Status of Boston's Farm System

BaseballJones

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They've done a lot of work to add talent to what was a weak system:

In the Betts/Price deal:
- C Connor Wong
- OF Alex Verdugo - already looks like a very good MLB player
- 2b Jeter Downs

In the Hembree/Workman deal:
- P Connor Seabold
- P Nick Pivetta

In the Moreland deal:
- 3b Hudson Potts
- OF Jeisson Rosario

In the Pillar deal:
- PTBNL from the Rockies

In the Osich deal:
- PTBNL from the Cubs

Via waivers from Philly:
- C Deivy Grullon

In the draft:
- 2b Nick Yorke
- 3b/1b Blaze Jordan
- P Jeremy Wu-Yelland
- P James Drohan

Seems like a lot of very intriguing talent added to the Sox' system. Most of it won't pan out, but the more rolls of the dice you get, the more likely it is you get a hit. Or whatever the idiom is.


Now thinking about their top prospects, soxprospects.com has this list:

1. 1b Tristan Casas
2. 2b Jeter Downs*
3. P Bryan Mata
4. CF Jarren Duran
5. P Noah Song
6. 3b/1b Bobby Dalbec (now up in the majors)
7. CF Gilberto Jimenez
8. P Jay Groome
9. P Thaddeus Ward
10. P Tanner Houck
11. OF Jeisson Rosario*
12. P Connor Seabold*
13. 2b Nick Yorke*
14. SS Matthew Lugo
15. 3b/2b Hudson Potts*
16. 3b/1b Blaze Jordan*
17. SS CJ Chatham
18. P Aldo Ramirez
19. P Chris Murphy (not to be confused with the senator from CT)
20. C Connor Wong*

*Represents players added this year via draft, waivers, or trade

So where would Grullon, Wu-Yelland, and Drohan fit in there?
 
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Rwillh11

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Not in the top 20.

The system is clearly better but is still in the lowest one-third of MLB systems.
Sox Prospects slots Grullon in at 29, Drohan at 36 and Wu-Yelland way down at 60.

I am a bit surprised that Wong is ranked above Grullon, simply because Grullon has been more advanced for his age, and actually has significantly better offensive numbers (especially with Wongs super high K rate). Plus arm, but doesn't appear to be a great receiver, so maybe its the defense? Maybe the kind of player who would benefit from Robot umps...
 

Jimbodandy

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We're really just deeper in guys who maybe will turn into something if everything goes right. The top 3 prospects project as "Average Regular".

The top 20 guys in the system project between 4 and 5, according to SP rankings, 17 of which are split rather evenly between 4.5 and 4 (Bench/Utility player, Up & Down Player). It's understandable if there's some disagreement about where guys fall on the continuum, but we're getting psyched about guys that other systems have to sneak through waivers because they don't have 40-man space. Much work still to do.
 
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A Bad Man

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A much better shot at getting into the middle third with the depth and upside acquired.
 

Sin Duda

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Sure it's way too soon, but with 20 games to play, Boston is lined up for the #1 pick. John Tomase wrote an article that they don't deserve the #1 pick. I don't see why not. It looks like they've been trying to win when I watch the games. They just have no pitching. Vanderbilt right-handers Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter are the top 2 prospects on most sites and just what the Sox need. One of them plus Noah Song can hopefully form 2/5 of the rotation in 2023. I know, too soon for speculating. But a guy can dream, can't he?
 

Jimbodandy

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Sure it's way too soon, but with 20 games to play, Boston is lined up for the #1 pick. John Tomase wrote an article that they don't deserve the #1 pick. I don't see why not. It looks like they've been trying to win when I watch the games. They just have no pitching. Vanderbilt right-handers Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter are the top 2 prospects on most sites and just what the Sox need. One of them plus Noah Song can hopefully form 2/5 of the rotation in 2023. I know, too soon for speculating. But a guy can dream, can't he?
Save yourself. Don't read John Tomase. If he had any integrity at all, he would have changed careers a long time ago.

