Worcester L 1-4
Jarren Duran, CF: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 K
Jeter Downs, SS: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 K
Connor Wong, 2B: 0-4, 3 E
Yairo Muñoz, 3B: 2-4, 1 K, 1 SB
Ryan Weber (SP; L): 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (73 pitches)
Bobby Poyner: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (39 pitches)
Kevin McCarthy: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (25 pitches)
It was a tough day for the Worcester offense for the most part, but they did get a multi-hit effort from Muñoz. The utility man is something of an interesting case right now, because by the numbers he certainly feels like he should be on the verge of the majors. He’s had success at that level in a relatively sustained sample size, and he brought some real energy last year to a team that desperately lacked it. On the other hand, he was put on waivers this past winter and nobody claimed him. In the early going here, he’s supporting the case that he should be in the majors, hitting .381 in this first week of minor-league action. If he keeps hitting, he should get another chance at some point, at least one would think. We should also mention Connor Wong got his first start at a non-catcher spot and made three errors.
Portland W 12-8
Jeisson Rosario, CF: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 K
Jack López, 2B: 2-5, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K
Triston Casas, 1B: 0-3, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 E
Pedro Castellanos, LF: 0-3, 2 BB, 2R, 1 K
Johan Mieses, RF: 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 K
Ronaldo Hernández, C: 0-3, 1 Bb, 1 R, 1 K, 2 E
Joey Meneses, DH: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Jeremy Rivery, SS: 2-3, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K
AJ Politi (SP): 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (83 pitches)
Joan Martinez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (44 pitches)
What a day for the Portland offense, and we have to highlight Mieses, who has been perhaps the hottest hitter in the farm system to start off this minor-league campaign. The 25-year-old (he’ll turn 26 in mid-July) was signed to a minor-league deal prior to last season after spending the earlier portions of his career with the Dodgers and Cardinals. He’s had some strong seasons at the plate here and there, but he’s never been able to put it together consistently. It’s far too early to say he’s done so here with a new team, but the power is certainly real. He’s already up to four homers this year after the two-homer day on Sunday. The thing to watch moving forward is how often he’s striking out and what kind of affect that has on the power output.
Greenville W 15-6
Cameron Cannon, SS: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K
Christian Koss, 2B: 0-5, 2 K
Tyler Esplin, CF: 1-2, 3 BB, 2 R, 1 K
Tyreque Reed, DH: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 R, 2 RBI
Devlin Granberg, 1B: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 K
Tyler Dearden, LF: 2-3, 1 2B, 2 BB, 4 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Nick Sogard, 3B: 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI
Cole Brannen, RF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Elih Marrero, C: 2-4
Chase Shugart (SP): 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (39 pitches)
Jacob Wallace: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (10 pitches)
The ball was flying out of the yard on Sunday for the Drive, who hit four homers on the day. One of those was from Reed, who hit his second in as many days. Like Mieses highlighted above, Reed was an addition from outside the organization, coming in as a minor-league Rule 5 pick. A former Rangers prospect, he’s also similar to Mieses in that he has big power with some hit tool questions to go with it. Right now, the power is certainly showing up. Also, the Brannen comeback tour is on.
Salem W 8-5
Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 3-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB
Nick Yorke, 2B: 1-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 E
Stephen Scott, C: 3-4, 2 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 3 RBI
Nick Decker, RF: 1-4, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 E
Matthew Lugo, SS: 1-5, 1 R, 2 K
Ceddanne Rafaela, 3B: 1-4, 1 R
Jaxx Groshans, DH: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K
Aldo Ramirez: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K (83 pitches)
Jordan DiValerio (W): 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (47 pitches)
We have our second multi-homer performance for the Red Sox on the day here with Scott getting the job done this time. Another non-top prospect, Scott was a senior sign out of Vanderbilt back in 2019. He put up big numbers in college and has gotten rave reviews for his makeup, but the expectation isn’t that he’ll be much more than organizational depth. This is a nice reminder that even those guys are spectacular baseball players and can run into big days at the professional level. There was also another error on Nick Yorke, who now has five this year.
Player of the Day: Stephen Scott