Minor Notes: Injuries abound, Brasier returns to the big leagues

Here are Monday's Minor Notes:

• On Friday, 12th-round pick Chase Shugart and 16th-rounder Chris Machamer signed with the Red Sox, hours before July 6's 5 p.m. signing deadline. Shugart signed for slot value at $125,000, while Machamer got $213,000 which was $88,000 above slot. The team ended up signing 26 of its first 28 picks and 28 out of 40.
• On Sunday, the Red Sox placed both Brian Johnson and Christian Vazquez on the 10-day disabled list with left hip inflammation and a pinky fracture, respectively.
• To fill the spots on the 25-man roster, Boston selected Ryan Brasier (pictured, left) from Pawtucket and recalled William Cuevas from the PawSox.

• In order to make room on the 40-man roster for Brasier, Austin Maddox was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
• Christopher Smith of MassLive.com profiled Brasier's interesting story on Sunday. Brasier last pitched in the majors in 2013, missed 2014 after having Tommy John surgery and has been working his way back ever since.
• SoxProspects' No. 2 prospect, Bryan Mata, will be the system's representation in July 15's Futures Game as part of All-Star festivities. He will be on the World team.
• Michael Chavis also returned to Portland after spending the first week after his suspension expired in Lowell, while Brandon Phillips was added to the Lowell roster on Saturday after being signed on June 27.
• Phillips talked about why he chose the Red Sox with WEEI's Rob Bradford on Saturday.
• To make room for Chavis, Josh A. Smith was added to the Spinners' roster on a paper move and Chad De La Guerra was also placed on the disabled list.
• For Chavis, the results aren't nearly as important as the process, as he missed the first 80 games of the season after being suspended and WEEI's Vincent Gallo had the story after his first game back with Portland on Saturday. 
• Drew Pomeranz has been on a rehab stint in Pawtucket and while he's down in Triple-A, he's working on repairing what's wrong with his complicated mechanics.
• Rio Gomez, ESPN's Pedro Gomez's son, was selected in the 14th round in 2017 and the Boston Globe's Owen Pence discussed the younger Gomez's strong stats in Lowell this year.
• MLB Pipeline selects the 10 best prospect performances every day and Bobby Dalbec was on Saturday's list for 3-for-5 performance that included a home run and four RBI.
• It has been a down year all across the Red Sox system and Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald wrote about Portland's struggles on Sunday.

Players of the Week

Bobby Dalbec, 3B, Salem 

7 G, 27 AB, 13 H, 5 2B, 4 HR, 8 R, 14 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, .481/.484/1.185

With Chavis on the shelf, Dalbec (pictured, right) has been one of the only offensive bright spots in the Red Sox system this season. He is at 70 RBI, while only Marino Campana, who is at exactly 50, has reached the 50 RBI plateau. He also is in pole position with 25 doubles and 19 home runs. He also leads all other qualifiers by 60 points in slugging percentage, at .548. Dalbec also leads the Carolina League in both doubles and home runs, while he is third in slugging percentage.

That trend continued this week as Dalbec is on a six-game hitting streak, four of which were multi-hit efforts, including a 4-for-5 outing with three RBI on Thursday. His raw power has always been there, it's whether the hit tool can continue to develop that will be the difference in how his career shakes out and he was able to hit well last week, leading the system in batting average.

Darwinzon Hernandez, LHP, Salem

2 G, 11.2 IP, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 H, 7 BB, 17 K, 1.03 WHIP

Hernandez made two great starts for Salem this week and was able to differentiate himself from a talented starting rotation that includes four top-25 prospects according to SoxProspects. The 21-year-old Venezuelan pitched 5 2/3 no-hit innings on Sunday with 10 strikeouts, though he did walk five batters. He also pitched six shutout frames on Tuesday, walking just two to go along wtih seven strikeouts and five hits allowed.

Hernandez needs to work on his control, as he has 47 walks in just 70 2/3 innings this year, but he was effective despite that this week, leading the system in strikeouts and he was tied for third in innings pitched.

Photo Credit: Ryan Brasier and Bobby Dalbec by Kelly O'Connor

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