2022 Prospects

[mvp 78]

Rafaela wins Player of the Year

[moonslav59]

Rafaela wins Player of the Year

 

He deserved it.

 

It's all about his hit tool, now.

[mvp 78]

He deserved it.

 

It's all about his hit tool, now.

 

If he could hit .250 with an 8% bb rate, he's a major leaguer.

[moonslav59]

If he could hit .250 with an 8% bb rate, he's a major leaguer.

 

With his D, he cold probably hit worse than that and bea FT'er on some ML team, but I agree. We'd need that to happen to hand him a FT job.

 

I think he can hit .260-.275, but I'm not sure he can reach an 8% BB rate.

[mvp 78]

Bello is Pitcher of the Year

[mvp 78]

With his D, he cold probably hit worse than that and bea FT'er on some ML team, but I agree. We'd need that to happen to hand him a FT job.

 

I think he can hit .260-.275, but I'm not sure he can reach an 8% BB rate.

 

Dream big.

[mvp 78]

https://twitter.com/BigSoxGuy/status/1583525275240841216

 

I guess Rafaela's defense is ok.

[notin]

If he could hit .250 with an 8% bb rate, he's a major leaguer.

 

Specifically he would be Darren Lewis…

[moonslav59]

Specifically he would be Darren Lewis…

 

I get a sneaky feeling Rafaela will hit better than DL.

[notin]

I get a sneaky feeling Rafaela will hit better than DL.

 

And we all thought Lars Anderson would hit better than Danny Heep, but sometimes reality doesn’t oblige.

 

I’m not saying Rafaela is Darren Lewis 2.0 (which wouldn’t be a bad thing as DL had a good career); I’m saying by if he plays good defense, hits .250, and walks 8% of the time, that’s exactly what Lewis did.

 

For years…

[moonslav59]

And we all thought Lars Anderson would hit better than Danny Heep, but sometimes reality doesn’t oblige.

 

I’m not saying Rafaela is Darren Lewis 2.0 (which wouldn’t be a bad thing as DL had a good career); I’m saying by if he plays good defense, hits .250, and walks 8% of the time, that’s exactly what Lewis did.

 

For years…

 

Yes, I understood your point and would not minds having the next Darren Lewis on our club for 6 prime years. I'm just saying I expect better-fully aware of the chances of being disappointed.

 

[mvp 78]

Specifically he would be Darren Lewis…

 

DLew had a career k rate of 11%. I think Rafaela will show more power, but will have a much higher k rate to go with it.

[moonslav59]

DLew had a career k rate of 11%. I think Rafaela will show more power, but will have a much higher k rate to go with it.

 

Agreed. I think he'll have a higher BA, too.

[mvp 78]

Agreed. I think he'll have a higher BA, too.

 

I hope so, but we'll have to see as he advances. Some scouts have expressed doubts about his approach. We'll see.

[moonslav59]

I hope so, but we'll have to see as he advances. Some scouts have expressed doubts about his approach. We'll see.

 

He seems to be able to hit almost anything, even if out of the K zone. He does need to refine his approach, but he has some encouraging hitting skills.

[moonslav59]

SP:

 

Scottsdale scored a bunch of runs this past week, and Sox prospects were a big part of it. Nick Yorke led the way by going 7 for 17 this past week, roping three doubles with three RBI. He also drew a couple walks and scored three times. In 66 plate appearances this fall, Yorke is batting .340 with a .911 OPS.

[mvp 78]

He seems to be able to hit almost anything, even if out of the K zone. He does need to refine his approach, but he has some encouraging hitting skills.

 

I think the "hit almost anything" starts to become obsolete as he faces advances pitching.

[mvp 78]

SP:

 

Scottsdale scored a bunch of runs this past week, and Sox prospects were a big part of it. Nick Yorke led the way by going 7 for 17 this past week, roping three doubles with three RBI. He also drew a couple walks and scored three times. In 66 plate appearances this fall, Yorke is batting .340 with a .911 OPS.

 

The AFL is a hitters league, but Yorke needs a feather in his cap after his disastrous 2022.

[moonslav59]

I think the "hit almost anything" starts to become obsolete as he faces advances pitching.

 

Many times, yes, but some play4ers just have a knack for hitting out of the K zone pitches.

 

It's rare, so chances are, he needs to adjust in a major way.

[mvp 78]

Many times, yes, but some play4ers just have a knack for hitting out of the K zone pitches.

 

It's rare, so chances are, he needs to adjust in a major way.

 

Yes, the chances are that he needs some major pitch recognition adjustments prior to getting to BOS.

[moonslav59]

Yes, the chances are that he needs some major pitch recognition adjustments prior to getting to BOS.

 

I'm hopeful for a 2024 ETA.

[mvp 78]

I'm hopeful for a 2024 ETA.

 

When you start the year in AA, you are close enough to BOS that a slight shift in your game can get you the call. We'll see though.

[moonslav59]

When you start the year in AA, you are close enough to BOS that a slight shift in your game can get you the call. We'll see though.

 

True, but I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm.

