These look like notably aggressive placements, compared to previous seasons.

Vitek to AA was expected, but Brentz and Ranaudo both were pretty meh in a half-season each in Salem, and the club could easily have justified making them earn the next promotion. Likewise with the A-ball roster, Jacobs and Coyle were always headed there, and Bogaerts was at least likely, but I really like seeing Jackie Bradley Jr joining them.

The Greenville assignments make me very happy. I guess you could hope for Barnes to start in high-A, but ticketing three high schoolers for full season ball right off the bat suggests that Sox are very impressed with these guys. Garin Cecchini is joining the 2011 draftees in the Sally League, a year behind their schedule. You couldn't have expected Cecchini to jump to Salem from Lowell, though.

The increase in aggression with minor league placements might have nothing to do with these particular minor leaguers, but instead it could be a sign of a shift in strategy from Epstein to Cherington. That's unknowable right now, but it should temper our optimism a little bit about these assignments. Nonetheless, this all looks like good news to me.

These look like notably aggressive placements, compared to previous seasons.

it could be a sign of a shift in strategy from Epstein to Cherington.

I think if you go back to 2010 you will see the same thing at work. I don't remember the precise details but I remember looking it up and finding that the average age of the hitters and the pitchers (broken down) was younger the average age of the league at every single level except the Greenville pitchers (working off memory). Additionally, all their top prospects (at the time that Rizzo, Kelly and Iglesias among others) were promoted to levels a bit more advanced than seemed appropriate.

I think rather that a shift in strategy it is more a sign that the Sox are fairly high on this crop and want to push them a bit.

So PeteAbe was kind enough to respond to an e-mail. I didn't grasp something he said in the post but apparently Oscar Tejeda HAS been moved to the outfield.

That isn't good. I mean, Tejeda isn't likely to be anything regardless, but if he's not going to be a middle infielder, he's going to need to take maybe four qualitative steps forward with the bat to help out the club

Soxprospects take on Tejeda's defense:

Presently below-average defensively at second base. Especially struggles with reads on balls up the middle. Lacks concentration in the field and focus drifts. Will make spectacular play and then struggle on a routine one. Shows tools and ability, but may ultimately end up in the outfield. Plus arm.

This was their take in their 2011 preview, so a full year ago:

Becoming stiffer as he physically develops, it remains to be seen as to whether Tejeda can stick in the infield as he continues to mature. While showing good range and soft hands, he’s still rough at second base and his defensive game has some improvement in front of it to become major league caliber. At times, he can struggle with his technique and needlessly rush plays leading to unforced errors. A move to leftfield down the line may not be out of the question as he gets closer to being ready for the major leagues

EDITed to make my first sentence more specific to defense.

When in the last three years was there any thought that Tejeda would stay in the middle-infield? I've been calling for them to move him to the OF for a while. Keeping players at premium positions for the sole purpose of maintaining better trade value is a silly practice. As if teams willing to trade for a player haven't scouted that player yet. It hurts the player and it hurts the players around him.

Hopefully one of the changes Cherington makes to the development system is expediting inevitable position changes. Be out ahead of something which will be routine in 5-10 years.

When in the last three years was there any thought that Tejeda would stay in the middle-infield? I've been calling for them to move him to the OF for a while.

When? The 2011 soxprospects preview. If his move off middle infield was so clear that there was no thought he would stay, surely the preview would have been written as such. Instead, it remains to be seen, and a move may not be out of the question.

The whole point of this thread is that, based solely on assignments, we can get decent information on the team's judgment on the players' development. The team has a vested interest in maximizing players' potential, and they've behaved as such in the past decade. Thus, if they had him at 2B it was a sign that they thought he had the potential. Moving him off 2B says they no longer think it's worth trying. There's no "remains to be seen" about it.

I don't mean for the above to sound hostile. When it comes to scouting I've not put in nearly the time and effort to make any real judgment, and soxprospects (and/or you) have been on top of this the whole way, well ahead of the actual roster moves. But the roster moves are far more definitive to the untrained eye.

