Minor League Thread 2024

byAndrewParker

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Oct 31, 2023
79
Starting a new thread for the 2024 year. We need to get the MiLB side active so i’ll give it a shot.
 

The Gray Eagle

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SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2001
16,904
Jennings in the Athletic with an article on the winter development camp for 12 prospects:
https://theathletic.com/5198863/2024/01/15/red-sox-rookie-development-marcelo-mayer/

Mayer is doing defensive work but not swinging the bat, as it's a "planned downtime". Expected to have a "normal and healthy" spring training:
Mayer’s been splitting his time this winter between his home in California and the Red Sox’s facility in Fort Myers, Fla. His hitting progression is in a planned downtime, but he’s doing full strength and conditioning and complete defensive work. He will be checked out this week before resuming his regular hitting progression into what’s expected to be a normal and healthy spring training. Abraham said that Mayer adding “good weight” has been an offseason goal so that he can better impact the baseball.
Yorke:
This offseason, Yorke, 21, has worked to add not only strength but also speed and quickness. Abraham said the organization’s objective numbers show Yorke’s defensive range has increased “significantly,” and the Red Sox now consider him “a tick above average” in the field.
“Last year, it was really important for him to be an everyday player,” Abraham said. “To be able to perform day in and day out. Maybe if the bat wasn’t there, the defense was there. If the defense wasn’t there, the baserunning was there. I think for him, being a complete player is really important.”
Hickey will be tried at other positions but will still catch:
There have always been questions about Hickey’s future behind the plate, and now he’s basically vying for playing time with one of the top catching prospects in baseball. Is it still worth using him at catcher?
“We definitely have had some conversations with Nathan, before even Kyle Teel was here, about seeing him elsewhere,” Abraham said.
The Red Sox still plan to have Hickey, 24, catch quite a bit this season, but first base is definitely on the table, and Abraham suggested other positions might be as well. He had an .858 OPS last year in his first full season of pro ball. Hickey’s offseason training, Abraham said, focused on athleticism and “coming in prepared to catch a lot of games, as well as be prepared to be in the lineup for a lot of days.”
They believe in Meidroth's defense:
Abraham said he believes Meidroth is a legitimate defender at second and third, and he could fill in at shortstop as necessary (which he did late last season in Double A). If his bat will play, so will he, in one role or another. So, he’s worked this offseason to add core and lower-body strength.
“A main focus for him this offseason was improving his bat speed,” Abraham said. “Swinging the bat faster is going to allow for more impact. That’s just plain and simple. … The bat speed and impacting the baseball more consistently is going to be the difference between a utility player and a guy who can be a utility player who plays every day.”
Sox feel like Wikelman may have made a lep this past season:
Gonzalez fits a familiar mold. He’s a 21-year-old kid with big stuff and spotty control, but the Red Sox seemed to tap into something new last year by altering his pregame focus and between-starts routine. He took off in the second half. It might have been just a good stretch, but the Red Sox think it might also have been a real breakthrough.
“I think our pitching group feels that’s the case,” Abraham said. “I think it’s a bit of a microcosm for a player in general. I think sometimes we in the industry can take for granted what we’re asking a player to do. … Sometimes a player wants to know why they need to do some of those things.”
Fitts:
The top prospect acquired in the Alex Verdugo trade, Fitts might already be the system’s most advanced, high-upside pitching prospect. His fastball is his bread and butter. He pitched well in Double A last year. What else does he need to keep developing as a starter?
“I think one of the best things about him is he throws strikes,” Abraham said. “He locates the ball really well. I think probably Fitts and our staff would say generating more swing-and-miss is really important. I think there are various avenues to getting that. So, we’re working on some areas now. We’ve had some conversations with him about improving certain things with his slider, and maybe a couple of adjustments with his cutter or even his changeup, to improve that swing-and-miss.”
The Red Sox believe they’ve made considerable strides in pitching development, and they’ve made offseason changes at the top of their pitching coach hierarchy this offseason. Fitts, 24, will be one of their early tests.
 

Jimbodandy

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SoSH Member
Jan 31, 2006
11,557
around the way
Going to try my best. I will covering Worcester again this year so will have plenty of stuff from there. Going to try to make it out to Portland as well to catch up with those guys.
It's a great year to be covering Worcester. You'll see some pretty special guys as the year goes on for sure.

Thanks for your contributions.
 

chawson

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Aug 1, 2006
4,678
Does anyone with a Baseball Prospectus account know where the Sox land on their new Top 101?
 

Chainsaw318

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Nov 6, 2006
1,916
Burned . . . Blacklisted

byAndrewParker

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Oct 31, 2023
79
This was really good - I got to listen to the first 20 or so while at work.

