Red Sox Minor Lines: Kyle Hart leads a quiet day on the farm

Worcester W 6-3

Jarren Duran, CF: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Marcus Wilson, RF: 2-3, 2 BB, 1 K

Franchy Cordero, LF: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 3 K

Michael Chavis, 1B: 0-3, 1 RBI, 2 K

Jeter Downs, SS: 0-4, 2 K, 1 E

Connor Wong, C: 0-4, 2 K

Yairo Muñoz, DH: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 R 1 K

Jonathan Araúz, 2B: 0-4

Jack López, 3B: 3-4, 1 R, 3 RBI

Kyle Hart (SP; W): 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K (92 pitches)

Brandon Brennan: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (16 pitches)

Phillips Valdez: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K (13 pitches)

John Schreiber: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K (17 pitches)

Kyle Hart came into last season as a fairly surprising addition to the 40-man the previous winter to protect the southpaw from the Rule 5 Draft. He didn’t have the stuff you typically associate with that level of prospect, but he was getting results and appeared to part of the rotation depth. It didn’t work out as he struggled mightily after a promotion and was eventually taken off the 40-man, but now he’s on a quest to be added back. Hart hasn’t quite been consistent enough to make that happen just yet, but starts like this leave the possibility open. He’s now gone seven innings and allowed two or fewer runs in each of his last two starts. On the other hand, he still has a 5.00 ERA on the season, and even in this start the strikeout and walk numbers are not great. He’s in the rotation depth mix, but he’s not at the top as of now.

Portland PPD

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Greenville L 5-11

Christian Koss, SS: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Cameron Cannon, 2B: 1-4, 2 K

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

Kole Cottam, C: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 PB

Chase Shugart (SP; L): 3.2 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 2 BB, 4 K (75 pitches)

Brendan Cellucci: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K (42 pitches)

This was brutal day for Shugart at the rest of the pitching staff, but if we’re looking for a positive we can point to Howlett. We’ve talked a lot about the Greenville third baseman here this season, but he just keeps giving us reasons to. His homer on Saturday was number five on the year, and he’s up to a .928 OPS on the season here as well. Given that he is still only 21 (he’ll turn 22 in mid-September), he’s probably not a candidate to be promoted any time soon, but he’s playing well enough, and has been pretty much all year, that the thought has had to at least cross their mind. On a more negative not, Cannon had been great to start the season but he’s taken a big step back, hitting just .218/.265/.256 over his last 17 games.

Salem L 2-4

Ceddanne Rafaela, 2B: 1-4, 1 R, 2 K

Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 2-4, 1 R

Matthew Lugo, SS: 2-4, 1 RBI

Jaxx Groshans, 0-2, 1 BB, 1 RBI

Eduardo Lopez, RF: 0-4, 4 K

Nick Northcut, 3B: 0-4

Ryan Fernandez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (31 pitches)

This was a rough day all around for Salem, and especially for the offense who managed just six hits (all singles) and one walk while striking out 10 times. That said, it was nice to see multi-hit efforts from both Jimenez and Lugo. Jimenez has been up an down this year, but is just now seemingly pulling himself up from a skid that lasted the first few weeks of June. Lugo, meanwhile, is trying to pull himself up from a season-long slump. The shortstop is hitting just .231 on the season even after the two-hit game to go with an ugly .552 OPS. He’ll need a big hot streak to turn those numbers around.

Player of the Day: Kyle Hart

Player of the Day Chart