Cup of Coffee: Cuevas calm, cool and collected; Diaz dialed in

7/15 Cup of Coffee: Dominant starting pitching from Pawtucket and Greenville led to victories while 13-hit performances from Portland and Lowell also resulted in wins on the farm. The lone loss came in a shellacking of Salem. William Cuevas (Pawtucket) and Jhonathan Diaz (Greenville) breezed to wins on the hill while Jordan Betts (Portland) and Xavier LeGrant (Lowell) powered their teams to wins. Oh, and Brandon Phillips picked up a hit in his debut with the PawSox.

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Pawtucket Red Sox 4, Syracuse Chiefs (WAS) 0

A brilliant pitching performance by William Cuevas led the way for a dominant PawSox shutout. Cuevas pitched seven innings, allowing two hits while striking out six. The victory was his sixth of the season, as the right-hander allowed a total of three base runners. His near namesake Williams Jerez played the role of copycat, allowing just one hit in two innings of relief, striking out three.  

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Cup of Coffee: Pomeranz struggles, De Jesus tosses complete game

7/14 Cup of Coffee: Some impressive performances in the lower minors were the highlight of the night down on the farm, with Enmanuel De Jesus's (pictured) complete game and Darwinzon Hernandez's five shutout innings setting the pace. Drew Pomeranz struggled in his start for the PawSox, and Lowell pulled out a victory in extra innings. 

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Syracuse Chiefs (WAS) 6, Pawtucket Red Sox 3

Drew Pomeranz struggled through 3 2/3 innings in his third rehab start with the PawSox as they were doubled up by the Chiefs. Pomeranz allowed three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out three. He has now allowed nine runs over 9 1/3 innings since coming back on July 2. Josh D. Smith allowed two runs over four innings as he was hit with the loss. With their offense currently depleted by call-ups and injuries, the PawSox are using a bit of a makeshift lineup. Tony Renda and Kyle Wren led the way, with Renda slugging a two-run home run and a double, and Wren going 3 for 4 with a double. 

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Cup of Coffee: Chavis goes deep; Duran, Bazardo lead Lowell

7/13 Cup of Coffee: It was a good night down on the farm, with several top prospects having notable performances and three of the four stateside teams who completed games coming away with wins. Michael Chavis returned to Portland after a brief one-game sabbatical back to Lowell and blasted a home run in the Sea Dogs win. Tanner Houck was dominant for the first six innings of his start before things slipped away in the seventh. Jarren Duran and Eduard Bazardo (pictured, right) continue their excellent seasons for the Spinners.

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Pawtucket Red Sox 7, Syracuse Chiefs (WAS) 3

The PawSox opened their second-half schedule with a strong effort highlighted by Justin Haley. The righty allowed two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out a season-high nine batters. Bobby Poyner surrendered a rare run, only the second time in his last 10 Triple-A outings that he has been scored upon. Ty Buttrey pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 to get credit for the save, his first of the season. After joining the team from Portland to take the roster spot of Boston-bound Tzu-Wei Lin, Tony Renda played a key role for the offense. The veteran infielder got the start at second base and was 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, and two runs scored. Aneury Tavarez provided insurance with a two-run homer in the eighth inning.

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Minor Notes: Feltman moves up, Dalbec has a power surge

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• After winning the Carolina League Player of the Week award last week, Bobby Dalbec (pictured, right) picked up where he left off, launching two home runs and driving in five runs on Tuesday. He already has six home runs in July after hitting five in April, May, and June. 

• It was a short stay in Lowell for third-round pick Durbin Feltman as he was promoted to Greenville. Feltman struck out seven and did not allow a run in four innings with the Spinners, and in his first game with the Drive on Wednesday he struck out three and picked up the save. 

• The Red Sox recalled Jalen Beeks in the beginning of the week and optioned William Cuevas to Pawtucket. Beeks struggled in his appearance on Tuesday, allowing three runs on four hits over 2 1/3 innings against the Rangers. He was sent down on Wednesday, with Robby Scott coming up in his place. 