Regarding your dream, we definitely can enjoy dreaming about a dominant college arm high draft pick if we want to.
 

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I feel a lot more confident with bloom in charge of the (potential) number 1 pick. I would, however, see him take a position player. Pitching is so damn unpredictable...especially in the COVID era.
 

sodenj5

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I feel a lot more confident with bloom in charge of the (potential) number 1 pick. I would, however, see him take a position player. Pitching is so damn unpredictable...especially in the COVID era.
The Sox have shown they’ve been pretty capable at developing positional prospects but absolutely awful at developing pitching.

Give me a legit, top tier ace that has a fighting chance of making an impact at the major league club over an outfielder or SS prospect.
 

The Gray Eagle

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With 2 highly rated college arms at the top of the draft, the Red Sox are sure to get a pick no higher than 3.
I would be more optimistic about that if there were actual rules in place about this, but apparently MLB is just going to wait till the season's over and then make up some rules about who picks when. Seems fair, I'm sure Rob Manfred will do a great job and not totally botch it pointlessly.
 

RoDaddy

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The system is clearly better but is still in the lowest one-third of MLB systems.
Agree. Hard to be overly excited about a system that lists a SoxProspects-projected back end starter in Mata 3rd (I personally think he projects higher than that); a guy sometimes referred to as a one-tool prospect (Duran) at 4; a guy with an unclear Navy commitment at 5 (Song); and an alarming strikeout machine at 6 (Dalbec, although I do like his power, OBP and glove)
 

BaseballJones

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Now add P Jacob Wallace to this list.

In the Betts/Price deal:
- C Connor Wong
- OF Alex Verdugo - already looks like a very good MLB player
- 2b Jeter Downs

In the Hembree/Workman deal:
- P Connor Seabold
- P Nick Pivetta

In the Moreland deal:
- 3b Hudson Potts
- OF Jeisson Rosario

In the Pillar deal:
- P Jacob Wallace

In the Osich deal:
- PTBNL from the Cubs

Via waivers from Philly:
- C Deivy Grullon

In the draft:
- 2b Nick Yorke
- 3b/1b Blaze Jordan
- P Jeremy Wu-Yelland
- P James Drohan

Some very intriguing players here.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dalbec still remains a prospect and will still be a rookie next year right or is there some weird rule this year?

Usually it's 150 PA or 60 days on the roster (I think 60). Don't know why that would change.
 

jon abbey

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Dalbec still remains a prospect and will still be a rookie next year right or is there some weird rule this year?

Usually it's 150 PA or 60 days on the roster (I think 60). Don't know why that would change.
They did change the rules so that Sept roster days counted, but Dalbec is still a prospect and actually mlb.com moved him to their top 100 list yesterday, #100.
 

The Gray Eagle

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The Athletic (subscribe already!) has a nice writeup on how some of the prospects did this summer at the minor league camp, with PawSox manager Billy McMillon and pitching coach Paul Abbott assessing some of the top prospects.
https://theathletic.com/2114086/2020/10/05/red-sox-minor-league-prospect-report
Highlights:
McMillon on Casas:
“His discipline at the plate was incredible. His approach was a little bit different than what you might see from some of the guys today. He spread out, he choked up, and wasn’t afraid to hit the ball the other way. He definitely has an idea at the plate. I really like how intelligent he is at the plate and he was a guy that I think really benefited from coming up and facing Triple-A, four-A type pitching. He held his own, had very good at-bats, walked a lot. And defense, I think he’s going to be solid.”

Abbott on Bryan Mata:
“I can’t say enough about this kid. He’s as exciting as anybody in baseball. Top-shelf fastball, top-shelf slider, curveball above average and an excellent changeup. It’s hard to squeeze all those pitches in when the first two are so dynamic. He’s a young kid that got a little taste of Double-A last year and Fall League did him well. But for him he got a ton of value out of this situation. His command wasn’t consistent enough but a small little tweak in a low-stress environment like we were in allowed him to make some adjustments.”

