2024 Prospects

[Larry Cook]

Why are so many of our best middle infield bats, weak on defense?

[moonslav59]

Why are so many of our best middle infield bats, weak on defense?

 

The thing is, Meidroth is not one of them. He should be okay at 2B and can play 3B, and area where we lack depth.

 

Valdez has a ML bat as a strongside platoon. I have no doubts on that.

DHam is not a plus on D, but has looked okay, and he can play SS, if needed.

Yorke and Lugo are already playing LF, in hopes of finding a position they can play without us getting burned. The problem is, our OF is overloaded on the 26, 40 and farm, and LF is the least need area in the Sox system.

Campbell will likely end up in LF, but he may be able to improve at 2B.

Mayer looks fine on D and is a legit defender at SS.

Cespedes and Zanetello have a long time to improve, but neither are sure bets on middle IF defense. (Zanetello might.)

Paulino was just traded.

Romero can't stay healthy.

Arias is very far away.

[Larry Cook]

The thing is, Meidroth is not one of them. He should be okay at 2B and can play 3B, and area where we lack depth.

 

Valdez has a ML bat as a strongside platoon. I have no doubts on that.

DHam is not a plus on D, but has looked okay, and he can play SS, if needed.

Yorke and Lugo are already playing LF, in hopes of finding a position they can play without us getting burned. The problem is, our OF is overloaded on the 26, 40 and farm, and LF is the least need area in the Sox system.

Campbell will likely end up in LF, but he may be able to improve at 2B.

Mayer looks fine on D and is a legit defender at SS.

Cespedes and Zanetello have a long time to improve, but neither are sure bets on middle IF defense. (Zanetello might.)

Paulino was just traded.

Romero can't stay healthy.

Arias is very far away.

 

That is a lot of future left fielders

[moonslav59]

That is a lot of future left fielders

 

Indeed, and that alone should be the impetus for a trade or two.

 

I love Campbell, but if Anthony and Mayer are the real deal, where does he play? I doubt he can play ML 2B, and we have Story and DHam/Grissom.

 

Not LF, as we will have an OF of Duran, Rafaela, Anthony, Abreu/Ref in 2025 and the same without Ref in 2026, but with Lugo, Yorke and others capable of playing LF.

 

DH? Even if we ditch Yoshida, somehow, I'd be happy with a Ref-Valdez platoon at DH for 2025, or a Ref-Abreu platoon, if Anthony squeezes Abreu from the OF.

 

I do NOT want to trade KC, but we could afford to lose him from our positions of strength. If he could play 2B, well, it might be another story.

[moonslav59]

Does Keller get another look, after the gem he pitched, today with Woo?

6 IP 5H 0ER 1BB 3K

Gasper and Dalbec homered.

Meidroth had his second straight 4 hit game (4-5, all singles and no BBs)

Grissom 2-5

Yorke 1-5 w 2B

 

POR starts soon.

 

GRE lost 6-5 as Wehunt got shelled.

Romero is lifting some eyebrows: 4-5 w HR. (up to .784)

Castro 2-5 w 2B (.808)

 

SAL is losing 10-2

2-2 Anderson & Yuten

1-2 Zanetello (triple) & Alcantara

[Larry Cook]

Indeed, and that alone should be the impetus for a trade or two.

 

I love Campbell, but if Anthony and Mayer are the real deal, where does he play? I doubt he can play ML 2B, and we have Story and DHam/Grissom.

 

Not LF, as we will have an OF of Duran, Rafaela, Anthony, Abreu/Ref in 2025 and the same without Ref in 2026, but with Lugo, Yorke and others capable of playing LF.

 

DH? Even if we ditch Yoshida, somehow, I'd be happy with a Ref-Valdez platoon at DH for 2025, or a Ref-Abreu platoon, if Anthony squeezes Abreu from the OF.

 

I do NOT want to trade KC, but we could afford to lose him from our positions of strength. If he could play 2B, well, it might be another story.

 

I think cambell’s value peaks this off season. Can we package him and a few other prospects for a young Miami starter that has struggled this year???

[moonslav59]

I think cambell’s value peaks this off season. Can we package him and a few other prospects for a young Miami starter that has struggled this year???

 

I'm thinking bigger and more legit.

 

Package Campbell with Fitts and 2 from Yorke, Lugo, Valdez or Meidroth for a proven SP'er with 3+ years of control.

[Larry Cook]

I'm thinking bigger and more legit.

 

Package Campbell with Fitts and 2 from Yorke, Lugo, Valdez or Meidroth for a proven SP'er with 3+ years of control.

