Minor Notes: Cespedes promoted to Salem; Sox claim right-hander

After some tough injury news last week, there was some more positive news this week, as the sixth-ranked prospect in the system is getting promoted. The Sox also claimed a pitcher off waivers and got a couple of great weeks from players in the lower levels of the minors. 

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The sixth-ranked prospect here at SoxProspects.com is getting a much-deserved promotion. Shortstop Yoeilin Cespedes is moving up to Salem after a dominant start to his 2024 season in the FCL. In 25 games, he hit .319/.400/.615 with 10 doubles, a triple, five home runs, 24 RBI, and three stolen bases. He was especially hot in June, going 14 for 39 (.359) with four doubles, a triple, three home runs, and a 1.163 OPS. Cespedes is currently dealing with some left hand soreness according to Chris Hatfield, which is why he has yet to debut in Salem.

Alex Speas is the newest member of the Red Sox organization, as Boston claimed him off waivers from the Astros. He has been optioned to Worcester. Speas is a 26-year-old right-handed pitcher who has spent time with four different organizations. He was originally drafted in the second round of the 2016 draft out of high school by the Texas Rangers. He made his MLB debut last year for Texas, throwing two innings. He has also thrown two innings for the Astros this season. The Sox will be his fourth organization just this year alone. Between the Athletics, White Sox, and Astros, he has thrown 21 2/3 innings at Triple-A with a 10.38 ERA and 31 strikeouts. 

 

In a little preview of this week's Player of the Week, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe took a look at Franklin Arias and how his bat is making some noise in the FCL. 

Our own Ian Cundall is back with Brian Barrett on The Ringer's "Off the Pike" podcast. They discuss where the Red Sox are after they avoided a sweep with the Padres over the weekend. Specifically, they talk about Tanner Houck's workload, Rafael Devers, and Triston Casas' injury.

Ian Cundall and Chris Clegg team up on the 321st edition of the SoxProspects.com podcast. They talk about the promotion of Yoeilin Cespedes, as well as some of the breakout performances from players at the big league level. Lastly, Chris talks about what he has seen of late in Greenville.

5 G, 15 AB, 7 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 5 SB, .467/.571/.867

 

Since signing as an international free agent back in January of 2023, Arias has done nothing but hit. In 37 DSL games last year, Arias hit .350/.440/.453 with 11 extra-base hits and three stolen bases in 37 games. So far in 2024 for the FCL Sox, he is hitting .308/.432/.513 with 13 doubles, a triple, three home runs, and 17 stolen bases. 

Arias was given the second-highest bonus in Boston's 2023 international free agent class at $525,000. He was thought of as a glove-first shortstop early on, but he has been crushing the ball so far in his young career, posting good underlying batted ball data. Arias is already making a push for another Player of the Week award. Check out how this week has begun for him in this morning's edition of the Cup of Coffee.

 

1 G, 0-1, 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K

Rodriguez (pictured) is putting together his second consecutive tremendous season for Salem, as he has matched his innings total from last year at 55 1/3. In 2023, he had a 2.60 ERA with 51 strikeouts, 27 walks, and a 1.27 WHIP. In 2024 he has seen improvements to all of those numbers. He has a 2.44 ERA with an impressive 68 strikeouts to just 21 walks. His WHIP is 1.16 and batters are hitting just .205 against him. 

The 20-year-old right-hander was selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2021 draft out of Leadership Christian in Puerto Rico. He was committed to Oregon but chose to sign with Boston. He was on fire in June, making four starts with zero earned runs allowed over 20 innings. The nine strikeouts this past week matched a season-high for Rodriguez, which he also reached back on April 19.