Red Sox Minor Lines: Jalen Beeks is feeling it

Pawtucket L 3-4

Rusney Castillo, CF: 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 K

Ivan De Jesus, SS: 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 E

Aneury Tavarez, RF: 0-4

Chad De La Guerra, PR: 0-0, 1 R

Mike Miller, 2B: 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI

Jalen Beeks: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K (96 pitches)

Ty Buttrey: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K (29 pitches)

Jalen Beeks,,,,,,hello. The lefty and former 12th round pick continues to be absolutely incredible down in Triple-A. Despite an undersized stature, the former University of Arkansas star reworked his delivery to exert less effort with each pitch and started to look more like a long-term starting pitcher last season. Delivery changes can often hinder performance, but clearly that is not the case with Beeks. He now has a 1.71 ERA through his first five starts of the year with 46 strikeouts and just seven walks over 26 ¹⁄₃ innings. See you in Boston soon (maybe), Jalen.

Portland L 4-5

Josh Tobias, 3B: 0-4, 1 RBI, 1 K

Cole Sturgeon, RF: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 PO

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

Tate Matheny, CF: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 CS

Danny Mars, LF: 2-4, 1 R, 1 SB

Travis Lakins: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (47 pitches)

Teddy Stankiewicz: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (84 pitches)

Lakins had only made one start on the year heading into this game due to starting the season on the disabled list, and because of multiple postponements he had gone nine days since his last appearance. Those two factors combined to ensure it was an early exit for the righty, but he was great while he was on the mound. This is a big year for the former Ohio State star, as he has some of the best stuff in the entire system, it’s just a matter of finally putting it all together for an entire season.

Salem L 3-8

Santiago Espinal, SS: 3-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI

Brett Netzer, 2B: 0-4, 2 K

Tyler Hill, RF: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB

Kyri Washington, LF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Roniel Raudes: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K

There’s no pitch counts on the box score for this game, so it’s a mystery how many pitches it took Raudes to get through his short outing. Either way, it was another lackluster outing for the righty. It’d be unfair to say he’s been bad this year, but the command hasn’t been as consistent as you’d like from a guy who doesn’t have the pure stuff to survive on that alone. He should still see Portland at some point this year, but maybe not as soon as we’d originally hoped. Offensively, Hill is almost up to a .400 OBP and is 6-7 in stolen base attempts.

Greenville L 8-9 (F/11)

Lorenzo Cedrola, LF: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB

Cole Brannen, CF: 1-6, 1 2B, 1 R, 3 K, 1 E

Victor Acosta, 1B: 2-5, 2 RBI, 1 K

Jagger Rusconi, DH: 2-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 K

Alex Scherff: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (83 pitches)

That’s more like it from Scherff. The high school draftee and 2017 fifth round pick has struggled more often than not in his first professional season, but he’s starting to settle down a big over his last few outings and this was far and away his best of the season. Patience is always key for high schoolers, of course, but Scherff is already 20 years old so he’s not your typical high schooler. That’s not to say he should be further along his development than he is, but it’s an important factor to keep in mind. On offense, Cedrola has been great since returning from the disabled list, posting an .889 OPS. He’s been relegated to corner outfield because of Brannen and they need to find a way to get Cedrola up to Salem at some point soon so he can have a new test.

Player of the Day: For his third straight outing and fourth time overall, Beeks is the player of the day in this system. The lefty, as we’ve mentioned, is already on the 40-man and is more likely than not going to contribute in some way, shape or form this season. The stuff is very clearly there, it’s his small stature that is the biggest question regarding his future role, but even if he has to be a multi-inning reliever rather than a full-blown starter he has the chops to make a real impact at the highest level.