Red Sox Outfielder Rusney Castillo Is The International League Batting Champion

Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo has been at AAA Pawtucket and has been stuck at AAA Pawtucket since June 18th 2016. In the years since then, he hit .263 in 2016, .314 in 2017, and in 2018 he hit .319. The next best batting average in the International league was Joey Meneses who hit .311 in 2018. So Rusney Castillo is the International League batting champion in 2018.

This is the first time a Paw Sox player won the batting title since 1981 when Wade Boggs hit .335 for the Paw Sox. Castillo still won the batting title this season even though he actually had less hits this season then Meneses. Meneses had 153 hits while Castillo had 151 hits in the 2018 season. This is the most hits a Paw Sox player had in a single season since 2008 when Joe Thurston had 160 hits.

How Castillo Got Here

“He’s earned it” when Paw Sox manager Kevin Boles talked about Rusney Castillo winning the batting title.

“Obviously he’s disappointed because the last week here, we tried playing him four or five days ago, and he’s been fighting shin splints and an ankle and he still wanted to play. Our judgment, there was no way watching his last game and how he had played and just the way he wasn’t moving down the line” Boles added.

Rusney Castillo played his final game of the 2018 season last Thursday August 30th against Lehigh Valley. In that game, he went 0 for 5 at the plate with one strike out.

“It was unfortunate because he’s a guy that wants to be in the lineup. Obviously he’s been our best hitter. But for him to win the batting title, it’s a great body of work what he’s done. He’s had a great year and he’s earned it. First one since Wade Boggs. So that’s a big accomplishment for him” Boles said when praising Castillo on the type of player he is.

Castillo has put in a ton of work this season, so much so that it really has become a mystery as to why he’s still in the minor leagues. The contract that Rusney Castillo signed with the Red Sox back in August 2014 is a big reason why he’s still stuck in the minor leagues.

But what Rusney Castillo has turned into, is someone who could play on most major league baseball teams. Castillo could be a trade candidate for most major league teams who want a center fielder who can play good defense and hit .270 over 140 games or so. At the price of $11.7 million dollars, that’s not a bad price for a major league team.

Boston Red Sox Set To Call Up Veteran Brandon Phillips From AAA Pawtucket, Activate Rafael Devers Off The Disabled List

With the AAA season coming to a close this afternoon, the Boston Red Sox have decided to promote veteran infielder Brandon Phillips to the major league roster effective September 4th. The 37 year old veteran has been with the organization since June 27th when the Red Sox signed him to a minor league contract.

Since he has been with the organization, Phillips has seen time with Low-A Lowell, and AAA Pawtucket. While with the Lowell Spinners, he hit .318 with 1 home run and 7 runs batted in over 6 games. On July 14th, the Red Sox promoted him to AAA Pawtucket. While with the Paw Sox, he has hit .302 with 4 home runs and 19 runs batted in over 38 games. Since August 8th, he has batted .376 with a 1.000 OPS.

Brandon Phillips is eligible for the postseason roster for the Red Sox because he was within the organization before September 1st. The fact that he wasn’t on the 25 or 40 man roster before that date means nothing. But it is very unlikely that the veteran will be on the post season roster considering the other options the Red Sox have within the organization.

This call up of Phillips was more to congratulate him on sticking it out in the minor leagues and being such a great presence in the clubhouse down at McCoy Stadium. He won’t be getting a ton of playing time with so many other options at the major leagues, and Phillips knows that. But they loved his attitude and that’s why he’s getting the call up.

Red Sox To Activate Rafael Devers Off Of The Disabled List

Along with Brandon Phillips being promoted to Boston after the AAA season concludes Monday afternoon, the Red Sox will activate infielder Rafael Devers as well. Devers has been on the disabled list for Boston since August 17th with a left hamstring strain and has been with AAA Pawtucket on a rehab stint since August 29th.

In 5 games with AAA Pawtucket on his most recent rehab stint, he has hit .294 with 1 home run and 2 runs batted in.

On Sunday night, Devers had his most impressive rehab game with the Paw Sox since he started this current rehab. In 4 at-bats, he made hard contact 3 times and had 2 base hits to show for it. Paw Sox manager Kevin Boles said that it was the best that Devers has looked in this rehab stint.

Devers has one more rehab start with the PawSox before he will be activated off of the disabled list on Monday afternoon. He is playing third base, batting third in the lineup.

Red Sox Third Basemen Rafael Devers Has His Best Night So Far In Rehab Stint Sunday Night At McCoy Stadium For The Paw Sox

Red Sox third basemen Rafael Devers, who is currently rehabbing his at AAA Pawtucket after suffering a left hamstring strain, played his fifth rehab game Sunday night at McCoy Stadium. On the night, Devers went 2 for 4 at the plate with a single, double, and two ground outs.

Devers played all 9 innings Sunday night for the Paw Sox as well. Defensively there was no problems for him going for balls. But offensively, he looks like he is getting really close to getting his timing down for the major leagues. In all of his at-bats tonight, Devers was able to make solid contact against the Rail Riders pitchers. However this wasn’t the last game for Devers at AAA Pawtucket as he will play 3rd base for the Paw Sox on Monday afternoon when the Paw Sox close out the regular season

How Rafael Devers Looked Sunday Night

Coming into the night on his current rehab stint, Rafael Devers had been 3 for 13 at the plate with 1 home run and 2 RBI’s. That home run came in their contest on Saturday night in Scranton. But that’s when on Sunday night, Devers appeared to get back on track with his timing.

“He had three pretty good at bats. I thought the ground ball to short was pretty well hit (in the 5th inning)” said Paw Sox manager Kevin Boles

“Then he hustled down the line beating out a potential double play ball. Stayed in a rundown between third and home to keep us out of a double play, and caught one popup on defense. So I though overall, he looked pretty good. I liked how he got down the line on the fielder’s choice” Boles added when asked about the night for Rafael Devers.

The first base hit on the night for Rafael Devers came on a 1-0 fastball in the first inning of the game off of Scranton Wilkes-Barre starting pitcher Adonis Rosa. Devers was able to take the fastball back up the middle into center field for the Paw Sox first base hit of the night.

In the 4th inning, Rafael Devers had the second base hit of the night for the Paw Sox. On the seventh pitch that he saw from Rosa, Devers was able to pull a hard hit double down the right field line and he went into second base without any trouble. But earlier in the at-bat, Devers was able to pull a ball about 340 feet foul down the right field line. It is 325 feet to the right field foul pole at McCoy Stadium.

How Close Is Devers To Returning To Major League Baseball

His sharpness level is “getting better” said Boles after the game. Especially since he hasn’t played a ton of baseball game the second half of the season. Devers has been placed on the disabled list three times the second half of the season. One time for left shoulder inflammation. Twice for a left hamstring strain.

“When he first got here, he ended up hitting a fastball to left center that was up in the zone. Then he ended up expanding the zone a little bit too much. Now we’re starting to see him, strike zone’s got better management of it, and he’s swinging the bat well” said Boles.

“His timing is getting down. Still work in progress, but overall, I thought tonight was probably the best night that we’ve seen him. He’s heading in the right direction” he added.

The Paw Sox close out their 2018 season Monday afternoon at McCoy Stadium. That will probably be the last game Rafael Devers plays before being activated off of the disabled list.

But tonight was a big step in the right direction for Rafael Devers. He looked like he was healthy tonight while playing for the Paw Sox. Since he is playing more games down at AAA and everyday, he getting his timing down before he is activated. So you shouldn’t be seeing Devers struggle at the plate once he is activated off of the disabled list because he getting that timing down before that.