Jose Iglesias had been hitting like crazy since the last day of April, but the 22-year-old shortstop had been spraying line drives around the park. Even during a stretch of 11 games that included seven multi-hit contests, he had totaled just two extra-base hits.

And so, Tuesday represented a notable milestone for Iglesias. The shortstop cleared the left-field fence for his first homer of the year, lining a fastball off of Rays prospect (and UMass alum) Matt Torra just over the left field wall in Durham. It was part of a 3-for-5 night in which Iglesias matched a season high for hits while delivering just his second career homer, the continuation of a stretch in which Iglesias has gotten the best results of his career.

Since April 30, when Iglesias collected a pair of hits to nudge his average up to .200 for the season’s first month, the shortstop has been on a tear. In 12 games, he’s hitting .388 (fifth in the International League in that stretch) with a .423 OBP (10th in the league), .510 slugging mark and .933 OPS (11th). For the first time, he’s showing in a sustained stretch — dating to even before the start of the hot streak — that he has adjusted to the level of competition in an advanced league that features pitchers with legitimate breaking balls and, in many cases, big league experience.

For the season, Iglesias now has a line of .262/.322/.315/.637. It’s not a spectacular performance, but it nearly replicates the league average (.250/.326/.376/.702) at a level that features much older competition. And the more recent performance — which is also noteworthy for the fact that Iglesias has struck out just four times while walking three times over this stretch of 52 plate appearances — lends credence to the notion that the shortstop can be more than a defensive hitter who is a zero in the lineup.

TRIPLE-A PAWTUCKET RED SOX: 8-2 WIN AT DURHAM (RAYS)

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– Like Iglesias, Che-Hsuan Lin started to get hot at the end of an otherwise tough April and has been hitting ever since. He went 2-for-3 with a walk on Tuesday, and in his last 14 games, he’s hitting .372 (seventh in the International League since April 30) with a .491 OBP (third), .488 slugging mark and .979 OPS (10th). The 23-year-old now has a better-than-league-average line of .264/.359/.382/.741, and given his excellent defense in center field, the performance is intriguing.

Lin has struggled with being too passive at times throughout his minor league career, something that has driven high walks totals and solid OBPs despite low batting averages. But hitting coordinator Victor Rodriguez and PawSox hitting coach Gerald Perry have been working with the native of Taiwan to be ready to hone that passiveness into selectivity with a readiness to take some rips at pitches that he can handle, with positive results to date this year.

“He’s really worked on his approach at the plate,” said farm director Ben Crockett. “He’s someone who does such a good job of taking pitches and working the count that sometimes it can work against him. He’s really trying to make the adjustment of being ready to attack, and I think it’s paid off a little bit in the numbers and will continue to be a focus for him.” Read the rest of this entry »

Mike Aviles has been one of the best defensive shortstops in the majors this year. (AP)

All spring, the clamor for Jose Iglesias was driven by a chief force, namely, the idea that his spectacular defense would outweigh any offensive deficiencies he might have. That assessment was a direct reflection upon the sense that Mike Aviles was not an adequate defender at the position. He was expected to be a downgrade from Marco Scutaro, let alone a Gold Glove-caliber defender in Iglesias.

With 35 games now in the books, something unexpected has happened. Foremost, Aviles has been among the best defensive shortstops in the majors.

The small sample disclaimer is necessary. Typically, defense is best evaluated — at least from a statistical standpoint — over multiple seasons. A couple of months thus can be deceiving. Nonetheless, the initial returns on what Aviles has done at the position are eye-opening.

The John Dewan Plus/Minus evaluation system (which examines every ball hit into a player’s defensive zone and compares the number of plays made by a single player to the average number of plays made on such balls) suggests that Aviles has made 13 more plays than the average shortstop on the balls hit in his direction this season. He’s made five more plays than the average shortstop on balls hit to his right, three more than average to his left (where his positioning, range and strong arm has allowed him to make a number of plays behind the second base bag) and four more than average on pop-ups. In Dewan’s system, that defensive wizardry has translated to 10 runs saved, the second highest total among all big league shortstops. Fangraphs.com’s UZR statistic pegs Aviles as the fourth best shortstop in the majors, 2.5 runs better than the average shortstop.

With Aviles performing as an above-average defender on the left side and reigning Gold Glovers Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez on the right side, infield defense has been a strength of the Red Sox in the early going.

“I think we’re playing pretty good defense, especially on the infield,” said manager Bobby Valentine. “[Aviles has been] huge. I don’t want to jinx him, but he’s made all the progressions. He’s learning to move with hitters and position himself properly. He always knows the speed of the runner. He’s been huge. The stability of him has been huge for our defense.”

That said, while the infield defense has been solid, the Sox’ defensive efficiency rating (meaning the number of balls in play turned into outs) is 23rd in the majors. That, however, reflects primarily on a makeshift outfield that is without Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford.

