Minor Notes: Devers debuts at Triple-A, deadline rumors heat up

Here are this week's minor league notes:

• The big news down on the farm in the past few days was, of course, the Triple-A debut of Rafael Devers (pictured, right). The 20-year-old went off, going 4 for 4 with a monster home run to right field on Saturday.
• Before Devers made his debut, Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com theorized what could be next for the young third baseman - and if he could make an impact at the big league level as soon as this year.
• Ben Badler of Baseball America also took a look at Devers right before his promotion, posting a scouting video from his observations of the lefty from the Eastern League All-Star Game.
• With the return of both Eduardo Rodriguez and Brock Holt to the Boston roster, Tzu-Wei Lin and Austin Maddox were both optioned to Pawtucket.
• Lin, who hit .291 in 18 games for Boston, has been one of the pleasant surprises of the season. Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald spoke with the Taiwan native and his teammates about his unlikely jump to the majors.
• With the Red Sox intent on staying patient with Devers and the offensive returns from Lin and Deven Marrero remaining modest, several publications are theorizing where Boston could turn to for an upgrade at the hot corner. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com ran through a slew of potential trade options.

Players of the Week: 7/10-7/16

Aneury Tavarez, OF, Pawtucket Red Sox

5 G, 24 AB, 10 H, 2 3B, 2 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, .417/.440/.833

Tavarez has finally started to bounce back after a DL stint briefly derailed what had been a stellar start to his 2017 campaign. After falling south of the Mendoza line in early July, Tavarez has had five straight multi-hit games, including two homers in his last three games. That brings his line with Pawtucket up to .241/.284/.458 in 21 games.

Dedgar Jimenez, LHP, Salem Red Sox

1 GS, 7 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 0.71 WHIP

Jimenez (pictured, right) has been on a tear in July, posting three straight stellar starts. The Venezuela native has a 0.82 ERA in 22 IP this month to go with 14 strikeouts and just two walks. Jimenez has also started to stretch out his outings as well, lasting at least into the seventh inning in all three of those starts. He is up to 99 2/3 innings of work already this year.

Photo Credits: Rafael Devers and Dedgar Jimenez by Kelly O'Connor

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