Minors
Sea Dogs first hand: the good and the bad
by Randy Booth on Aug 25, 2009 6:00 AM EDT
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I had the pleasure last night to go check out the Sea Dogs in Portland. I got a call from a friend a few hours before the game and he told me he had an extra ticket. I couldn't pass up a chance to see Lars Anderson go 0 for 4.
OK, so that didn't actually happen. Lars did all right and it was a pretty good game despite the Dogs losing, 6-4. I made note of a few players that saw action last night.
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Is there life in the Dominican Summer League?
by USG on Aug 11, 2009 7:11 AM EDT
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10 comments
The Dominican Summer League is a strange place. There are 4 divisions, of which one has 4 teams, one 5 teams, and two have 12 teams. Some of said teams sport names like "DSL Yankees 2" or "DSL Brewers/O's", and at one point, the "Hiroshima Toyo Carp". A DSL game could easily mistaken for a High School game with few players over 20, and many ranging from 17-18 years old. Scouting reports are few and far between, and Box Scores tend to be put up late at night in spite of the league consisting of almost exclusively day games. The DSL is a league of significant transience, as if you don't succeed and get promoted quickly, there's little chance you ever will. In many ways, the DSL is to the world of professional baseball what spring training is to the majors. Succeed there, and you'll get your shot. Fail, and it's back from whence you came, and in a hurry.
So the question becomes "do the Red Sox have anyone there?"
10 comments | 1 recs |
Brave New Pawtucket
by USG on Aug 4, 2009 7:00 AM EDT
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About 50 days ago, I wrote a piece on upcoming roster changes for the Pawtucket Red Sox that would be necessitated by a surge of players from below (see: The Pawtucket Roster Crunch). Things have turned out slightly differently. Promotion from within has certainly occurred. Aaron Bates had already moved up by then. Mark Wagner has since, and Junichi Tazawa recently joined the ranks in McCoy Stadium. Victor Martinez' acquisition will likely force Kottaras back down also (he should clear waivers) once the dust has settled. I expect the denizens of this site are already plenty familiar with those names, though, so let's focus elsewhere.
9 comments | 0 recs |
Stimulus Package: 5 Red Sox Prospects Whose Stocks Have Risen
by USG on Aug 1, 2009 1:15 PM EDT
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No, I am not proud of the title.
Alright, the trade deadline has passed, and the Sox are minus 2 prospects and a young graduate. But all is well in the farm system. Between Clay, Bard, Kelly, Bowden, Tazawa, and arguably Pimentel and Doubront, none of the arms the Sox shipped out were even top-5 pitchers in the system, and of course the positional depth remains untouched from Lars and Reddick, right on down to Westmoreland.
So, now that I am certain that none of these guys will be pulled out from underneath me, here's the follow-up to the "Market Crash" piece. These are the Sox farmhands who have best improved their stock over the season to date.
7 comments | 0 recs |
Market Crash: 5 Red Sox Prospects Whose Stocks Have Fallen
by USG on Jul 23, 2009 7:00 AM EDT
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Acclaim is a fickle thing in the world of prospects. One good year could have a previous unknown garnering all sorts of attention, from lists of dark horses and "players to watch" to team top-10's and league top-100's. The opposite is, of course, also true—one bad year and a player previously proclaimed a future All-Star is dropped to the realms of the dreaded "PTBNL", from whence few have ever returned (with some exceptions. See: Ortiz, David). After all, in the minor leagues, everyone is unproven. A major leaguer with a good track record slumps, while a minor leaguer "hits a wall". The Sox farm system is, of course, not immune from this. And just as 2009 has seen some pleasant surprises, it has seen some disappointments as well. So, without further ado, and from the smallest to greatest drops, I give you the 5 worst cases.
13 comments | 0 recs |
5 Reasons Why Lars Anderson is Still a Top Prospect
by USG on Jul 14, 2009 11:58 AM EDT
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44 comments
4 months ago, before the 2009 season started, the position of top Red Sox prospect was reserved for Lars Anderson. Clay Buchholz graduated following his half-season in 2008, Michael Bowden was considered a mid-rotation starter, and Daniel Bard could not threaten the top spot as a bullpen arm. Lars Anderson sat undisputed at #1.
Today, it's not so clear that he is deserving of that distinction, as Lars has dropped to #2 in the SoxProspects.com rankings. To be fair to Lars, a big part of this drop is Casey Kelly's outstanding showing on the mound, but Anderson's offensive slump cannot simply be ignored. He dominated Portland in 133 at bats after his promotion from Lancaster last year, putting up a line of .317/.408/.513. But so far in 2009 he's batting a much less impressive .272/.366/.413.
The reaction from scouts has not been positive, with some calling him alternatively "overrated" and "unathletic". And if their reaction has been somewhat overly quick, than the reaction of some fans has been downright alarmist, with every line of "0-4, K" damning him more in their minds as a non-prospect. While there is certainly some reason to worry, this seems like a dramatic overreaction from the baseball community at large. It seems like everyone is ignoring the actual scenario that's taking place and simply looking at Lars like he's David Ortiz dropping off the face of the earth for the first 2 months of the season. As much as it is legitimate to be concerned for Lars as you would any prospect having a down year, there are more reasons to write this season off.
44 comments | 1 recs |
First Half Minors Recap Part 3: Short Season Teams
by USG on Jul 8, 2009 6:06 PM EDT
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2 comments
Part 1: Pawtucket and Portland
Part 2: Salem
Part 2.5: Greenville
Finishing off this review/preview of the Sox' farm system are the short-season teams. Filled with the youngest, or in some cases, the dregs of the minor leagues, these are the teams that many fans don't even know exist. However, as lacking as they may be in glory, they're often the first stop for rookies fresh out of the draft, no matter how high the round, or international free agents just signed to massive bonuses. Between the Dominican Summer League, Gulf Coast League, and short-season Lowell, the organization has filled their system with a great depth of talent sure to eventually produce results.
2 comments | 0 recs |
First Half Minors Recap Part 2.5: Greenville
by USG on Jul 3, 2009 8:58 AM EDT
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Part 1: Pawtucket and Portland
=Greenville=
If Salem has been the most disappointing team, Greenville has been the most impressive. Halfway through the season, they have secured a postseason berth, their 39-29 record winning the division's first-half by a game. And more importantly, the team has advanced the prospects which got them to that point. Tim Federowicz, Anthony Rizzo, and David Mailman have all moved on to Salem after posting great numbers with the A-level team. Bryan Price has also managed to make his way up to Advanced-A ball. But perhaps the biggest story in the whole Sox system this year has been the fast-rising star of Casey Kelly, who pitched his first 48 innings with Greenville.
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