OTHER NOTES Read the rest of this entry »

Left-hander Henry Owens is one of the younger pitchers in the South Atlantic League. (Gregg Forwerck / Courtesy Team USA Baseball)

Kevin Youkilis was a late scratch for the second straight day due to a back issue that has relegated him to day-to-day status. Will Middlebrooks was out of the PawSox lineup on Monday. Immediately, many observers were happy to connect the dots.

But, Red Sox sources said, Middlebrooks was simply taking a scheduled day off. Still, that is the position that the Sox currently occupy. At a time when Middlebrooks is hitting .348 with a .396 OBP, .708 slugging mark, 1.104 OPS, nine homers and 27 RBI in 23 games, any time that Youkilis hits a speed bump (whether from a health standpoint or a slump), attention will turn immediately to whether or not Middlebrooks is being called up to the majors or not.

The Sox are unlikely to call him up if there is not a clear everyday role for him, but if Youkilis landed on the DL, then the Sox would likely summon Middlebrooks to the majors. While initial indications are that Youkilis’ back stiffness is more of a day-to-day concern than the basis for a DL consideration right now, Middlebrooks told WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan Show on Tuesday morning that he’s ready if called upon.

“Personally, I’d love to say yeah, I am [ready],” Middlebrooks said. “I came in here with a sense of urgency. I wanted to come in and show everybody that I’m a good player, and that it wasn’t just a freak year last year.”

To listen to the Middlebrooks interview on D&C, click here.

TRIPLE-A PAWTUCKET RED SOX: 6-4 WIN AT COLUMBUS (INDIANS)

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– Pedro Ciriaco, now a week into his return from a minor oblique strain, went 3-for-5 with a double for his second extra-base hit of the year. He is now hitting .317/.364/.415/.778, and he certainly has an opportunity to play his way back into consideration as a depth option for the Red Sox.

– Jose Iglesias went 2-for-4, with both of his hits coming on bunt singles to the pitcher.

– First baseman Mauro Gomez went 1-for-4 while smashing his eighth homer of the year, improving his slugging percentage to a robust .703.

DOUBLE-A PORTLAND SEA DOGS: 6-3 LOSS VS. TRENTON (YANKEES)

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– Third baseman Kolbrin Vitek went 2-for-4 while hitting his first homer in Double-A. The blast came in his 104th plate appearance with Portland. A year ago, however, the 2010 first-rounder did not homer at all in the first half of the season. Still, on the year, Vitek is now posting modest across-the-board numbers for the Sea Dogs, with a .268 average, .317 OBP, .351 slugging mark and .668 OPS.

Those marks seem unimpressive. But they’re virtually useless as a basis for judging the 23-year-old’s progress.

Players often tend to post modest numbers in Portland during the season’s first month, as the weather in Maine in April tends to be inhospitable to power numbers. That being the case, it would be premature to assess the development of Vitek or fellow 2010 first-rounder Bryce Brentz (.318 slugging) or even someone like shortstop Derrik Gibson, the 2008 second-rounder whose .209/.284/.239/.523 line belies the fact that he has been having what Sox officials feel are some of the best at-bats of his professional career. Read the rest of this entry »

Right-hander Matt Barnes has thrown 16 scoreless innings to start his pro career. (John Corneau / Lowell Spinners)

Matt Barnes is three starts into his professional career, and thus far, he has been incredibly dominant.

On Wednesday morning, Barnes ripped through the Lexington Legends, the Single-A affiliate of the Astros. He breezed through six shutout innings, striking out nine and allowing three hits while walking none. Ho-hum — more of the same. After all, the right-hander, taken by the Red Sox with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2011 draft, has made three starts, pitched 16 innings, struck out 25 batters, walked two and allowed six hits for the Greenville Drive in the South Atlantic League. He features a mid-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss curveball that have simply overmatched opponents who are primarily trying to get settled in their first full season of pro ball.

“The fastball has had explosive, impressive life. He has a really good feel for the curveball. The changeups he’s thrown have been good ones,” said Sox farm director Ben Crockett, after Barnes’ first two starts.

He has been performing like the proverbial men among boys. That makes it fair to ask: When is the right time for the 21-year-old to move up in order to give him a greater challenge?

To answer that question, it’s worth considering why the Sox assigned Barnes to Greenville in the first place. After seeing Barnes touch 96 mph with his fastball with a good curve and changeup, there was certainly conversation about letting the right-hander start his career at High-A Salem. Unquestionably, his stuff would have justified such an assignment.

Still, the Sox wanted Barnes to establish his footing as a professional at the lower level in Greenville. They wanted to familiarize himself with the five-day pitching routine and to have an environment in which he could comfortably begin the process of growing into a pitcher, learning to incorporate his changeup into his mix in a place where he would likely enjoy good results while doing so. At least through his first two starts, the Sox were still hoping to see Barnes work his changeup into the mix with greater frequency.

