Pawtucket W 3-2
Rusney Castillo, CF: 2-4, 1 R
Brandon Phillips, 2B: 1-4, 1 R, 2 K
Tzu-Wei Lin, 2B: 0-1, 1 K
Sam Travis, 1B: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Josh Ockimey, DH: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Oscar Hernandez, C: 2-4, 1 RBI
Bobby Poyner: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (15 pitches)
I am not one of the people who is panicking about the Red Sox bullpen — they’ll be fine! — but I do want to see Poyner get another shot at some point soon. He pitched very well early in the year when he got a chance, then never really got called back up with a serious shot of sticking on the roster. This bullpen would be even better with a lefty, and in the organizaton Poyner is the best option. He’s now got 26 games and 33 1⁄3 innings under his belt at Triple-A with a 2.16 ERA and 32 strikeouts to go with eight walks. Finding room for him on the major-league roster is easier said than done, but he deserves a shot.
Portland L 3-5
Jeremy Rivera, SS: 2-4, 1 RBI
Michael Chavis, 4-4, 1 R, 1 SB, 1 PO/CS
Bobby Dalbec, DH: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K
Tate Matheny, CF: 2-4, 1 RBI, 2 K
Jake Cosart: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (23 pitches)
Dalbec is the hot new prospect at Double-A and some are already calling him the best hitting prospect in the system, but Chavis would like to remind you he still exists. Chavis was Dalbec before Dalbec was Dalbec, and while he’s been up-and-down since returning from his suspension this year the former first-round pick has at least shown the power is still there. I’m still on the Chavis train. It’s also worth noting Chavis is a year younger than Dalbec.
Salem W 7-0
Brett Netzer, 2B: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 K
C.J. Chatham, SS: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB, 1 E
Jerry Downs, 1B: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K
Jake Thompson: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (77 pitches)
Durbin Feltman: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (6 pitches)
Have yourself a night, Jake Thompson. The 2017 fourth round pick has been mostly unimpressive this season, showing some flashes but mostly suffering from a lack of strikeout stuff and poor command. I still think his best chance to succeed is seeing if his stuff will play up in shorter stints, but every once in awhile he puts together outings like this and you see why the team is sticking with him as a starter.
Greenville L 4-6
Jarren Duran, RF: 1-4, 1 R, 1 E
Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K
Marino Campana, DH: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K
Jhonathan Diaz: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (97 pitches)
Diaz has been one of the most underrated performers in the Red Sox system this year, but he did not show it on this night. That’s going to happen from time to time, but the amoung of hits he allowed (though only two went for extra bases) was an odd change for him.
Lowell SUSP
GCL W 8-6
Juan Carlos Abreu, LF: 3-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Carlos Pulido, C: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 R
Nicholas Northcut, 3B: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 K
Jecorrah Arnold, SS: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 E
Keibert Petit, 1B: 1-2, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 R, 3 RBI
Ivan Houellemont, 2B: 1-2, 2 BB, 1 R, 2 SB
Gregori Reyes: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Yeah, I’m getting back on my Abreu horse because he continues to be the most interesting non top prospect on this GCL roster. Clearly they like him at least a bit since he’s leading off every day, and he’s coming through with a .333/.406/.476 line. He is 21 years old and this is his third go around the GCL, so this success is to be expected a bit. Still, he’s hitting well and that’s better than the alternative. I’ve probably said all of that twelve times by now but it bears repeating.
DSL 1 L 6-7
Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 3-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Brandon Rincones, 2B: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 PO
Leonel Jimenez, 3B: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 K
Fabian Andrade, LF: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI
Lewis Baez, RF: 2-5, 1 3B, 2 R, 1 RBI
Breiner Licona, C: 2-5, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 SB, 1 CS
Erick Flores, DH: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K
DSL 2 L 0-4
Nelfy Abreu, CF: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K
Gilberto Jimenez hasn’t exactly been Abreu atop the DSL 1 lineup, but he’s been solid on a daily basis. There isn’t a lot of power — though he does have seven doubles and six triples in 54 games, a pace of 21 and 18 — but he has a .303 batting average to go with a .372 on-base percentage. Combine that with an aggressive, albeit somewhat ineffective running style (12 for 23 in steal attempts) and there’s at least some excitement here.
Player of the Day: Jake Thompson has an outstanding case here, but I’m going to give it to his teammate C.J. Chatham. The shortstop is finally healthy this season, and he’s showing why he is still an intriguing prospect to man. Despite the error on Tuesday, his defense is still good at shortstop and he can simply get hits. You’d like to see more power but he’s hitting over .300 with a .342 OBP at High-A. He’ll certainly be in Portland next year, if not sooner.