Category Archives: Minor Leagues

Red Sox Extend PDC with Lowell Spinners Through 2014

Here’s the release from the Boston Red Sox announcing that they have extended their PDC with the Lowell Spinners.

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox and Lowell (MA) Spinners today announced the extension of their Player Development Contract (PDC) for an additional two years. The extension keeps the Red Sox New York-Penn League Short-Season Single-A affiliate in Lowell through the 2014 season.

Lowell Spinners Red Sox Director of Player Development Ben Crockett and Spinners Owner Drew Weber and President/General Manager Tim Bawmann made the announcement.

“We are very happy to extend our productive relationship with the Spinners through 2014,” said Crockett. “The Spinners organization and the community of Lowell really embrace our young players and provide them an exciting introduction to Red Sox Nation. Drew Weber, Tim Bawmann and the entire Spinners staff foster an excellent atmosphere for development and we look forward to our continued partnership.”

The Red Sox originally entered into an agreement with the Spinners when the franchise moved from Elmira, New York to Lowell prior to the 1996 season. The PDC was last extended for two years through the 2012 season in December 2009.

“There couldn’t be a better organization to work with than the Boston Red Sox,” said Bawmann. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Red Sox organization in developing the future stars of Fenway Park here in Lowell. From the ownership group to the talented baseball operations staff, the Red Sox are a top-notch organization to work with.”

In 1998, the team moved to the new Edward A. LeLacheur Park, where the Spinners had a decade-long, 413-game sellout streak from August 2, 1999-August 31, 2010. Former Spinners currently with the Red Sox include Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront, Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis.

Lowell is one of Boston’s six minor league affiliates, joining Triple-A Pawtucket (International League), Double-A Portland (Eastern League), High-A Salem (Carolina League), Single-A Greenville (South Atlantic League) and Rookie Gulf Coast Red Sox (Gulf Coast League).

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Four Red Sox Minor Leaguers In MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects

It’s that time of year where different publications are putting out their top prospect lists of each MLB organization. This time around, MLB.com has come out with their top 100 prospects in baseball and we find four minor leaguers with the Boston Red Sox in the top 100.

The highest ranking prospect the Red Sox have in MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects is third baseman Will Middlebrooks. He comes in at No. 56.

Here’s a little video of some highlights of Middlebrooks from the 2011 season.

Joining Middlebrooks in the top 100 are outfielder Bryce Brentz (No. 64), shortstop Xander Bogaerts (No. 76) and catcher Ryan Lavarnway (No. 93).

As I’ve said in the past, as of right now only Lavarnway probably figures into the Red Sox’s plans for 2012. Of course anything could change and we could possibly see Middlebrooks if there are some injuries.

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Red Sox Announce 2012 Minor League Field Staffs

Here’s the press release from the Boston Red Sox announcing the coaching staffs for the minor league affiliates.

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today announced the 2012 field staffs for each of their six minor league teams.

The announcement of managers, coaches and athletic trainers was made by Director of Player Development Ben Crockett.

The Red Sox have added three new individuals for assignment in the 2012 field staff alignment, hiring Gerald Perry as the hitting coach at Triple-A Pawtucket, Darren Fenster as the hitting coach at Single-A Greenville and Noah Hall as a coach at the club’s rookie level Gulf Coast League team.

BOSTON RED SOX 2012 MINOR LEAGUE FIELD STAFFS

Pawtucket (Triple-A, International League)
Manager: Arnie Beyeler
Pitching Coach: Rich Sauveur
Hitting Coach: Gerald Perry – Joins Pawtucket after serving as the Oakland Athletics hitting coach in 2011. Perry previously spent four seasons in the Boston organization as a minor league hitting coach with Single-A Michigan (1997) and Pawtucket (1998 and 2010) and was the club’s minor league hitting coordinator in 1999.
Athletic Trainer: Jon Jochim

Portland (Double-A, Eastern League)
Manager: Kevin Boles
Pitching Coach: Bob Kipper
Hitting Coach: Dave Joppie
Athletic Trainer: Brandon Henry – Begins his first year with Portland after spending the last two seasons as athletic trainer for Salem. He enters his sixth season with the organization having also served as athletic trainer for Greenville (2009) and Lowell (2008-07).

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Salem (High-A, Carolina League)
Manager: Billy McMillon – Will serve as Salem’s manager after skippering at Greenville from 2010-11. He led the Drive to the South Atlantic League Championship Series in his 2010 managerial debut.
Pitching Coach: Kevin Walker
Hitting Coach: Rich Gedman – Joins Salem after serving last season as hitting coach for Lowell in his first coaching position in affiliated ball.
Athletic Trainer: David Herrera – Moves to Salem from Greenville, where he was the Drive’s athletic trainer from 2010-11. He also held that position for Lowell (2009) and the GCL Red Sox (2008).