 

Does fitts have any real value???

[moonslav59]

Does fitts have any real value???

 

Why wouldn't he?

 

Of course, alone he won't bring back much, but I'm sure many teams would want him in a package. Sub Sandlin or E R-C, if you prefer.

[Larry Cook]

Why wouldn't he?

 

Of course, alone he won't bring back much, but I'm sure many teams would want him in a package. Sub Sandlin or E R-C, if you prefer.

 

I finally got to see Sandlin pitch and I was impressed with the raw stuff, but concerned about the command.

 

Fitts can be throwing 93-94 in one outing but only 90-91 in the next outing. Not sure why, but don’t those guys develop sore forearms after a few months of yo-yo velocity????

[moonslav59]

Of all the players in all levels of the minors in 2024 (572 players with 300+ PAs,) here are some of the top ranked OPS players:

 

Top 10%

1. Campbell 1.018

7. Kavadas .975

10. Gasper .956

11. Lugo .942

60. Mayer .853

 

Top 20%

80. Meidroth .842

92. Teel .833

110. Sogard .821

 

Top 30%

131. Alvarez .812

137. Castro .808

154. Anthony .801

 

Top 40%

197. Yorke .785

 

[moonslav59]

The Sox have signed their top draftees. They got Cason by paying him overslot and many others slightly under slot.

 

$5M Bradon Montgomery ($5.5 slot)

$2M Payton Tolle ($1.9M slot)

$700K Brandon Neely (879K slot)

$500K Z Ehrhard ($631)

$400K B Clarke ($478)

$300K B Aita ($351)

$250K W Turner ($275)

$1.25M Conrad Cason ($220K slot)

$185K Hudson White ($195)

_____ Devin Futrell ($183)

 

 

[mvp 78]

@alexspeier

The Red Sox signed their final 4 picks: LHP Devin Futrell (Vanderbilt 10th rounder), RHP Steven Brooks (11th round, Cal Poly), RHP Brady Tygart (12th round, Arkansas), and LHP Shea Sprague (UNC). For the first time in a draft of >5 rounds, the Sox have signed all their draftees.

[moonslav59]

@alexspeier

The Red Sox signed their final 4 picks: LHP Devin Futrell (Vanderbilt 10th rounder), RHP Steven Brooks (11th round, Cal Poly), RHP Brady Tygart (12th round, Arkansas), and LHP Shea Sprague (UNC). For the first time in a draft of >5 rounds, the Sox have signed all their draftees.

 

I was only mildly concerned about Cason, but we got him for $1.2M (about a $1M over slot.)

[mvp 78]

WOO has a new DH playing tonight. Some 6'4" yoga guy? IDK.

[moonslav59]

We lost some farm depth, but much of it seemed duplicated or destined for AAAA status. Portes and C Coffey still had some promise, but pretty far away.

 

Lugo and Yorke were coming on, this year, but both seem destined to be DH/LF'ers, something we have way too many of.

 

I had hoped for better returns, but we didn't really give up much.

 

We should see some serious promotions to fill some of these gaps. Priester might be our #1 ML ready SP'ers on the farm, now.

 

[moonslav59]

Anyone know why Mayer was pulled after 1 PA?

[Larry Cook]

We lost some farm depth, but much of it seemed duplicated or destined for AAAA status. Portes and C Coffey still had some promise, but pretty far away.

 

Lugo and Yorke were coming on, this year, but both seem destined to be DH/LF'ers, something we have way too many of.

 

I had hoped for better returns, but we didn't really give up much.

 

We should see some serious promotions to fill some of these gaps. Priester might be our #1 ML ready SP'ers on the farm, now.

 

 

Portes was a top 30 prospect and Yeferson might have developed into something

[moonslav59]

Portes was a top 30 prospect and Yeferson might have developed into something

 

Agreed.

 

12. Yorke (might have moved to 10-11)

13. Lugo (was up and down and likely topped out)

15. Paulino (was likely to drop to near 20)

28. Coffey (started making some noise)

29. Portes (just 19 y/o)

37. Zeferjahn (not sure he had much hope)

54. Y Vargas

 

DFA #50 Walter

 

[Larry Cook]

Mayer left after striking out today. Hope he did not aggravate whatever kept him out of the lineup earlier last week

[moonslav59]

Gasper, the friendly 1Bman/Catcher is now at 1.105 with WOO.

 

Rogers went 5 with GRE.

5IP 4H 1ER 2BB 6K

Jh. Garcia homered and is at .953. (Will he make the top 15?)

