Boston Red Sox outlook: PawSox “no’s” for 2016
By Rick McNair
Oct 1, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees catcher John Ryan Murphy (66) slides past Boston Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon (3) to score during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Potential Starters and Catchers
Keith Couch – P
2015 Stats (Minors): 4-10 W/L, 26 G, 124.2 IP, 50 W, 62 K, 6.14 ERA, 1.62 WHIP
Couch was part of that great Portland staff of 2014 and while the rest progressed at Pawtucket Couch regressed, a 11.0 H/9 at Triple-A does not impress. Had one nice three-start run in mid-July and then crashed. At 26-years-old, this right-hander may soon be job hunting.
William Cuevas – P
2015 Stats (Minors): 11-7 W/L, 26 G, 136.1 IP, 55 W, 128 K, 3.17 ERA, 1.23 WHIP
Will continue to start at Pawtucket. The 25-year-old right-hander features three pitches and can get into the low 90s range on his fastball. Will 2016 be a breakout year?
Sean O’Sullivan – P
2015 Stats: 1-6 W/L. 13 G, 71 IP, 20 W, 35 K, 6.08 ERA, 1.61 WHIP
Burly 28-year-old right-hander who started 13 games for Philadelphia. Mixes up four pitches with a fastball that tops out at 90MPH. Great name for the Boston area. Will get into the Pawtucket rotation. If O’ Sullivan ends up in Boston during 2016 then the season is in shambles.
Sandy Leon – C
2015 Stats: 41 G, 114 AB, .187/.238/.201, 0 HR, 3 RBI
Leon was signed for need when Washington released him in the spring of 2015. Leon, now 26-years-old, hit .263 in Pawtucket with a lone home run. The upside is Leon has a career 46% CS in 70 MLB games. The downside is there are pitchers that hit far better.
Ali Solis – C
2015 Stats (Minors): 76 G, 250 AB, .145/.175/.195, 1 HR, 16 RBI
Solis has some minuscule MLB experience. Now 28-years-old expect the right-hander to provide some roster depth for the PawSox as the system is sparse with catching talent.