Weekly Notes: Moncada debuts at third base

Here are this week's minor league notes:

• The most prominent news of the week on the farm came in Portland, when Yoan Moncada (pictured, right) made his debut at third base. Many have speculated that Moncada could follow Andrew Benintendi to the majors before 2016 ends, and third base is where it would happen. For what it's worth, Travis Shaw has struggled lately at the plate, and Aaron Hill has just a .589 OPS with Boston so far.
• Another possibility is that Moncada could go to the Arizona Fall League to get more experience playing third, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
• SoxProspects.com's Director of Scouting Ian Cundall got his first look at a few 2016 draft picks. He scouted sixth-rounder Stephen Nogosek, 12th-rounder Matthew Gorst, and 24th rounder Hunter Smith. All are off to terrific starts, and Nogosek and Smith have already been promoted once.
  
• Rafael Devers and Keith Couch earned the SoxProspects.com Player of the Month and Pitcher of the Month for July. Devers was scorching hot all month, hitting .357/.408/.670. Couch had a 1.31 ERA in 41 1/3 innings.
• 2016 fourth-round selection Bobby Dalbec has been a hot hitter for Lowell to begin his professional career, hitting .333/.391/.540 in 17 games. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe wrote about Dalbec in his Minor League Notebook. He talks about how Dalbec is enjoying just being a hitter instead of a two-way player like he was at Arizona. His dominant summer in the Cape Cod League came when he didn't have to worry about pitching.
• Blake Swihart will not play again this season, as he will undergo season-ending surgery on his ankle.
• The Red Sox also made a few moves today, as they called up Marco Hernandez, Deven Marrero, and Heath Hembree. Hanley Ramirez was placed on the bereavement list, Stephen Wright is on the DL, and Roenis Elias was sent back down to Pawtucket after a very short stint in Boston.
• Chris Young also began his rehab with the PawSox on Thursday.
• The New York-Penn League All-Star Game is tomorrow, and the Spinners are sending four players, including the league's batting average leader Tyler Hill.

Players of the Week 8/8-8/15

Jake Romanski, C, Portland Sea Dogs

4 G, 16 AB, 8 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 K, .500/.500/.875

After spending most of the 2015 season in Salem, Romanski (pictured, left) is enjoying a breakout season for Portland in 2016. Overall, he is hitting .306/.337/.405 with 20 doubles and three home runs. The 25-year old is in his fourth season with the Red Sox after being drafted out of San Diego State in 2013.

Romanski had a hit in each of the four games he played in this past week, including a huge day on Wednesday that saw him go 4 for 5 with a home run and three runs scored.

Jhonathan Diaz, LHP, GCL Red Sox

1 G, 5 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.20 WHIP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

It's not often that a Player of the Week recipient goes to a GCL player, but five no-hit innings for Diaz earned him the honor. The 19-year old left-hander who was signed in 2013 has alternated good and bad starts since July 23, allowing four runs, then no runs, then four runs, then no runs again.

Overall, Diaz is having a nice year for the GCL Sox, posting a 3.15 ERA in 40 innings. He also has 38 strikeouts to just 11 walks and batters are hitting .245 against him.

Photo Credit: Yoan Moncada and Jake Romanski by Kelly O'Connor

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