Minor Notes: Scouting updates and strong performances

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• After covering a few of the bigger names on the Lowell roster earlier in the week, SoxProspects.com's Director of Scouting Ian Cundall wrote up a few of the under-the-radar arms on the Spinners roster. Nick Duron, Denyi Reyes and Yorvin Pantoja were featured in the latest Scouting Scratch, with Duron's report being the most intriguing. 

• Cundall and Executive Editor Chris Hatfield teamed up for the 128th episode of the SoxProspects.com Podcast, and they covered all of the recent promotions in the system. They also talked about their live looks at Pawtucket, Portland, and Lowell, and discussed Blake Swihart's return to the field. 

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Cup of Coffee: Castillo powers the PawSox, Shawaryn strikes out seven

8/17 Cup of Coffee: Home runs from Rusney Castillo (pictured) and Bryce Brentz coupled with strong outings from Dedgar Jimenez, Mike Shawaryn, and Darwinzon Hernandez resulted in a good night down on the farm. It was not all good news however, as Brian Johnson left the game after being struck in the leg by a batted ball, and Bobby Dalbec's struggles continued in Greenville.

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Pawtucket Red Sox 11, Louisville Bats (CIN) 5
A 17-hit attack that included three home runs paced the PawSox. Rusney Castillo was the star of the day, going 4 for 5 with two doubles and his 15th home run of the season. Bryce Brentz launched a two-run home run, his 28th of the year, as part of his 2-for-5 night. Brentz is now one home run away from the International League lead. Matt Dominguez also joined the party, going 3 for 5 with a solo home run.

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Scouting Scratch: Nick Duron, Denyi Reyes and Yorvin Pantoja

LOWELL, Mass. -- Based on his statistics this season, Spinners’ right-hander Nick Duron may not seem like someone to watch, but that is far from the case. In 36 2/3 innings, the 21-year-old has 4.42 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with only 25 strikeouts compared to 13 walks. Duron’s development has been slow since he was drafted in the 31st round of the 2015 draft out of Clark College, a junior college in Vancouver, Washington. He had committed to  and signed for only $75,000. He threw 26 1/3 innings with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox after signing, striking out 28 batters while allowing just 5 runs on 20 hits and 5 walks, but then missed all of 2016 with an injury.

The first thing that stands out with Duron is his athleticism and frame. Duron’s only other scholarship offer out of high school was to play football at Western Oregon University, and he looks the part. He is listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds and is very muscular, but he hasn’t lost any of his football athleticism and has a very live arm. 

Duron throws from a three-quarters arm slot and starts with a wide base. His delivery is controlled with some effort including a stab behind and short, quick arm action forward. Duron’s arm is very quick, so much so that it often gets out of sync with the rest of his delivery. He has a tendency to miss to his glove side when his arm gets out ahead of his body, and he struggles to locate on the inner half of the plate to right-handed hitters. Given he only committed full time to baseball in 2015 this isn’t a surprise, but as a result his command and control suffer. 

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Cup of Coffee: Requena carries Drive with solid start

8/16 Cup of Coffee: With few wins to be found in the system, Hildemaro Requena stood out with an impressive start for Greenville. Rusney Castillo (pictured) provided the little offense Pawtucket could muster. Danny Mars led a 10-hit Portland attack, but the Sea Dogs still fell. Three Lowell players participated in the New York-Penn League All-Star Game.

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Louisville Bats (CIN) 3, Pawtucket Red Sox 1 (Game 1)

The PawSox fell in the first tilt of Tuesday's doubleheader despite outhitting Louisville 10-9 in the game. Part of the problem was that only two of those ten hits were for extra bases. Rusney Castillo went 2 for 4 and drove in Pawtucket's lone run. Sam Travis also added a pair of hits, going 2 for 3. Justin Haley took the tough-luck loss, going the full six innings in the shortened game. He scattered nine hits, giving up three runs while walking two and striking out four.

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Podcast Ep. 128: I Read the Spark Notes and it was Pretty Interesting

Promotions marked the start of August, and having seen Pawtucket, Portland, and Lowell recently between them, Chris and Ian had plenty to talk about. Included in the first-hand talk are the surging (and relevant again?) Bryce Brentz, the new-look Henry Owens, the red-hot Michael Chavis, and 2017 draftees Brett Netzer and Jake Thompson, among others.

Listen In!

