Red Sox Minor League Roundup: AA Portland Sea Dogs Struggle
By Drew Peabody
Mar 7, 2015; Sarasota, FL, USA; A general view of Boston Red Sox hat and glove laying in the dugout at a spring training baseball game at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Pitchers
One reason the Sea Dogs have struggled this season is their starting pitching. The team ranks 11th of 12 teams in their league with a 4.22 ERA. The pitching staff leads the league in walks.
William Cuevas, a slightly built six foot tall Venezuelan right hander is the most productive starter currently on the staff. He is 8-5 with a 3.40 ERA over 16 starts, with a 1.28 WHIP, averaging nearly four walks per nine innings and about a strikeout per inning.
Big righty Justin Haley has had a terrible season. The 2012 sixth round draft choice out of Cal State Fresno has struggled mightily this season,. After a 1.19 ERA over 37.2 innings last season for Portland, Haley has slumped to a 5.62 ERA and 1.78 WHIP this season.
Robby Scott is another pitcher Red Sox fans should notice. Scott actually is no longer in Portland due to his continued success. He has been promoted to AAA Pawtucket where he has 2.70 ERA in 10 innings. The left-handed Miami native threw 103.1 innings for the Sea Dogs over two seasons and posted a nifty 2.00 ERA with 92 strikeouts and a 1.11 WHIP. That Portland ERA matches his career ERA in 225.1 minor league innings. Scott was an Arizona Fall League All-Star in 2014 as well. Kudos to the scout who found him in the independent North American League and signed him as a undrafted free agent in 2011.
Jorge Marban has had a remarkable journey to Portland. Another Miami native, Marban pitched two years in the Texas organization in 2010 and 2011. After pitching in independent ball for two years, he hooked on to an Australian league team whose manager is also a Red Sox scout. A 1.69 ERA at High A Salem led to his promotion to Portland where he has been lights out with a 0.37 ERA and three saves in 24.1 innings. His three pitch mix of slider, splitter and low 90s fastball could bring him to Fenway before too long.