Six Sea Dogs to Participate in the Arizona Fall League
Although the Minor League season has come to an end, a handful of the 2022 Sea Dogs will go on to play in the Arizona Fall League amongst other prospect across the minors. The 2022 Fall League will contain 16 of the top 100 prospect, including four players ranking within
Although the Minor League season has come to an end, a handful of the 2022 Sea Dogs will go on to play in the Arizona Fall League amongst other prospect across the minors. The 2022 Fall League will contain 16 of the top 100 prospect, including four players ranking within the top 20, putting the Sea Dogs and future Red Sox players in a situation to compete with top talent.
The Arizona Fall League opens their 30th season on Monday, October 30th. The league will play 30 games ending on November 12th.
Six players who spent time in Portland this season have been added to the roster for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Fall League. The Scorpions are made up of players from the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants, and of course, your Boston Red Sox. The six players coming from Portland are split between three pitchers and three position players.
The RHP Thaddeus Ward is the only starter from the 2022 Sea Dogs to be added to the Fall League roster. Ward was a fifth-round selection by the Red Sox in 2018 out of the University of Central Florida. During the 2022 season, Ward pitched a total of 13 games over four different levels. He spent most of his season with Portland, working through seven starts where he posted a 2.43 ERA and struck out 41 compared to 14 walks. Ward tied his career-high for strikeouts, racking up 10 twice this season in a Sea Dogs uniform.
Two Sea Dogs relievers placed on the Scorpions Roster, as RHP Jacob Webb and RHP Ryan Zeferjahn will both play in the Fall League. Webb was a 14th round pick by the Red Sox in 2021 out of Miami (OH) and spent time with Salem, Greenville, and Portland this season. Webb pitched in two games for the Sea Dogs, striking out four batters over 3.0 innings of work. Zeferjahn was a third-round selection in the 2019 draft out of Kansas. He made six appearances out of the bullpen, logging 10.2 innings. He struck out seven batters while allowing just three hits and one earned run, leading to a 0.84 ERA.
At the plate, three Sea Dogs hitters will make appearances for Scottsdale. Along with his at-bats, C Stephen Scott will be putting his defense on display behind the plate. He was taken in the 10th round of the 2019 draft by the Red Sox. Scott spent 37 games with the High-A Greenville Drive before getting the promotion to Portland on June 24. With the Sea Dogs, Scott hit .238 with an OBP of .371. He walked 43 times compared to his 50 strikeouts, driving in 31 RBI with 49 hits, 11 doubles, one triple, and seven homers while stealing seven bases on eight attempts. Defensively, he committed just four errors and caught 12 baserunners stealing out of 43 attempts.
1B Niko Kavadas will join him in the Scorpions lineup. After being selected in the 11th round of the 2021 draft out of Noter Dame, Kavadas started climbing up the Red Sox organization. He played in the FCL and made his way to Low-A Salem in 2021. He stayed in Low-A for the start of the 2022 season, making a 37-game stop in High-A, landing in Double-A with Portland for the final 24 games of his season. Kavadas hit 26 home runs across the three levels, with two coming in Portland. The big first baseman hit .222 and racked up an OBP of .370. He drove in 10 RBI on 18 hits, walking 16 times while striking out in 40 at-bats.
As a trade deadline addition, OF Wilyer Abreu joined the Sea Dogs on August 2, and he did not disappoint. He played the first 89 games of the season with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks of the Houston Astros system before coming to the Red Sox in the Christian Vazquez trade. He played a total of 40 games for Portland, hitting .242 with a .399 OBP. Overall, at the Double-A level, Abreu totaled 19 homers, 73 RBI, and walked 114 times. 78 of those walks were in Corpus Christi and he walked 36 times in Portland. Out of the 129 games he played in 2022, Abreu committed just one error in the outfield, showing his reliable defensive abilities.
Additionally, Red Sox prospects Nick Yorke and Aaron Perry will participate in the league this year. Yorke was the Red Sox first round draft of the Red Sox in 2000. The infielder is ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Red Sox organization by MLB.com. In 2022, he hit .231 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI in 8- games with High-A Greenville. RHP Aaron Perry was drafted by the Red Sox in the 14th round in the 2017 draft. He appeared in in three games for Greenville this season. In 25 minor league games spanning three seasons, he has posted a 3-4 record with a 4.40 ERA.