Happy for the guy to work on himself, excited to hear he’s dropped some weight, as his athleticism has been a critique, and that he wants to try to stick at 3b. That would be real depth add to the system if he was high-grade 3B/1B prospect.
Agreed. There really isn’t a 3B above him in Worcester at the moment that would keep him down in AA if he has a good first half. Could be a true difference maker in a fast promotion if defense is improved.
 

Chainsaw318

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Nov 6, 2006
1,916
Burned . . . Blacklisted
Agreed. There really isn’t a 3B above him in Worcester at the moment that would keep him down in AA if he has a good first half. Could be a true difference maker in a fast promotion if defense is improved.
He’s still so young that I would hope he can get a good term at Portland.

The SoxProspects feedback has always been around conditioning/defensive ability and bat speed. I hope he gets a result for his work in those areas.

If the defense is playable at 3b, and he can also play a decent 1b, that’s fun to dream on him as a RHH - complementary player to Devers and Casas in say, 2025 for part of a season.
 

RS2004foreever

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SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2022
671
Is anyone aware of an update to this research?
https://sabr.org/journal/article/how-much-is-a-top-prospect-worth/

The conclusion is a top 10 prospect who is a hitter has a good deal more value than a top 10 pitching prospect.
The hit rate on top 10 prospects is good: about 1 in 3 turn into an average everyday starter and about 15% turn into an all-star caliber player.
But that data is only through 2007 and I have read organizations have gotten better about this.

I found this that goes through 2013.
https://www.royalsreview.com/2018/3/22/16749948/updating-the-success-and-failure-rates-of-top-mlb-prospects
Their data finds some interesting stuff: 55% of the total War in the majors came from players who once in the top 100 prospects.
It finds less variance in the different rankings (ie someone ranked in the top 10 is about 10% more likely to succeed then someone at 50)
 
Last edited:

ehaz

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Sep 30, 2007
4,977
8 - Roman Anthony
32 - Marcelo Mayer
47 - Kyle Teel
59 - Cedanne Rafaela
Baseball America came out today. Same four as BP. Higher on Mayer, lower on everyone else:

14 - Marcelo Mayer
21 - Roman Anthony
62 - Kyle Teel
94 - Ceddanne Rafaela
 

TimScribble

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Jul 16, 2005
1,477
BA almost top-100 names to know:

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/20-players-who-could-become-2025-top-100-prospects/

Yoeilin Cespedes, SS, Red Sox

Cespedes managed to combine big-time power potential and excellent bat speed with solid pitch recognition and contact skills in his Dominican Summer League debut in 2023. He’ll come to the U.S. in 2024 and may make it to Low-A Salem at some point. He has some more work to do defensively, but he has the tools to be a solid third baseman long-term.
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262
Happy 2024!

I am going to resume doing Red Sox MiLB stuff, & we're going to take the forum in a slightly different direction in terms of organization which will hopefully make everything more accessible & so we won't get bogged down in 1 mega-thread. At some point, I should have the power to move things where they should go, so don't worry too much about posting in the right places & just post whatever makes you happy wherever it makes you happy.

The original planned template includes:

1) This catch-all thread which hopefully won't have much to catch.

2) A thread for each level of the Red Sox system:
a) Worcester (AAA)
b) Portland (AA)
c) Greenville (A+)
d) Salem (A)
e) FCL Red Sox (FCL)
f) DSL Red Sox - Red & Blue (DSL)

3) A prospect rankings thread where all rankings would go, including Tim's excellent post above ^^^ & my rankings, SP's rankings, etc.

4) Adopt-A-Prospect type threads. I'm not sure how exactly this will look in terms of whether it will stay where it is, join the main MiLB forum, or there will just be 1 thread to discuss all the biggest name prospects in the org at the time. Obviously a lot more people want to talk about the guys who are most likely to have the most impact on the Red Sox the soonest, so those should probably be broken out somehow

5) Injuries/Availability news.

6) Promotions/Demotions.

7) Acquisitions/Removals.

& then there are already existing threads for media stuff & the 2024 IFA period to use, & I'm sure other thread concepts that will get added over time.

Anyway, hopefully this will be fun. If you want to talk to me about MLB you'll have to PM me because I am 100% not going back to the Main Board, but I missed chatting MiLB with y'all <3
 

LogansDad

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
29,807
Alamogordo
Happy 2024!

