Four days worth of action, which includes Alen Hanson making his winter debut, Pablo Reyes breaking into the lineup, and Luis Heredia having two outings with very different results.
Tuesday
In Mexico, Luis Heredia retired all six batters he faced in a nice bounce back outing. He had one strikeout and threw 21 of his 25 pitches for strikes. In his previous outing eight days earlier, he allowed four runs on five hits in 1.1 innings.
In the Dominican, Pablo Reyes went 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch and a run scored. He made his second consecutive start at third base.
Miguel Rosario walked the only batter he faced. He has kept runs off the board with a 2.08 ERA in eight appearances, but he has also issued walks in seven of those outings.
Wednesday
In Venezuela, Jose Osuna went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He was on a 3-for-23 stretch coming into this game.
Elvis Escobar had a tough night as well, though he did score a run and pick up an outfield assist. He went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.
In Puerto Rico, Danny Ortiz went 1-for-5 with a run scored. He became a minor league free agent on Tuesday. As we have done in the past, we cover players like Ortiz until they sign elsewhere. In each of the past three winters, players have become free agents, then re-signed with the organization later in the off-season.
In Colombia, Henrry Rosario is hitting .357/.357/.400 through 14 at-bats. He is the only player from the Pirates currently in the league.
Thursday
In Venezuela, Elvis Escobar continued to slump after a hot start. He went 0-for-4, leaving him 4-for-33 in his last eight games.
Jose Osuna went 1-for-4 with a single. He is on a .179/.250/.209 stretch in his last ten games.
In Puerto Rico, Danny Ortiz went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.
In Mexico, Carlos Munoz went 0-for-2 with a strikeout, before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. He is hitting .136/.239/.153 through 21 games. He has yet to score a run.
Luis Heredia threw 2.1 innings, losing the game in the bottom of the 12th. He allowed just one run and had a line that included two hits and five walks, but neither hit reached the infield dirt, and three of the walks were intentional. Heredia now has a 8.10 ERA over 13.1 innings, with 14 hits, 11 walks and 12 strikeouts.
Friday
In the Dominican, Alen Hanson made his winter debut and went 0-for-4. He started at second base and handled five plays in the field, including two double plays.
Pablo Reyes got another start at third base and went 1-for-4. He moved up to the second spot in the lineup, as his team looks to take advantage of his quick start. He is 7-for-15 through his first five games.
In Venezuela, Elvis Escobar went 0-for-1 with a run scored. He pinch-ran in the seventh inning and played the last two innings in center field. After a very strong start to the season, he is now hitting .277/.292/.404 through 29 games.
Jose Osuna went 1-for-6 with a run scored and an RBI. He struck out three times and committed his first error at first base. He has been splitting his time between first base and the outfield. While he wasn’t hitting as well as Escobar, Osuna also had a strong start that has turned into a slump. He is hitting .250 through 104 at-bats, with 23 strikeouts and his OPS dropped below the .700 mark on Thursday night. When he had his breakout winter last year, Osuna had a .345/.392/.473 slash line at this same point of the season.
In Nicaragua, Anderson Feliz is hitting .422/.519/.622 through ten games. We found out the other day that Feliz doesn’t reach minor league free agency until after the 2017 season.
In Puerto Rico, Danny Ortiz went 1-for-4 with his second triple and a run scored. He has a .370 average and a .918 OPS through 11 games.
