5/5 MiLB Gameday: Couch goes for 5th win

semsox · May 5, 2014

Mookie wastes no time extending the streak, with a leadoff single, then coming around to score on a Swihart 2B.

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon · May 5, 2014

Swihart just picked a guy off second. Love it.

Plympton91 · May 5, 2014

Home runs for Marerro and Shaw

Merkle's Boner · May 5, 2014

2 HRs in 3 days for Marrero is a nice development. That equals his career season high.

Stan Papi Was Framed · May 5, 2014

Portland is a powerhouse

ScubaSteveAvery · May 5, 2014

Ranaudo dominating tonight. 5 IP, 1 hit, 2 BBs, and 2Ks with 0 Runs allowed. At 71 pitches so he'll be out for the 6th.

DJnVa · May 5, 2014

Betts is 1-2 with 2 BBs.

Plympton91 · May 5, 2014

ScubaSteveAvery said:
Ranaudo dominating tonight. 5 IP, 1 hit, 2 BBs, and 2Ks with 0 Runs allowed. At 71 pitches so he'll be out for the 6th.

2 k's in 5 innings is dominating? Are you watching and seeing a lot of broken bats or something?

ScubaSteveAvery · May 5, 2014

Plympton91 said:
2 k's in 5 innings is dominating? Are you watching and seeing a lot of broken bats or something?

I would call 1 hit in 5 innings dominating, especially for a guy who has been struggling.

Either way, I jinxed him and without recording an out in the 6th he had given up 2 hits, a walk, and a run.

nvalvo · May 5, 2014

You know, if Shaw were to break out, he would provide some very important depth at a thin position in the organization.

He's been raking for two weeks after a slow start, and has the OPS over .900.

soxhop411 · May 5, 2014

“@PortlandSeaDogs: Deven Marrero nails a two-run single to right field, ‘Dogs lead 8-1 all the runs with TWO outs. Marrero 4 RBI.”

Jed Zeppelin · May 5, 2014

Rijo isn't quite pulling a full Mookie, but he's crushing low-A. Maybe a two-thirds Mookie.

ItOnceWasMyLife · May 5, 2014

Mookie finishes 2 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and a stolen base. His one out was actually 2 since it was a GIDP. Average at 412.

Cesar Crespo · May 5, 2014

Rijo really should get more hype.

Drek717 · May 6, 2014

Jed Zeppelin said:
Rijo isn't quite pulling a full Mookie, but he's crushing low-A. Maybe a two-thirds Mookie.

Gragnani is actually pulling the full Mookie in high-A and then some. He's almost halfway to Mookie's total number of ABs in Salem last year with a better BA, OBP, and only slightly lower SLG. He's 23 due to being a college draftee, so he's much more age advanced, but surprising early returns from last year's 21st round pick.

The most impressive thing about Rijo is that what he's doing in Low-A right now he's doing at 18. Betts was 20 when he really broke out last season. The year before at 19 he had a pretty meh year in Lowell. The age gap between Rijo and the competition he's acquitting himself so well against is absolutely massive.

So anyone wondering how long until the 1B ladder takes a step up? All three of Shaw, Mager, and Whitte are swatting at their respective levels, and all three are pretty old for their levels. The only real bottleneck is Lavarnway at 1B in Pawtucket, and with Nava down there they've since had to use DH to rotate the OF guys into playing time. Welch isn't a real prospect though so it might be worth moving Mager to DH in Portland and getting Whitte up to face high-A pitching. Hopefully within about a month all three are still hitting and something works out that lets them all face the next step in competition.

Plympton91 · May 6, 2014

Looks like Mager was called up to Salem a couple days ago he's 1-13 with a 2B and 2 BB in the early going. Both he and Whitte are real long-shots who I don't think they'll worry about getting to AA this year if it causes problems in the development pipeline for players ahead of them on the depth chart. Getting Shaw to Pawtucket if he keeps hitting is probably the priority, and as you said, there's a lot of players rotating through 1B and DH for the PawSox, especially with Nava there. Nava has been playing some CF in order to relieve some of that pressure for at bats, but I doubt they want that to be an everyday occurrance. Between Vazquez, Butler, Lavarnway, Nava, Brentz, and Hassan there's just no room to add another key prospect to that mix.

LeftyTG · May 6, 2014

Drek717 said:
The most impressive thing about Rijo is that what he's doing in Low-A right now he's doing at 18. Betts was 20 when he really broke out last season. The year before at 19 he had a pretty meh year in Lowell. The age gap between Rijo and the competition he's acquitting himself so well against is absolutely massive.

Rijo also tore his ACL just before signing, so he lost out on nearly a year of development time there as well (I'm only saying this to bolster your point - what he is doing relative to his age is impressive).

SaveBooFerriss · May 6, 2014

Plympton91 said:
Looks like Mager was called up to Salem a couple days ago he's 1-13 with a 2B and 2 BB in the early going. Both he and Whitte are real long-shots who I don't think they'll worry about getting to AA this year if it causes problems in the development pipeline for players ahead of them on the depth chart. Getting Shaw to Pawtucket if he keeps hitting is probably the priority, and as you said, there's a lot of players rotating through 1B and DH for the PawSox, especially with Nava there. Nava has been playing some CF in order to relieve some of that pressure for at bats, but I doubt they want that to be an everyday occurrance. Between Vazquez, Butler, Lavarnway, Nava, Brentz, and Hassan there's just no room to add another key prospect to that mix.

At some point, you have to reassess whether Bulter, Lavarnway and Hassan are key prospects. I am not sure that Shaw is either, but he probably needs to move up at some point if you want to find out.

5/5 MiLB Gameday: Couch goes for 5th win

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