I am going to resume doing Red Sox MiLB stuff, & we're going to take the forum in a slightly different direction in terms of organization which will hopefully make everything more accessible & so we won't get bogged down in 1 mega-thread. At some point, I should have the power to move things where they should go, so don't worry too much about posting in the right places & just post whatever makes you happy wherever it makes you happy.

The original planned template includes:

1) This catch-all thread which hopefully won't have much to catch.

2) A thread for each level of the Red Sox system:
a) Worcester (AAA)
b) Portland (AA)
c) Greenville (A+)
d) Salem (A)
e) FCL Red Sox (FCL)
f) DSL Red Sox - Red & Blue (DSL)

3) A prospect rankings thread where all rankings would go, including Tim's excellent post above ^^^ & my rankings, SP's rankings, etc.

4) Adopt-A-Prospect type threads. I'm not sure how exactly this will look in terms of whether it will stay where it is, join the main MiLB forum, or there will just be 1 thread to discuss all the biggest name prospects in the org at the time. Obviously a lot more people want to talk about the guys who are most likely to have the most impact on the Red Sox the soonest, so those should probably be broken out somehow

5) Injuries/Availability news.

6) Promotions/Demotions.

7) Acquisitions/Removals.

& then there are already existing threads for media stuff & the 2024 IFA period to use, & I'm sure other thread concepts that will get added over time.

Anyway, hopefully this will be fun. If you want to talk to me about MLB you'll have to PM me because I am 100% not going back to the Main Board, but I missed chatting MiLB with y'all <3
Our long, SoSHional nightmare is over!!!

Welcome back!
 

Jed Zeppelin

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2008
51,554
Happy 2024!

I am going to resume doing Red Sox MiLB stuff, & we're going to take the forum in a slightly different direction in terms of organization which will hopefully make everything more accessible & so we won't get bogged down in 1 mega-thread. At some point, I should have the power to move things where they should go, so don't worry too much about posting in the right places & just post whatever makes you happy wherever it makes you happy.

The original planned template includes:

1) This catch-all thread which hopefully won't have much to catch.

2) A thread for each level of the Red Sox system:
a) Worcester (AAA)
b) Portland (AA)
c) Greenville (A+)
d) Salem (A)
e) FCL Red Sox (FCL)
f) DSL Red Sox - Red & Blue (DSL)

3) A prospect rankings thread where all rankings would go, including Tim's excellent post above ^^^ & my rankings, SP's rankings, etc.

4) Adopt-A-Prospect type threads. I'm not sure how exactly this will look in terms of whether it will stay where it is, join the main MiLB forum, or there will just be 1 thread to discuss all the biggest name prospects in the org at the time. Obviously a lot more people want to talk about the guys who are most likely to have the most impact on the Red Sox the soonest, so those should probably be broken out somehow

5) Injuries/Availability news.

6) Promotions/Demotions.

7) Acquisitions/Removals.

& then there are already existing threads for media stuff & the 2024 IFA period to use, & I'm sure other thread concepts that will get added over time.

Anyway, hopefully this will be fun. If you want to talk to me about MLB you'll have to PM me because I am 100% not going back to the Main Board, but I missed chatting MiLB with y'all <3
Big +1 to this outline. I especially like the idea of a thread for each level. I think you could also get away with a format of like one thread for the near-ready AA/AAA, then the A-ball teams together, then FCL/DSL together, but it doesn't make a big difference either way. It can be really tough to keep everything straight. I still have a hard time remembering that Greenville is the higher level now, for example, so I think the organization will be a big improvement.
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262
Welcome back @JM3
Thx!

Our long, SoSHional nightmare is over!!!

Welcome back!
lol thx!

Big +1 to this outline. I especially like the idea of a thread for each level. I think you could also get away with a format of like one thread for the near-ready AA/AAA, then the A-ball teams together, then FCL/DSL together, but it doesn't make a big difference either way. It can be really tough to keep everything straight. I still have a hard time remembering that Greenville is the higher level now, for example, so I think the organization will be a big improvement.
I think it's cleaner with 1 thread for each level, but definitely open for suggestions on that & literally everything else.
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262
Damn.

I guess I'll just trash the Top 362 Red Sox Prospects list I was working on.

I was already up to #3 on my list.

Nice to see ya
You too, buddy. You can go ahead & post it. I could use some new ideas.

Will there be a dedicated Corey Rosier thread? If not, why not?
Now that the BABIP gods have caught up to Rosier, he has a fair # of things to work on. If you want to start an Adopta thread for him, I will certainly contribute, though.
 

bg1025

New Member
Oct 30, 2013
239
Happy 2024!

