Top 20 Red Sox: How Are They Doing??

by John Sickels on May 16, 2005 10:56 PM EDT in News Comment 27 comments

Dustin Pedroia as an Arizona State Sun Devil

Review of Boston Red Sox Top 20 List

Hanley Ramirez, SS: Good start for Double-A Portland, .302/.358/.468. Doing fine.
Jon Papelbon, RHP: Good start for Double-A Portland, 2.02 ERA, 3-1 record, 35/8 K/BB in 36 innings. Doing fine.
Brandon Moss, OF: Poor start for Portland, .204/.280/.311. Overmatched right now, has fanned 37 times in 28 games.
Anibal Sanchez, RHP: 2.19 ERA, with superb 55/6 K/BB in 37 innings for Class A Wilmington. Pitching wonderfully.
Jon Lester, LHP: 1-1, 3.76 at Portland, 37/11 K/BB in 38 innings. Doing fine.
Dustin Pedroia, 2B: .347/.434/.521 at Portland, playing brilliantly.
Christian Lara, SS: Hitting .224/.333/.286 in 30 games for Class A Greenville. Not hitting with much authority, but he's managed to draw 15 walks in 115 plate appearances, a decent ratio.
Luis Soto, SS: Extended spring training.
Kelly Shoppach, C: .274/.389/.566 at Triple-A Pawtucket, showing power and good plate discipline.
Abe Alvarez, LHP: 2-2, 3.82 at Pawtucket, 24/7 K/BB in 38 innings. Doing decently, handling himself well in Triple-A.
Ian Bladergroen, 1B: Hitting .218/.343/.287 at Wilmington. Has drawn 14 walks, but struck out 28 times in 26 games. Disappointing.
Andrew Dobies, LHP: 2.41 ERA, 40/7 K/BB in 41 innings for Greenville. Throwing strikes, pitching well at a low level.
Manny Delcarmen, RHP: struggling at Portland, 5.54 ERA. Has fanned 16 in 13 innings, but command is an issue.
Jeremy West, 1B: .320/.387/.484 at Portland, doing very well.
Mickey Hall, OF: Hitting .242/.345/.435 in 36 games for Wilmington. Not wonderful but OK considering difficult park context. 48 strikeouts in 36 games is a red flag.
Cla Meredith, RHP: Reached the Majors unexpectedly quickly.
Tommy Hottovy, LHP: Poor 7.90 ERA in 7 games for Wilmington. However, his 31/10 K/BB in 27 innings is pretty good. Still a disappointment so far.
David Pauley, RHP: 1-1, 3.68 in 7 starts for Portland, 27/10 K/BB in 37 innings, 41 hits allowed. Doing OK.
Mike Rozier, LHP: 4.40 ERA in 6 starts for Greenville, 13/14 K/BB in 29 innings shows mediocre command and less-than-anticipated dominance.
Kyle Bono, RHP: Command problems at Wilmington, 5.79 ERA but 14/12 K/BB in 14 innings.

Stock Rising: Pedroia, Shoppach, West, Meredith
Stock Dropping: Moss, Bladergroen, Hottovy

0 recs | Comment 27 comments

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Pedroia comps

There's a bit of discussion going on regarding Pedroia's hot start (some arguement is being made that his unexpected power is partially due to weather conditions). What would you anticipate his upside as being? Eckstein-ian...or Marcus Giles-ian?

by jsla on May 16, 2005 11:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Eckstein comparisons ...

drive me nuts. (btw, this isn't directed at you jsia; you didn't make the comparison. Just in general). I mean, there's nothing particularly wrong with Eckstein, but they just aren't comparable.

There is nothing about Pedroia that says "Eckstein," except his height. He's a lot bigger than Eckstein, listed at 180. And I've seen him; that 180 is legit ... he's a strong-looking dude. Eckstein's listed at 165, and he must have been wearing a wet sweatshirt at that weigh-in. I'm about 5'6 or 7, 170, and I'm noticeably bigger than Eckstein. Pedroia would scare me, though, if he were mad at me.