Groome: 3 pitches, smooth delivery, hard to figure out what level to start him next year.

J. Downs: Defense took a strong step forward. Offensively, needs to work on confidence. Tremendous upside.

McMillon on Duran:
“He had an unbelievable offensive camp. He stole a ton of bases, hit a lot of home runs, impacted the baseball hard day in and day out. I think he continues to get better in the outfield and as that continues to get better, I think that’s going to help clear the path for him. He’s OK, he’s solid, but you can see there’s room for improvement there and we did some things working on footwork and routes to balls and he cleaned that up a little bit. So for me, the question is, can he do that consistently and if he hits a lull with his offense, is he going to stay as positive as he was all camp?”

Nick Yorke:
Area of progress
: Impressive offensive showing as an 18-year-old in his professional debut
Needs improvement: Overall development, following a structured nutrition and strength plan

Abbott on Conor Seabold:
“Connor, his stuff across the board is probably middle of the road, slightly above average. His changeup is not a top-of-the-food-chain type pitch. But his fastball grades out, carries better and looks better. The (velocity), he’s got a little deception to him. He’s a grinder out there in the short time I saw him, competes really well. He’s developed or started to develop a curveball with him, something a little slower and deeper than his slider. But another kid that needs to season a little bit and face some better hitters. He hasn’t been above Double-A, but I like his makeup. And I like his pitchability. He’s that guy that can eat up some innings and get some quality starts.”

Jeisson Rosario:
Area of progress
: Solid defensively
Needs improvement: Developing power

Two under-the-radar pitchers who impressed:
LHP Steven Gonsalves and 31-year-old RHP Seth Blair.

There's more at the link. You really should subscribe.
 

thestardawg

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I think the issue going forward for Duran is going to be defense. His bat may be able to carry hit at CF if he can provide at least average defense, but if he has to move to a corner that bat has to improve in a major way for hit to stick as a starter. I suspect he is probably going to be a really good 4th outfielder.
 

DJnVa

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Boston picks up Christian Koss, who FanGraphs had as the #27 prospect in Colorado's system prior to 2020 season.

https://www.mlb.com/news/prospect-christian-koss-traded-to-red-sox
Fangraphs write-up:

Toss out Koss’ Pioneer League stat line, as the league’s hitting environment makes that kind of analysis wholly unreliable. Visual evaluation of Koss’ skills as a hitter and serviceable infield defense still merit inclusion on the list. At this point, he projects as a hit-first infielder. We’d like Colorado to push him and stress test the bat, but that’s not their org’s style.
 

nvalvo

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FYI: Fangraphs now has the Boston farm system ranked 15th, on the strength of our tremendous depth of ~40 FV prospects.
 

jon abbey

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FYI: Fangraphs now has the Boston farm system ranked 15th, on the strength of our tremendous depth of ~40 FV prospects.
The other 4 AL East teams are all in the top 10, which I mention not to be a dick but to show that the division seems like it will only get tougher going forward, especially once the Orioles actually start competing again. Chaim has done a fantastic rebuilding job so far, though.
 

Apisith

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So, we will add another 50FV player through the draft. I also see Groome, Bello and Yorke moving from 40 to 45FV soon. Dalbec, Whitlock and Houck will graduate. Likely that the farm is worth the same, maybe a minor increase, but we'll have graduated 3 prospects in a year with Duran also coming up soon. We should still be a top 12 farm system and the major league roster should have a lot of cost-controlled players. Seabold has also had a noticeable uptick in fastball velocity that isn't reflected in any rankings yet, and he should also be up soon as well. Lots of cost-controlled players and lots of talent in the farm system.
 

nvalvo

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The other 4 AL East teams are all in the top 10, which I mention not to be a dick but to show that the division seems like it will only get tougher going forward, especially once the Orioles actually start competing again. Chaim has done a fantastic rebuilding job so far, though.
I think that's a great point. Having all five teams in the division in the top half of the prospect ranking bodes well for parity in the division. Tampa Bay (1), Toronto (2), New York (7), and Baltimore (10) makes for a stacked division at the minor league level, especially when it contains Franco and Rutschman, the top two prospects in the sport.