Those season previews are written with a certain amount of "hedge" built in. Go back to the 2011 SoxProspects.com season preview podcast and we all concurred that he will eventually move off the position and I voiced the same position then that I'm voicing now.

No game thread again.

Also, I'm so sick of MLB blackout policies. I can't watch the game. Irritating. The Angels and Royals are on for LA.

Hey, it's suck-ass Beckett today!

Watching the FOX feed on MLB.tv with park only audio is pretty nice.

How are you doing that?

Any kind of international proxy will work. The free version of this ought to do it for you if you can get it running.

Still no Punto. Aviles doesn't look like such a good hitter that he should start against every RHP.

Great PA there, Ellsbury, may to make him work for it.

First squandered lead-off double of the year. They really are true Red Sox.

The problem there, for me, is Aviles. A guy with a projected .300 wOBA vs righties is not a solution at shortstop on his own unless he's a very good fielder.

Did Cabrera just Beltre that checked swing?

What's wrong with the Primer Chimp? Not enough bananas?

What's wrong with the Primer Chimp? Not enough bananas?

Too many bananas. All stopped up with all the fiber.

Why in the world is Adrian Gonzalez persuing that ball? It was a routine play for Pedroia.

Even-number year Beckett!

And Ross hacks at 3-1 pitch out of the zone to start the 5th.

Why is Beckett still in this game anyway?

That was posted after Cabrera's second homer and before Fielder's second.

Beckett looked awful. He was grooving mediocre fastballs over the heart of the plate all day. To take nothing away from this Tigers lineup, I think even a AAA team would have teed off on Beckett today. Is he hurt?

His thumb's been bothering him a bit, but it really just looked like he had terrible command of all of his pitches.

His velocity was a tick or two off too, but that's not really a shock on a chilly April day in Detroit.

Pedroia's really unlikable.

So how many losses to start the season will it take for full-on panic to set in? You'd hope there's a brief grace period considering the Tigers look like they'll be mashing against all pitching all season.

So how many losses to start the season will it take for full-on panic to set in? You'd hope there's a brief grace period considering the Tigers look like they'll be mashing against all pitching all season.

It depends a lot on the shape of the losses. Losses like yesterday are far easier to take than games like today. Yesterday they battled Verlander tough, and they tied it up off of Valverde. Yeah the pen ended up coughing it up anyway, but it was still a good game.

Today Beckett just didn't have it. More losses like today where the team just looks bad or the pitching and/or hitting just don't show up will start people into panic mode.

Last year's team was 0-6 on this date.

Gonzalez needs to pick that throw. He hasn't had a good day.

Can't wait for Beckett to hit the DL after weeks of denying there's a problem with his thumb.

Meet the old boss, same as the new boss...

I could be wrong, but Beckett didn't look like a guy who was hurting. He just didn't pitch well.

Sigh. I agree with #33 if he got that expression right. Just sucks to see them go down like that and that the bats never get going against a bunch o' relievers.

I'm an idiot. And clearly not a Who devotee. Flip that/reverse it.

Those season previews are written with a certain amount of "hedge" built in.

Could you point out now what part of the 2012 previews are similarly written to be intentionally unreliable?

So how many losses to start the season will it take for full-on panic to set in? You'd hope there's a brief grace period considering the Tigers look like they'll be mashing against all pitching all season.

Yeah, because Red Sox fans are known for their patience and good humor.

I was at a birthday party for my 13 year old goddaughter today (side note: 13!!! I can't believe it!) and her grandfather was raging. "They're going to finish 4th", "Even year Beckett", "Youkilis is done", "bullpen sucks" etc...etc...I mean, there are reasons for concern on this team but they're 0-2 on the road against a very good team.

I hate to use last year as a "good news" story but after 2-10 they should have still wound up winning a playoff spot by 5-10 games. Last year in its own way I think proved how every game matters AND how meaningless a bad start can be to a good team.

But for ####'s sake, let's just win like 17 in a row boys!

7-22. They are what they are.

Matt Barnes seems to have adapted to pro ball rather nicely. 9 Ks in 5 shutout innings.