 

[mvp 78]

We lost some farm depth, but much of it seemed duplicated or destined for AAAA status. Portes and C Coffey still had some promise, but pretty far away.

 

Lugo and Yorke were coming on, this year, but both seem destined to be DH/LF'ers, something we have way too many of.

 

I had hoped for better returns, but we didn't really give up much.

 

We should see some serious promotions to fill some of these gaps. Priester might be our #1 ML ready SP'ers on the farm, now.

 

 

Coffey was far away and his numbers were really propped up by one hot stretch.

 

Lugo was LF only and his bat wasn't all that great at AAA.

 

Kavadas is a LHB at 1B behind Casas who struggles with velo and bad defense. No ceiling there.

 

Portes is just far away and might be a relief arm.

 

Yorke was a LF/2B who could hit a little at AAA, but struggled mightily at AA. I have no idea what to think about him. His limits defensively affected his outlook here. If he was able to unlock more power or was a more consistent hitter, I don't think he would have gone to another org.

 

Zef struggled to throw strikes and was Rule 5 eligible. The only time he's ever seen MiLB success was AA this season.

 

Paulino was an ok prospect, but just had no real fit here. If he was here in the DD era, he would have found a way to get some MLB reps due to the lack of options. No real playing time for him.

 

Overall, Portes and Yorke could amount to something eventually, but I think Breslow owed it to the team to add to the bullpen after two deadlines of sitting around.

[Old Red]

Anyone know why Mayer was pulled after 1 PA?

 

His back was acting up.

[Old Red]

The big false alarm of Anthony being scratched from the lineup was, because the manager forgot that Anthony had an eye appointment, and had made the lineup out the previous day.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Coffey was far away and his numbers were really propped up by one hot stretch.

 

Lugo was LF only and his bat wasn't all that great at AAA.

 

Kavadas is a LHB at 1B behind Casas who struggles with velo and bad defense. No ceiling there.

 

Portes is just far away and might be a relief arm.

 

Yorke was a LF/2B who could hit a little at AAA, but struggled mightily at AA. I have no idea what to think about him. His limits defensively affected his outlook here. If he was able to unlock more power or was a more consistent hitter, I don't think he would have gone to another org.

 

Zef struggled to throw strikes and was Rule 5 eligible. The only time he's ever seen MiLB success was AA this season.

 

Paulino was an ok prospect, but just had no real fit here. If he was here in the DD era, he would have found a way to get some MLB reps due to the lack of options. No real playing time for him.

 

Overall, Portes and Yorke could amount to something eventually, but I think Breslow owed it to the team to add to the bullpen after two deadlines of sitting around.

 

Good summary, and most of these guys weren't going to make it to the 40-man soon, if ever, so were destined to meander into other organizations without any return.

 

So, good job by Brez for salvaging something out of them. Better job by Brez not trading Anthony, Bleis and Campbell for Tanner Scott, a relief pitcher -- aka a guy who could blow out his elbow at any time, like opening a jar of salsa.

 

San Diego actually gave up their #2, 4, 5 and 24 prospects for Scott and another bullpen arm -- does anyone here envision ever a time when it would be ok for a Red Sox CBO to repeat such a stunt?

[moonslav59]

Coffey was far away and his numbers were really propped up by one hot stretch.

 

Lugo was LF only and his bat wasn't all that great at AAA.

 

Kavadas is a LHB at 1B behind Casas who struggles with velo and bad defense. No ceiling there.

 

Portes is just far away and might be a relief arm.

 

Yorke was a LF/2B who could hit a little at AAA, but struggled mightily at AA. I have no idea what to think about him. His limits defensively affected his outlook here. If he was able to unlock more power or was a more consistent hitter, I don't think he would have gone to another org.

 

Zef struggled to throw strikes and was Rule 5 eligible. The only time he's ever seen MiLB success was AA this season.

 

Paulino was an ok prospect, but just had no real fit here. If he was here in the DD era, he would have found a way to get some MLB reps due to the lack of options. No real playing time for him.

 

Overall, Portes and Yorke could amount to something eventually, but I think Breslow owed it to the team to add to the bullpen after two deadlines of sitting around.

 

Agreed. We really did not give up too much, and we had some duplicated values in LF, anyway.

 

To me, Portes might be the biggest give-away, but like you said, he was so far away, a lot can happen between now and when he's possibly ML ready.

 

The deals were not bad, but we needed more.

[mvp 78]

Moving Kavadas, Yorke and Lugo also makes more playing time available in AAA for when the promotions of Teel, Mayer and Anthony happen in the near future.

 

At some point, there's just not enough room to keep everyone and keep them playing at the right levels.

[moonslav59]

Moving Kavadas, Yorke and Lugo also makes more playing time available in AAA for when the promotions of Teel, Mayer and Anthony happen in the near future.

 

At some point, there's just not enough room to keep everyone and keep them playing at the right levels.

 

Agreed.

 

Kavadas looks like a career AAAA player: great for some town's AAA team.

 

Lugo is likely to be the same, but could be a late bloomer and make it somewhere as a LF/DH type (emergency 2B.)

 

Yorke has the best chance to stick in the bigs, and may get a look, this year.

 

Portes is far away but has raised some eyebrows.

[mvp 78]

Agreed.

 

Kavadas looks like a career AAAA player: great for some town's AAA team.

 

Lugo is likely to be the same, but could be a late bloomer and make it somewhere as a LF/DH type (emergency 2B.)

 

Yorke has the best chance to stick in the bigs, and may get a look, this year.

 

Portes is far away but has raised some eyebrows.

 

The only negative thing I heard about Portes (after the fact!!!) was that his pitch shape was what would lead him to a role in the pen. IDK

 

I think Lugo and Kavadas should make the show at some point, but don't think they'll have a consistent spot there. Yorke is the guy that should get the call and stay there. I don't know if he'll be overly productive, but he should have value to 2nd or 3rd division teams.

[moonslav59]

With so many roster moves made, the chance of a major roster crunch, this winter looks slim. If we end up adding non Rule 5 players like Mayer, Anthony and Teel, it won't be over the winter.

 

Here is a quick look at the 2025 roster outlook:

 

40 Man controlled through 2025:

Devers

Dalbec (non tender/trade?)

Houck

Mata (non tender/trade?)

Wong

Whitlock

Duran

Crawford

Winckowski

Bello

Story

Refsnyder

Kelly

Casas

E Valdez (trade?

Rafaela

Murphy

D Ham

Abreu

Yoshida

Bernardino

Wikelman (trade?)

Perales (might go to 60 Day on opening day)

I Campbell

Weissert

Slaten

Criswell

Grissom

Giolito

Romy G

Heineman (non tender/trade?)

Hendriks

Booser

Horn (non tender/trade?)

Westbrook

Y Ramirez (non tender/trade?)

Priester

 

That's 37 players with at least 5 players that could easily be DFA'd or traded. One could make the list 6-8 without losing anyone that special. I think Valdez gets traded, and maybe Abreu, due to the LHB unbalanced nature of our roster, us losing O'Neill and all of the top 3 prospects being LHBs. They will not be handed away, by any means, but maybe we can package them for an upgrade in pitching of for a RHB (SS, 2B, RF, 1B.)

 

The Rule 5 list was thinned out, a little, although guys like Paulino and kavadas were not likely to be protected, anyway. Here is the full list with key players in bold, and those I think we protect in RED.

 

Angel Bastardo (Borderline?)

Alex Binelas

Brainer Bonaci

Bryce Bonnin

Taylor Broadway

Zach Bryant

Allan Castro (Borderline)

Brendan Cellucci

Juan Chacon

Nathanael Cruz

Theo Denlinger

Kelvin Diaz

Hunter Dobbins

Juan Daniel Encarnacion

Albert Feliz

Max Ferguson

Richard Fitts

Michael Fulmer

Grant Gambrell

Jhostynxon Garcia

Bryan Gonzalez

Luis Guerrero

Francis Hernandez

Nathan Hickey

Gabriel Jackson

Blaze Jordan (Borderline?)

Robert Kwiatkowski

CJ Liu

Eduardo Lopez

Elih Marrero

Tyler McDonough

Tyler Miller

Wyatt Mills

Yordanny Monegro (Borderline)

Juan Montero

Wyatt Olds

Ronald Rosario

Corey Rosier

Reidis Sena

Chase Shugart

Phillip Sikes

Karson Simas

Adam Smith

Nick Sogard

Noah Song

Luis Talavera

Christopher Troye

Tyler Uberstine

Miguel Ugueto

Brian Van Belle

Diego Viloria

Jacob Webb

Jeremy Wu-Yelland

 

I see 4-5 pretty sure bets to be protected and 3-4 "borderline" prospects. With 3 open roster slots and 5-7 players we could DFA or trade away, easily, I don't see a crunch, until we start signing FAs or adding non-Rule 5 guys like Mayer, Anthony, Teel, Campbell or Meidroth.

Edited July 31, 2024 by moonslav59