The other very noticeable thing is how strong the NL West farm systems are, with Arizona (5), San Francisco (9), Los Angeles (11), and San Diego (13) all in the top half despite most having graduated some impact talent recently. Colorado really needs to get a haul from Story, Marquez, Gray, Owings, Bard and Cron.

Then, the AL Central has three, with Cleveland (6) and Detroit (8) in the top ten and Kansas City (14). Now that I'm doing this, I guess I'll round them out.

The NL Central has Pittsburgh (3) with 8 50 FV players, but then there's a huge drop off to Chicago (18), St Louis (20), Cincinnati (22), and Milwaukee (24). Similarly, the AL West has one strong system in Seattle (4), and then Texas (21), Anaheim (23), Houston (25), and Oakland (26). The wildest one IMO is the NL East: Miami (12) leads the division, followed by New York (16), Atlanta (17), Philadelphia (27), and Washington (29).

I downloaded the table in order to rank and quantify the difference between the divisions, using their dollar valuations. And the tl;dr, there's a *HUGE* gap.

AL East $1558m
NL West $1100m
AL Central $960m
NL Central $921m
AL West $812m
NL East $763m

The AL East farm systems are worth ~2X the NL East. I frankly did not expect that big a gap.
 

jon abbey

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Thanks for the quantification, it's something that's been on my mind all season, as I think it is making Cashman hesitant to move more talent for short-term fixes.
 

Farty Barrett

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SoxProspects just updated their top 20. Mayer slotted after Casas as the number 2 prospect in the system
 

ehaz

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SoxProspects just updated their top 20. Mayer slotted after Casas as the number 2 prospect in the system
And Tanner Houck keeps getting disrespected by every ranking I've seen. Career 2.31 FIP and huge strikeout numbers in nearly 50 big league innings and he's still ranked below the scuffling Jeter Downs by pretty much everyone.
 

Jason Bae

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https://www.mlb.com/news/pipeline-farm-system-rankings?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

12. Boston Red Sox
2021 preseason rank: 24
2020 midseason rank: 25
2020 preseason rank: 25
Top 100 Prospects: Marcelo Mayer, SS (No. 9); Triston Casas, 1B (No. 18); Jarren Duran, OF (No. 26)
The Red Sox parlayed MLB Pipeline's top-ranked system in mid-2015 into three straight division titles and a World Series championship in 2018, by which time graduations and trades had thinned out their supply of prospect talent. A disastrous 2020 season enabled Boston to trade veterans for youngsters to replenish depth, and also gave it the No. 4 overall pick this July -- its earliest choice since 1967 -- which turned into the best prospect in the 2021 Draft, Mayer. The Sox have made some nice scouting finds too, such as Duran (seventh-rounder in 2018), second baseman Nick Yorke (a shocking first-rounder in 2020) and right-hander Brayan Bello (signed for $28,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2017).
 

Apisith

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Do we have something with Victor Santos? He’s a PTBNL from the CJ Chatham trade. Since transitioning back to starting, his ERA across A and AA has been stellar. He’s only 20 years old. He has almost 50 innings at AA and his results have been consistent. He doesn’t walk too many people and doesn’t give up hard contact. Sox prospects says there’s no projection left but it still has to be possible to gain 1-2mph as he gets older, no?
 

Cesar Crespo

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Do we have something with Victor Santos? He’s a PTBNL from the CJ Chatham trade. Since transitioning back to starting, his ERA across A and AA has been stellar. He’s only 20 years old. He has almost 50 innings at AA and his results have been consistent. He doesn’t walk too many people and doesn’t give up hard contact. Sox prospects says there’s no projection left but it still has to be possible to gain 1-2mph as he gets older, no?
He's 21. It's possible he adds some velocity but that usually happens before age 20 or after a change in delivery. He has 39 strikeouts in 46.2 ip with a K% of 20.7% which is not very good, especially for a minor league pitcher. He also appears to be home run prone.

FWIW, he was throwing about 2 mph harder at the beginning of the season.
 

jacklamabe65

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Gammo with a LONG piece today in The Atlantic.

Excerpt:

"Connor Seabold, acquired by Bloom with Pivetta from the Phillies in 2020, is expected to have a chance to make the major-league staff in 2022. Then comes what the system is developing, which will be interesting to watch as the Red Sox appear prepared to use pitchers in the manner of the Rays — for as many innings as they can max out their stuff. Tanner Houck’s 95+ sinking two-seamer, his upstairs four-seamer, and sweeping slider make him what one opposing pitching coach says “is a weapon for nine to 12 outs at any point in games.” Houck has been developing a splitter, which could make him an effective starter sometime next season. The staff believes that Kutter Crawford, now well off his Tommy John, can be a 2-3 inning power reliever.

Whitlock could stay in the bullpen, or it could be that his stuff plays well enough to be a starter. He has eight wins and two saves. In 72 1/3 innings, he has a 1.99 earned run average, 26.8 percent strikeout rate, and 5.8 percent walk rate, changes speeds, and, in his first full season after his own Tommy John surgery, has shown Cora “no fear of any situation.”

“We haven’t had this many really good pitching prospects since I’ve been in this organization,” says one front office member, who thinks the evolution of pitching development has been a major change in the last three years. Former first-round pick Jay Groome’s velocity and swing-and-miss numbers jumped as he worked off his Tommy John and made conditioning and pitch alterations. In Groome, Chris Murphy and Brandon Walter — a 2019 27th-round pick out of the University of Delaware who was their most sought-after prospect at the trade deadline — they have three left-handers close to the big leagues, reminiscent of the arrival of the Bruce Hurst/John Tudor/Bobby Ojeda group of the early 1980s. Bryan Bello, a 21-year-old signed out of the Dominican Republic, pitched half the season at Portland with considerable success.

To go from a .400 team in a 60-game season to winning around 90 in 162 games in the only division where four teams reached the final week with legitimate October hopes is an undeniable leap. Come next June, there may be serious questions about the pitching, Dalbec may still be in learning mode, and Duran may or may not be ready to become one of the game’s most exciting players.

But taking the totality of the organization, there is a long-term promise that wasn’t there even before Dombrowski arrived. From Mayer and Yorke to Bogaerts, Eddinson Paulino to Devers, the Red Sox organization is back where it was in the 1960s, 1970s and the first decade of this century. Now, boasting the largest crop of pitching prospects in decades, the question of how many of those young pitchers blossom will determine if 2023 is the time when the Red Sox can lean on their homegrown talent, sign the complementary free agents they need, and compete with a long-term window."
 

Cesar Crespo

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I'm a Kutter Crawford fan and if the Redsox do think that about him, he'll definitely be protected.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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He writes this stuff every year, it’s just a bunch of names. Frank Francisco! Rene Miniel! Dennis Tankersley! Sun Woo Kim! Seung Song! Anastacio Martinez! It’s nice to be optimistic but by all third party accounts, the pitching talent on the farm is middle of the pack at best.
 

Cesar Crespo

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If the Sox protected Brandon F’in Walter in proposed trade deals I will have a meltdown
Why? Keith Law said he was the Sox best pitching prospect and since then, there have been lots of other people praising Brandon Walter. I get it, he's not your typical prospect. If they really like him though, they should protect him.

Plus you have no idea what offers were being made.

edit: 132k/20bb in 89.1 ip. You don't like that?
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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Why? Keith Law said he was the Sox best pitching prospect and since then, there have been lots of other people praising Brandon Walter. I get it, he's not your typical prospect. If they really like him though, they should protect him.

Plus you have no idea what offers were being made.

edit: 132k/20bb in 89.1 ip. You don't like that?
I get it... and I'm likely wrong in my reaction... but there are about 8 pitchers with starting abilities over him in the organization - Houck, Whitlock, Bonacci, etc.... overprotecting guys like Walter isn't a good long term strategy.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I get it... and I'm likely wrong in my reaction... but there are about 8 pitchers with starting abilities over him in the organization - Houck, Whitlock, Bonacci, etc.... overprotecting guys like Walter isn't a good long term strategy.
Brainer Bonaci is a SS. Do you mean Bello?
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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If Walter is the team’s best SP prospect, how great is their pitching talent, though? Sox have a middle of the pack farm system but most of the top talent are position players. I’d one looked at just pitchers, where would the Sox farm system rank? I want to believe Gammons but he has slays romanticized Sox prospects to the point of absurdity.
 

Cesar Crespo

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If Walter is the team’s best SP prospect, how great is their pitching talent, though? Sox have a middle of the pack farm system but most of the top talent are position players. I’d one looked at just pitchers, where would the Sox farm system rank? I want to believe Gammons but he has slays romanticized Sox prospects to the point of absurdity.
For one, he isn't. Keith Law is crazy.

With that said, the pitching down on the farm is the best it's been in awhile, even if the talent isn't otherworldly. It's more of a damning statement than anything else.
 

Diamond Don Aase

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If the Sox protected Brandon F’in Walter in proposed trade deals I will have a meltdown
Well, there are no more 27th-round draft picks, so Walter must be a new market inefficiency. Valhalla regional cross checker Tommy Heinsohn certainly likes the cut of his jib.

I admire Gammo’s endless exuberance but he paints a picture of tomorrow so rosy that it could cause Little Orphan Annie to blush.

Antoni Flores’s pumpkin was claimed by its first frost and Gammo is already tossing bouquets in the direction of Eddinson Paulino. My hope that Paulino pans out is not just genuine but a fervent wish that keeps Jobu’s rum flowing and my neighbor’s live chickens nervous. Even if Paulino avoids Flores’s full-season follies, though, it is likely to be years before he is a major-league regular.

By that time, Crawford, Seabold, and Whitlock will be the same age Martin Perez is now while Houck will have been last seen searching the eastern slopes of the Himalayas for a rare blue flower in an attempt to master the Shuuto. At least one of Groome, Bryan Mata, or Thad Ward probably undergoes a second Tommy John surgery before Paulino frequents Fenway Park.

While the Red Sox’ organizational depth represents an improvement over recent years, it still barely secures a seat at the table in the American League East. Braying about Bello and Walter? The Orioles call with Kyle Stowers and Mike Baumann. The Blue Jays raise with Sem Robberse and Miguel Hiraldo. The Yankees check with Stephen Ridings and more Gomezes than an Addams Family casting call. And the Rays, even having promoted Wunderkind Franco, hold the fullest house in baseball.

Tomorrow remains much more than a day— or even a year— away.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Went into more of a deep dive on Walter stats.

vs RHB: .213/.258/.308 in 236 PA on a .316 BAbip with 10bb/84k.
vs LHB: .174/.258/.235 in 128 PA on a .288 BAbip with 10bb/48k.

At home: .210/.260/.318 in 169 PA on a .300 BAbip with 8bb/55k.
On Road: .190/.256/.251 in 195 PA on a .313 BAbip with 122/77k.

Those are some lovely splits.

Bases Empty: .170/.228/.225 in 215 PA, .276 BAbip. 11bb/82k.
Runners on: .243/.302/.368 in 149 PA, .349 BAbip. 9bb/50k.

I also pointed it out in some thread that he has 2 really ugly games that are inflating his stats. I know that's cherry picking but he was obviously kept in to work on something.

In those 2 combined starts, he went 7.2 ip, 17 hits, 17 r/15er, 2bb/12k. 4 HRA, 3 doubles. 43 BF.
The other 12 starts: 58.2 ip, 34 hits, 19r/10er, 13bb/89k, 2 HRA, 6 doubles, 223 BF. ERA of 1.53/RA of 2.91 (Lots of Unearned, cant all be ignored). WHIP of .869. Hitters slashed .165/.227/.214. In 223 PA, the mustered up 6 doubles, 2 HRs.
In 6 of those starts, he went at least 5 innings and gave up less than 2 hits. Another he went 4.0 ip, 2 hits, 0r, 0bb/9k. In only 3 of his starts, did he give up more hits than IP. The 2 I mentioned and another where he went 5.0, 6hits, 6r (3er) 1bb/8k.


As a reliever: 1.57 era, 23.0 ip, 1.00 WHIP, .184/.242/.207, .281 BAbip. 5bb/31k. 95 BF. In 87 at bats, they had 16 hits, 2 doubles, 0 HRs.

Looking at his season as a whole, he faced 364 batters and gave up 10 doubles, 6 HRs.
 

GB5

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I think Walter is a pretty good prospect and in the interest of full disclosure I like Law and read everything he writes. That aside he has a weird fascination with Walter and I think I know the origin. He lives in Delaware, and has for years has bemoaned the lack of prospects from the State of Delaware. Walter is a graduate of UDelaware and as one of the rare ones from there, Law is like a proud uncle. A bit irrational in this case, I believe.
 

Rovin Romine

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Gammo’s back, and he’s back big!!!!
Did he ever leave? https://www.humbug.com/diamond/notes.html
  • Now if Connor Wong, who has recovered from his offseason cyst on the ear and is back after losing twenty-four pounds, can stretch the lineup one more spot, and if Bobby Dalbec can reverse his OBP slide, and they can get decent production from Kyle Schwarber, the Red Sox can add 73 runs and be the best offensive team in the league, especially in that park.
  • With Jonathan Arauz on the horizon, Chaim Bloom is looking to deal Eduardo Rodriguez in return for some veteran presence to guide the youngsters. Some possable names are Daniel Camarena and Eric Haase, who is available after allegedly calling the team secretary, who is now threatening to sue for six million dollars, a ham, and it is unclear who would be liable for the damage, but if it is the Tigers, they will be desperate to dump salary, and might also be willing to part with Tyler Alexander.
  • Red Sox ownership believes they could add millions in payroll by playing four of their home games in Vienna, Austria.
  • The Red Sox clubhouse is tense, after Xander Bogaerts called Tanner Houck "index finger face", end now Alex Cora has a problem, because Garrett Whitlock was offended and asked for a trade, which Chaim Bloom is hesitant to do, but might if they can get a Michael Rucker, whose unusual personality might be just the right thing in the locker room, or Corbin Burnes.
 

The Talented Allen Ripley

holden
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2003
12,723
MetroWest, MA
Good article in the Athletic on the scouting/signing of Brayan Bello and Gilberto Jimenez:

It was mid-April 2017 when the Red Sox got their first look at a skinny, soon-to-be 18-year-old pitcher in the Dominican Republic. His fastball registered in the upper 80s, and the international free agent market had passed on him two years in a row, but the Red Sox liked his arm action. They were impressed with the way he challenged hitters and believed he could add strength over time. They decided to keep tabs on him.

In a matter of weeks, Brayan Bello’s fastball had flashed up to 92 mph, and the Red Sox were discussing him as a priority prospect. They signed him that summer for a relatively modest $28,000 bonus, and he is now, perhaps, the top pitching prospect in the organization.

The same summer they discovered Bello, the Red Sox became similarly enamored with a raw 16-year-old outfielder with eye-popping athleticism but limited experience. The first time they saw him run, Gilberto Jimenez went 60 yards in 6.5 seconds, and did it on a wet track in the rain. The Red Sox invited him to an extended tryout at their Dominican Republic academy, and on August 1 — when he’d been available to every organization for a full month — the Red Sox signed him for just $10,000. Jimenez is now one of the highest-upside outfielders in their system.