For all the questions about prospect Yoan Moncada changing positions this season, Boston Red Sox President Dave Dombrowski has an answer.
Moncada is not moving.
“There are no immediate plans,” Dombrowski said last weekend while watching the Sea Dogs play at Hadlock Field. “Moncada is basically going to play second base this year. I don’t think he will move anywhere else. He is still getting settled into professional baseball at this point.”
So Moncada will play second base for the rest of the season. The question is whether he will remain in Portland. He’s batting .329 with a 1.080 OPS in 21 games after hitting two home runs Monday.
But Moncada, a switch hitter, has still seen a small sample of left-handers (17 plate appearances, with two hits, two walks and nine strikeouts).
Moncada, 21, elevated his status a week ago when he clouted an upper-deck home run in the Futures Game.
His power seemed to be on the minds of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, who walked Moncada eight times in four games over the weekend. Fisher Cats Manager Bobby Meachem downplayed the idea.
“That wasn’t the plan,” Meachem said. “Most of our pitchers don’t give in.
“I guess he’s just selective. We don’t have a lot of hard-throwing guys. Probably easier to take pitches off our guys.”
What Sea Dogs Manager Carlos Febles saw was Moncada “making adjustments” to Eastern League pitching. “He’s not going outside of the (strike) zone to hit.”
While Dombrowski was watching the Sea Dogs on Sunday, the team recorded 18 hits, including a double by Andrew Benintendi, the other prized prospect in Portland.
Although Benintendi has played only center field – a position held by All-Star Jackie Bradley Jr. in Boston – Dombrowski was confident that Benintendi could seamlessly move over to a corner spot.
“Probably easier for him to drift over and play somewhere else than it would be for Moncada to change positions,” Dombrowski said. “Benintendi can practice taking fly balls in both corners.
Indeed, all of the Sea Dogs outfielders have worked out in left field during pregame drills.
IN PAWTUCKET, Henry Owens recorded his most impressive outing of the season Saturday, even if the linescore had him giving up three earned runs. Through seven innings, Owens allowed only two base runners – a walk and hit batsman.
In the eighth, Owens hit another batter. With two outs, he gave up his first hit – an infield single – and another walk. Former Sea Dogs reliever Chandler Shepherd replaced Owens and gave up a three-run double.
Forget the runs and look at Owens’ control. It was just the third start this season in which he issued fewer than three walks, and it was his longest outing.
“I wasn’t focused on the no-hitter,” Owens said on the PawSox website. “I was focused on getting ahead of guys and putting them away early, and going as deep into the game as possible.”
Joe Kelly made his first relief appearance for Pawtucket on Friday, throwing two scoreless innings (one hit, no walks, three strikeouts). It’s likely Boston will want to see Kelly settle into the relief role before calling him up.
IN PORTLAND, outfielder Cole Sturgeon, 24, has come on lately, hitting .370 in July. A 10th-round draft pick in 2010, Sturgeon is batting .281 with a .710 OPS for the season.
IN SALEM, 19-year-old third baseman Rafael Devers has sustained his hot streak for over six weeks. Since the start of June, he’s batting .346 with a .913 OPS. In his last 17 games, he has 10 doubles, four triples and a home run. Sounds like he might be playing his August baseball in Portland.
Michael Kopech allowed a run Monday night for the first time in three starts, as his ERA rose to 0.64. He has 23 strikeouts in 14 innings.
IN GREENVILLE, the Drive still have the youngest player in the South Atlantic League, even after top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza was traded to San Diego for starter Drew Pomeranz.
Roniel Raudes, 18 and two months older than Espinoza, is actually putting up slightly better numbers – 8-2, 4.32 ERA, 76 strikeouts/16 walks in 75 innings, and a 1.37 WHIP. Raudes had a 3.78 ERA until giving up eight runs in his last two outings.
Where Raudes differs from Espinoza is on the radar gun. Espinoza is in the upper 90s, while Raudes is around 89-90 mph, with a good curve and developing change-up. The test will be when he moves up and faces more developed hitters.
IN LOWELL, it may be time for outfielder Tyler Hill to move up to Greenville. Hill, 20, a 19th-round draft pick in 2014, finished last season in Lowell and is dominating in 26 games this year: batting .370 with a 1.003 OPS.
NOTES: One-time prospect Sean Coyle, who was designated for assignment last week, was claimed by the Los Angeles Angels.
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