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Cup of Coffee: Raudes deals as Salem battles Strasburg

8/15 Cup of Coffee: With Pawtucket, Portland, Greenville, and Lowell having the day off and the DSL Red Sox game being rained out, it was a light schedule on Monday night. In the two games that did take place, Roniel Raudes (pictured) outdueled Stephen Strasburg, and the GCL Red Sox rallied in the top of the ninth to come away victorious.

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Potomac Nationals (WAS) 3, Salem Red Sox 2
With Salem facing one of the best pitchers in baseball, it was Roniel Raudes who stole the show by turning in one of the best performances of his career. Raudes went seven innings, which tied a career-high, and allowed only one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out six as he lowered his ERA to 4.38. Pat Goetze could not hold the lead, allowing two runs in the eighth as he blew his first save with Salem.

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Minor Notes: Thompson battles McKay

Here are Monday's minor notes:

• SoxProspects.com's Director of Scouting Ian Cundall recently got a chance to see a pair of 2017 draft picks in action. Cundall writes about what he saw from fourth-round selection Jake Thompson, including a detailed observation on the right-handed pitcher's impressive sequence to 2017 fourth overall pick Brendan McKay. Cundall also writes about third-round selection Brett Netzer, a second baseman who was recently called up to Greenville after hitting .317 in Lowell. 
• Last night, Blake Swihart made his return to Triple-A Pawtucket after nine games with the GCL Red Sox. He was the DH for the PawSox last night and went 0 for 4. 
• Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Times writes about some potential PawSox September callus. 

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Scouting Scratch: Jake Thompson and Brett Netzer

LOWELL, Mass. -- One of the last members of the 2017 draft class to sign, right-hander Jake Thompson made his professional debut on August 3 against Hudson Valley, a team boasting one of the more prospect-laden lineups in the New York-Penn League. Thompson only threw one inning, featuring all four of his pitches over the 21-pitch outing. He allowed three hits—all on weak contact—and two runs while striking out two.

Thompson is listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and has a filled-out frame with a thick lower half. He will be 23 in September, making him old for a 2017 draftee, and doesn’t have much physical projection remaining. Thompson threw exclusively from the stretch, starting on the first base side of the rubber, and has few moving parts to his delivery. He threw from a three-quarters arm slot with some effort and short arm action, and utilized a medium leg kick. He has some deception, hiding the ball behind his body until late. He showed plus arm speed and did a good job keeping his line to the plate. 

Thompson’s fastball sat 94-96 mph. The pitch was on the straight side with average life. He got one swinging strike with the pitch on his final pitch of the evening, at 94 mph, up-and-in against a right-handed hitter. 

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Cup of Coffee: Beeks throws six strong, Sturgeon collects four hits

8/14 Cup of Coffee: Sunday featured several strong pitching performances throughout the Red Sox affiliates. Six innings of one-run ball by Jalen Beeks weren't enough in a loss for the PawSox. However, both Salem and Greenville were victorious courtesy of strong starts by Kyle Hart and Jhonathan Diaz. The Sea Dogs lost a slugfest despite fantastic games for Cole Sturgeon (pictured) and Chad De La Guerra. The Spinners recorded 17 hits and 12 runs to back Jake Thompson's scoreless start. 

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Columbus Clippers (CLE) 5, Pawtucket Red Sox 2

Southpaw Jalen Beeks continued his excellent season with six strong innings, allowing a run on two hits and two walks while fanning six. However, the bullpen blew Beeks' chance at a win as Chandler Shepherd and Noe Ramirez each allowed two runs. The PawSox scored both runs in the second inning on a leadoff homer by Steve Selsky and an RBI single by Jake Romanski. Romanski was 2 for 3 with a walk. 

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Cup of Coffee: Owens looks sharp, Groome takes tough loss

8/13 Cup of Coffee: The new arm slot appears to be benefiting Henry Owens (pictured) as the big lefty looked sharp in a win for Portland. Jay Groome racked up the strikeouts but ended up with the loss as the Greenville bats went silent. Pawtucket got back-to-back home runs from unlikely sources. Jhon Nunez and Victor Acosta keyed a Salem come back.

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Columbus Clippers (CLE) 5, Pawtucket Red Sox 4

A late rally came up short for the PawSox, despite three home runs from the offense. Dan Butler and Deven Marrero went back-to-back in the fifth inning. The recently red-hot Brian Bogusevic added his ninth long ball of the season to bring Pawtucket within one, but the rally ended there. Hector Velazquez gave up five runs (four earned) in four innings of work. Shawn Haviland kept the Sox within striking distance with four shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and three walks while striking out four.

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