Red Sox Minor Lines: Thad Ward’s great season continues

Pawtucket W 7-4

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

C.J. Chatham, 2B: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Jantzen Witte, 1B; 2-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB

Rusney Castillo, RF: 0-4, 1 K

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Kyle Hart: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K (103 pitches)

Bobby Poyner: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (25 pitches)

Hector Velázquez: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K (10 pitches)

Trevor Kelley: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (10 pitches)

Chatham certainly seems to be enjoying himself in Triple-A, eh? The middle infielder, who got the start at second base showing off some versatility that will be important as he looks to take the next step up at some point next year, has had a big four games to start his Triple-A career. He hit his first homer in this one, a notable event given that he hit only four in 90 games with Portland. He’s never really been known for his power and I wouldn’t expect many at this level either. That said, remember that Triple-A levels are now using major-league balls and homers are flying up there. We could see a little surprising pop from Chatham to finish off the year.

Portland L 2-4

Jarren Duran, CF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K

Joey Curletta, 1B: 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 K

Luke Tendler, RF: 2-4

Bryan Mata: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 7 K (96 pitches)

This was a weird outing for Mata, who had good strikeout and walk numbers but couldn’t get the results around those Ks. Five of the hits he allowed were singles, but he also allowed a big three-run homer in the second. That second inning is also when all four of the runs were scored. Overall, it’s not a great start but there are positives to take away. On the other side, Duran has been smoking hot for a few weeks now and has really turned it around after a tough start at Double-A.

Salem W 1-0

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 0-4, 1 E

Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 0-4, 1 K

Devlin Granberg, DH: 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 K

Jagger Rusconi, LF: 2-4, 2 K

Thad Ward: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K (83 pitches)

Logan Browning: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K (16 pitches)

It is really, really hard not to be extremely excited about Ward after what he has done this year. You can look at him as just a reincarnation of sorts of Kutter Crawford’s breakout from last season. For one thing, that’s not the worst thing because Crawford hasn’t exactly taken a major step back. More importantly, though, Ward has gotten more love from the scouting side as well as putting up big numbers. And oh, those numbers. He’s now made ten starts in Salem and has pitched to a 2.05 ERA over 48 ¹⁄₃ innings with 62 strikeouts and 28 walks. That comes after posting a 1.99 ERA in 72 ¹⁄₃ innings with Greenville. What a season.

Greenville L 0-1

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Triston Casas, 1B: 1-4, 1 K

Kole Cottam, C: 1-4, 1 3B, 1 K

Brayan Bello: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K (88 pitches)

Talk about a tough-luck loss. Bello was outstanding in this game but got no support from his offense, dropping his record to 5-8 on the year. I think he is going to be a guy who could be a bit undervalued heading into next year. His 5.79 ERA on the season looks very ugly, but he’s shown a few extended flashes as a 20-year-old in his full-season debut. He has 104 strikeouts over 95 ²⁄₃ innings on the year and going back to July 13 he has a 3.00 ERA over 39 innings with 52 strikeouts and only four walks. Consistency is an issue he’ll have to work on in 2020, but the potential for him to take a leap in the organization is present.

Lowell W 7-6

Gilberto Jimenez, CF/LF: 1-5, 1 RBI

Stephen Scott, 1B: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Joe Davis, DH: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI

Wil Dalton, LF/RF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 K

Nicholas Northcut, 3B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 K, 1 E

Nick Decker, RF: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Antoni Flores, SS: 0-4, 3 K

Noah Song: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K (42 pitches)

We haven’t talked much about Scott this summer, but this past draft’s tenth round pick out of Vanderbilt is off to a solid start in his career. Through 25 games he now has nine doubles on top of that homer on Friday, which was his first, and he’s hitting .259/.366/.400. Also, Song dominated again and has yet to allow a run in 11 innings with 15 strikeouts and just two walks. Ho hum.

GCL PPD

DSL 1 L 4-8

Eduardo Vaughan, RF: 3-5, 1 R, 1 RBI

Eduardo Lopez, CF: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Erick Flores, C: 2-2, 2 BB, 1 R

DSL 2 L 2-9

Bryan Gonzalez, RF: 0-4, 1 RBI, 1 K

Danny Diaz, 3B: 1-4, 1 2B