Weekly Notes: May 18th

This week's minor league notes:

Mauro Gomez (Kelly O'Connor)

• The contract of minor league veteran Mauro Gomez was purchased this week by the Red Sox, and he made his major league debut on Sunday. Gomez originally signed with the Texas Rangers back in 2003, and he appeared in 746 games before making it to The Show. In 34 games with the PawSox, Gomez was hitting .294/.336/.610 and leading the team with both 10 home runs and 11 doubles. SoxProspects.com Executive Editor Chris Hatfield digs into the move in his First Take analysis.
• Jose Iglesias continues to swing a hot bat, going 9 for 27 on the week with 6 RBI, 2 steals, and his first home run of the season. He has raised his walk to 7.0% while cutting his strikeout rate to 12.0%, and the better pitch selection is resulting in Iglesias's improvement. 
• A week after taking part in the first no-hitter in Greenville Drive history, left-handed pitcher Hunter Cervenka was sent to the Chicago Cubs, completing last months Marlon Byrd for Michael Bowden deal.
• Matt Barnes made two more fantastic starts this week for Salem, throwing a total of 12.0 innings, allowing only 2 runs (1 earned) on 7 hits, walking 1 and striking 12. In 44.1 innings across two levels, Barnes is now 4-0 with a 0.60 ERA, .649 ERA, and 67 strikeouts compared with only 6 walks. Indeed, he "can't be mad" with his performance to start the year, as he told the Providence Journal's Tim Britton.
• Mark Melancon, acquired in the offseason for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland to be a key contributor out of the Boston bullpen but optioned to Pawtucket after a disastrous start appears to have figured out whatever mechanical issues he was struggling with. He has now pitched 13.0 scoreless innings since the demotion, allowing 9 hits, walking 1 and striking out 21. He has retired 11 consecutive batters, going back to last week.
• A 29-game on-base streak ended on Thursday for Jackie Bradley, Jr., but that shouldn't dampen the enthusiasm for the 2011 first rounder. He rode a 5-hit game on Saturday to a 9 for 25 week that included 4 walks. Bradley continues to lead the Carolina League in OBP and walks, while ranking in the top five in hits, batting average, total bases, doubles, and steals.



Xander Bogaerts (Kelly O'Connor)

• Xander Bogaerts caught the eye of ESPN's Keith Law, who was in attendance at the Salem-Carolina matchup on Wednesday. Law tweeted that Bogaerts "easily" had the best batting practice of any player that night.
• Following his 6.0 perfect innings as part of Greenville's no-hitter last week, Miguel Pena turned in another solid performance, allowing only 2 hits in 6.0 innings, striking out 8 and walking 3. Pena now has a 1.69 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 6.17 on the season.
• Greenville second baseman Jose Garcia was activated from the disabled list last Friday, and went 8 for 15 with 4 walks on the week, capped by a Thursday night performance where he reached base five times. His .483 OBP leads the South Atlantic League.
• The most recent SoxProspects.com Player of the Week Bryce Brentz used a five-hit effort on Sunday to finish the week 12 for 25. After a difficult initial adjustment to Double-A in April, Brentz is raking to the tune of a .426/.460/.638 line in May. 
• Kevin Youkilis began his rehab stint on Friday with Pawtucket, DHing and going 1 for 2 with a walk and a double. Daisuke Matsuzaka struggled in two rehab outings, allowing 10 runs (9 earned) in 12.0 innings, giving up 14 hits that included 4 home runs. On the positive side, he struck out 8 while walking only 1 batter.
• Stolmy Pimentel got his first Double-A win in 18 starts on May 9, but he did not get the chance to follow up on that performance. He was scratched from his Monday start and placed on the disabled list with a blister on his right index finger.
• 2010 first round pick Anthony Ranaudo made his 2012 debut on Tuesday after spending the first five weeks of the season on the disabled list with a strained groin. Although he struggled, Ben Crockett, Red Sox director of player development, was impressed with Ranaudo's stuff and how he made adjustments after a difficult first inning, writes the Boston Globe's Michael Vega.
• In other injury news: Ryan Kalish is hitting in extended spring training, as SoxProspects.com Editor-in-Chief Mike Andrews tweeted this picture taken by Bill Parameter. Catcher Dan Butler was placed on the Portland disabled list with a quad injury. In a corresponding move, fellow catcher Jayson Hernandez was activated. Greenville outfielders Cody Koback and Lucas LeBlanc were both placed on the DL with right shoulder injuries. 
• Justin Thomas, designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Daniel Nava, was signed off of waivers by the New York Yankees and assigned to Triple-A Scranton.
• Check out this week's feature in ESPN by Senior Columnist Jon Meoli on players repeating a level.
• SoxProspects.com Director of Scouting Chris Mellen will be in Portland this weekend. Check in to our site for his analysis, and also follow Chris on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates.

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