I am going to resume doing Red Sox MiLB stuff, & we're going to take the forum in a slightly different direction in terms of organization which will hopefully make everything more accessible & so we won't get bogged down in 1 mega-thread. At some point, I should have the power to move things where they should go, so don't worry too much about posting in the right places & just post whatever makes you happy wherever it makes you happy.

The original planned template includes:

1) This catch-all thread which hopefully won't have much to catch.

2) A thread for each level of the Red Sox system:
a) Worcester (AAA)
b) Portland (AA)
c) Greenville (A+)
d) Salem (A)
e) FCL Red Sox (FCL)
f) DSL Red Sox - Red & Blue (DSL)

3) A prospect rankings thread where all rankings would go, including Tim's excellent post above ^^^ & my rankings, SP's rankings, etc.

4) Adopt-A-Prospect type threads. I'm not sure how exactly this will look in terms of whether it will stay where it is, join the main MiLB forum, or there will just be 1 thread to discuss all the biggest name prospects in the org at the time. Obviously a lot more people want to talk about the guys who are most likely to have the most impact on the Red Sox the soonest, so those should probably be broken out somehow

5) Injuries/Availability news.

6) Promotions/Demotions.

7) Acquisitions/Removals.

& then there are already existing threads for media stuff & the 2024 IFA period to use, & I'm sure other thread concepts that will get added over time.

Anyway, hopefully this will be fun. If you want to talk to me about MLB you'll have to PM me because I am 100% not going back to the Main Board, but I missed chatting MiLB with y'all <3
Welcome back! Never really commented on anything last year, but you were single-handedly the best part of SoSH and the biggest reason I kept checking daily. I think I speak for many others here when I say all your hard work certainly does not go unappreciated!
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262
Welcome back! Never really commented on anything last year, but you were single-handedly the best part of SoSH and the biggest reason I kept checking daily. I think I speak for many others here when I say all your hard work certainly does not go unappreciated!
Thx! I enjoy it & it's a nice outlet. Hoping you & others decide to post more this year, though. It's a lot more fun as a collaborative endeavor.

I haven't exactly decided how I want the rankings thread to look for this upcoming year, so I'll just post this here for now:

The Top 10 (ETA)
1. Ethan Salas, Padres (2025)
2. Samuel Basallo, Orioles (2025)
3. Jeferson Quero, Brewers (2024)
4. Harry Ford, Mariners (2025)
5. Kyle Teel, Red Sox (2025)
6. Dalton Rushing, Dodgers (2025)
7. Blake Mitchell, Royals (2027)
8. Moises Ballesteros, Cubs (2026)
9. Edgar Quero, White Sox (2025)
10. Diego Cartaya, Dodgers (2025)

https://www.mlb.com/news/top-catching-prospects-for-2024

They're dropping a position a day (sadly but unsurprisingly, nothing on the LHP or RHP lists).
 

Jed Zeppelin

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2008
51,554
I think it's cleaner with 1 thread for each level, but definitely open for suggestions on that & literally everything else.
I agree, I think it's just my work brain talking where I am constantly balancing the need for organization with a need for fewer slack channels. Seeing as how we are currently at one mega thread there is certainly room for level-specific channels.
 

Calzini Rossi

New Member
Jul 31, 2005
8
Happy 2024!

I am going to resume doing Red Sox MiLB stuff, & we're going to take the forum in a slightly different direction in terms of organization which will hopefully make everything more accessible & so we won't get bogged down in 1 mega-thread. At some point, I should have the power to move things where they should go, so don't worry too much about posting in the right places & just post whatever makes you happy wherever it makes you happy.

The original planned template includes:

1) This catch-all thread which hopefully won't have much to catch.

2) A thread for each level of the Red Sox system:
a) Worcester (AAA)
b) Portland (AA)
c) Greenville (A+)
d) Salem (A)
e) FCL Red Sox (FCL)
f) DSL Red Sox - Red & Blue (DSL)

3) A prospect rankings thread where all rankings would go, including Tim's excellent post above ^^^ & my rankings, SP's rankings, etc.

4) Adopt-A-Prospect type threads. I'm not sure how exactly this will look in terms of whether it will stay where it is, join the main MiLB forum, or there will just be 1 thread to discuss all the biggest name prospects in the org at the time. Obviously a lot more people want to talk about the guys who are most likely to have the most impact on the Red Sox the soonest, so those should probably be broken out somehow

5) Injuries/Availability news.

6) Promotions/Demotions.

7) Acquisitions/Removals.

& then there are already existing threads for media stuff & the 2024 IFA period to use, & I'm sure other thread concepts that will get added over time.

