Right-hander Stolmy Pimentel tossed six shutout innings in Double-A on Saturday. (AP)

The 2011 season was little short of a disaster for right-hander Stolmy Pimentel. He was battered to the tune of an 0-9 record and 9.12 ERA last year in Double-A Portland, resulting in that cruelest of things in July, a demotion to High-A Salem, a level that Pimentel thought had been left in his rearview mirror.

There, Pimentel was better though still not overpowering. He went 6-4 with a 4.53 ERA, 35 strikeouts and 16 walks in 51 2/3 innings.

The Sox, however, insisted that there was promise in the pitcher’s stuff, if not his results. He showed the best velocity of his career, touching as high as 97 mph, rediscovered a swing-and-miss changeup after he went back to Salem and shelved a curveball in favor of a slider that demonstrated greater promise as a legitimate breaking ball. His pitch mix suggested that he remained one of the better pitching prospects in the Red Sox system, but entering his second year on the 40-man roster in 2012, he needed to start demonstrating the sort of results to match, something that Pimentel himself understood entering the year.

“Last year, I had a bad year. But you have to learn from that,” he said this spring. “I’m not thinking about last year. I’m worried about this year, doing what I need to do to get better and be positive.

“Every day, you have to have a goal. You have to think about progress, not go back,” he continued. “I feel like I’m young. I know I’m going to be growing up. I know I have the stuff. What I need to do is be more focused, more consistent outing to outing, keep in my mind to have really good command of both sides of home plate. When you get that combination, everything will be good.”

Pimentel was slowed in spring training with a lat strain that rendered him unable to begin his season (back in Double-A Portland) until April 27. Since doing so, however, his results have aligned more closely with his stuff than at any point last year.

That continued on Saturday (his first start in 10 days after he’d been skipped in his previous scheduled start due to a minor back issue), as he logged six shutout innings, allowing four hits (three singles and a double) while striking out six and walking two. In four starts in Portland, he now has a 2.95 ERA, 17 strikeouts and just five walks in 21 1/3 innings. He is attacking hitters in a manner that suggests he has recovered the confidence that was nowhere in evidence in Portland a year ago.

“He’s brought a three-pitch mix to the table in each of his starts. He’s throwing a lot of strikes. He’s really gotten ahead and pounded the strike zone. The velocity has been good, up to 96,” Red Sox farm director Ben Crockett observed prior to Pimentel’s most recent start. “He’s come out and really hit the ground running in Portland.”

TRIPLE-A PAWTUCKET RED SOX: 8-4 LOSS AT NORFOLK (ORIOLES)

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– Third baseman Kevin Youkilis went 1-for-4 with a single and a pair of strikeouts. In three rehab games, he is now 3-for-9 with a double, a walk and four strikeouts, having whiffed twice in each of the last two games. Read the rest of this entry »

According to a major-league source, the MLB Commissioner’s Office has ruled that the Red Sox still possess the rights to Reynaldo Rodriguez, a first baseman whom they acquired from the Yuma Scorpions of the independent Golden Baseball League earlier this month.

There had been some confusion as to whether Rodriguez remained Red Sox property after a report that the Royals had acquired him. The Royals had indeed filed a transaction stating that they had reached an agreement with the 22-year-old, who is currently playing in the Colombian Winter League, though it had not been approved by MLB.

After reviewing the case, however, the Commissioner’s Office found that the Sox had gone through the proper channels in purchasing Rodriguez’ rights from the Golden Baseball League. Because the GBL had already picked up the 2010 option on Rodriguez’ deal after he hit .335/.380/.486 for the Scorpions, a team could only acquire his rights by purchasing his contract from the League, as the Sox did. Moreover, the player informed the club that he had not come to an agreement with the Royals.

The Sox will follow Rodriguez this winter in Colombia, and then let him compete for a spot on one of their minor-league affiliates in spring training. For a scouting report on the former Yankees minor leaguer, click here.

The Red Sox purchased the contract of Reynaldo Rodriguez, the 2009 Rookie of the Year in the independent Golden Baseball League, from the Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League. Playing for a team owned by former Sox shortstop Edgar Renteria and his brother, Edinson, the native of Colombia hit .335 with a .380 OBP and .486 slugging mark while adding six homers, 48 RBIs and 18 steals (in 21 attempts) to his line in 74 games. He was named the GBL’s top prospect by Baseball America.

Rodriguez played first base for the Scorpions, though it is unclear whether that would be his most likely position in affiliated baseball. He exhibits more speed (and less power) than players who usually stay at that position.

“He’s not a prototypical first baseman. He’s kind of lean and wiry. He’s just not a big, burly power-hitting first baseman,” said Yuma President Mike Marshall, who spent several years in the majors with the Dodgers, as well as portions of 1990-91 with the Red Sox. “He’s a guy that hits for average. Everywhere he goes, he hits .330, .340. He’s a gap hitter [with] a lot of power to right and right center. He uses the whole field and has occasional power, but he’s more of a hitter. You think of a power hitting first baseman – he’s not that. He’s an average, RBI, stolen bases gap hitter with occasional power. He really handles the bat well. Doesn’t strike out much. He looks kind of like [current Dodgers first baseman James] Loney from the right side.”

At 22 (he turns 23 on Jan. 1), Rodriguez is unusually young for a prospect signed out of an independent league. He spent a couple years in the Yankees’ farm system (after signing with the Yankees as a catcher) and performed well as an older player in the Dominican Summer League, where he finished among the league leaders in average in both 2005 and 2007. But he was hampered by an arm injury and released in ’07.

Rodriguez returned to Colombia, where he was one of the better hitters in the Colombian winter leagues. There, as was the case in the GBL, he showed an ability to hit well against much older competition. He shows a consistent ability to put the barrel of the bat on the ball, and his athleticism, solid performance and the low cost of acquiring him convinced the Sox that it was worth taking a shot at signing him. Marshall suggested that Rodriguez “absolutely” could represent a diamond-in-the-rough with big-league potential, though Marshall qualified that assessment.

“I don’t know his past, but I know that he’s young enough to be able to move up through the ranks,” said Marshall. “This isn’t a rookie league or an A-ball league anymore. There’s Double-A, Triple-A and big league guys all over the place. The same is true when he goes back to Columbia. Do you project him as a big leaguer? I don’t know. That’s a tough thing. The position he plays right now, sometimes they want a little more power. I will say this – he was a top five hitter in this league.”

The Sox will follow Rodriguez during his winter league season in Colombia to consider whether he will compete for a job as a first baseman or outfielder. Rodriguez will come to spring training on a tryout basis, giving the Red Sox time before deciding if they want to sign him to a contract for the 2010 season.

The Sox have been increasingly aggressive in recent years in trying to acquire top independent league talent, as evidence by the acquisitions of outfielder Daniel Nava (who hit .352 with a .458 OBP and .533 slugging mark this year as a 26-year-old splitting this year in High A and Double A ball) and relievers Robert Coello (2.05 ERA as a 24-year-old in High A Salem) and Derek Loop (4-3, 1.89 as a 25-year-old for Salem and Portland this year).