Lowell Spinners update: Forrestt Allday, Carlos Asuaje, Jake Romanski

Forrestt Allday, OF

Allday might not be a real prospect -- he didn't rank in Baseball America's top-500 pre-draft, and the Red Sox selected him at least in part because they knew they could get him significantly below slot -- but his name is pretty great, and he knows how to draw a walk. He's someone who might stick around in the system, Alex Hassan-style, based purely on his ability to take pitches and walks. The question, as it is with Hassan, as it is with Travis Shaw, as it has been with so many others, is whether or not the hitting can come along far enough with that plate discipline to merit our attention.

Can he avoid passiveness at the plate, and be aggressive enough to know when to attack what a pitcher is giving him? We won't find out for sure at short-season Lowell, but it's where Allday will get his start.

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Carlos Asuaje, 2B

Asuaje was Boston's 11th-round pick, and though he ranked #208 on Baseball America's pre-draft top-500, the Sox were able to select and sign him at #323 overall. While he was a shortstop at Nova Southeastern, the Sox have switched him over to second base as a pro. The Venezuelan-born 21-year-old used to be a second baseman, but had just moved off of the position for his junior year, so he's already familiar with the keystone.

Baseball America believes Asuaje profiles similarly to the Cardinals' Kolten Wong, though, with less power. They're both small, though, with a line drive swing and the ability to draw walks while avoiding strikeouts. It might take time for that to show up in his pro numbers, but there is talent here, despite his signing outside the top-10 rounds.

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Jake Romanski, C

Romanski was Boston's 14th-round pick, and came in at #485 in Baseball America's pre-draft rankings. He sounds like the kind of organizational backstop that the Red Sox like to have around, a Dan Butler type who can at least contribute at the plate occasionally, and won't mess up on the defensive side. Don't take that Dan Butler mention as a comp, by the way -- it's just that the Red Sox tend to like these backstops who can catch, throw, and call a game, if nothing else. It's good for the pitchers the organization is developing, and, in a pinch, they can make their way to the majors when the regulars are hurt and there's no veteran on-hand to acquire. Romanski has caught significant pitching prospects before at San Diego State -- Michael Cederoth and Philip Walby, specifically -- so he's already had some work with the kinds of arms he'll be seeing in the pros, too.

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