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Cup of Coffee: Chatham, Cottam with three hits, Ozoria with three perfect frames

7/12 Cup of Coffee: The system had a good day, as each of the six affiliates that played earned wins. Each of the DSL squads split a doubleheader, with Portland and Pawtucket off for its respective all-star games. Kole Cottam (pictured) helped Lowell to a win with three extra-base hits, as he was a single short of the cycle. Matthew Kent and Kyle Hart each had perfect innings in the tied Eastern League All-Star Game.

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Pacific Coast League All-Stars 12, International League All-Stars 7

Jalen Beeks and Ryan Brasier were both named to the International League All-Star team, but Beeks was only sent back down to Pawtucket after pitching in Tuesday's game for Boston, while Brasier remains on the big league roster after an inning, so neither were available. Rusney Castillo was eligible, but did not play.

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Cup of Coffee: Scorching Dalbec homers twice in four-hit effort

7/11 Cup of Self-Serve Coffee: Bobby Dalbec continued his absurd week-long assault on Carolina League pitchers, blasting two homers and driving in five in Salem's victory. With the DSL squads rained out, Lowell and Greenville on scheduled days off, and the International and Eastern Leagues on their All-Star Breaks, the GCL Sox were the only other team in action, picking up the victory behind rehabbing hurlers Zach Schellenger and Austin Glorius along with lefty Rayniel Adames.

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Salem Red Sox 8, Winston-Salem Dash (CWS) 4

It has been a mind-boggling eight game run for Bobby Dalbec, who had a career night on Tuesday. The third baseman was 4 for 4 with two homers, driving in five runs and even stealing a base. It was Dalbec's second four-hit game in five days, and the second two-homer performance of his pro career. The blasts give him 21 homers on the season, and 12 at Haley-Toyota Field, tying a team record set last season by Michael Chavis. Toiling in Dalbec's shadow, Trenton Kemp also delivered a two-homer game, blasting solo shots in the fourth and sixth innings.

Bryan Mata benefited from the power surge, getting credit for the win while allowing four runs on six hits in five innings. He struck out four batters, and his two walks where his lowest total in a start since walking a pair on May 10. Kevin McAvoy went four shutout innings to earn his first professional save. McAvoy allowed only one hit and struck out three without issuing a walk. He also induced eight ground ball outs. 

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Cup of Coffee: Chavis finds his groove; Reyes rolls in win for Drive

7/10 Cup of Coffee: With both Pawtucket and Portland on an All-Star break, Salem was the highest-level team in action on Monday. Daniel Gonzalez couldn't quite match the performance of teammate Darwinzon Hernandez from Sunday for Salem. Denyi Reyes was efficient and effective, powering the Drive to a win. But the story of the night was Michael Chavis(pictured), who finally broke through with a home run and a pair of doubles in his seventh game back since returning from a suspension.

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Winston-Salem Dash (CWS) 7, Salem Red Sox 3

Daniel Gonzalez couldn't match Darwinzon Hernandez' performance from a day earlier when Hernandez didn't allow a hit in 5 2/3 innings of work in Salem's win over Potomac on Sunday, as Gonzalez surrendered for runs on seven hits in six innings of work to take his third loss of the season.

Bobby Dalbec extended his hitting streak to seventh games with a single while adding a walk.  CJ Chatham continues to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, his third straight contest with multiple hits, raising his average to .322 with Salem.

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Minor Notes: Injuries abound, Brasier returns to the big leagues

Here are Monday's Minor Notes:

• On Friday, 12th-round pick Chase Shugart and 16th-rounder Chris Machamer signed with the Red Sox, hours before July 6's 5 p.m. signing deadline. Shugart signed for slot value at $125,000, while Machamer got $213,000 which was $88,000 above slot. The team ended up signing 26 of its first 28 picks and 28 out of 40.
• On Sunday, the Red Sox placed both Brian Johnson and Christian Vazquez on the 10-day disabled list with left hip inflammation and a pinky fracture, respectively.
• To fill the spots on the 25-man roster, Boston selected Ryan Brasier (pictured, left) from Pawtucket and recalled William Cuevas from the PawSox.