Anyway, hopefully this will be fun. If you want to talk to me about MLB you'll have to PM me because I am 100% not going back to the Main Board, but I missed chatting MiLB with y'all <3
Good to have you back, sir. Hopefully at some point, you'll reconsider your position on returning to the main board as well.
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262
Good to have you back, sir. Hopefully at some point, you'll reconsider your position on returning to the main board as well.
Thx! But naw. The overarching lack of intellectual curiosity doesn't interest me.
 

simplicio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2012
5,310
Welcome home, it's good to see you again. Thanks for picking this place back up!
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262
Welcome home, it's good to see you again. Thanks for picking this place back up!
Thx! Good to be back.

Favorite Thread of 2024!

Very glad to have you back JM3. So appreciate the work you do in here.

(Even more right now given the slow news cycle with the Sox)
Thx! There's always fun stuff to explore, whether the Sox are doing actual things or not. They're really working on building up the pitching infrastructure. Will be kind of fascinating to see how it goes.

That's precisely why you'd be an asset there.
Let's just say not everyone feels that way & posting on a message board, much like baseball, should be fun. If anyone wants to chat MLB, you know where to find me, & we can always try to creatively tie in stuff here.
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262
Thx! I enjoy it & it's a nice outlet. Hoping you & others decide to post more this year, though. It's a lot more fun as a collaborative endeavor.

I haven't exactly decided how I want the rankings thread to look for this upcoming year, so I'll just post this here for now:

The Top 10 (ETA)
1. Ethan Salas, Padres (2025)
2. Samuel Basallo, Orioles (2025)
3. Jeferson Quero, Brewers (2024)
4. Harry Ford, Mariners (2025)
5. Kyle Teel, Red Sox (2025)
6. Dalton Rushing, Dodgers (2025)
7. Blake Mitchell, Royals (2027)
8. Moises Ballesteros, Cubs (2026)
9. Edgar Quero, White Sox (2025)
10. Diego Cartaya, Dodgers (2025)

https://www.mlb.com/news/top-catching-prospects-for-2024

They're dropping a position a day (sadly but unsurprisingly, nothing on the LHP or RHP lists).
Blaze made the Top 10 first base list...

The Top 10 (ETA)
1. Xavier Isaac, Rays (2026)
2. Kyle Manzardo, Guardians (2024)
3. Nolan Schanuel, Angels (2024)
4. Abimelec Ortiz, Rangers (2025)
5. Tyler Locklear, Mariners (2024)
6. Matt Mervis, Cubs (2024)
7. Blaze Jordan, Red Sox (2025)
8. Nathan Martorella, Padres (2025)
9. Spencer Horwitz, Blue Jays (2024)
10. Haydn McGeary, Cubs (2025)

https://www.mlb.com/news/top-first-base-prospects-for-2024

I was listening to this Podcast this morning...

It's been fun to follow along with Blaze's mental & physical health journeys & it will be really exciting if he is in a better place in both aspects this year. Even with his struggles, in his age 20 season he had a 145 wRC+ in High-A over 322 PAs, which is really good. He noted in that interview that pitchers in AA aren't necessarily much better than A+ pitchers in terms of stuff, but there are less bad ones, better approaches & less mistakes. Blaze has consistently taken advantage of mistakes, so learning to hit better pitches with more authority will be an important step.
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262
Welcome back @JM3! Looking forward to following updates about Luis Perales and hoping Mikey Romero is able to establish himself this year as a top prospect in the system.
Thx! Those don't seem like unreasonable requests.

Perales has an arsenal that has dazzled scouts. That includes a fastball that tops out at 99 miles per hour with riding action. Perales also has a slider that has the potential to be a plus pitch and a cutter to keep opponents off balance. The only question that remains if he ends up in the rotation or bullpen.
View: https://twitter.com/SoxSpects/status/1747466298357883319

View: https://twitter.com/liamskiffington/status/1744394483494420695
 

6-5 Sadler

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
218
If these guys are going to be our next young stars they need to learn to dress better. You guys got a combined $4.8M in signing bonuses…treat yourself!
 

JM3

often quoted
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2019
15,262
If these guys are going to be our next young stars they need to learn to dress better. You guys got a combined $4.8M in signing bonuses…treat yourself!
This is what happens when 20 y/o's get married I guess...

Holliday turned 20 in early December, Mikey turned 20 last week, & Roman doesn't turn 20 until May.

Not sure if Mikey is getting married next...

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1dgnjDrwr5/?igsh=MWZpOHJvcHV6YWdhNg==

Roman has made 1 Instagram post ever & does not seem on the verge of marriage.

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1QTUpdsiXI/?igsh=MWZkam00cjFmNXd2ZA==