Minor Notes: Scouting updates and strong performances

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• After covering a few of the bigger names on the Lowell roster earlier in the week, SoxProspects.com's Director of Scouting Ian Cundall wrote up a few of the under-the-radar arms on the Spinners roster. Nick Duron, Denyi Reyes and Yorvin Pantoja were featured in the latest Scouting Scratch, with Duron's report being the most intriguing. 

• Cundall and Executive Editor Chris Hatfield teamed up for the 128th episode of the SoxProspects.com Podcast, and they covered all of the recent promotions in the system. They also talked about their live looks at Pawtucket, Portland, and Lowell, and discussed Blake Swihart's return to the field. 

• With rosters set to expand in September, Red Sox manager John Farrell said this week that Swihart is a "strong candidate" to be the third catcher in Boston. Swihart is set to catch three days a week in Pawtucket as he continues to fight through discomfort in his ankle. 

• After going on a tear this week, Rafael Devers has been one of the biggest names in baseball. After hitting a 102.8 mph fastball for a home run on Sunday, hitting two more home runs on Monday, and then starting a triple play on Tuesday, he has already become a key piece in a pennant race. Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald talked to Devers' manager and several former teammates with the Sea Dogs, and none of them were surprised by the success he has had. 

• Jay Groome, the top rated pitcher in the system, will be turning 19 next week. Groome has allowed only two runs and struck out 21 over his last 16 innings as he has started to turn his season around. In an interview with the Greenville News, Groome discusses coming back from the injury that sidelined him for almost three months, and also what advice he is taking from his coaches. 

• The Sea Dogs have one of the hottest hitters in the minors, as Jeremy Barfield has hit .358/.448/.750 over his last 40 games. Thomas looked at Barfield's power surge in a recent article for the Portland Press Herald, with players like Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger and Mike Moustakas being the only players in professional baseball putting up similar numbers.

• There were limited roster moves this week, and almost all of them involved the PawSox. Edgar Olmos was added back to the roster from a paper move, Shawn Haviland was activated from the temporary inactive list, and Steve Selsky was placed on the disabled list with a concussion. 

• The Red Sox signed undrafted free agent Brendan Nail out of Western Carolina University and assigned him to Lowell. Nail is a left-handed pitcher who went 6-8 with a 6.67 ERA over 87 2/3 innings as a junior this season. He played on a temporary contract this summer for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League, striking out 32 over 26 innings with an ERA of 1.03. 

• Kelvin Sanchez, a 20-year-old who was signed on July 2 this year, was added to the DSL roster. 

Photo Credit: Nick Duron by Kelly O'Connor

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