8/15 Gameday Thread: A Zefer-Song DH Please! Reyes Rolling

One last one:
1) Noah Song is the real deal. I hope they promote him to Greenville right away, and he gets a chance to pitch next year.
2) I’m buying into Sam Travis as at least a half-time 1b next year. He’s probably not a *starter*, but I do think he might be close, and he adds a useful hitting element to the team. I’m comfortable with him in a platoon, and getting AB versus RH too. I think an extreme-platoon LHH who destroys righties would be a good, cheap offseason pickup. Even Moreland again on a cheap deal. Not ready to buy Ockimey there, but he’s the archetype. Be nice if they had a glove there, too.

 I've seen him play twice. Unfortunately a lot of road games lately, but I live 5 minutes from the stadium in Lowell so I plan on going to more games. I think he has talent. I think he has tools. I don't know what's going on, I'll leave that to the experts, but his stat lines look very concerning besides the BB/K rate. 


TheGoodBadSox,


I don't think I've overreacted at all.  I stated hes very young for the league. We agree on that. I stated hes very promising. We also agree on that. My last statement is was he has had a disappointing season. I think that's very fair.

42 games in and 134 ABs, he's posting a  .196 .302 .239 stat line.  His OPS is only .541. He has just 7 RBIs and 0 HR.  

The question is, should he be sent back to Gulf Coast? Is he not ready for low A? 

Anyone seen Yoelvis Guidas pitch? Don't know anything about him or his stuff, but his stats look like he's a kid who knows what he's doing on the mound.

I would still give him a chance to start, because what he needs to become a starter--something to neutralize lefties some--is more obvious than a guy like Hernandez, and I also don't see him as the potential dominant reliever that Hernandez might be. I liked the idea of putting him in the bullpen in the short term and I'd have no worry turning to him in September if they're in contention. I probably keep him in Pawtucket and send him to the AFL if they are not, no reason to burn the 40-man slot. Then next season I'd have him in the Pawtucket rotation and evaluate the progress against lefties around midseason.

For me, what to do with Houck is more straightforward than what to do with Hernandez. Hernandez has more upside, but also is further away from being an adequate starter and is also probably currently the better relief pitcher because any stamina concerns are just totally out the window.

Got my last look at the Sea Dogs in Hartford last night. Someone gave me a ticket outside the park that included a food buffet on the second deck 1st base side so I don't have as much to say as I otherwise might. I'd like to think I would have skipped the buffet if it was Mata.

The last time I saw Denyi in Hartford he took a no hitter into the 5th. This time the light hitting Yard Goats hit him hard. The fastball still sitting 90, touching 91 a few times.

Of Lau's 25 pitches, 23 were fastballs (90-95). The first curve at 79 got a pop out to 3rd, a second at 76 went in the dirt. Four swings and misses with the fastball.

Feltman dealt cleanly with the bottom of the Y-G lineup in the 8th with a fastball hitting 96 and 3 off speed pitches at 85 (deep fly to center),88 (called strike), and 83 (looked like a curve taken for a ball).

Duran lined a single to center in the first, hit an off speed pitch to the warning track in left in the 3rd, a grounder rolling between 3rd and short for a single in the 5th, and another warning track fly against the tough lefty Horacek that Jones ran down in the left field corner. Easy to dream on him peppering the left field wall in Fenway in what would have been a 4 hit game last night (or last year in Norwich). Downs (who doubled twice on Wednesday) double play grounder kept him from a 5th at bat.

AA employs major league shifts and Netzer was robbed of a hit by one in the fourth when Herrera caught his sharp line drive one hopper 90 feet in the outfield grass and just a few feet left of the first baseman and threw him out at first. In the 6th, Netzer would beat the shift lining a 95mph fastball to short that went through to left with Burcham playing to the right of second base.

One play stood out for me last night. After Vizcaino (who ran wild on the bases this week) led off the 7th with a double an error to reach third, he did not test Wilson's arm in right who threw a laser one hop throw home. It is a short right field in Hartford but it was still a "wow" throw for me. Plenty of arm for right if the bat continues to progress. Vizcaino (who stole home Wednesday) chose to score on a grounder to third on the next play.

I think it's definitely an overreaction. They gave an 18 year old kid an aggressive assignment and he's struggled a little bit. As others have mentioned, the peripherals are fine so there's no real concern at least as of now and your initial assertion was that he needs to make more contact which isn't really all that correct. If he comes out next year (I'd assume he repeats Lowell) and struggles without making any adjustments then yeah, maybe we can worry. But look for the context before making these big blanket statements.

And the bonus thing doesn't really matter that much either. Aren't you the one who said you'd like to see the Sox target high bonus guys just for the sake of going for it? I feel like you of all people would be more patient with bonus babies. Just let things play out a reasonable amount before making overarching conclusions. There are a few legit prospects on that Lowell team who are struggling and that's probably just because they're young and young prospects can struggle a bit. As long as they show the tools, which by all legitimate reports Flores has.

Yeah, I can see the argument for why they'd continue to be aggressive with him and just let him play full season ball. A lot of it probably will have to do with the work they put in with him over the fall/spring. At a certain point, getting those legit game reps that you miss by playing short season has to be more valuable than XST. But my only issue with it is if you keep pushing a guy and he keeps struggling, I wonder if the mental toll that takes becomes damaging at any point. I have no idea what Flores is like mentally and I would make positive assumptions before I'd ever make a negative one, but people deal with "failure" differently and my first assumption with Flores is that they would try to given him an opportunity to succeed before pushing him further. I get the argument the other way, though.

They also wasted millions on guys like Michael Almanzar, Christopher Acosta, Raymel Flores, Simon Mercedes, Jose Almonte and Jose Vincio while picking up Darwinzon Hernandez and Bryan Mata for peanuts.

Being so hung up on big bonus international kids isn't wise when there's a really restrictive cap.

You're all for targeting them, but you're also all for demoting them after a bad month! The whole point is that Flores is an actual real-life non-hypothetical high-level expensive IFA the Red Sox thought was good and signed. If you want the Red Sox to get these expensive high-ceiling guys, it's hard to freak about them but then also argue in the exact same thread that signing high-level expensive IFAs is the right way to roll. You seem to want hypothetical studs who are hyped and live up to the hype and are basically brought into the system fully developed. Which... we all want that. You can't moan that the Red Sox don't sign any Antoni Flores's while also complaining about the production of the actual Antoni Flores, especially when there are some legitimately good signs with his play despite a frustrating overall stat line.

Mookie Betts in Lowell at age 19: .267/.352/.307.

The point of player development is not to have them put up extraordinary stats at every level. The point is that they continue developing as players. Putting up good numbers does not mean the player should be promoted immediately. Putting up bad ones does not mean the player must be demoted or repeat the level next year. It doesn't work like that.

Flores could probably really use the offseason, that's for sure. Then he'll come in next year, head to Greenville, and we'll go from there.

Yes, you've mentioned lots and lots of times that the Yankees signed Jasson Dominguez.

The fact that they don't place players based on statistics.