The Sox have had other top draft choices dominate while making their debuts at Greenville, most notably Clay Buchholz (2006), Casey Kelly (2009) and Anthony Ranaudo (2011). Here’s a look at the first four starts in Greenville for all three: Read the rest of this entry »

Red Sox pitching prospect Anthony Ranaudo is starting the year in extended spring training. (Photo courtesy Jon Corneau / Lowell Spinners)

After a couple seasons in which the strength of their farm system appeared to be their position players, the Red Sox are starting to see promising signs from their pitchers. Homegrown pitchers Daniel Bard and Felix Doubront will both be in the rotation this year, Alex Wilson looms as a potentially significant midyear call-up, and in the lower levels, pitchers such as Anthony Ranaudo, Matt Barnes and Henry Owens have the Sox hopeful about the next wave of pitching prospects.

That said, the Sox have suffered a pair of setbacks — one minor, one more significant — to their pitching prospects at the start of the year.

The most notable development was the fact that right-hander Kyle Stroup — who thrust himself into prospect status last year at Single-A Greenville, where he went 5-2 with a 1.55 ERA, 53 strikeouts and 12 walks in 63 2/3 innings over his last 13 starts, and showed a fastball that sat at 92-95 mph while touching 97 mph, and also showing a potential plus changeup — blew out his knee for the second time in three springs.

Stroup blew out the ACL of his right knee in a freak spring training accident in 2010 and missed the entire season. This spring, he blew out his left ACL, and he’ll require surgery that has his 2012 season in jeopardy.

“We’re really, obviously, disappointed. He was having a really good spring. He’d made some strides, opened some eyes last year, and maybe opened his own eyes about how good he can be,” said Sox farm director Ben Crockett. “He’ll have the surgery, rehab it, go from there.”

Of course, the one silver lining for Stroup is that he has successfully returned from this injury before, and came back as a better pitcher thanks to his committed approach to the rehab process.

Meanwhile, top pitching prospect Anthony Ranaudo will be delayed by perhaps a few weeks before making his debut with Double-A Portland. Ranaudo suffered a mild right groin injury in late-March, and is currently limited to playing catch in extended spring training. He will need to get stretched out by pitching at least a couple of games in Fort Myers before he heads to Portland to start his season. The injury is not considered significant — it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ranaudo in Portland before the end of April — but after a first pro season in which he remained healthy for all 26 of his starts, a notable development given that health had been a question surrounding him when the Sox took him in the supplemental first round of the 2010 draft. Read the rest of this entry »

Right-hander Matt Barnes, the Red Sox' top pick in the 2011 draft, is now with the Lowell Spinners. (John Corneau / Lowell Spinners)

Monday was a special day in the life of the Red Sox’ first-overall selection and No. 19 overall pick of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, Matt Barnes. Although he had to wait until the last minute, the right-handed pitcher’s dream of becoming a professional baseball player finally came true.

“11:59 was when my agent told me,” Barnes said Friday from the Lowell Spinners’ clubhouse, the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Red Sox to which he has been assigned. “It was exciting. He was there with [my family], so we had talked throughout the entire day. It was exciting to finally become a part of the organization. I am living my dream.”

Barnes signed for a $1.5 million signing bonus, which was a little more than the Major League Baseball slot recommendation for the No. 19 overall pick of $1.386 million.

He spent the day with his parents, brother and best friend from home by hanging out in his house between his garage and backyard.

Barnes said he wasn’t stressed Monday even though midnight was the deadline for draft picks to sign with the teams that had drafted them back in June. He was more eager than anything to get back to playing the game he loves.

“I was more anxious than anything,” he said. “I have been sitting around all summer and haven’t played baseball in such a long time. I am really excited to get out here and get a chance to be around the team and the coaches and get a feel for things.”

The pitcher knew all along that he wanted to sign and become a professional baseball player.

“I could have gone back to school, I could have played independent ball,” Barnes said. “But I wanted to sign and start my professional career.”

This past summer was unlike any other for Barnes. It was the first summer where he didn’t have any baseball commitments, so it gave him a chance to relax and spend time with his family and friends. Read the rest of this entry »

Red Sox starter Anthony Ranaudo rebounded in impressive fashion after having his first difficult outing with Single-A Greenville. The 6-foot-7 right-hander had what was statistically his most impressive start of the year for the Drive, logging six innings and allowing just one hit (a single) and a walk while striking out six.

Ranaudo allowed a two-out single to the Kyle Eveland of the Kannapolis Intimidators in the second, but quickly erased the baserunner when he was caught stealing to finish the inning. Over his final four innings, the 2010 sandwich pick retired all 12 batters he faced.

In five starts for the Drive, Ranaudo is now 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 11 walks in 27 1/3 innings. Of the seven earned runs he’s given up, six of them came in his prior outing on April 30.

For Ranaudo’s thoughts on his outing, click here.