Fort Report: Dalbec and Chavis continue domination of Grapefruit League

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• Michael Chavis continued to show off his power on Wednesday with another home run in a 7-6 loss to the Orioles. Chavis, as highlighted by John Tomase of WEEI, has overcome many setbacks both on and off the field during his career, but due to a trust in his own abilities, is now on the cusp of breaking into the major leagues. 

• In a feature done by the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, Bobby Dalbec (pictured, right) discussed how his time with the Cape Cod League’s Orleans Firebirds has shaped his approach to hitting. Dalbec talked about how he became an adherent to the Ted Williams school of hitting, a connection he shares with fellow slugger J.D. Martinez. On the field Dalbec has started at both first and third base while continuing to rake, raising his average to .500. More importantly, Dalbec still hasn't struck out so far this spring.

• On the mound, Travis Lakins, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Colten Brewer each made their debuts. Brewer had mixed results during his outings, striking out five over two innings while giving up three earned runs. Lakins and Hernandez fared better in their appearances, each firing two scoreless innings while striking out one and three batters respectively.  

• Over on the SoxProspects Twitter account, @SoxProspects, we have been counting down the system's top 40 prospects in preparation for the beginning of the minor league season. Prospects featured to this point include Brayan Bello, Eduardo Lopez, Brett Netzer, Kutter Crawford, Roniel Raudes, Jake Thompson, Yoan Aybar, Tyler Dearden, Kole Cottam, Devlin Granberg. 

• As part of their community top prospect rankings, Matt Collins of Over the Monster broke down Mike Shawaryn’s rise up the minor league ladder, and the tools that have helped him make it this far. The 2016 draftee came in at number 10 on OTM’s community rankings.

• Christopher Smith of MassLive.com caught some great video of Antoni Flores and Triston Casas. Smith saw Flores working out at shortstop while Casas worked out at third base. While Flores is one of the better defenders in the system, Casas was working out at a relatively new position in an effort to improve his positional flexibility. Smith also caught Casas in batting practice, where he discussed the power that made Casas one of the top prospects in the Red Sox system.

• In a separate column, Smith spoke with Austin Rei about the Red Sox depth at catcher, and how this depth has driven positive competition between the backstops in camp. Rei also discussed his up-and-down 2018, and how he plans to build off his season in Portland. Smith went on to highlight other catchers in the Red Sox system including Kole Cottam, Elih Marrero, Jhon Nunez, and Roldani Baldwin.

• MiLB.com completed a ranking of the farm systems with the best under-21 talent in baseball; with the Red Sox earning a dreadful 29th. Only Jay Groome, alongside the aforementioned Casas and Flores, earned a mention in the rankings, though Red Sox fans can feel a little comfort in knowing that there are three 21-year-olds and one 22-year-old on the 40-man roster, that just missed the list.

• Rob Bradford of WEEI ran into old friend Santiago Espinal (traded in exchange for Steve Pearce) in Dunedin this week, as the Red Sox visited the Blue Jays for an exhibition that was ultimately rained out. Espinal discussed his whirlwind 2018 and the gratitude he has received from his former teammates for netting them the World Series MVP.

• Former Red Sox prospect Ty Buttrey recently spoke with David Laurila of Fangraphs about his upward trajectory and recent success on the mound. Buttrey attributed his turning of the proverbial corner to a belief in himself and the use of analytics both personally and by the Angels coaching staff.

• The Salem Red Sox announced on Wednesday that Melanie Newman would be taking on the role of lead play-by-play broadcaster for the club. This hiring represents a historic landmark as Newman will join color analyst Suzie Cool to form the first all-female broadcasting team in professional baseball. 

• Red Sox minor leaguers called up from the back fields to appear in major league games from Monday through Wednesday included Cole Brannen, Jordan Weems, Jeremy Rivera, Daniel McGrath, Jhonathan Diaz, Hunter Smith, Jarren Duran, Brett Netzer, Pedro Castellanos, Mike Miller, Jagger Rusconi, Marino Campana, Jordan Wren, Josh Tobias, Keith Curcio, Kervin Suarez, Jantzen Witte, Tyler Esplin, and Trevor Kelley.

• The SoxProspects team is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Blake Swihart's brother, Romell Jordan. We would like to express our deepest condolences to Blake and the entire Swihart family at this time.

Photo credit: Bobby Dalbec by Kelly O'Connor

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