5/4 MiLB Gameday: Driving in the afternoon

[Cuzittt]

Today's Games:

IL:Pawtucket - OFF
EL: Portland (Michael Augliera) @ Binghamton (TBD) [6:35pm]
CL:Salem (Trey Ball) vs. Potomac (Wander Suero) [7:05pm]
SAL: Greenville (Jalen Beeks) @ Hagerstown (Connor Bach) [1:05pm]
NYPL: Lowell [Season Begins June 19th]
GCL: GCL Sox [Season Begins June 22nd]
DSL: DSL Sox [Season Begins Late May/Early June]

Notes:

Scoreboard:

Boston Red Sox Minor League Scores

Media:

MiLB TV
MiLB Radio

Local Media:

Pawsox:

Providence Journal
Pawtucket Times

Seadogs: Portland Press Herald

Salem: Roanoke Times

Greenville: Greenville Online

Lowell: Lowell Sun

 

[Cuzittt]

Drive win 9-6.

Boxscore

Jalen Beeks went 5 innings, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and a walk; striking out 3. Williams Jerez went 3 innings, allowing an unearned run on 6 hits; striking out one. Kuehl McEachern pitched the final inning, striking out one.

Rafael Devers went 3/5. Mike Meyers went 2/4 with a double, triple and 2 walks. Carlos Mesa went 2/4 with 2 doubles before being replaced by Cisco Tellez who went 0/1. Michael Chavis went 2/5 with 2 doubles. Mauricio Dubon went 2/6 with a double. Nick Longhi went 1/4 with a walk. Javier Guerra went 1/4 with a SF and a SB. Joseph Monge went 0/4 with a walk and a SB. Jordan Procyshen went 0/5 with a HBP.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Devers is on fire

 

[Cuzittt]

Sea Dogs win 4-1.

Boxscore

Mike Augliera went 5 innings, allowing a run on 6 hits and 2 walks; striking out 3. Kyle Kraus went 2 innings, walking one and striking out one. Kyle Martin went 2 innings, giving up 3 hits and walking one.

Reed Gragnani went 3/3 with a double and 2 walks. Oscar Tejeda went 3/5 with a double and a PO/CS. Carlos Asuaje went 2/5. Jantzen Witte went 1/4 with a walk. Blake Tekotte went 1/4. Luis Martinez went 1/5 with a HR. Jonathan Roof went 0/2 with a walk and a HBP. Keury de la Cruz went 0/4 with a walk. Mike Miller went 0/4 with a sacrifice.

 

[Cuzittt]

Salem wins 4-2.

Boxscore

Trey Ball went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks and a HBP; striking out 2. Taylor Grover went 1 2/3 innings, giving up 2 hits. Mike Adams went an inning, striking out 2. Austin Maddox pitched a perfect ninth.

Newly minted Carolina League Hitter of the week Sam Travis went 2/4 with a triple. Wendell Rijo went 1/2 with a double before being replaced by Jose Vinicio who went 0/2. Cole Sturgeon went 1/3 with a SF. Aneury Tavarez went 1/4 with a triple. Mario Martinez went 0/1 with a walk and a HBP. Carlos Coste went 0/2 with a HBP. Jordan Betts went 0/2 with a walk. Manuel Margot went 0/3 with a walk. Tzu-Wei Lin went 0/4.

 

[ScubaSteveAvery]

Devers is on fire

 
No shit. .346/.365/.481 on the year so far and he's 3.5 years younger than the average SAL League player. 
 
Ball is showing improvement too. The ERA doesn't look great, but he's lowered his H/9 by 2.0 compared to last year, while jumping one level.  He had that disasterous start which is probably skewing the overall numbers too.  He's 2 years young for A+ so it is nice to see some improvement out of him as he climbs levels.

 

[jscola85]

Devers' 13/2 K/BB ratio isn't fantastic but I can overlook that when you are sporting a 846 OPS at 18 in A-ball.
 
I still have no idea what we have in Trey Ball.

 

[Plympton91]

 
No shit. .346/.365/.481 on the year so far and he's 3.5 years younger than the average SAL League player. 
 
Ball is showing improvement too. The ERA doesn't look great, but he's lowered his H/9 by 2.0 compared to last year, while jumping one level.  He had that disasterous start which is probably skewing the overall numbers too.  He's 2 years young for A+ so it is nice to see some improvement out of him as he climbs levels.

 
Is he two years younger than the average A+ player, or is he 2 years younger than the average A+ player that goes on to have a meaningful major league career?  The latter is the statistic we care about, no?

 

[WenZink]

 
Is he two years younger than the average A+ player, or is he 2 years younger than the average A+ player that goes on to have a meaningful major league career?  The latter is the statistic we care about, no?

 
There aren't many former American HS pitchers starting in a High A league at the age 20.  Period.  Drafted just before his 18th birthday in 2012.  Rookie league in 2013.  Low A in 2014.  High A in 2015.  He's on about the same pace as Jon Lester, and Lester was called up to the Red Sox in mid-season 2006 at the age of 22 years 6+ months.  And Lester didn't start to realize his potential until the end of his High A season.  Ball wouldn't be in High A, this year, if they weren't impressed.
 
Ball may be more of a project than Lester, being 2-3 inches taller.  It's also not transparent to me if they're working first on his command and then later try to adjust his mechanics to increase his velocity.  The Sox are grooming him for a starter, not a fast-track as a relief pitcher, I presume.  I expect the Red Sox are taking the long-term view on Ball's development rather than trying to see how high and how quickly they can get him on the top prospects's list.