moonslav59

A look at the middle infielders on the farm with some quotes from soxprospects,com... #2 Franklin Arias: should be a good defensive SS. Potential everyday regular at shortstop. Ceiling of a quality regular who provides value with his glove and contact ability. Hit tool is a standout tool, but lack of power and speed limits upside. Defensive profile provides him a solid floor. High baseball IQ; actively seeks to learn more and improve. Needs to get stronger and continue to physically mature to reach his potential. #8 Dorian Soto: has strong arm and could end up at 3B. He has raw power that is "advanced for his age." Very intriguing prospect with a high-upside offensive profile. Ideal frame with solid athleticism and plenty of remaining projection. Strong makeup and work ethic and is reportedly already getting better. Long-term defensive home remains to be seen, but should be able to stick in the infield and provide plenty of value at the plate. #11 Henry Godbout: probably just an average defender at 2B. Not much power, but some when he "pulls" the ball. Right-handed hitter with a contact-over-hit profile. Elite contact skills. Fits the mold of college bats the Red Sox have targeted and elevated in recent drafts. Strong candidate for their bat speed program and has a frame of someone who should hit for more power than he showed at Virginia. If he can add bat speed and hit the ball harder more consistently without sacrificing much contact, could develop into an intriguing middle infield prospect. #12 Mikey Romero: first round pick in 2022. Fringe defender at 2B. Potential bat-first utility player. Ceiling of a second division regular at second base. Showed more power than expected while sacrificing contact in 2024, but came to camp in 2025 showing much more contact ability without sacrificing any power. Needs to continue to show that tightened-up approach and that he can make consistent contact to reach his potential as his chase rate remains high. Has moved down the defensive spectrum in the high-minors already and is not a guarantee to stick in the infield. Pressure on bat increases as he moves down the defensive spectrum. Hard worker who has struggled to stay on the field consistently throughout his career. #17 Yoeilin Cespedes: might end up in LF or at DH. Potential bat-first utility player, but is a high-variance prospect with considerable risk. Ceiling of an everyday regular. Will show intriguing offensive tools and upside at the plate, but needs to improve pitch recognition and approach to reach his offensive potential and his defensive profile lags behind. Very unlikely to stick at shortstop long-term, putting more pressure on his bat as he moves down the defensive spectrum. Not a lock to stick in the infield. Was one of the most advanced hitters in the DSL in 2023, with scouts expressing confidence in his long-term offensive upside, and carried that performance over to the FCL in 2024 prior to his injury. #22 Hector Ramos Solid athlete. Switch-hitter who has shown feel for hit from both sides of the plate already. Solid contact skills with average power potential, mostly to the pull side. Average speed. Defensively, has above-average potential at shortstop, where he is already reliable. Strong, accurate arm. Strong work ethic and will get the most out of tools. Loves to play baseball and already shows leadership qualities. #28 Conrad Cason: is a pitcher, too and may move to OF. High-risk, high-reward player who will be developed, initially at least, as a two-way player. Most scouts prefer him on the mound, but impressed at the plate and in the field, especially at the draft combine. Has standout athleticism in either role and strong, loose arm. On the mound has a three-pitch mix with impressive velocity and at the plate has a solid approach and some developing power and profiles up the middle, whether it be at shortstop or in center field. #34 Dawvris Brito: May stick at SS. Athletic right-handed hitter with five-tool potential. Wide-range of outcomes given his age and the amount of projection left in his frame, but the type of player you want in your system because if things click he has considerable upside. #38 Mason White: may move to OF eventually. Potential bat-first infielder whose upside will be determined by how his hit tool develops. Checks a lot of boxes with what the Red Sox look for in players with his ability to impact the baseball. Extremely quick hands, hits the ball hard consistently, and can elevate to the pull side. Approach and contact skills are both works in progress, creating a wide amount of variance in his hit tool. If he hits, has MLB regular upside. Not likely to add a ton of value on defense, but also will not hurt a team there and could develop positional versatility. Others: 42 Marvin Alcantara, 43 Starlyn Nunez, 50 Maximus Martin By Level: AAA: 2B Vinny Capra, SS T-C Cheng (3B/2B Romero) Ferguson, McDonough, Seigler AA: 2B Alcantara, SS Arias, Fraymi de Leon A+: 2B Godbout, SS White (3B Nunez) Freili Encarnacion A-: 2B Cespedes, SS Pinto, Ty Hodge FCL: 2B Ramos, SS Soto

62% chance one of 3 get a chance. It's 27.5% chance for each guy up.

