Boston Sports Then and Now

The 2011 Lowell Spinners Preview

Last season the Lowell Spinners had a season they would like to forget. Finishing at 24-50, the Red Sox short season Single-A affiliate was last in the Stedler division of the New York-Penn league.

If the season had any bright spots, it was the performance of some prospects rising to the top. 2010 first round pick Kolbrin Vitek out of Ball State hit .270 with an OBP of .360 in his first professional season. His success had him move up to Greenville for the Drive’s playoffs and the Sox have to be happy with his progression.

Felix Sanchez, a rather unknown prospect, had a good season too, hitting .320 as the starting center fielder. But for the most part, the season was plagued by disappointments like David Renfroe and Bryce Brentz.

The 2011 Spinners roster will be highlighted by 2010 fourth round pick Garin Cecchini and and fifth rounder Henry Ramos. Ramos, 18, surprised a lot of scouts and fans alike hitting .309 for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox last season. He will play right field for the Spinners this season, with Keury De La Cruz in center and Lucas LeBlanc in left.

LeBlanc was the Red Sox 11th round pick in the 2010 draft, after he hit .420 in junior college. He was committed to LSU, but chose to sign with the Red Sox instead.

Meanwhile. De La Cruz was signed as an international free agent in 2009. He hit .263 for the GCL team last season, with six home runs and 31 RBIs. At age 19, he already has some solid fundamental skills and we could see him crawl the organizational ladder.

Xander Bogaerts is someone every scout has their eyes on. At age seventeen last season, he hit .314 for the Dominican Summer League Red Sox, and this year will be the starting shortstop for Lowell. His bat is very developed for his age, and he has potential to become a run producing machine with above average power. His fielding could improve, but it is also above average for his age.

Playing second base for the Spinners will be Jason Thompson, who hit only .227 for the GCL team. He was an 11th rounder in 2009, and will be 20 this season. He has had hamstring issues in the past, so that might be a concern to watch.

First baseman Boss Moanaroa will make the leap to short season, after hitting .268 in the GCL league. He also played for his home country Australia, and played on Sydney last season, hitting to a .278 average.

Oscar Perez, who will do the catching for Lowell, hit .250 for GCL last season with six RBI in 30 games. He is a very good defensive catcher, but his bat has to catch up.

The DH will be 19 year old Seth Schwindenhammer, who hasn’t hit above .200 in pro ball yet. The bench will see the likes of Moko Moanaroa, Jayson Hernandez, and Nick Robinson.

As far as pitching goes, Juan Rodriguez is likely to be the staff’s top pitcher. At age 22, he pitched to a 3.51 ERA for GCL last season, and the season before had a 1.55. Miguel Celestino will join Lowell for the second straight season, as he pitched nine games in the short season to a 2.62 earned run average. Raynell Vellette joins Lowell from GCL, where he had an ERA of 2.54 last season at age 18.

The Spinners have several more rotation options, from Francisco Tavares to Matt Phillips to Chris Martin.
The competition in Lowell for their division will be the Tri-City ValleyCats, Connecticut Tigers and Vermont Lake Monsters. Last season Tri-City took the division title at a record of 38-36. The New York-Penn league is made up of three divisions, the other two the McNamara Division and Pinckney Divisions, respectively.

The one to watch for Lowell though is the Stedler, which they hope to win this season and take home the New York-Penn title.