Red Sox Minor Lines: Jeter Downs homers twice to lead big day for Worcester

Worcester W 13-7

Jarren Duran, CF: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI

Jeter Downs, SS: 2-6, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K

Franchy Cordero, LF: 2-6, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Michael Chavis, 1B: 1-4, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 K, 1 E

Connor Wong, C: 1-5, 1 R, 2 RBI

Johan Mieses, DH: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Jonathan Araúz, 2B: 2-4, 1 3B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Jack López, 3B: 3-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 E

Austin Brice (SP): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (33 pitches)

Matt Hall (W): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (32 pitches)

Kaleb Ort: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (27 pitches)

It’s been a little bit of a rough year for Downs, who is still a top three prospect in the system but has been passed in some evaluators’ eyes by his teammate Duran, and has just generally not really gotten going this year. It hasn’t been a terrible year, but it’s been uneven and he missed some time recently playing (and struggling) for Team Colombia in the Olympic qualifying. The Red Sox could use some reinforcements at second base this year, and ideally Downs would be able to fill that role. He’d had just three hits in six June games prior to today, so hopefully the multi-homer afternoon will be just what he needed to get back on track. We should also mention that Worcester went with a bullpen game here, which is not ideal for a Red Sox team that is looking for fresh arms at the major-league level.

Portland L 2-9

Jeisson Rosario, RF: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K

Triston Casas, 1B: 1-5

Joey Meneses, LF: 4-4

Ronaldo Hernández, C: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Andrew Politi (SP; L): 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K (82 pitches)

Durbin Feltman: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K (20 pitches)

Matthew Kent: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (11 pitches)

Speaking of the major-league squad needing reinforcements, there was some outside hope that Feltman would be able to turn into a post-hype sleeper and force his way onto the major-league roster at some point this summer. It’s not looking like he’ll be able to get that done. It hasn’t been a terrible season for the former third-round selection, but his 4.24 ERA alone is enough to cause some pause. The stuff and control have come back some with 21 strikeouts to five walks over 17 innings of work, but for one thing these strikeouts were his first after five straight outings without one. On top of that, he’s still been hit around a bit with four homers being hit off him and a .271 opponents batting average. I think the talent is still there, but some kinks still need to be ironed out.

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Greenville W 2-1

Christian Koss, SS: 0-3, 1 BB

Cameron Cannon, 2B: 1-4

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Chase Shugart (SP; W): 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K (83 pitches)

This one was all about the pitching, and really about working out of trouble. By the results, Shugart was phenomenal for the Drive with six strong innings to pick up the win. But he did still allow nine base runners in six innings, leading to some trouble here and there. This is a case where it’s hard to know if he was lucky or if he induced weak contact since we only have the box score. I can tell you that six of the seven hits he allowed were singles (the other was a double), but I can’t tell you if they were grounders squeaking through the infield or laser beam liners falling in for hits. Either way, it’s been an up and down year for Shugart, and this is certainly part of the “up.” And speaking of up, it’s been a big week for Howlett and he finished things off with a bang. He’s now up to a .292 average with a .917 OPS.

Salem W 5-0

Nick Yorke, 2B: 3-4, 1 2B, 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB

Matthew Lugo, SS: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Jaxx Groshans, DH: 2-3, 2 RBI

Stephen Scott, 1B: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Nick Northcut, 3B: 0-4, 1 K

Ceddanne Rafaela, CF: 0-4, 2 K

Aldo Ramirez (SP; W): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K (71 pitches)

I think we can officially stop any talk of inconsistency or up and down for Ramirez. His first start was tough and shortened by rain, but since then he’s been almost entirely great. He hasn’t really gotten deep into games just yet — this five-inning start was only the second time he made it into the fifth inning and is tied for his longest start of the year — but that is the only complaint. He’s controlling the zone, missing some bats, and keeping runs off the board. The last four starts in particular have been dynamite for the young righty, as he’s allowed just a single run over 18 innings on 11 hits and four walks to go with 21 strikeouts. He’s a name to watch if he’s not already on your list, and should a shoo-in for a top 10 spot organizationally prior to next season, if he’s not already there.

Player of the Day: Jeter Downs

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