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Post by ramireja on Apr 23, 2020 15:34:02 GMT -5
Alright folks, so far we've had two blowouts for 2020 SoxProspects pre-season all-star voting at C and 1B. Now we're moving onto our 2B voting where I think we might have a closer race. Please remember to cast your vote for the second baseman in the Red Sox minor league system that you believe will have the best 2020 season. The idea is to vote for the player you predict will perform the best on the field, not who you consider to be the best prospect. Per usual, each player is eligible for only one position and thus will not appear on multiple polls.
This poll will close on Sunday April 26th @ noon ET.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Apr 23, 2020 17:48:05 GMT -5
I'm guessing the race would be a lot less close if Jeter Downs was listed as a second baseman.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Apr 24, 2020 8:21:02 GMT -5
Yeah, where to list the middle infielders was tough. Downs and Fitzgerald also could've been listed here. (another reason seeing where guys were playing in camp would've been nice!)
In the end, it felt like Cannon and Flores were the ones to move here.
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Post by James Dunne on Apr 24, 2020 10:11:52 GMT -5
Yeah I feel like Rafaela would be in that "would've been nice to see where he's working out" category.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Apr 24, 2020 10:51:04 GMT -5
Yup. The only thing we've had to go on from this spring was a set of lineups Kelly captured on one of the days before MiLST started when they were scrimmaging:
Field 3: Jimenez CF, Fitzgerald 2B, Casas 1B, Jones 3B, Osinski DH, Bonaci SS, Brannen LF, Matheny RF, Rei C Field 4: Lugo SS, Netzer 2B, Decker RF, Diaz 3B, Feliz LF, Marrero C, Downs 1B, Dearden DH, Ramsey CF Field 5: Williams SS, Howlett 3B, Esplin RF, Castellanos 1B, Groshans C, Gonzalez DH, Dalton LF, Rusconi CF, Erro 2B Field 6: Rafaela SS, Cannon 2B, Granberg 1B, Nishioka DH, Profar 3B, Curcio CF, Hardy DH, Diaz C, Belen LF
Can't really read too much into one day's lineup, but it was at least interesting to me that Fitz (who I think is going to get the true utility treatment when things start back up) was deferring to Bonaci and Cannon was deferring to Rafaela.
As for this exercise, we had to combine speculation with what guys did last year. For example, per the team, Downs is going to get most of his time at SS this year, which he did last year; Fitz played mostly SS last year; and Cannon split his time between the two positions, with most of his time at SS coming right after he debuted to ease him into things. Flores also split time, playing more SS than 2B, but he's a good bet to be on a team with someone like Lugo, Rafaela, and/or Bonaci, so the PT split will be very interesting.
And honestly, they're in a position again where they're likely to deal from the middle infield in the low minors simply to alleviate the playing time share at these positions. I want to say they were in a similar situation in the 2014-15 offseason, when they included Raymel Flores in the trade for Wade Miley in part because they also had this middle infield depth chart at that point in time:
A+: Rijo, Lin A: Dubon, Guerra (He'd have gone here) XST: Luis Aj. Basabe, Acosta, Rivera, Tovar
Oh, and then they went and signed another Low-A middle infielder for like $63 million a couple months later who turned out ok.
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Post by ramireja on Apr 27, 2020 12:58:05 GMT -5
Pretty close race here indeed. It came down to a pair of bounce back candidates if we want to call them that with Cannon ultimately getting the nod.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Apr 28, 2020 8:34:51 GMT -5
Yeah, first tight one we've had. Interesting that people are so out on Netzer but at some point a college guy has to hit.
I wonder if Marco had not cleared waivers earlier this offseason if he might've gotten a few more votes (although I guess at that point we might not have even put him in the poll, assuming he'd make the MLB club?).
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