Red Sox Minor League Roundup: AA Portland Sea Dogs Struggle

The Red Sox AA affiliate Portland Sea Dogs have not had a good year. As of July 18, their record stands at 32-61, 19 and a half games out of first place, thirteen games behind the next team in their division. The Sea Dogs are a case of a team without prospects, or at least ones that haven’t performed to their capabilities. Last year’s team was 88-54. Seven prospects from that team have reached the major leagues.   There are 142 games in their regular season, so they are going to finish the season in last place.  The prospects that generally come from the lower levels haven’t arrived yet, leading to a disappointing season in Portland. Considering the level of talent at single A Greenville this season, next season should be much better.

Let’s take a closer look at the Portland Sea Dogs.

Jun 1, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; A general view of Fenway Park during the eighth inning of the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bays Rays. The Boston Red Sox won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries and Roster Moves

Jantzen Witte, a first base prospect was lost for this season this week, sustaining a broken wrist on a hit by pitch. Witte, a TCU product, was slashing .283/.363/.414 with two homers on the season. The righty hitter is in his third professional season in which he is playing about 40 percent of his games at third base. Witte earned the promotion to AA this season after 93 RBI in 130 games with an .879 OPS at A and High A ball last season.

A potential major league outfield option, Blake Tekotte, was lost for the season when he broke his kneecap in early June after fouling a ball off of it. Tekotte, who has seen major league time with the Padres and White Sox, was posting a .275/.364/.411 hitting line when he was injured.

The Sea Dogs best player this season, 22 year old Marco Hernandez was promoted to AAA Pawtucket last week after scorching the Eastern League for Portland to a .326/.349/.482 batting line. The Dominican shortstop has continued to hit early on at Pawtucket, going six for 16 with a double and homer in his first four games there. Hernandez was the player to be named later that was sent to the Red Sox in December to complete the Felix Doubront trade that occurred last July 30

Sep 7, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; General view of the field box seats prior to a game between the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Player to Watch

Manuel Margot, the Sea Dogs centerfielder was the 24th ranked prospect in Baseball America’s Midseason Top 50 making him the highest ranking Red Sox player above A ball. Margot was also chosen to be in the Futures game at the All-Star break at which each club features their top prospects. Starting the game for the World team (their opponent is the U.S. team), Margot went zero for two with one strikeout. Margot started in the Red Sox system at age 17 in 2012 after he was signed as an international free agent, receiving an $800 thousand bonus.

Margot was promoted to Portland on June 22 from High A Salem. After an .818 OPS and 12 homers last season, Margot’s stats are slightly down this season. The five foot eleven inch Dominican has posted a .741 OPS this season with four homers. After 42 steals last season, Margot has swiped 27 bags this year, so he will come close to last year’s number this season.

Keep in mind his stats maybe down a tick since his advancement to Portland because Margot will not turn 21 until the end of September this season. In terms of his age, he is well ahead of the curve. Manuel Margot is definitely a name a Red Sox fans should know. We should be seeing a lot of him at Fenway in a few years.

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.