Red Sox Minor Lines: Danny Diaz goes deep again

Pawtucket L 1-8

Tzu-Wei Lin, SS: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K

Cole Sturgeo, RF: 1-3, 1 BB

Rusney Castillo, CF: 0-4

Adam Lind, DH: 1-4, 1 2B

Sam Travis, 1B: 0-4, 1

Ivan De Jesus, 3B: 2-4

Aneury Tavarez, LF: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 K, 1 E

Robby Scott: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K (14 pitches)

Ty Buttrey: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (24 pitches)

De Jesus has had a big month of June and it’s turned his season-long numbers around. There’s still no power in his game, but that’s not really needed for a potential backup infielder. After this multi-hit performance, he’s hitting .282/.355/.367. That’s not great, but it’s about a 50-point improvement across the board over about a three-week span.

Portland W 4-0

Jeremy Rivera, SS: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 R

Chad De La Guerra, 2B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Josh Ockimey, DH: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K

Tate Matheny, CF: 1-4, 1 K

Luke Tendler, LF: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI

Danny Mars, RF: 1-4, 1 SB

After a hot run to De La Guerra’s tenure back in Portland, the infielder has fallen back down. It was a disappointing start to the year in Pawtucket for De La Guerra, and the hope was that he could kickstart things in Double-A. He did for a bit, but now he’s back to hitting very lightly. At 25 years old it’s perhaps any excitement he built up in 2017 may have been a mirage.

Salem L 1-4

Tyler Hill, LF: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 R, 2 SB, 2 SB

C.J. Chatham, SS: 0-3, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 CS

Roldani Baldwin, DH: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 1-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Jake Thompson: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K (89 pitches)

It’s been a weird year for Thompson, and this outing qualifies as a good one even if it’s probably closer to mediocre. The lack of efficiency was certainly not encouraging, but striking out nearly a batter per inning and allowing only two runs is solid. In fact, he’s allowed two or fewer runs in three of his last four and four of his last six outings overall. I still think he ends up as a reliever where his command issues can be better hidden, but he’s coming around a bit in the rotation this year.

Greenville L 4-10

Lorenzo Cedrola, 4-4, 1 2B, 3 RBI

Victor Acosta, LF: 0-4, 1 BB, 1

Pedro Castellanos, DH: 0-4, 2 K

Isaias Lucena, C: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 R

It’s definitely been a disappointing year for Castellanos, who emerged in the DSL last year before starting full-season ball in 2018. He missed some time due to injury this year, but things haven’t really gone well since coming back. It’s only been five starts, but he has just three hits and on the year he’s hitting just .248/.286/.292. That’s not great for anyone, never mind a 1B/DH player.

Lowell L 3-10

Cole Brannen, CF: 1-4, 1 R, 2 K

Garrett Benge, 1B: 2-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 K

Tyler Esplin, RF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K

Rio Gomez: 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (33 pitches)

Esplin is going to be one of the more interesting players to follow for Lowell this year. A 2017 seventh round pick who signed an above-slot deal, the outfielder has some intriguing power potential though he entered the organization raw. We’re only two games into the season so I can’t really speak to how he’s developed, but at just 18 years old it would be a great sign if he put up big numbers in Lowell after a spring down on the complex.

DSL 1 L 3-4

Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 R

Fabian, Andrade, LF: 2-4, 1 2B

DSL 2 W 10-6

Nelfy Abreu, CF: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Gabriel Perez, LF: 2-5, 2 R, 2 K, 2 SB

Antoni Flores, SS: 4-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 K

Danny Diaz, 3B: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 K

Kleiber Rodriguez, DH: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI

Miguel Suero: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Diaz hit his fourth home run this year, which is encouraging for 13 games into the season. The rest of his game hasn’t really gone well, but the power was the most intriguing skill so it’s nice to see it translating right away.

Player of the Day: This one is going to Lorenzo Cedrola, who is having another strong season in Greenville and really deserves a chance to move up the ladder. The 20 year old, who surprisingly made Baseball Prospectus’ top-ten list for the organization, has missed a little time to injury but in 40 games has hit .331/.367/.446 out of the leadoff spot for the Drive.