Matt Barnes seems to have adapted to pro ball rather nicely. 9 Ks in 5 shutout innings.

Owens did well too, 7 Ks in 3IP, but two of the Ks were pitchers. Pretty impressive debuts for a couple of 19 yo pitchers in Greenville.

I missed another important and aggressive placement in Greenville. SS Jose Vinicio made it to the US at 16, repeated the GCL at 17, and now he's been jumped right past Lowell to full season ball at 18. Vinicio showed progress last year in adding a little bit of power, and he already has three extra-base hits in four games (against 3 Ks).

The guy I've decided to get irrationally attached to after four games is definitely Blake Swihart. He's a catcher, and he's started the season with six hits in 14 AB, including two for extra bases, and has only struck out once. Plus he has two steals (and one of his XBH is a triple).

Swihart was one of my favorites from last year's draft. Good to see him having some early success.

Likewise with the A-ball roster, Jacobs and Coyle were always headed there, and Bogaerts was at least likely, but I really like seeing Jackie Bradley Jr joining them.

The Greenville assignments make me very happy. I guess you could hope for Barnes to start in high-A,

I probably would have started Barnes at high-A and Bradley at low-A, since I'm not sold on the bat but...
A. It probably doesn't make much of a difference
B. Obviously the Sox FO knows more than I do about these sort of things

Early season line that i have no idea what to do with:

6.2 IP, 12 H, 9 R, 2 HR, 5 BB, 14 K

That's high school draftee Henry Owens in his first two starts in Greenville. How can a kid be so hittable and so unhittable at the same time?

I'm spending more of my baseball energies on the minors at this point in the season for whatever reason. More far-too-early observations.

With major leaguers, strikeout rates stabilize very early in the season. (Not this early, but they're probably the most predictive of the various non-predictive statistical samples we've got.) I guess you can say that minor leaguers are more likely to develop improved skills over the season. But Coyle and Jacobs are striking out a ton in Salem - I hope they, especially Jacobs, can turn that around soon. Jackie Bradley isn't hitting, but he's walked six times against three Ks - he might just not be good at hitting, but I'm hopeful with those contact numbers. And Jose Vinicio keeps killin' it, with three walks against four Ks in his his first 20 AB, four of seven hits for extra bases, three steals and no CS.

Another interesting guy to watch on the strikeout front is David Renfroe. He was supposed to have an advanced approach for a high school draftee with good tools, but as a professional he's shown few baseball skills at the plate. In two seasons between Lowell and Greenville, he's hit for about a 600 OPS with a strikeout every third or fourth AB and three or four Ks for every walk. In seven games so far, he's only struck out twice while knocking nine hits, five for extra bases. Just one walk, but contact skills are what have been holding Renfroe back, and if he's actually hitting the ball, he could become a mid-level prospect.

Greenville's K-rates are mostly very encouraging. I guess it's possible they've just faced a particularly low-K set of pitchers so far, or that it's a big fluke.

Per Extra Bases Che-Hsuan Lin has been scratched at Pawtucket. If Jacoby goes on the DL I would call up Lin and Lars and have Justin Thomas executed (or whatever). I think the Sox need Lin's glove with the Sweeney-McDonald-Ross outfield and Lars would give them a useful bench bat and "oh ####\" left fielder.

Dan Nava: 3 BB, 2 K, .477 OBP--call him up.

Tazawa now has 6 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, 4 H. He could come in pretty handy later in the year.

I hate to use last year as a "good news" story but after 2-10 they should have still wound up winning a playoff spot by 5-10 games. Last year in its own way I think proved how every game matters AND how meaningless a bad start can be to a good team.

On WEEI in the morning, Cherington said Valentine had told him "If this were football, we'd be at halftime of the first game of the season."

Yeah but the best wide receiver just got carted off...

Matt Barnes might be too good for Greenville - now up to 10 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 16 K.

Not going to lose sleep over this but the Orioles have claimed Luis Exposito. I can't imagine why the Orioles would prefer Exposito to Bowden but according to PeteAbe there is still no word on Bowden.

