June 29, 2017 at 12:00 PM
Minor Notes: Owens demoted to Portland, Lin makes Boston debut
Here are Thursday's minor league notes:
- Help keep SoxProspects.com free! Please consider making a contribution to our annual donation drive.
- On the latest episode of the SoxProspects Podcast, Chris and Ian dove into a wide array of topics, including the promotions of Michael Chavis to Portland and Tzu-Wei Lin (pictured) to Boston, as well as plenty of post-draft coverage.
- SoxProspects Director of Scouting Ian Cundall wrote up his latest Scouting Scratch, taking a look at several Pawtucket pitchers. They included Henry Owens, Jamie Callahan, Brandon Workman, and more.
- The confounding 2017 season continues for Henry Owens as the former 2011 first-round pick was demoted to Double-A Portland. WEEI.com spoke with manager John Farrell about Owens' control and mechanics struggles.
- Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald got into the details of how Owens plans to retool his delivery with the big lefty himself and Red Sox minor league pitching coordinator Ralph Treuel.
- Thomas also spoke with Mike Olt about his path back to the majors after once being one of the Cubs' top prospects.
- Tim Britton of The Providence Journal profiled the rise of Tzu-Wei Lin to the big leagues, noting he has started hitting more balls into the air, raising his isolated slugging 100 points since last year.
- Owen Pence of The Boston Globe also profiled Lin, tracking his path to the majors.
- According to the Associated Press, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo supports legislation that outlines how to finance a new stadium for the Pawtucket Red Sox.
- The Red Sox have officially signed 27 of their 40 draft picks, and they have also picked up two undrafted free agents. The only player who Boston picked in the first 10 rounds who has not signed is fourth-rounder Jake Thompson. Below is a list of official 2017 draft signings so far, listed by round:
1 - Tanner Houck, RHP - $2,614,500 (slot: $2,614,500)
2 - Cole Brannen, OF - $1,300,000 (slot: $993,900)
3 - Brett Netzer, 2B - $475,000 (slot: $532,800)
5 - Alex Scherff, RHP - $700,000 (slot: $296,500)
6 - Zach Schellenger, RHP - $175,000 (slot: $230,000)
7 - Tyler Esplin, OF - $250,000 (slot: $180,700)
8 - Zach Sterry, 1B - $5,000 (slot: $150,900)
9 - Tanner Nishioka, 2B - $5,000 (slot: $138,600)
10 - Jordan Wren, OF - $5,000 (slot: $131,400)
11 - Andre Colon, SS
12 - Beau Hanna, C
13 - Garrett Benge, 3B
16 - Kutter Crawford, RHP
17 - Frankie Rios, SS
18 - Dominic LoBrutto, LHP
19 - Angel Gonzalez, CF
21 - Lukas Young, RHP
22 - Hunter Haworth, RHP
24 - Charlie Madden, C
25 - Kory Behenna, LHP
27 - Xavier LeGrant, 2B
31 - Michael Osinski, 3B
32 - Taylor Ahearn, RHP
33 - Tanner Raiburn, LHP
34 - Luis Torres, CF
35 - Trey Ganns, 1B
36 - Rio Gomez, LHP
UDFA - Durin O'Linger, RHP
UDFA - Jecorrah Arnold, 3B
Total cap (cap + 5%): $5,667,100 ($5,950,455)
Cap spent so far (amount +/- cap for picks signed): $5,529,500 (-$260,200)
Photo Credit: Tzu-Wei Lin by Kelly O'Connor