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Cup of Coffee: Hernandez, Brown are unhittable; Dalbec stays hot

7/9 Cup of Coffee: The affiliates won only two of the five games on Sunday's docket, but that win-loss record masked some outstanding individual performances. The highlight was a pair of hitless starts: one for 5 2/3 innings by Darwinzon Hernandez (pictured, left) for Salem, and another five innings for Brian Brown in Lowell. Bobby Dalbec continued his hot streak to support Hernandez, while Zach Sterry reached base five times as Jhonathan Diaz was turning in another quality start for the Drive.

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 3, Pawtucket Red Sox 2
With projected starter William Cuevas getting the call to the majors early in the day, the task of taking on Yankee prospect Justus Sheffield fell onto a quintet of relievers. Fernando Rodriguez got the first call and turned in yeoman's work, allowing a run on three hits in 2 1/3 innings, striking out five. Williams Jerez also fanned five in his 2 2/3 innings of work, allowing two runs. Kyle Martin, Robby Scott, and Ty Buttrey each turned in a scoreless outing, with Scott striking out all three batters he faced. However, Sheffield and the RailRiders bullpen were able to limit the PawSox to six hits as the two teams closed out the season's first half.

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Cup of Coffee: Chavis whiffs four times; Dalbec's bat on fire

7/8 Cup of Coffee: A second rehab assignment this month from Drew Pomeranz went a little better than his last, while Rusney Castillo continued to pile up the hits in a win for Pawtucket. Michael Chavis struck out in all four of his at-bats in his debut with Portland, Bobby Dalbec (pictured, left) delivered another homer for Salem, and Tanner Houck impressed on the mound in a victory.

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Pawtucket Red Sox 4, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 2,
Drew Pomeranz performed a little better in his second rehab start with the PawSox as he followed up his four-home run clunker that lasted only 2 2/3 innings on July 2 by tossing three innings of one-run ball on Saturday. The left-hander still wasn't too sharp, though, as he walked two and gave up five hits, throwing 37 of his 60 pitches for strikes. Josh D. Smith picked up the win in relief, tossing three innings of his own, allowing one run on three hits and striking out four. Ryan Brasier picked up his 13th save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

Rusney Castillo went 3 for 3 with an RBI and a run while Sam Travis lofted his six home run of the season with Pawtucket with a solo shot in the fourth inning.

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Cup of Coffee: Montero strikes out nine, Dalbec homers again

7/7 Cup of Coffee: There were several good performances on the farm last night, but none were better than Alexander Montero's (pictured) start for Lowell. Bobby Dalbec stayed hot at the plate, while Ty Buttrey, Trey Ball, and Jake Cosart all kept their good runs going. Kyle Hart had a solid outing for the Sea Dogs and Angel Maita continued to swing the bat well in the GCL.

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 3, Pawtucket Red Sox 2
After his start got rained out on Thursday, Justin Haley got the ball on Friday, tossing three innings while allowing two runs. Josh A. Smith allowed a run for the first time in four appearances, giving up one over four innings. Ty Buttrey allowed two hits and struck out two in a scoreless ninth. The PawSox managed only four hits, with both Tzu-Wei Lin and Sam Travis walking twice and singling.

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2018 Donation Drive - We Need Your Help!

Dear readers,

We're asking for your help to raise $8,000 to keep SoxProspects.com up and running for another year. We have kept the site 100% free for almost 15 years now, and we hope to do so for the foreseeable future. As we scout dozens of games first-hand each year, travel costs pile up. Our other costs to run the site often go up on an annual basis as well, and our ad revenue only covers a portion of those costs. So we're reaching out to the community for donations to help us keep the site going. Donations help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) first-hand coverage travel costs for scouting and player columns; and (2) general IT costs (hardware, software, internet costs, hosting fees, etc.).

