Red Sox Minor Lines: Esteban Quiroz is killing it in Double-A

Pawtucket W 4-3

Rusney Castillo, CF: 2-5, 1 RBI

Sam Travis, 1B: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Jeremy Barfield, DH: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 K

Mike Olt, 3B: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K

Dan Butler, C: 3-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Chad De La Guerra, 2B: 1-4, 1 RBI, 2 K

Chandler Shepherd: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 3 H, 1 R, 5 K (86 pitches)

Roenis Elias: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (22 pitches)

Brandon Workman: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (29 pitches)

Williams Jerez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K (14 pitches)

A big day for the PawSox bullpen, who picked up Shepherd’s short outing and got a win for the Triple-A club. Elias and Workman were particularly impressive with a pair of outstanding multi-inning outings. Both of these guys should see some time in the major-league bullpen at some point in 2018.

Portland G1 W 8-2

Cole Sturgeon, CF: 4-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB

Danny Mars, RF: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Esteban Quiroz, 2B: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K

Austin Rei, C: 1-3, 1 3B, 1 R

Kyle Hart: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K (81 pitches)

Jake Cosart: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K (23 pitches)

Portland G2 L 3-6

Cole Sturgeon, RF: 2-4, 1 K, 1 SB

Danny Mars, LF: 0-4, 3 K

Esteban Quiroz, 2B: 0-4, 1 K, 1 E

Tate Matheny, CF: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 R

Josh Tobias, 3B: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K, 1 E

Matthew Kent: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K (64 pitches)

Trey Ball: 2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 0 K (37 pitches)

Trevor Kelley: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (20 pitches)

We’ll get to Sturgeon a little farther down this post, but there are a few other takeaways here. First and foremost, Ockimey is back in action. He didn’t do much of note, but having one of the top prospects in the organization back from the disabled list is certainly a good thing. Quiroz also had a big day, at least in the first game, and continues to look like he’s figured out the Eastern League. On a more negative side, Ball had a rough outing after looking pretty solid in his first few chances in relief.

Salem W 7-4

Santiago Espinal, SS: 2-5, 1 3B, 2 R, 2 K

Brett Netzer, 2B: 1-3, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 RBI

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 3 K

Jerry Downs, 1B: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Tyler Hill, RF: 2-4, 1 3B, 3 RBI

Jake Thompson: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K (90 pitches)

Joan Martinez: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K (35 pitches)

Daniel Gonzalez: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (28 pitches)

The peripherals look good for Thompson here, though it’s worth noting that he did allow two doubles and a home run so he wasn’t exactly singled to death. Not the best outing we’ll see from him (hopefully), but it’s a solid night for the 2017 draftee. In the bullpen, Martinez has had a bit of a rough go of it to start the year but I’m all in on the Gonzalez multi-inning reliever hype train. He now has a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings with 18 strikeouts and just one walk.

Greenville L 5-7

Kervin Suarez, 2B: 0-5, 4 K

Cole Brannen, CF: 1-5, 1 RBI, 3 K

Everlouis Lozada, SS: 1-4, 1 2B, 3 K

C.J. Chatham, DH: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R

Victor Acosta, LF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI

Not a super notable day down in Low-A. Chatham had a solid game and as long as he stays healthy it looks likely he’ll be among the first round of promotions whenever that may come. Brannen continues to struggle a bit at the plate and he’s hitting just .136 now. Of course, he was always expected to take some time to develop with the bat.

Player of the Day: He had a little bit of a built-in advantage with the doubleheader in Portland, but Cole Sturgeon was phenomenal in Double-A on Tuesday. The outfielder is not much of a prospect as a 26-year-old who was first promoted to Portland in 2015, but he’s still raking right now after getting some late-game time with the major-league club in spring training. He’s been leading off for Portland all year, and one would assume if/when an injury opens up a spot on the Pawtucket roster he’ll get the call up to Triple-A. It’ll be well earned.