 

[moonslav59]

More from SP:

 

Stephen Scott had yet another big week at the dish as well. The catcher made three starts and went 4 for 11 with a couple home runs, a walk, and four RBI. In nine games this fall, he is batting .400 with a 1.232 OPS. Among qualified hitters, he is leading the AFL in slugging percentage at .800.

 

Wilyer Abreu turned in a strong week, going 4 for 14 with a double, three RBI, and a stolen base.

 

Niko Kavadas added three hits in nine at-bats, including a double. The first baseman also walked for the 10th time this fall, raising his OBP to .546, which would be second in the league, but he doesn't quite qualify for league leaders.

 

On the mound, Jacob Webb had a really nice week, tossing three innings without allowing a run. He gave up just three hits with one walk and three strikeouts. He also saved a game, his second save of the fall.

 

Ryan Zeferjahn also had a decent outing, as he did not allow a hit over two innings. He did give up three runs, but just one of them was earned. He struck out three and walked a pair.

 

Aaron Perry struggled mightily in his first appearance of last week, allowing six runs on seven hits while getting just one out. His next appearance went much better, tossing a shutout frame with two strikeouts.

 

Triston Casas is having some issues with a knee injury, as he headed back to Boston to get it checked out after just three plate appearances this past week. He went 0 for 1 with a pair of walks.

 

Victor Santos tossed a couple innings and allowed just one unearned run. The right-hander struck out three, giving him six punchouts so far this fall in four innings. Chase Shugart made his fall debut and struggled a bit, surrendering two earned runs in 1 1/3 frames. He had one strikeout and one walk.

 

Enmanuel Valdez also made his fall debut and had a great week. He went 5 for 16 (.313) with a double, an RBI, and a couple runs scored.

[Larry Cook]

Yorke with a grand tater in arizona!

[moonslav59]

This winter's Rule 5 eligible players:

 

Enmanuel Valdez (Minor League FA- if signed to a minor league deal, he'd be Rule 5.)

 

Wilyer Abreu

Dan Altavilla

Angel Bastardo

Brock Bell

Royman Blanco

Brainer Bonaci

Zach Bryant

Cameron Cannon

Brendan Cellucci

Felix Cepeda

Kole Cottam

Wil Dalton

Joe Davis

Osvaldo De La Rosa

Luis De La Rosa

Tyler Dearden

Nick Decker

Jonathan Diaz

Alex Erro

Tyler Esplin

Albert Feliz

Durbin Feltman

Ryan Fernandez

Ryan Fitzgerald

Feleipe Franks

Grant Gambrell

Rio Gomez

Wikelman Gonzalez

Bryan Gonzalez

Devlin Granberg

David Hamilton

Gabriel Jackson

Axel James

Gilberto Jimenez

Christian Koss

Austin Lambright

Dominic LoBrutto

Eduardo Lopez

Bryan Lucas

Naysbel Marcano

Elih Marrero

Chris Murphy

Brendan Nail

Andres Ortuno

Yusniel Padron-Artiles

Eddinson Paulino

Aaron Perry

AJ Politi

Ceddanne Rafaela

Jose Ramirez

Oscar Rangel

Tyreque Reed

Carlos Reyes

Jorge Rodriguez

Giancarlos Santana

Victor Santos

Stephen Scott

Cody Scroggins

Chase Shugart

Nick Sogard

Noah Song

Dylan Spacke

Luis Talavera

Jake Thompson

Freddy Valdez

Michael Valera

Eduardo Vaughan

Jacob Wallace

Brandon Walter

Thaddeus Ward

Alex Zapete

Ryan Zeferjahn

[mvp 78]

They probably only protect 5 or 6 guys at most.

 

My guess:

Valdez

Paulino

Rafaela

Walter

Ward

Wikelman (maybe)

[moonslav59]

They probably only protect 5 or 6 guys at most.

 

My guess:

Valdez

Paulino

Rafaela

Walter

Ward

Wikelman (maybe)

 

Looks right.

 

I'd protect Wikelman for 2 reasons.

 

1. We have plenty of room on the 40 man roster, even if we add 5-6 FAs.

2. He will be added to the 40, at some point, so we should not risk someone taking him.

 

I thought the 26th man of the roster might mean more Rule 5 picks, but that didn't really happen, last year.

[mvp 78]

Looks right.

 

I'd protect Wikelman for 2 reasons.

 

1. We have plenty of room on the 40 man roster, even if we add 5-6 FAs.

2. He will be added to the 40, at some point, so we should not risk someone taking him.

 

I thought the 26th man of the roster might mean more Rule 5 picks, but that didn't really happen, last year.

 

I only didn't make it 7-8 guys because Bloom has left a few surprises off the 40 man prior to the draft. Every year we talk about adding a ton of guys and then some guy we thought would be protected is left off the 40 man but then isn't drafted.

[moonslav59]

I only didn't make it 7-8 guys because Bloom has left a few surprises off the 40 man prior to the draft. Every year we talk about adding a ton of guys and then some guy we thought would be protected is left off the 40 man but then isn't drafted.

 

The ones i put in red were just players I thought were close for consideration.

 

I do not think Bonaci, Polito or Santos are protected.

 

Abreu is maybe the closest one not on your list, IMO.