Your donations help us travel to Fort Myers in March to cover spring training and in the fall to cover the Instructional League each year, which are vital to get “one-stop shopping” for prospects across the system at levels we can’t see regularly. They also help cover the costs of travelling to affiliate games for regular first-hand coverage. We anticipate that our total costs will exceed $15,000 in 2018. While we may cover roughly half that from online advertising revenue, your donations help us ensure we can cover those costs in order to keep the site going.

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Cup of Coffee: Dalbec mashes as Salem wins slugfest

7/6 Cup of Coffee: Thursday treated the organization well, as five of the seven affiliates that got in games came away with wins. Bobby Dalbec (pictured, left) has been an all-or-nothing story this year, and his work yesterday fell firmly into the "all" category. The third baseman racked up four hits, increasing his system lead in home runs and doubles in a Salem slugfest. Josh Ockimey and Jantzen Witte helped power a Sea Dogs rout, while Kutter Crawford was once again on his game for Greenville. Aldo Ramirez turned the pitching performance of the night, turning in five no-hit innings for the DSL Red Sox1, while Carlos Velez was a tough-luck loser for their Red Sox2 counterpart. 

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Pawtucket Red Sox @ Rochester Red Wings (MIN), suspended

Scheduled starter Justin Haley didn't even get a chance to throw a pitch, as the PawSox game at Frontier Field was suspended by rainstorms after the top of the first inning. The game will resume when Pawtucket returns on August 21.

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Minor Notes: Chavis returns; many moves & signings from Sox

Thursday's minor league notes:

• In his return to the playing field after completing his 80-game suspension, SoxProspects.com's top-ranked prospect, infielder Michael Chavis (pictured, left), opened up about his failed drug test and maintains he never knowingly took a banned substance in a piece from Boston Globe correspondent Owen Pence. Since his return, Chavis has played in two games for the Lowell Spinners. He went hitless in his season debut on Monday before smacking an RBI double for his first hit of the season on Tuesday.  
• The Red Sox have signed 27 of their 2018 draft picks, with rumblings that the Sox will sign a 28th soon in 16th round draft pick Chris Machamer, a right-hander out of the University of Kentucky. That report came out on Sunday from CatsPulse.com's Derek Terry.  
• Monday was the start of the 2018-19 international amateur signing season, and the Sox inked outfielder Eduardo Lopez for a $1.15 million signing bonus to lead this year's class. Lopez was ranked 20th in the class by Baseball America and 23rd by MLB.com. Lopez is one of 22 international signings the Sox made, with outfielders Eduardo Vaughn and Bryan Gonzalez notably signing for reported bonuses of $550,000 and $500,000, respectively. Check the trackers at Baseball America and MLB Pipeline for more.

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Cup of Coffee: Tendler, Castillo deliver off the bench; Reyes deals

Cup of Coffee 7/5: Pinch-hitting dramatics were afoot as Luke Tendler (pictured) and Rusney Castillo each drove in two off the bench to help Portland and Pawtucket to victory on a successful day for the Red Sox system. Denyi Reyes delivered eight innings, allowing only two runs as Greenville was victorious as well. One DSL team delivered a shutout, while the other was held to only three hits.

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Pawtucket Red Sox 6, Rochester Red Wings (MIN) 5

Rusney Castillo stepped to the plate with two outs in the ninth and the bases loaded. He came through with a single to right field to bring the PawSox within one. Tzu-Wei Lin would follow it up with another single to right to give the PawSox the win. Ryan Brasier pitched a perfect ninth to complete the game with two strikeouts. Jalen Beeks had an uneven start, giving up three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings, though he did strike out eight Red Wings against zero walks. Mike Miller smacked a two-run home run in the eighth as part of a 2-for-4 night.

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