Greenville (Single-A, South Atlantic League)
Manager: Carlos Febles – Moves to Greenville after making his managerial debut with Lowell in 2011. He was Salem’s hitting coach from 2009-10 and held the same role for Single-A Lancaster in 2008.
Pitching Coach: Dick Such
Hitting Coach: Darren Fenster- Joins Greenville in his affiliated coaching debut after spending six seasons on the Rutgers University baseball staff, including three as an assistant coach (2009-11). He also served as an assistant coach for the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Orleans Cardinals in 2008. Selected by Kansas City in the 12th round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft, Fenster spent five seasons in the Royals minor league system and was named a Carolina League All-Star in 2002 and 2004.
Athletic Trainer: Mauricio Elizondo- Enters his fifth season in the Red Sox organization and his first as athletic trainer with Greenville. He previously served as athletic trainer for Lowell (2010-11) after joining the system as an intern with the GCL Red Sox (2008-09).

Lowell (Short-A, New York-Penn League)
Manager: Bruce Crabbe – Returns to Lowell after serving as Salem’s manager in 2011. This will be his third season at the helm of the Spinners (also 2006 and 2010).
Pitching Coach: Paul Abbott
Hitting Coach: Nelson Paulino – Joins Lowell as hitting coach after serving in the same capacity for the Dominican Summer League Red Sox over five seasons from 2001-02 and 2008-11.
Athletic Trainer: TBA

Gulf Coast (Rookie, Gulf Coast League)
Manager: George Lombard
Pitching Coach: Goose Gregson
Pitching Coach: Walter Miranda
Coach: Dave Tomlin
Hitting Coach: U.L. Washington
Coach: Noah Hall – Makes his coaching debut after playing parts of 13 seasons as an outfielder in affiliated minor league baseball from 1996-2009. He also played parts of five seasons in independent leagues (2001, 2007 and 2009-11).

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Two Red Sox Farmhands In Top 20 International League Prospects By Baseball America

Baseball America is busy right now putting together its top 20 prospects lists by league now that the minor league baseball season is over. They got it started with the Arizona League, the Gulf Coast League, Appalachian League, Pioneer League, the Northwest League, NY/Penn League, the Midwest League, the South Atlantic League, California League, Carolina League, Florida State League, Eastern League, Southern League and Texas League. The Pacific Coast League top 20 was released earlier in the day on Monday.

Boston Red Sox Today we’ll take a look at where the Red Sox farmhands ranked in the top 20 of the International League where the Pawtucket Red Sox play.

The Red Sox had two farmhands in the top 20 as catcher Ryan Lavarnway (14th) and outfielder Josh Reddick (16th)

Lavarnway was a 6th round draft choice of the Red Sox out of Yale in 2008. He split his time with the Sea Dogs and PawSox before his promotion to the big club late in August. In 55 games with the Sea Dogs, he hit .284 with 14 home runs and 38 RBIs. In 61 games with the PawSox, he hit .295 with 18 home runs, 55 RBIs and had one stolen base. In his 17 games with the Red Sox, he hit .231 with two home runs and eight RBIs. When you combine his minor league stats, he hit .290 with 32 home runs, 93 RBIs and a stolen base.

Reddick played in 52 games with the PawSox this season. He hit .230 with 14 home runs, 36 RBIs and four stolen bases. He spent 87 games in the big leagues with the Red Sox hitting .280 with seven home runs, 28 RBIs and a stolen base. Before the 2011 season, he spent parts of the 2009 and 2010 season with the Red Sox as well. In 143 games with the Red Sox, Reddick is hitting .248 with 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and two stolen bases.

With this being the final league in which Red Sox farmhands play in, we’ll now wait until the various outlets release their top 10 Red Sox farmhands. And when they do, I’ll be sure to post them up here on the site.

Three Red Sox Farmhands In Top 20 Eastern League Prospects By Baseball America

Boston Red Sox Now it’s time to take a look at where any Red Sox farmhands ranked in the top 20 of the Eastern League where the Portland Sea Dogs play.

The Red Sox had three farmhands in the top 20 as third baseman Will Middlebrooks (8th), catcher Ryan Lavarnway (15th) and outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang (18th).

Middlebrooks was 5th round draft choice by the Red Sox back in 2007 out of high school. He spent most of the 2011 season with the Sea Dogs before his promotion to Triple-A. In 96 games for the Sea Dogs, Middlebrooks hit .302 with 18 home runs, 80 RBIs and six stolen bases. In 16 games with the Pawtucket Red Sox, Middlebrooks hit .161 with two home runs, eight RBIs and three stolen bases. When you combine his stats along with four games with the Lowell Spinners on a rehab assignment, he hit .285 with 23 home runs, 94 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 116 games.

Chiang was signed as an international free agent out of Taiwan by the Red Sox back in 2005. He played 88 games for the Sea Dogs hitting .340 with 18 home runs, 76 RBIs and six stolen bases. He was traded by the Red Sox to the Seattle Mariners in the Erik Bedard deal.

Our final look on a top 20 involving Red Sox farmhands will come on Friday when the International League top 20 is released.

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Four Red Sox Farmhands In Top 20 South Atlantic League Prospects By Baseball America

Boston Red Sox Now it’s time to take a look at where any Red Sox farmhands ranked in the top 20 of the South Atlantic League where the Greenville Drive play.