Yup.

Wong is not an issue as a back-up catcher. We could do better, but he's established with the staff. I think he'll hit better than 2025 but not as well as 2024. His defense has improved. Our back-up at 1B may be a bigger issue, especially if Casas & Romy do not get healthy. I like our bench, except for the Masa misfit. Two left-handed DHs with one who can't play any position well is not ideal.

Starling Marte signs with KCR for $78M/4.

It was Max Ferguson with the Granny. He's 6-1.

Some interesting names, but after about #10-12 it all looks kinda fungible, anyway. My currents top 25: 1. Early 2. Tolle 3. Witherspoon 4. Valera 5. Arias 6. Gonzales 7. Phillips 8. Bennett 9. Soto 10. Godbout 11. Eyanson 12. Holobetz 13. Delzine 14. Jo. Garcia (my dark horse) 15. Ramos 16. Rivas 17. Cason 18. Watson 19. Mullins 20. Azocar 21. Uberstine 22. Romero 23. Taylor 24. Samaniego 25. Ziehl/Silverio Out of top 25 or even 30: Bleis, Cespedes, Castro

It took 6 innings to shut out these powerful Red Sox bats!

You have to keep the opps guessing. Doing something every time is counterproductive.

Early ERA numbers: (w IP) 0.00 Early (3.1) Whitlock (3 IP) Sansone (2.2) Crochet, Guerrero, Olds & Weissert (2) 0.00 Oviedo, Uberstine, Keller, Moran (1.2) Sena (1.1) Chapman, Slaten, Song, Adams, Allmer (1.0) 3.00 Watson (3) 3.86 Wu-Yelland (2.1) 4.50 Kelly (2) 5.40 Sikkema (1.2) 6.75 Bennet (1.1) Webb (2.2) 7.36 Tolle (3.2) 10.86 Ranger (1.2) 12.00 Martinez (3) notables: 13.50 Gray (1.1) 24.30 Bello (3.1)

I was doing it as you spoke!!! LOL

I've never been one to put much stock in ST'ing numbers, especially just the first week of it, but we have some guys smoking it: As of mid game... 10+ PAs 1.916 Duran 1.400 Rafaela 1.273 Story 1.238 Contreras 1.225 Narvaez 1.080 Monasterio .967 Eaton .844 Durbin .829 Ward .764 Castro, .744 Campbell .667 Cheng, .666 Romero, .644 Hickey .583 IKF, .421 Abreu, .311 Sogard 5-9 PAs: 1.914 McDonough 1.666 Mayer 1.214 Gasper .762 Ferguson, .616 Anthony, .533 Rodgers, .453 Delay .286 Wong, .167 Thaiss, .000 Capra

But you may have wasted an out and cut the chances of a single from 3 to 2. I'm not against sac bunts with the ghost runner, and I think doing it every now and then, keeps the infielders in and improves the chances for a single, when you do swing away. A lot depends on who is up or coming up. Can the guy up bunt well? Are the next 3 guys good batters? If you have three .275 batters coming up, there is a good chance 1 gets a hit every 3 PAs.

They never got the memo.

soxprospects.com's projected opening day roster: SP: Crochet, Suarez, Gray, Bello, Oviedo RP: Chapman, Whitlock, Slaten, Weissert, Sandoval, Watson, Moran, Kelly C: Narvaez, Wong 1B: Contreras 2B: Mayer 3B: Durbin SS: Story LF: Anthony CF: Rafaela RF: Abreu DH: Duran Bench: IKF, Monasterio, Yoshida 60 Day IL: Houck IL: Crawford, Casas & Romy Minors on the 40: Early, Tolle, Uberstine, Samaniego, Bennett, Campbell, Sogard, Eaton, Gasper, Cheng & Seigler (IL) Notables not on the 40: Brendan Rodgers, Mikey Romero, Matt Thaiss, Jason Delay, Nathan Hickey, Braiden Ward, TJ Sikkema, Alec Gamboa, Devin Sweet, Noah Song, Tayron Guerrero, Seth Martinez, Vinny Nittoli, Kyle Keller (AA: Mullins, Holobetz & Arias)

It looks like Crawford will begin the season on the IL. MLB.com says: Threw live batting practice, marking his first session against hitters since his surgery last summer. Likely to start season on Minors rehab assignment. On Sandoval: Threw two innings of live batting practice on Feb. 27. Could be close to Grapefruit League action. On Casa (updated 2/16) Casas is working out with the team, but is limited in some areas. Opening Day seems unlikely and his fit on the roster is unclear. On Romy Hasn't been able to participate in baseball activity besides playing catch, making it all but certain he won't be ready for Opening Day. Recovering from a PRP injection from early February. On Brendan Rodgers: Right shoulder sore a day after being injured in a Feb. 25 Grapefruit League game. MRI is scheduled.

