Weekly Notes: Moncada dominates Futures Game, Red Sox start making moves

Here are this week's minor league notes:

• Both Yoan Moncada (pictured, right) and Andrew Benintendi participated in the All-Star Futures Game Sunday, and Moncada stole the show. The 21-year-old won MVP honors while leading the World team to victory. He went 2 for 5 with a home run and a stolen base; his home run jumped off the bat 106.7 mph and traveled 405 feet according to Statcast. Moncada also reached a top speed of 21.2 mph on his stolen base. Benintendi went 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

• After getting off to a bit of a slow start following his promotion to Portland, Benintendi has been on fire, hitting .354/.420/.667 over his last 27 games, with 14 walks, 14 strikeouts, and 17 extra-base hits. Chaz Fiorino, our Assistant Director of Scouting, featured Benintendi in his most recent version of The Write-Up, which includes a detailed scouting analysis as well as video of the former first-round pick. 

• Moncada did not join Benintendi in Portland until June 21, but the two have torched the Eastern League over the last three weeks. Moncada is hitting .328/.366/.657 in his 16 games with the Sea Dogs, and he has already slugged five home runs and swiped four bases. 

• In its Midseason Top 100 Prospects list, Baseball America has Moncada ranked as the top prospect in baseball. Benintendi came in at ninth, Anderson Espinoza was 15th, Rafael Devers was 41st, and Michael Kopech was 93rd. 

• While the Red Sox have yet to make a huge splash in the trade market, they did reach into the farm system to complete a few deals last week. On Thursday, the team traded Aaron Wilkerson and Wendell Rijo to the Milwaukee Brewers for infielder Aaron Hill. Our Director of Scouting, Ian Cundall, combined with Fiorino and Executive Editor Chris Hatfield to analyze the trade and discuss the players Boston traded away. 

• The Red Sox completed another trade two days later, sending Luis Alejandro Basabe and Jose Almonte to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Brad Ziegler. Cundall offered an in-depth scouting look at both Basabe and Almonte, including some video of Basabe from earlier this month. 

• Roniel Raudes has become one of the most interesting arms in the system. The 18-year-old has pitched to a 4.06 ERA while striking out almost a batter per inning for Greenville, where he is facing players who are on average four years his senior. Cundall covered Raudes in his Scouting Scratch, talking about his three-pitch mix and potential future profile. 

• The most recent episode of the SoxProspects.com Podcast was packed with news and updates. Hatfield, Cundall, and Managing Editor Matt Huegel got together to discuss the Hill trade, the international signing penalties that were imposed on the team last week, a draft signings update, and the Top 4 Update. 

• The SoxProspects Featured Video of the Week is on Kyle Martin (pictured, right), who has been one of the top relievers for the PawSox this season. 

• The SoxProspects.com Community voted for Kyri Washington and Wilkerson as the Player and Pitcher of the Month for June. Washington is currently the 28th-ranked prospect in the system, while Wilkerson was 30th before he was traded to Milwaukee. 

• The Red Sox made another trade last week, acquiring Michael Martinez from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations. Martinez was designated for assignment on July 2 after batting .283/.306/.383 in 60 at-bats this season. The 33-year-old switch-hitting utility man has played all three outfield spots in addition to second and third base this season. He is currently in Boston but did not appear in a game over the weekend. 

• The Red Sox announced the signings of three additional players selected in the 2016 June Draft. Santiago Espinal (10th round) and Chad Hardy (33rd round) will report to the Gulf Coast League. Alberto Schmidt (16th round) will report to the Dominican Summer League (DSL) as the two DSL teams need reinforcements after losing five players due to penalties imposed on July 1. Espinal will be the only player whose bonus will count against the bonus cap, but the amount has not yet been reported. Update: MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports that Espinal signed for a $50,000 bonus, more than $100,000 below slot.
  
  2 - CJ Chatham, SS - $1,100,000 (slot: $1,232,800)
  3 - Shaun Anderson, RHP - $700,000 (slot: $697,300)
  6 - Steve Nogosek, RHP - $250,000 (slot: $281,100)
  7 - Ryan Scott, OF - $10,000 (slot: $210,700)
  8 - Alan Marrero C - $160,000 (slot: $180,300)
  9 - Matt McLean, OF - $10,000 (slot: $168,400)
  10 - Santiago Espinal, SS - $50,000 (slot: $157,200)
  12 - Matthew Gorst RHP - $115,000 ($15,000 towards cap)
  14 - Robby Sexton, LHP
  16 - Alberto Schmidt, C
  17 - Nick Sciortino, C
  19 - Kyle Hart, LHP
  20 - Nick Lovullo, SS
  22 - Granger Studdard, OF
  24 - Hunter Smith, RHP
  26 - Jared Oliver, RHP
  33 - Chad Hardy, OF
  
  Total cap (cap + 5%): $6,997,400 ($7,347,270)
  Cap spent so far (amount +/- cap for picks signed): $2,295,000 ($632,800)

• The Greenville Drive announced that they will be making stadium enhancements to Fluor Field at the West End. Some of the highlights include Green Monster seating, additional Club Level space, a rooftop experience atop the adjacent Fieldhouse building, and a Ticket Plan Holder Lounge.

• The Sea Dogs have another player on the 2016 Eastern League All-Star Game roster, as Aneury Tavarez was added to replace Rockies prospect David Dahl, who was promoted to Triple-A. Tavarez will join teammates Jake Romanski and Williams Jerez for the game this Wednesday. Tavarez is batting .303/.358/.440 in 63 games with Portland this season. 

• Chris Marrero will be representing the PawSox in the Triple-A Home Run Derby Monday at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, N.C. Marrero has 14 home runs on the season, which is tied for fourth in the International League. 

• The inaugural class of the PawSox Hall of Fame has been announced, with Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, and the late Ben Mondor representing the first people to be inducted. Boggs and Rice will be at McCoy Stadium Friday, July 29 along with Madeleine Mondor, the widow of the former owner.

• It is the homestretch of the 2016 Annual Drive to help keep SoxProspects.com free. We were 84 percent of the way to our goal of $7,500 as of July 8, and if you value the work we do here please consider making a donation to help cover the costs of the site. 

Players of the Week 7/4 - 7/10

Chris Marrero, 1B/LF, Pawtucket Red Sox

6 G, 26 AB, 8 R, 15 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K

While Moncada made it close with his Futures Game MVP performance, Marrero is the winner this week as his OPS was a ridiculous 1.731. After getting off to a slow start over his first 20 games this season, Marrero has been one of the best hitters in the system since the beginning of May. He is slashing .314/.371/.558 over his last 64 games. After primarily playing first base since Sam Travis went down with a knee injury, Marrero has shifted back to left field recently, which is a position the Red Sox have struggled to fill all season.

Keith Couch, RHP, Portland Sea Dogs
1 G, 9.0 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 H, 0 BB, 6 K

Complete game shutouts are rare in the minor leagues, but Couch was able to accomplish it against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats last Thursday. He threw 77 of his 109 pitches for strikes, and it was the second complete game in a row for the 26-year-old. After hitting a rough patch in June, Couch seems to have figured things out, allowing only 12 hits and no walks over his last 18 innings.

In addition to winning the SoxProspects.com Player and Pitcher of the Week awards, Marrero won the International League Player of the Week award, and Couch was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week.

Photo Credit: Yoan Moncada and Kyle Martin by Kelly O'Connor

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