The Red Sox had four farmhands ranked in the top 20 as outfielder Brandon Jacobs (8th), shortstop Xander Bogaerts (10th), outfielder Bryce Brentz (16th) and first baseman Miles Head (20th) all garnered some attention.

Jacobs was a 10th round draft choice for the Red Sox in 2009 out of high school and has moved up a level each year. This season in Greenville, Jacobs hit .303 with 17 home runs, 80 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 115 games.

Bogaerts was signed as international free agent in 2009 out of Aruba. The 19 year-old skipped the GCL and NY/Penn Leagues and put himself on the map with a solid 2010 season. In 72 games for the Drive, Bogaerts hit .260 with 16 home runs, 45 RBIs and one stolen base.

Brentz was a first round draft choice for the Red Sox in 2010 out of Middle Tennessee State and spent a better portion of his season playing in Salem. He played in 45 games for the Drive where he hit .359 with 11 home runs, 36 RBIs and two stolen bases. In 75 games with Salem, Brentz hit .274 with 19 home runs, 58 RBIs and one stolen base. When you combine his stats for the season, he hit .306 with 30 home runs, 94 RBIs and three stolen bases.

Head was a 26th round draft choice out of high school for the Red Sox in 2009. He also split his season with the Drive and Salem. In 66 games for the Drive, Head hit .338 with 15 home runs, 53 RBIs and four stolen bases. In 63 games for Salem, he hit .254 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs. When combining his stats between the two clubs, Head hit .299 with 22 home runs, 82 RBIs and four stolen bases.

Since the Red Sox don’t have a team anymore in the California League (which gets announced today), the next look we’ll have is on Friday when the top 20 prospects for the Carolina League are announced.

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Garin Cecchini Only Red Sox Farmhand in Baseball America’s Top 20 NY-Penn League Prospects

Boston Red Sox Now it’s time to take a look at where any Red Sox farmhands ranked in the top 20 of the NY-Penn League where the Lowell Spinners play. The Red Sox only managed one prospect in the top 20 and that was third baseman Garin Cecchini.

He was a fourth round draft choice of the Red Sox back in 2010 and didn’t play professionally last year due to an ACL injury suffered in high school. His first season in the minors came with the Spinners this year where he hit .298 with three home runs, 23 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.

Unfortunately for Cecchini, a wrist injury sidelined him after playing in 32 games. He was listed on the roster for the 2011 Instructional League for the Red Sox.

The next look at where Red Sox farmhands rank in their respective league comes in the should come later today or tomorrow when Baseball America looks at the top 20 prospects for the South Atlantic League.

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Two Red Sox Farmhands In Top 20 GCL Prospects By Baseball America

Baseball America is busy right now putting together its top 20 prospects lists by league now that the minor league baseball season is over. They got started last week with the Arizona League, the Gulf Coast League, Appalachian League and Pioneer League.

Since the Boston Red Sox don’t participate in the Arizona, Appy Leagues or Pioneers Leagues, we’ll take a look at where their farmhands land in the GCL Top 20.

The Red Sox had two farmhands ranked in the top 20 as right-handed pitcher Raul Alcantara came in at No. 6 with shortstop Jose Vinicio coming at No. 7.

Alcantara was signed as an international minor league free agent by the Red Sox in 2009 and spent the 2010 season with the Dominican League Red Sox. He spent 2011 with the GCL Red Sox as well as the Lowell Spinners.

In nine starts for the GCL Red Sox, he was 1-1 with a 0.75 ERA (4 ER/48 IP). The 18 year-old made four starts for the Spinners where he was 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA (12 ER/17.1 IP).

Vinicio was signed as an international minor league free agent by the Red Sox in 2009 as well and has spent the past two seasons with the GCL Red Sox. This year in 50 games, he hit .291 with two home runs, 18 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.

The next look at where Red Sox farmhands rank in their respective league comes in the next post when Baseball America looks at the top 20 prospects for the NY/Penn League.

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Destination Red Sox Nation – 9/12

Destination Red Sox Nation

Destination Red Sox Nation is our look at how the minor league teams of the Boston Red Sox fare each night. Game story and box score links as well as links to team rosters, team stats and league standings can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

If you would like to listen to any of the Red Sox minor league affiliates’ games, MiLB.com offers them for free.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

With the PawSox being eliminated from the playoffs, all of the Red Sox minor league teams are now done for the season. So with that, this will be the final Destination Red Sox Nation post of the season.

I want to thank everyone who visits this post on a daily basis.

Greenville Drive alumni end season with Class AAA Pawtucket [GoUpstate.com]

Pawtucket Red Sox

Pawtucket Red Sox 2011 Roster

Pawtucket Red Sox stats

International League 2011 Final Standings

Pawtucket Red Sox website

Portland Sea Dogs:

The season is over for the Portland Sea Dogs.

Portland Sea Dogs 2011 Roster

Portland Sea Dogs 2011 final stats

Eastern League 2011 Final Standings