Red Sox Minor Lines: Nathan Hickey leads a rough day

Worcester L 4-5

Jarren Duran, CF: 1-4, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB

Jeter Downs, SS: 1-5, 1 3B, 1 R, 2 K

Triston Casas, DH: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 3 K

Franchy Cordero, 1B: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB

Ryan Fitzgerald, 2B/RF: 0-4, 3 K

Rolando Hernández, C: 1-4, 2 RBI, 1 E

Johan Mieses, RF: 2-2, 1 BB

Thomas Pannone (SP; L): 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K (86 pitches)

Eduard Bazardo: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K (24 pitches)

Durbin Feltman: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (25 pitches)

Derek Holland: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (15 pitches)

There are a couple of interesting notes to make here with respect to the major-league roster and some moves we could see in the near future. One is that Cordero is once again getting time at first base. This was his second consecutive start at the position, which is notable given how poorly Travis Shaw has played. I don’t think this is with the idea that Cordero will immediately overtake Bobby Dalbec on the depth chart or anything, but I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see him replace Shaw sooner than later. And then, of course, Casas is the guy we’re all talking about. He’s picked a tough time for a slump, going hitless over his last four games.

Portland L 3-15

David Hamilton, SS: 2-5, 2 K, 1 SB

Devlin Granberg, CF: 2-4, 1 R, 1 SB

Tyler Dearden, LF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI

Victor Santos (SP; L): 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K (93 pitches)

This is not the kind of game we’ve grown accustomed to with Portland’s pitching staff, and really it didn’t look like it was going to be this kind of game. Santos had a shutout going through four before giving up four in the fifth. From there, the floodgates clearly opened with an eight-run eighth putting the nail in the coffin. I’ve really got nothing here besides saying that Hamilton is now up to 12 stolen bases on the season.

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Greenville L 3-4

Tyler McDonough, CF: 0-4, 1 R, 1 K

Ceddanne Rafaela, DH: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB

Matthew Lugo, SS: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K

Alex Binelas, 1B: 0-4, 2 K

Gilberto Jimenez, RF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Wyatt Olds (SP): 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K (76 pitches)

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

Last season, Jimenez played in 94 games at Low-A Salem, having what was considered a disappointing season given the expectations as he was really just average at the plate. The power in particular just wasn’t there, and he finished the season with three homers. Well, his homer on Thursday was his third of the season already. The big thing we need to see from him this year is an increase in hard contact. His ceiling probably won’t ever get back to where we thought it could be heading into last season, but I wouldn’t write him off yet as a future starter. A lot of those tools are still there, it’s about refining them. He’s starting off well in the power department with a .232 Isolated Power, though now he needs to start getting on base at a better clip than his current .281 mark.

Salem L 3-6

Brainer Bonaci, SS: 1-4, 1 2B, 2 K

Miguel Ugueto, LF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R

Blaze Jordan, 3B: 0-4, 2 K

Nathan Hickey, C: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Wilkelman Gonzalez (SP): 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K (77 pitches)

This was a big game for Hickey, who has kind of flown under the radar in the early parts of this season, in part because he missed a few games last week, with this being only his second game since April 21. But the catcher, who was the team’s fifth round selection last year, is now hitting .314/.457/.571, with this being his second homer of the year. Like most every other interesting backstop in this system, there are defensive questions here — I’m convinced they are bracing for robo umps soon, and thus not caring much about framing and receiving — but the bat can be above-average for the position. I’m not sure we can always expect the batting average to look like it does now, but Hickey will draw walks and has some interesting power. Given how he’s handling this league so far, he could be a relatively early promotion, too. As for Gonzalez, this was a little bit of a lackluster start by his standards, but it’s nice to see he can still get results with what looks like wasn’t his best stuff. He’s now got a 0.57 ERA on the year.

Player of the Day: Nathan Hickey

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