Pedroia's shown better power everywhere he's been, too. Eckstein's SLG in short-season, A+, and AA: .426, .398, .416. Pedroia (so far) in A-, A+, AA: .523, .560, .504 (small sample size in each, but looked at as a whole ...).

Giles, otoh, put up .513, .472, and .488 in A-, A+, and AA, pretty close to Dustin so far and at similar ages. But he doesn't have the same extreme BB/K ratio as Pedroia, with only his AA season having more BBs than Ks and that by just one (72/71). Right now, Pedroia sits at 18/13 after putting up 13/4 and 6/3 in fairly short stints in each A-ball stop last year. He was 48/15(!) his last year in college.

So, I'd say that, so far, Dustin has been a lot closer to Giles than Eckstein, but comps at this level (comparing between only two players) aren't really predictive, imho. And Pedroia really hasn't proven anything yet; he hasn't even been a year in professional baseball. One thing is clear, though: Pedroia's not Eckstein.

Wallball Single

by TaoManny on May 17, 2005 9:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oddly enough Brian

I said that yesterday in a Red Sox roundtable at Beyond the Boxscore

The Eckstein comps drive me completely out of my mind...if he's comparable because he's short why isn't he Dana Barros or Mugsy Bogues too...

by Marc Normandin on May 17, 2005 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pedroia comps...

Also, the discussion is over at SoSH. I forgot to mention that...

by jsla on May 16, 2005 11:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Shoppach

Not sure there's much more for him to prove at AAA, at least not after this season. That's assuming he can keep it up. So what do they do? Trade? Promote and send Mirabelli packing? Move him to 1B/OF/SS? (Okay, maybe not the last position.)

by drjayphd on May 16, 2005 11:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

what I would do...

I'm not sure what the Sox plan on doing, but I'd move Mirabelli. Shoppach will be getting in some work with a knuckleballer now that Charlie Zink is with the Paw Sox so if he shows he can handle it, then maybe Wakefield can have a new personal catcher in the form of Kelly Shoppach. Mirabelli is a starter on about half the teams in the majors and could probably land some relief pitching help or a prospect or two. I'd move Mirabelli and call Shoppach up to back up Varitek.

Friendly Fenway

by Brian38 on May 16, 2005 11:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Zink

Has already been moved back to AA. It took Shoppach a while to adjust to AAA so I'd be inclined to leave him there for the full season and bring him up as the backup/thirdstringer in September to warm up for 2006.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on May 17, 2005 12:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

just saw that

Just as I posted the comment I saw that Zink was demoted. That little expiriment didn't last long...

I'm all for leaving him in Pawtucket for another year, but there's nothing to warm him up for if somebody isn't moved out of the organization. Mirabelli's deal signed in the offseason was for 2 years so he'll be around in 2006.

Friendly Fenway

by Brian38 on May 17, 2005 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

mickey hall

First 20 games: 13/70, 2B, 3B, HR, 7BB, 30K
(.186/.260/.271/.531)

Next 11 games: 12/37, 5-2B, 3B, 3HR, 10BB, 15K (SF)
(.324/.458/.757/1.215)

This onlt goes through 5/10, but he's continued hitting fairly well. He did the same thing last year with an awful start.

by jsla on May 17, 2005 1:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Mickey Hall interesting numbers

Mickey Hall

I wrote that as my first article on Sox on Deck, a Red Sox minor league blog. I love the fact his SecAvg is great...TTO!

by Marc Normandin on May 17, 2005 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

more Hall

From the ever-aware amfox at SoSH:

First 20 games (through 4/28) : 13/70, 2-2B, 3B, HR, 7BB, 30K (SF)
(.186/.256/.286/.542)

Last 18 games: 20/63, 8-2B, 3B, 3HR, 14BB, 21K
(.317/.442/.619/1.061)

Total: .248/.348/.444/.792

by jsla on May 18, 2005 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

West

Jeremy West can mash with the best of them.

by Goodfella on May 17, 2005 6:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Another Top 20 Update

You should do the Yankees so people can talk about how Robinson Cano's defense is awful and how his offensive ceiling is .280/.320/.400 :-)

...NJASDJDH...

by Fabian on May 17, 2005 11:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ladies and gentlemen...