SAC bunt then SAC fly sounds easy, but... Is it easier than one single before 3 outs?

2025 Team OF Defense DRS 52 BOS 36 TEX 27 TOR 18 CHC 12 MIA OAA 31 BOS 18 CHC 16 MIL, 15 AZ, 14 TEX, 13 MIA In 2024, BOS was tied with TOR for 1st in OF DRS at +48, MIL was at 37, then a big drop off. BOS was 5th in OAA at +16. (TOR was +27 and a bunch were at +16-18)

One thing to remember is that Duran has never started in CF or LF more than 117 games in any season. Last year, was the most he ever started in any one slot (117 gms in LF.) Games started: 2021: 25 CF/ 1 LF 2022: 37 CF/ 7 RF/ 1 DH 2023: 52 CF/12 LF/ 1 RF/ 1DH 2024: 89 CF/ 71 LF 2025: 117 LF/ 15 CF Innings: 2021: 215/223 CF 2022: 416/463 CF 2023: 557/731 CF 2024: 810/1421 CF (Rafaela used at SS 647/2B 45) 2025: 1149/1346 LF DRS: Abreu: RF +32 (1776 innings) LF +1 (113) CF -1 (87) Rafaela: CF +32 (1915) -3 SS (692) +2 2B (221) Duran: CF -4 (2193, but +17 in 2024) LF +17 (1941), RF +1 (50) OAA Abreu: RF +14, LF +1, CF -1 Rafaela: CF +28, SS -8, 2B +1 Duran: CF +5, LF 0, RF 0 The metrics cleary show Duran LF, Rafaela CF & Duran RF is the best, but that 2024 season makes some wonder.

I was thinking the same. Lots of promise.

Everyday Players on the Farm by top ranking: C: Jo Garcia #24 AA, A Guzman #30 A+, Heyman #31 A- 1B: Gonzales #7 A+ (OF), 2B: Godbout #11 A+, Cason #28 FCL (P) SS: Arias #3 AA, Soto #8 FSL, Ramos #22 FCL 3B: Romero #12 AAA LF: Castro #20 AA, Taylor #25 A+ CF: Bleis #16 AA, Rivas #23 FCL RF: Azocar #18 A- DH: Cespedes #17 A- We have a top 25 player for each slot. It's top 20 for every slot, except catcher, but I like how Brez stocked up on promising young catchers over the winter, and I've always been higher on Jo Garcia than most. Catchers in the system: 24 Jo Garcia, 30 A Guzman (added in Oviedo trade), 31 Heyman (Alex Hoppe trade), 32 Primera (IFA Sept '24), 44 Jorge Rodriguez, 46 Brannon & 59 Gerald Rodriguez, plus Ronny Hernandez in Chris Murphy trade) Three top 32 catchers added since September 2024. Roster Projections: MLB Narvaez (a great addition last winter) and Wong (Contreras as emergency?) AAA: Thaiss (I like him as depth) & Delay (Hickey as emergency) AA: Jo Garcia, R Rosarion & Hudson White (good on D) A+: Guzman, Ronny Hernandez (Chris Murphy trade) & R Martinez A-: Heyman, K Salazar & G Rodriguez FCL: Primera & Jo Rodriquez It's not the greatest catching group, but it's deeper than a year or two ago. (We did trade Teel in the Crochet trade.)

soxprospects.com has these projected rotations on the farm... AAA: Early, Tolle, Uberstine, Sikkema, Gamboa AA: Bennett, Mullins, Holobetz, Wehunt, Rivera/Rogers A+: Valera, Witherspoon, Phillips, Eyanson, Tygart/Ziehl A-: J Bello, Finley, Patton, Brown, Morgan/Ruiz FCL: Bido, Chirino, Frias, Galvan, Payano/D Reyes/Sanchez/Veraza/Wilson

I'm fine with Story at SS.

Weird that you'd call him a bad manager for not doing what you didn't want him to do, anyway, but nothing surprises me with you. 🤪