2016 Spring Training Wrap - bayers3's Dynasty

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2016 Spring Training Wrap

Posted on August 20, 2014 at 10:43 PM.

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THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)

FORT MYERS, FL - A very different Red Sox team showed up at Spring Training this year. After bashing their way to a third championship, this team looks like a defensive dynamo. Everyone knows about the pitching staff, which should remain excellent, but alot of power left town in favor of flashy defense. There are also alot of youg faces this spring, with a lot of minor league players getting non-roster invites to try and make the majors. Another change for Boston will be more emphasis on platoons, mainly at DH, which will hopefully replace the offensive that left via retirement or free agency.

Can Farrell win a fourth?

SPRING TRAINING (By The Numbers)

Boston Red Sox 16-15 (4th AL East)

Hot Hitters

Chris Owings - 3HR 6RBI .292
Will Middlebrooks - 6HR 10RBI .286

Cold Hitters

Dustin Pedroia - 2HR 17RBI .257
Xander Bogaerts - 5RBI .238
Matt Adams - 3HR 12RBI .221

TOP 50 PROSPECTS

Koufax is looking like the real deal.

1B Issac Koufax (AAA Pawtucket)
LHP Trey Ball (AAA Pawtucket)
LHP Brett Gilchrist (AA Portland)
CF Pedro Santana (AAA Pawtucket)

SPRING ANSWERS

Who's On Third? : It took all of five minutes for everyone to see what the plan was going to be in Spring Training. Chris Owings and Garin Cecchini weren't going to accomplish much more in AAA, but finding a place for them would be difficult. Luckily, the departure of Mike Napoli allowed Middlebrooks to move to 1B duty and open up the hot corner. Owings has played well enough at AAA and during the spring to earn a chance at SS with Bogaerts moving over to third, a position Owings cannot play. This leaves Cecchini as the backup 3B, with Bogaerts making a move to SS and Owings backing up Pedroia at 2B. Cecchini was also seen playing a few innings in the outfield, so he may have a shot and becoming a back up LF option as well. Boston will open the season with a Bogaerts-Owings-Pedroia-Middlebrooks infield, an elite defensive look that should help cover up their problems elsewhere.

Outfield Starters : Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts have CF and LF locked up, but the surprise comes in RF with Shane Victorino leaving town. Garin Cecchini looked like he might play LF and Betts would move to RF, but Rico Berroa snatched it away from him. Berroa has the speed and instinct to be a gold-glove RF, but his bat could get him sent back down to AAA for another season.

The Closer : After destroying everything from the Rookie to AA leagues Leonys Bravo hit a roadblock after his promotion to AAA. He was stunning for the first few innings, but seemed to run out of gas (and he has alot of it, hitting 100MPH regularly) as games went on. He seemed to be two different pitchers, but John Farrell seems to think he has use for the "good" Bravo as Boston's new closer. Bravo came in with a number of other prospects just looking to make the team, but he made MLB veterans look so bad with his powerful fastball-circle change combo that Farrell had to give him a shot. Rubby De La Rosa did his best to win the job, eventually being tabbed as the set-up man, if Bravo fails De La Rosa will be right there to take over.

SUMMER QUESTIONS

Outfield Depth (Again) : The starting outfielders have a total of three years of experience between them, and their backups have zero experience. Rico Berroa might be an incredible defender, but if he hits his way out of a job they will be stuck with Cecchini in the outfield. Nelson Cruz, despite being an outfielder, will be used as a platoon DH against lefty pitching. Nobody expects Bradley Jr. to repeat the incredible numbers he put up in 2015, so this outfield could be the weakest part of the team again. If any of the starters go down with an injury look for Boston to sign a free agent or make a panic call-up from AAA or even AA.

3-5 Starters : After enjoying a 1-2-3 punch at the top of the rotation in 2015, it's going to be rough after Archer and Miller. Workman and Barnes were decent in 2015, but Barnes has been moved to the pen in favor of lefty Henry Owens, and Anthony Ranaudo moves from the pen to the rotation. The bullpen is deep but inexperienced, so there really isn't anyone who would be much better than Ranaudo. Braden Shipley is still in the majors, and if he pitches well he could be an option along with Henry Owens. Once the service-date deadline passes we will see who Boston calls up.

Experience Drain : Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Clay Buchholz, and David Ortiz are all gone and being replaced by rookies or guys with only a few years of experience. The experiment with Middlebrooks at first might be a disaster, the Adams-Cruz DH platoon probably can't replace Napoli, all of the rookies are bound to struggle. This team isn't really built to win a World Series, but whether they are a .500 team or a Bottom 10 team is unknown.

PROJECTED DEPTH CHART

Boston Red Sox Depth Chart - 2016