I can't imagine why the Orioles would prefer Exposito to Bowden but according to PeteAbe there is still no word on Bowden.

Exposito has options. Bowden's only useful to a team that has room in the bullpen.

Not going to lose sleep over this but the Orioles have claimed Luis Exposito.

You should lose sleep over it; it's miserable roster management by the Sox. They should have transferred either Matsuzaka or Ellsbury to the 60-day DL.

But Coyle and Jacobs are striking out a ton in Salem - I hope they, especially Jacobs, can turn that around soon.

And this is really an overreaction to less than 2 weeks of games.

Exposito has options.

So why would the Sox have had him on the 40 man roster?

I assume the Sox don't want to lose the opportunity to bring one of them back before the 60-day limit. Is that worth more or less than a 25-year-old who hasn't really hit since he was in Lancaster? Lavarnway ought to be catching most every day in Pawtucket anyway.

So why would the Sox have had him on the 40 man roster?

To protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

The Pawtucket pitchers are kind of tearing it up right now. They lead the league in pitching by a fair amount (sample sizes and other assorted caveats apply) but guys who you would expect to be on Cherington's radar are getting it done;

Tazawa - 7 IP, 5 hits, 0 runs, 9K, 2BB
Cook - 12 IP, 11 hits, 4 runs (2 earned)
Ohlendorf - 12 IP, 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned)
Wilson - 10 IP, 11 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), 10K, 2 BB (as a starter)

Tazawa needs to be in the MLB pen post haste. Probably Wilson too.

What's Rich Hill's ETA from rehab? Gammons keeps mentioning him as a potential bullpen arm as well.

I saw a report on Hill's rehab claiming that he had hit 94 MPH on his fastball. If he's really throwing that hard while using the same delivery he was using for the Red Sox last year, he's going to be absolutely unhittable for LHH.

Happy Barnesday, everybody.

Now up to 16 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 25 K. I think he might be too good for the Sally League.

Is Barnes working on something, like a curveball? Or offspeed stuff?

Edit: stupid iPad. Are they keeping him there to work on anything? Or is he just ready to move up?

Tazawa needs to be in the MLB pen post haste. Probably Wilson too.

Why? Who would you drop to bring Tazawa up?

Why? Who would you drop to bring Tazawa up?

They sent Melancon down today to make room for Tazawa.

They sent Melancon down today to make room for Tazawa.

I'm glad the Red Sox give my posts here appropriate gravity.

I don't know why they didn't consult me before trading away Lowrie for Melancon in the first place, though.

Miller is likely to be the next arm to join the pen, presumably in place of Thomas.

I don't know why they didn't consult me before trading away Lowrie for Melancon in the first place, though.

There was a vote and the majority decided that Lowrie's predilection towards injury was the deciding factor. I think you were boycotting the Security Council that day over a failure to expel Fly from the RSN.

They sent Melancon down today to make room for Tazawa.

Huh, really thought Melancon would have had a longer leash. I wonder if the org will say Melancon has tightness in his shoulder or some other random non-injury to protect his psyche.

Sending Melancon down and claiming it was due to tightness in his shoulder would be an invitation to a grievance from the MLBPA, since you need to DL injured players, not send them to the minors and take away MLB service time.

He sucks, so they sent him down. There's nothing more to it.

Will Middlebrooks has started crazy hot for Pawtucket. 377/406/721, six homers in 21 games. While he isn't walking, he's cut his strikeouts big time (in a small sample), down to 15% when he's never been under 25% in a full season.

What sucks is even if it were mid-season and WMB were still raking, he'd be in Pawtucket as long as Ortiz, Youk, and AGon were healthy and performing reasonably well. As long as he's young and not Fielder sized, there's no reason he couldn't play outfield if we still had black holes out there. #### if we can put WMP in center-field we can put WMB out there.

They'll pick up Youks option over the off-season and trade him to Cincinnati for Billy Hamilton.

I'm excited about the hot start, but if it's too early to worry about Brandon Jacobs' strikeout rate, it's too early to start slotting WMB and his improved contact rate into the Red Sox lineup.

