Red Sox minor lines: The End

Pawtucket W 4-2

Rusney Castillo: 1-4

Henry Owens: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Kyle Martin: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

For all that we'll remember his first half more, Owens looked like his old self in the second half in ways both positive and negative. He was clearly not ready to make the jump to the majors in 2016, and maybe he never will be, but he won't turn 25 until after the 2017 All-Star Break, so it's too early to give up on him even if we might hope not to see him again in 2016.

Kyle Martin? Kyle Martin we should see. C'mon, Red Sox, he's got nothing else to do now. Make it happen.

Portland L 1-3

Mauricio Dubon: 2-4

In the end, Mauricio Dubon finished the season with as many games in Portland as in Salem. The Salem performance, honestly, doesn't get the credit it deserved. In High-A, Dubon showed the ability to draw walks and reach base with some regularity. It was the sort of performance which wouldn't exactly demand any spotlight, but would keep pushing him up through the levels until he made his way into the majors. And if he managed to maintain some portion of that in the majors, he'd be probably put together a pretty reasonable career.

But in Portland he did a lot more than that. He showed the ability to punish pitchers for throwing him strikes more than he ever has before. His six homers look modest, and it's hard to put up the .538 SLG he managed with a pace like that (somewhere around 12-to-15 over a full season) in the majors. But it's a big difference from the singles-and-walks guy that Dubon had been before, as are the 26 other extra-base hits Dubon managed in Portland. He's got a big prove-it year coming, but if he does, he'll start getting a lot more attention than he has even now.

Salem L 0-4

Joseph Monge: 0-4, 2 K
Luis Alexander Basabe: 0-4, K
Rafael Devers: 1-3, BB, K, SB

Yankory Pimentel: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

After a disastrous start to his season, Devers has done enough to earn a promotion to Portland in 2017, finishing the regular season with a .326/.367/.539 second half. It's not the dream season for the highly-rated third baseman, but when you consider his age and trend, it's a successful one.

Greenville L 4-6

Kyri Washington: 0-0, BB
Josh Ockimey: 1-4

Washington and Ockimey make for an interesting comparison. They're both big-time strikeout hitters with some pretty good homer totals. The difference is that where Washington has the higher OPS, he also has a pretty damn high BABIP, and where Ockimey has a ridiculous 17.8 BB%, Washington's is down at 7.8%. BABIP does count for something in the minors, moreso than in the majors, but of the two, Ockimey looks like a real three-true-outcomes player, and Washington more like a guy who's going to fall off quickly unless his power starts shining through even more.

Lowell L 5-9

Matt McLean: 1-4, K
CJ Chatham: 1-4, 2B, 2 K
Ryan Scott: 0-4, K
Bobby Dalbec 1-4, 2 K
Yoan Aybar: 1-4, K

Not the most explosive finish from a Spinners team which actually proved pretty interesting in 2016. Bobby Dalbec is the huge standout here. Ian Cundall turns in this fairly glowing report in support of his performance, and sums it up pretty well: Dalbec has put himself in a great position to jump into the spotlight as one of Boston's best prospects in 2017 despite not having really been in a great position to succeed in 2016. There's a lot to like here, and if it's too early to anoint him the next big thing, it's easy to imagine him rising into that level next year.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, breakout candidate Yoan Aybar didn't really show any sign of making good on his potential in 2016. It's kind of a lost season for the young outfielder, and while the fact that he's all of 19 means there's still time to turn those physical abilities into baseball talent, he hasn't shown it yet.

Of the college seniors, Ryan Scott is definitely the one who looked like he was more ready for pro ball, but as with any such draft pick, both his and McLean's draft position was more about money than ability, making them long shots to do much in the first place.

The same is not at all true for CJ Chatham, whose late surge goes a long way towards making up for his early struggles, whether it's the result of a healing thumb or just typical amateur-to-pro adjustment. He's a good all-around player who started showing it late, and if Dalbec has quickly leapfrogged him, there's no reason he can't be part of that conversation eventually.