined another over the shortstop off Cade Cavalli, a Washington starter also on the doorstep of the Show.

 

Wong looks about ready to make a big league roster as a back-up. He drilled a long gapper off the fence and made two great throws to pick off baserunners.

 

Valdez pulls his head and tries to go yard on every swing; he never cut down his swing behind in the count and Ked three times. He did pull one foul that completely left the ballpark and looked destined for an apartment building across the street. On D at second base, though, he looked way better than initial reports: totally competent, accurate arm, turned a quick DP.

 

Fitzgerald is a fan favorite and a good guy. He signed one ball through the net for my son, and then after an inning, tossed the ball from the last out to him. The initial throw didn't make it over the high net, but Fitzy took the time to grab the rebound and again target my son standing in the aisle.

 

Franchy is Franchy, still carrying himself like a major leaguer, still hesitant in the outfield and taking half swings on pitches that fool him. So they call him up again...

 

Thanks for this report. It would be great if Valdez can field well at 2B.

 

I do wonder if Wong can be a starter in the bigs- not in 2023, but someday.

 

I've really got my hopes up for 2023, assuming Henry allows Bloom to spend to or over the limit, but part of me worries about their eye being on 2024 and beyond. I know this would piss off a lot of fans, and I would not be happy either, but a few times in recent weeks, I've posted which positions Bloom will most likely leave to "in-system players," and it got me thinking. Is it possible he leaves basically all of them to "the system," and just adds more one year players to get us just the point of watchability and slight 2023 playoff hopes.

 

I want to stress that I am NOT for this idea in any way. I think we can build for 2024 and beyond by starting with some major additions in 2023, who have team control for 3 or more years, however, the fact that we did not get under the tax line at the deadline, means we will be year 2 in taxes in 2023 and the dreaded year 3 in 2024, when many of our top prospects will be entering MLB (Mayer, Rafaela and others) or starting to mature and enter pre-prime years (Casas, Bello, Mata, German and others.) Of course, this talk could easily end, if we re-set in 2023. As I figure, we can spend $80-85M, this winter (more, if we find ways to dump salary,) and that should be enough to build a solid 2023 team without hampering the longer term goals, but by actually adding to the positive ouitlook, assuming the guys we add don't fizzle into deadwood right away.

 

Here is the breakdown, again, of positions in need of upgrading and who might get long looks, if we don't add anyone here:

Note the players who may be here in 2024 and consider that we might not want to add a longer term deal in these slots)

Not in order of highest need...

C: McGuire, Wong, RHern (Cottam/Hickey too far away for '23)

1B: Casas, Hosmer, Dalbec (Kavadas '24? Jordan late '24?)

2B: (Story?) Arroyo, EValdez, Downs, Koss (Rafaela/Yorke '24?)

SS: (Story?) Downs, Koss (Lugo '24? & Mayer late '24?)

CF: Ja. Davis/Duran (Rafaela '24?)

RF: Verdugo/Refsnyder/WAbreu (Jimenez '24)

DH: Casas/Hosmer/Dalbec/Cordero/EValdez/Granberg/Northcut (Kavadas '24?)

4/5 SP: Bello, Mata, Crawford, Winckowski, Seabold, Murphy, Walter, Ward, Santos

(Drohan, Wikelman & Uberstine late '24?)

RP 6/7/8: German (convert SP from above) DHern, Ort, Feltman, Wallace

 

I could see an idea brewing to let us see what some of these kids have, before committing long term to more than 1 or 2 players.

 

I'm hoping we add 4 or more key players that can't be had on 1 year deals.

 

 

[Bellhorn04]

Observations from Worcester last night:

 

Casas is a hitter. He doesn't swing out of his shoes, but has a controlled line drive approach. He pulled a line single, then lined another over the shortstop off Cade Cavalli, a Washington starter also on the doorstep of the Show.

 

Wong looks about ready to make a big league roster as a back-up. He drilled a long gapper off the fence and made two great throws to pick off baserunners.

 

Valdez pulls his head and tries to go yard on every swing; he never cut down his swing behind in the count and Ked three times. He did pull one foul that completely left the ballpark and looked destined for an apartment building across the street. On D at second base, though, he looked way better than initial reports: totally competent, accurate arm, turned a quick DP.

 

Fitzgerald is a fan favorite and a good guy. He signed one ball through the net for my son, and then after an inning, tossed the ball from the last out to him. The initial throw didn't make it over the high net, but Fitzy took the time to grab the rebound and again target my son standing in the aisle.

 

Franchy is Franchy, still carrying himself like a major leaguer, still hesitant in the outfield and taking half swings on pitches that fool him. So they call him up again...

 

Nice report, thanks.

[Larry Cook]

At Worcester, r hernandez with his 12th tater of the season!