I'd feel better about Middlebrooks if he was taking some walks, but obviously anyone hitting the ball that well might just be hitting the pitches he gets rather than getting into deep counts, so it's hard to judge much about BB or K rates during a hot streak like that.

To take the optimistic side, I think the K rate is still useful information (as useful as you'll get in a 70 PA sample, that is). Middlebrooks wasn't striking out because he was working deep counts. I'd suggest it's more likely that his improved contact is a cause of the hot streak than that it's an effect.

Sending Melancon down and claiming it was due to tightness in his shoulder would be an invitation to a grievance from the MLBPA, since you need to DL injured players, not send them to the minors and take away MLB service time.

It would be an invitation for the MLBPA to ##### about it, forcing the Red Sox to say publicly, "We demoted him because he sucks, he needs to figure things out and we can't afford to have him do it in games that matter to us." I don't think the MLBPA would be representing Melancon's best interests by forcing that.

I don't think the MLBPA would be representing Melancon's best interests by forcing that.

Burning an option year is a good thing for Melancon.

Sending Melancon down and claiming it was due to tightness in his shoulder would be an invitation to a grievance from the MLBPA, since you need to DL injured players, not send them to the minors and take away MLB service time.

It would be an invitation for the MLBPA to ##### about it, forcing the Red Sox to say publicly, "We demoted him because he sucks, he needs to figure things out and we can't afford to have him do it in games that matter to us." I don't think the MLBPA would be representing Melancon's best interests by forcing that.

Agreed, but that's also unnecessary hassle for the Red Sox, which is why they didn't and won't say that Melancon went to the minors because of an injury.

WMB already has another home run today, now has homered in 4 straight.

Ross Ohlendorf has been named IL pitcher of the week after his 6 IP, 2 hit, 0 run outing this week in his first start.

Let's all hide here for a while.

Xander Bogaerts is hitting 302/373/509 w/ 12 K in 59 PA.

Let's all hide here for a while.

Screw that. I've always dreamed of playing Major League Baseball so I'm flying to Chicago. I figure if Bobby V. gives me a side session I would be middle of the pack among relievers on the team.

Let's all hide here for a while.

Hell, I've been in duck-and-cover mode since September 1, 2011. No need to change course now. When the bomb drops, I'll be prepared.

Ross Ohlendorf has been named IL pitcher of the week after his 6 IP, 2 hit, 0 run outing this week in his first start.

Our savior!

For entertainment purposes only, Will Middlebrooks' MLE through 18 games in Pawtucket: 327/366/612

He's got nearly as many homers as strikeouts now.

Aaron Cook, 15 ground ball out, 2 fly ball outs, 1 K.

What do you do if you're the Sox? Do you try to buy off Cook for another month, offer him $100K in exchange for delaying the May 1st option to June 1st? Do you call him up and put Bard or Doubront in the pen? Do you put Cook in the pen? The way he is pitching I think the Sox can ill-afford to let him walk. At worst he's looking like a darned good 6th starter.

Cook's faced over 100 batters in AAA, and he's struck out eight of them. The Sox should do what they can to keep him in the organization, but he could pretty easily be a disaster against major league hitters.

Cook in the AL East would be a ####### disaster. No way he'd last past 2 or 3 starts, and he'd probably lose them all.

If he wants to be the mopup guy, sure, give him a shot.

Yeah, can't see how one makes it with that few Ks. But as a guy who can go for a while he's probably got some vale in the back of the pen.

He managed to thrive in Coors during the crazy ball era only striking out 2-3 per 9. He's a groundball pitcher who gives up very few HR. I don't know how that translates to Fenway in 2012, but it's not like the guy doesn't have a track record of success pitching this way.

Matt Barnes tonight, 5 IP, 3hits, 0 runs, 9 K.

He faced Dylan Bundy who threw 4 more no hit innings.

Happy Barnesday, Jose.

Alex Wilson pitched in relief tonight for Pawtucket. He gave up a run on two singles, struck out one. I'm glad to see Wilson finally make the inevitable switch to relief, and hopefully he can pitch good and get up soon.

