Fort Report: Hernandez continues scoreless spring

Here are Monday's minor league notes:

• Darwinzon Hernandez continued his impressive spring on Friday with three shutout innings against the Orioles. He allowed just one hit, one walk, and struck out four to extend his scoreless streak to seven innings. 

• The #SP40 social media countdown has dipped into the top 10. The past four days included Travis Lakins at 15, the powerful Danny Diaz at 14, 2018 draftee Brandon Howlett at 13, right-hander Mike Shawaryn at 12, 2018 second-rounder Nick Decker at 11, and flamethrower Durbin Feltman at 10. 

• It was a quiet few days for the bats, although C.J. Chatham and Brett Netzer each picked up a double. 

• Christopher Smith of MassLive.com wrote about Chatham, who has had a good spring with six hits in 18 at-bats, including three doubles. Manager Alex Cora said that Chatham reminds him of J.J. Hardy.

• Smith also wrote about how Hernandez and a few other pitching prospects should be able to contribute to the 2019 big league club. Cora mentioned that Hernandez will be up at some point this season, but he's not sure if that will be as a starter or a reliever. 

• Matt Collins of Over The Monster wrote about Brandon Howlett as part of their top prospect voting. Howlett was a 2018 21st-round pick who is ranked 13th at SoxProspects. Howlett saw action in five games for the Lowell Spinners in 2018 after posting a .930 OPS with the GCL Red Sox in 39 games. Improved eyesight helped Howlett have a terrific debut season in the Red Sox system. 

• Chad Jennings of The Athletic (subscription required) wrote about how four Red Sox minor league hitters received an opportunity to face big league arms. Triston Casas, Pedro Castellanos, Tyler Esplin, and Nick Northcut faced Chris Sale, Nathan Eovalidi, and Matt Barnes. Unsurprisingly, they did not see much success. 

• Christopher Smith also wrote about how Marco Hernandez is getting closer to getting back into games after having three shoulder surgeries. Hernandez faced live pitching for the first time on Friday. 

• Red Sox minor leaguers called up from the back fields to appear in major league games from Thursday through Sunday included Daniel Schlereth, Danny Mars, Trevor Kelley, Matthew Gorst, Jake Thompson, Joseph Monge, Jake Romanski, Jenrry Mejia, Aneury Tavarez, Jeremy Rivera, Brett Netzer, and Brian Ellington. 

Photo credit: Darwinzon Hernandez by Kelly O'Connor

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