It was great to be back at the Red Sox’ Player Development Complex after a week without it. The more I go; the more lost I feel when I’m not there. It was an unusually foggy morning–even when I arrived at the complex, but it cleared up by the time they started infield drills.

Bryce Brentz and Derrik Gibson were taking early morning outfield and infield drills, respectively.

Ryan Khoury fouled a ball off of his left calf yesterday (3/25). He didn’t play today, and he will rehab tomorrow. He should be back within the next few days; it’s nothing too serious.

Kyle Weiland is still working out with Pawtucket, and he started for them today (not sure about his line; I got there late). It is still unclear as to where he will start the season. I think it all depends on whether or not Alfredo Aceves sticks with the big-league club in relief, or starts the season in Pawtucket’s rotation. It seems like Aceves is likely to start the season in Pawtucket with Matt Albers and Dennys Reyes sticking with the big-league club. Weiland certainly is capable of making the jump to Pawtucket now, but I don’t think spending a little more time in the Eastern League will hurt him.

Ryan Dent continues to workout with Portland, and he has been in their lineup rather consistently so far this spring. With Iglesias as an essential lock for Pawtucket, Dent could fill the shortstop hole in Portland. Dent is fantastic defensively, but he still has some work to do when it comes to his offense, which is obviously normal at this stage.

I asked Renny Parthemore how he was doing in passing, and he said that he felt a lot better. He had a frayed labrum last year and did not play.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Lucas LeBlanc, who was drafted in the 11th round out of Delgado last year. The interview will be on SoxProspects within the coming weeks, so I will post a link to that here when it’s up. LeBlanc also played for Triple-A today.

Here are how the lineups looked today. I was able to grab all of them:

Lowell:
Vinicio 6
Perkins 7
De La Cruz 8
Cecchini 5
Meneses 4
Schwindenhammer 9
Perez 2
B Moanaroa 3
Guerrero DH
Colorado DH
*John Killen (I think he was the starting pitcher for them, but I’m not sure).

Greenville:
Sanchez 8
Coyle 4
Brentz 9
Jacobs 7
Head 3
Renfroe 5
Vazquez DH
Garcia 6
Blair 2
Jason Garcia P

Salem:
Hissey 8
Gibson 6
Vitek DH
Hazelbaker 9
Almanzar 5
Mailman 7
Peley 2
Hedman 3
Gentile 4
Britton P

Portland:
Lin
Tejeda
Middlebrooks
Lavarnway
Padron
Federowicz
Place
Dening
Bermudez
Hee
Wilson P, followed my Michael Lee, and then Will Latimer.

Pawtucket:
Nava
Wagner
Kalish
Anderson
Bell
Jimenez
Thomas
Sheely
JT Garcia
Weiland P, followed by Christian Santeliz

Because the Red Sox affiliates were playing the Twins affiliates, I was able to split my time between the two complexes. I watched Drake Britton pitch two innings, then watched about an inning of the Greenville game, then drove over to watch Portland and Pawtucket.

Drake Britton was absolutely lights out. In his first inning of work, he struck out the side He threw 14 pitches, nine for strikes. He struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches. In his second inning of work, he threw 12 pitches, eight for strikes. He pitched to contact more in that inning, inducing two ground balls and striking out one.

At one point, Britton missed high three times in a row, but then threw three straight strikes. He has this one offspeed pitch that has incredibe movement that was fooling batters all over the place. I think it’s a curveball, but I’m not sure.

Derrik Gibson was hit by a pitch in the elbow. The trainer came out to see him, but he stayed in the game–at least for a bit. He took a couple of free swings behind the dugout after that inning with the trainer, but I didn’t see if he got back in or not.

I watched the Greenville game for about an inning, and I had the pleasure of meeting Sean Coyle’s girlfriend, Elizabeth. She informed me that Sean hit a single and stole two bases. She also talked about his great work ethic. I didn’t know that the players have to get to the complex around 7 am to hit in the cages.

Jason Garcia started the Greenville game. He gave up two home runs (when I was watching), but he was probably just leaving the ball up in the zone. He was drafted last year in the 17th round, and only played in the Gulf Coast League, so it’s impressive that he’s playing with Greenville.

Daniel Nava had his foot wrapped up on the trainer’s table when I got to the Twins’ complex. I don’t have any details, though.

Mike Antonellis, the radio broadcaster for the Portland Sea Dogs, informed me that Ryan Lavarnway absolutely crushed a ball for a home run. Oscar Tejeda also hit a deep double. With Federowicz and Lavarnway both slated to start the season in Portland, it will be interesting to see how their playing time is divided. At this point, Lavarnway’s bat is more advanced, and Fedrowicz’s defense is more advanced. That being said, Lavarnway could take on a more DH-heavy role.   

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Mike for the majority of the game. You can follow him on Twitter here. Mike is really one of the most genuinely nice guys I’ve met, and he is really someone I admire and will try and emulate. He has a great rapport with all the players, and he has a great understanding of how things work. He has really been so helpful to me over the past year, too, and I can’t express how grateful I am. He and Chris Cameron let me write game stories when I was in Portland, and he also let me interview Luis Exposito for the radio. Having those first-hand experiences were really invaluable. This spring, he has let me do freelance writing for his blog and the Sea Dogs website. I really appreciate everything so much.

As much as I have enjoyed getting to know the Red Sox prospects, I have also really enjoyed getting to know, or at least meeting prospects from other teams. I ran into Twins pitcher David Bromberg again. He was their minor league pitcher of the year in 2009. He will be pitching on Monday.

Another prospect I have enjoyed getting to know a bit is Brandon Henderson, a pitcher in the Rays system. He was drafted in the 15th round last year. In nine games in the GCL last year, he went 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA. He scattered 13 hits over 22.2 innings, striking out 28. He last pitched on the 24th, and gave up his first unearned run of the spring. He went two innings with one walk and one hit. He is definitely a pitcher you should keep your eye on.

I should be going back on Tuesday. I have tickets to the major-league game, which will be game played there. These tickets are courtesy of Helen, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the major-league workouts. Somehow, though, I am tempted to stay at the complex and watch those games.  

**Update** Tyler Wilson and Hunter Cervenka pitched in an intrasquad game on Sunday. Jon Lester was the opposing pitcher. Tyler Wilson threw 14 pitches over two innings, yielding no walks, no runs, and striking out one. This information comes from Tyler’s mother, Pam.