Middlebrooks had a regular day at the office, just tripled, stole a base, and drew a pair of walks. He's getting a little silly.

One guy at Pawtucket who I think is worth keeping an eye on is Clayton Mortensen. He turned in two no hit innings fanning three and now has allowed just 1 run in 8.2 innings with 9 K and 2 BB. The control is going to be a concern but when I saw him in Ft. Myers (insert Ramon Ramirez jokes here) I thought his stuff looked pretty electric.


Melancon one inning, 3 Ks in that game as well.

The pair of walks hardly constitute a regular day at the office for Middlebrooks, but they're definitely good to see.

Another home run today for WMB, he's two for two and has not struck out.

I took the day off from work to go to the Sea Dogs / Rock Cats game this morning.

I'm pausing to let that sink in for a minute.



Actually, my son was singing the National Anthem at the game, so that's why I went. Anyway, I got to watch a few prospects, and after watching 8 innings of decent baseball followed by one inning of sheer ineptitude that even the Red Sox couldn't pull off, I have a scouting report. (I'm just giving the guys who made an impression on me.)

OSCAR TEJEDA - Batting 5th, playing left. Couldn't rate his defense, as there really wasn't much hit his way. Bunted for a single on the first pitch he saw. In his next two times up he flailed unsuccessfully at pitches low and away - you want a mental picture, think of Crawford in 2011 but from the other side of the plate - striking out both times. He led off the 9th and popped up a fat pitch to the shortstop in foul territory down the line; it was headed out of play but got blown back in. Tejeda was audibly pissed when the ball was caught, but kept his composure otherwise. He actually got another chance to bat that inning, and struck out looking to end it.

His susceptibility to breaking stuff off the plate was a huge concern to me. Again, it's only one game, and I'm about as unprofessional a scout as there is; but I wasn't reassured when I went back to soxprospects after the game and saw "Below-average plate discipline and extremely impatient at the plate. Lacks a plan. Improving picking up spin of secondary offerings out of opposing pitchers' hands, but chases too much."

CHRIS BALCOM-MILLER - Started the game, poorly, but composed himself as the game went on. He seemed to struggle a bit with a runner on first in the first, following the Rookie Buchholz Pickoff Fetish plan - throwing over 5 times to hold the Rock Cats' catcher - losing command in general, and throwing a WP to let in a run. (Butler wasn't blocking pitches in the dirt well today, but he did go 2-for-2 in CS with his arm.) He didn't let that carry over to subsequent innings, which was nice to see. He was at 46 pitches after two; he only needed 39 for the next three.

DERRIK GIBSON - Solid game today, 3-for-5 (all singles) and a couple of very good defensive plays. One of those plays was in the 5th, a diving grab of a ball hit to the right side of 2B - Gibson was playing SS, and the batter was right-handed, so he was showing HUGE range there - and a quick throw to beat the runner to 1st. The other play was to his right, fielding in stride a grounder I thought would be through the hole. Made one bad baserunning move, but didn't pay for it; more on that later.

CHARLE ROSARIO - OMG. Pinpoint accuracy with his fastball (91 MPH), filthy movement on his curve. Such a joy to watch. Allowed only a single; struck out three. Pitched the final two innings and got the W.

ROCK CATS "DEFENSE" - (a) had Gibson picked off 1st in the 1st, and after a 1-3-6-4 rundown he tried unsuccessfully to stop and duck under the tag of the player chasing him. In the process of the sweeping tag the Rock Cats player lost control of the ball, and Gibson retreated to first base safely. (b) Four more errors. Throwing errors. Fielding errors. Fielding error followed by throwing error. They made less than the best impression.

This morning? What time did it start?

How'd the little idiom do? How old is he?

Any thoughts on Brentz or Vitek?

Gibson an interesting guy to me. High draft pick who hasn't done much and he always looks scary thin to me. I just don't think he can hit the ball hard enough to be a big leaguer but he can take a walk and he's got speed so it seems like he's a guy who can hang around for awhile and carve out something.