Lowell Spinners Update: Mike Augliera, Justin Haley, William Cuevas

Mike Augliera, P

Augliera, drafted just a month ago by the Red Sox out of Binghamton University, has thrown all of eight innings in his four starts for the short-season Lowell Spinners. That's just how short-season ball goes for many hurlers -- the concept of playing every day, and in lengthier starts, doesn't hit until full-season levels, and even then, innings and pitch counts can still be very limited, with what we know as a major-league routine saved until the upper levels of the minors.

In the little time he's had, Augliera's done well, striking out 10 of the 32 batters he's faced, and without giving up a walk yet. That's not a surprise for the hurler that just led the NCAA in K/BB, but it might also be part of the reason he's giving up so many hits early on. Living in the strike zone has its positives and its negatives, and as Augliera gets more experience against professional hitters wielding wood, he'll figure out how to balance that ledger in his favor.

Justin Haley, P

Haley has seen even less action than fellow 2012 draftee Augliera, with the right-hander starting just a pair of games and tossing half as many frames. He has given up walks, but also has missed bats, and avoided much in the way of hits in the early going.

Haley is a big dude with a potentially big arm, as the 21-year-old stands six feet, five inches, and fills that frame out at 230 pounds. His fastball ranges from the low-to-mid-90s, and while he has a bender and a change, both offerings could use the work that the minor league environment provides them. Things have started out well enough for the big righty, at least, and he's young enough (and potentially interesting enough) that there's no real need to figure him for a starter or a reliever at this early stage, weeks into his professional career.

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William Cuevas, P

Cuevas is the lone member of this week's update who has more than a few weeks of Red Sox baseball behind them, as the 21-year-old signed with the Red Sox back in 2008 as an international free agent. He spent the 2009 through 2011 campaigns in the Dominican Summer League, moving to the Gulf Coast League in the last of those, but with the exception of his 10-inning stint in the DOSL to start 2011, none of those stops produced very much in terms of results.

He's young, though, and has the potential to be more than he's shown. His early-season numbers at Lowell aren't exactly eye-popping or earth-shattering, but they're still solid enough to take a moment to stop and admire them regardless. Cuevas leads the club in innings, making just two starts but coming in relief three times, and often at lengths normally attributed to starters.

He sits in the low-90s with his fastball, and has a frame that could use a few more pounds -- he's six feet tall, but just 160 pounds. The Venezuelan import has time to grow, though, both on the mound and in the gym, as the Red Sox generally let pitchers like this have the innings they need to develop.