Red Sox Minor Lines: Joe Kelly begins his rehab assignment

Pawtucket L 5-6 (F/11)

Rusney Castillo: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 3 RBI

Tzu-Wei Lin: 1-5, 2 K, 1 SB

Sam Travis: 0-5

Bryce Brentz: 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI

Steve Selsky: 0-5, 3 K

Jalen Beeks: 6 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 6 K

Joe Kelly: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Chandler Shepherd: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Noe Ramirez: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K

There was a whole lot going on in this game. Kelly made his first rehab appearance, and he certainly hasn’t appeared to have missed a beat. The results were obviously great, and it only took him eight innings pitches to get through that inning of work. Beeks, meanwhile, was okay but gave up a lot of hits and that led to a lackluster line. As I’ve said many times in this space regarding this kind of line, it’s hard to say how much is due to defense and how much is due to poor pitching. Then, there’s Brentz. Oh, Brentz. At this point, it seems as if they have to give him a chance in September. They’d have to make room on the 40-man, but Selsky is looking pretty expendable these days. Also a good game for Castilo. OK, that is all.

Portland L 5-7 (F/11)

Michael Chavis: 1-6, 1 R, 2 K

Josh Ockimey: 1-3, 1 2B, 2 BB

Josh Tobias: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Danny Mars: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K

Trevor Kelley: 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

Ty Buttrey: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Ockimey is just getting to Double-A as a 21-year-old in what is generally known as the toughest jump in the minors. His patience is one of his greatest qualities, and it wouldn’t have been too surprising to see him lose some of that as he adjusted to a new league. Clearly, that hasn’t been the case and that’s a fairly big deal for how we view the first base prospect moving forward.

Salem L 2-9

Austin Rei: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Tate Matheny: 1-2, 1 K

Uhhhh.....both somewhat notable players got on base once in this game! Hooray!

Greenville W 1-0

Lorenzo Cedrola: 0-4

Roldani Badlwin: 1-4, 1 2B

Bobby Dalbec: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Brett Netzer: 1-4, 1 K

Tyler Hill: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 SB

Jason Groome: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K

Last week, I said in this space that this might be something close to a lost year for Groome thanks to injuries and inconsistencies. Well, perhaps I spoke too soon. This was an utterly dominant start and shows why so many prospect evaluators still see him as one of the best young players in all of professional baseball. A few more starts like this and he’ll have some great momentum to bring to Salem next year. Meanwhile, Netzer gets promoted after hitting well in Lowell in his pro debut. The third round pick will likely start in Salem next year as well. Finally, Dalbec is starting to turn it on a bit and provided the only bit of offense in this game.

Lowell PPD

GCL Red Sox W 5-2

Cole Brannen: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K

Jagger Rusconi: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Eduard Bazardo: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K

Brannen got his first extra-base hit of the year. It’s been most encouraging for the second-round pick as he gets his professional career started, and it’s nice to see some power from him. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a short time at Lowell before the year gets out.

DSL Red Sox G1 W 5-0

Willis Figueroa: 3-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB,1 SB

Keibert Petit: 2-3, 1 BB, 3 RBI, 1 K

Rafael Gomez: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K

DSL Red Sox G2 W 5-3

Lewis Baez: 2-3, 1 3B, 1 R