Minor Notes: Future bright for Mata; Buttrey gains interest in Japan

Here are Monday's minor league notes:

• SoxProspects.com executive editor Chris Hatfield was in attendance on Sunday in Washington for the All-Star Futures Game. Bryan Mata (pictured, right), the organization's second-ranked prospect, pitched a scoreless  third inning, allowing one hit in the frame. For more information on how Mata did, check out Monday's Cup of Coffee. 

• Two weeks ago, Bobby Dalbec won the Carolina League Player of the Week award. Last week, he picked up Player of the Week honors for SoxProspects.com. And the right-handed hitter continues to impress, picking up 10 hits in 21 at-bats, while going yard four times this past week. If that wasn't enough, Dalbec added another dinger on Sunday to give him 23 homers on the season so far.  

• Since his promotion from Lowell, 2018 third-round draft pick Durbin Feltman hasn't skipped a beat during his time with the Drive. He's been nearly perfect, allowing one hit while recording all of his outs (six) via strikeout in two innings of work, both resulting in saves for the right-hander, who may be making a push to shoot through the entire Sox system by September. 

• Last week, the Red Sox optioned William Cuevas to Pawtucket and shuffled Jalen Beeks back up to the big club before Beeks was sent down last Wednesday en lieu of Robby Scott. Despite the demotion, Cuevas had a great return performance with Pawtucket, pitching in his first game for the PawSox since June 27, giving up two hits and no runs across seven innings of work while striking out six.

• Brandon Phillips was promoted from Single-A Lowell to Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday, and in his first game on the same day with the PawSox, the veteran infielder went 1 for 3 with a single, run and walk. After a successful six-game stint with the Spinners, and with Dustin Pedroia on the disabled list for the foreseeable future, Phillips is working his way towards one last promotion with Boston. 

• Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com says that Ty Buttrey (pictured, left) is drawing interest from teams in Japan, which could force the Sox' hand as "players who make the move to Asia usually make more (money) than they would in the minors". Buttrey is on the Sox' 40-man roster writes Cotillo but has not made his major-league debut yet, as the Red Sox have opted to use the likes of Justin Haley, Ryan Brasier and Cuevas, instead of Buttrey, so far this season. Buttrey has a 1.93 ERA in 30 appearances for the PawSox. 

• Before Portland's 6-5 win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Saturday, starting pitcher and seventh-ranked prospect Mike Shawaryn was scratched from his start, getting the periodic extra rest that the system likes to give their starters over the course of the season, according to Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald. 

• Also in Monday's Cup of Coffee, a trio of Sox players saw action for the AL in the DSL All-Star game on Sunday. Angel Gonzalez, Angel Maita and Ceddanne Rafaela were the three representatives from the Red Sox organization. 

• We fell a little short of our goal for our Donation Drive at SoxProspects.com, so we're still looking for help to reach our goal and keep the site running per usual. 

• We've updated our rankings on SoxProspects.com. Check out who has been pumped up (ahem, Dalbec) and maybe who has been bumped down.    

Players of the Week

Bobby Dalbec, 3B, Salem 

6 G, 21 AB, 10 H, 4 HR, 5 R, 8 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, .476/.577/1.048

With the summer temperatures starting to get hot, so too has Dalbec. The 23-year-old has been steaming hot in July, raising his average from .227 to start the month to .265 after a 2-for-2 performance on Sunday. His 23 home runs lead the system, by a wide margin, as Greenville's Marino Campana is the next closest with 14 homers. He also leads in RBI (78) and is second in walks (51), trailing only Josh Ockimey's 54 free passes.

For a second straight week, Dalbec has mashed. And for a second straight week, he gets Player of the Week honors from SoxProspects.com.  

Denyi Reyes, RHP, Greenville

2 G, 13 IP, 2-0, 0.69 ERA, 9 H, 0 BB, 14 K, 0.69 WHIP

Another stellar week, and now half year, for this Greenville right-haner as Reyes recorded wins over Ashville and Lexington, with the latter being a two-hit shutout, while striking out six and walking none. It marked the fifth time in his last nine starts that Reyes didn't allow a run, and 10th time in 19 outings, when he didn't issue a walk.

Photo Credit: Bryan Mata and Ty Buttrey by Kelly O'Connor 

Tommy Cassell is a Contributing Editor for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tommycassell44. 

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