A big round of applause for our phrase of the day... "Sample Size"!

by CrimsonLiederhosen on May 17, 2005 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sample Size

I'm sorry, I did get a bit ahead of myself, especially since there are doubts he can even be a productive AAA player...

...NJASDJDH...

by Fabian on May 17, 2005 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sea Dogs

The prospects in Portland are generally doing very well. Pedroia is very impressive. Ramirez, West, Papelbon and Lester are all playing great baseball. Papelbon has been terrific all season, and Lester has overcome some minor command problems early in the season to make a great 1-2 punch with Papelbon.

Pauley's a good sinker/slider kind of guy who will probably top out as a #4 starter in the big leagues.

Moss has struggled at the plate, but he seems to be having better at bats lately, and I expect his numbers to improve as the weather warms up. He's been really good in the field, as have Pedroia, Ramirez, and David Murphy.

Delcarmen is a bit of a mystery. I've only seen him once - he was throwing strikes and dominating that night. If he can get the walks down, he should be OK.

Chris Durbin isn't on the Top 20, but he's been a pleasant surprise: 300/363/500-3-20 in 23 games.

Joe's SeaBlog

by Roadduck99 on May 17, 2005 12:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Chip Ambres

how about Chip Ambres? 365/456/635 and 11 for 12 stealing bases at Pawtucket.

by chris p on May 17, 2005 12:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

All your prospects are useless

You will just go out an buy your players.

by novaoakland on May 17, 2005 12:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

thats not entirely true

they might trade the prospects to teams like Oakland who can't afford players...I sure hope not though, as I'd love to see some kids come through the system.

by Marc Normandin on May 17, 2005 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

The Yanks show you can't buy players at every position forever; it will catch up with you eventually when a couple of your big investments flop and you're maxed out on payroll. Even large market teams need a steady stream of minor leaguers, and IMHO, need to actually play some of them on their own team.

by dcarrano on May 17, 2005 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not to hijack a thread, but ...

This argument from Oakland fans makes me sigh. If fans turned out and supported the team, or if the owners were smarter, you would have a big market team. I have a lot of sympathy for Milwaukee, Minnesota, KC to some extent ... all of these are in fairly low density areas. The Twin Cities are pretty big, but there's not too much around them.

But the Bay Area? Jeez, it's crawling with people. Easily enough to support 2 teams at high-dollar levels. And the A's have been a very successful franchise in the last 30-odd years. Decent economy, too ... it's not Sox fans' fault the A's can't make it work now.

I know there are other factors, and I realize the long history of the Sox gives them a unique advantage, but Oakland should at least be on the level of other bigger market clubs.

Wallball Single

by TaoManny on May 17, 2005 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bladergroen

Bladergroen's struggles are a bit suprising. I know he's never been considered a great defensive player, but since he has 6 errors I was wondering if his wrist could still be a problem? He was on a very good offensive team last year when he broke out though, for whatever that's worth.

by MetfanBren on May 17, 2005 1:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

back on the DL

He's back on the DL with a wrist injury now...so I guess that answers your question. Hopefully his struggles are related to the injury and after it heals up he'll put up some numbers.

Friendly Fenway

by Brian38 on May 18, 2005 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pedroia ETA?

Could we see Pedroia by the end of next season?

by franchise on May 17, 2005 6:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

maybe even the begining...

Some are calling for Pedroia to be the Sox opening day second baseman in 2006 if they don't resign Bellhorn.

Friendly Fenway

by Brian38 on May 18, 2005 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I expect

They'll bring in someone else to compete for the job with hims, but if he continues playing like he has, you can probably count on him as the starting 2B next year. Heck, if Bellhorn goes down with an injury I wouldn't be too surprised to see him get a call up, although Mueller might take most of the time at 2B.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on May 18, 2005 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

my money is on...

Pedroia to start at 2B in '06. He will play for the minimum who allows Theo more room to upgrade other spots.

And by the way, this guy played at ASU and Team USA against top competition. He just needed to get his feet wet in pro ball. 1 1/2 years will suffice.

See ya 'Horn. Dustin will man 2B for the next 10 years.

by So Cal Bob on May 19, 2005 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs