Red Sox Minor Lines: Pedro Castellanos is on fire

Pawtucket L 4-6

Tzu-Wei Lin, SS: 1-3, 2 BB, 1 R

Marco Hernández, 2B: 0-5, 2 K

Rusney Castillo, RF: 1-4, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 K

Jantzen Witte, 1B: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 0-2, 1 RBI, 1 K

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

Tanner Houck: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K (7 pitches)

Colten Brewer: 2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K (43 pitches)

Trevor Kelley: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K (28 pitches)

Jenrry Mejia: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K (18 pitches)

Erasmo Ramírez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (15 pitches)

The pitching situation for Pawtucket on Sunday was very interesting. Ramírez was originally supposed to start this game, but they scratched him and shifted to Tanner Houck. The belief from some was that Ramírez was about to be called up to the majors and join the Red Sox in Cleveland. Then....he was used in the final inning? It’s possible they are still calling him up and just didn’t want him to get a full start, but it’s curious that he was scratched and then used anyway. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before. The other possibility is that they could want to use Houck as an opener and want to give him a chance or two in that role with Pawtucket before getting him to the majors.

Portland W 3-2

Jarren Duran, CF: 1-4, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB

Marcus Wilson, RF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

C.J. Chatham, SS: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB

Joey Curletta, DH: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Daniel McGrath: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K (107 pitches)

We haven’t talked a ton about Chatham in this space of late, but he’s still putting together a very solid season in the middle infield. I’m still not seeing a first-division starter here thanks to his relative lack of power, but he’s shown good bat-to-ball skills and is up to a .297/.333/.403 line on the year. It’s worth noting the league-average hitter in the Eastern League is hitting .239. Also, Duran is definitely feeling more confident right now and he’s up to 41 stolen bases in 111 games between Salem and Portland this year.

Salem W 4-1

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 2-4, 2 R, 1 SB

Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 3-3, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 SB

Daniel Gonzalez: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K (72 pitches)

I’m not sure where this version of Castellanos, but I am a fan. He didn’t hit any home runs in this game, which has been the focus around him in this space of late, but he got on base every time he came to the plate (he was also hit by a pitch) with a double thrown in there. After his game on July 14 he was hitting just .267/.308/.334. Since then, he’s played in 24 games, has had hits in 20 of them and has bumped his line up to .277/.322/.384. Also he somehow has ten stolen bases.

Greenville L 4-5

Tyler Esplin, DH: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Triston Casas, 1B: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 K

Kole Cottam, C: 2-3, 1 R

Jonathan Ortega, 3B: 2-4, 2 K

Brayan Bello: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 10 K (93 pitches)

I’m not sure there has been a starting pitcher in the Red Sox farm system who has been more interesting this year than Bello. Obviously I don’t mean interesting in the sense that he has a potentially interesting future. Rather I mean I don’t know what to think. The righty had a little bit of hype coming into the year after a strong professional debut as a 19-year-old in the DSL. He was old for the level, but even given that jumping from basically an entire season in the DSL (he made one appearance in the GCL at the end of the year) all the way up to full-season ball is intimidating. As a result, he’s had a wildly uneven year. Of 19 starts this year, he’s allowed one or zero runs in eight of them and he’s allowed at least five in seven. It’s a bizarre year, but he’s shown enough flashes to remain interested. That includes Sunday with the ten strikeouts and no walks.

Lowell G1 L 1-5

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

Cameron Cannon, 2B: 1-3, 1 2B

Stephen Scott, LF: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 R

Nicholas Northcut, 3B: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 E

Nick Decker, RF: 0-3, 2 K

Antoni Flores, SS: 1-3

Lowell G2 L 2-7

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

Cameron Cannon, SS: 1-4, 1 RBI

Stephen Scott, 1B: 0-2, 1 RBI

I don’t really have a ton to say here as it was a tough doubleheader for basically everyone except Jimenez. He’s now hitting .361/.396/.491 on the year.