May 20, 2019 at 2:00 PM
Minor Notes: Duran named Player of the Week for third time
Here are Monday's minor league notes:
- Bobby Dalbec has turned his season around in Portland, as he has found his power, his walk rate is up, and his strikeout rate is down. Christopher Smith of MassLive.com talked to Alex Cora about Dalbec. Cora believes that watching how Red Sox hitters approached at-bats in the playoffs last year has helped young hitters in the system learn the importance of controlling the strike zone and putting the ball in play.
- Kevin Thomas of The Portland Press Herald also wrote about Dalbec and his turnaround. Even when Dalbec was struggling early in the year when his batting average was below the Mendoza Line, he still felt like he was contributing by getting on base.
- Michael Chavis, who hit another long home run at Fenway on Sunday, has been able to continue being productive after his torrid start. Jason Mastrodonato of The Boston Herald wrote about Chavis and his mindset in the big leagues. He has enjoyed MLB a lot more because he knows the minor leagues are all about development, whereas the big leagues are all about winning games.
- Long Beach State has had an incredible group of players go on to have productive careers in the big leagues over the past couple decades, and Jarren Duran (pictured, right) is looking to continue that trend. Kyle Glaser of Baseball America wrote about Duran and his pursuit to the big leagues. Duran has been keeping it simple and not trying to do do much at the plate and his comfort level in center field has increased since the start of the year.
- Melissa Hanson of MassLive.com wrote about how McCoy Stadium has helped give fans a look at what the Worcester Red Sox will bring to Polar Park. Rich Gedman, the PawSox hitting coach, spoke to fans at McCoy about the move to Worcester.
- Glenn Jordan of The Portland Press Herald wrote about minor league umpires and how difficult it is for them to reach the majors, just like the players.
- For roster moves, the Red Sox designated Chandler Shepherd for assignment, who was then claimed by the Cubs off waivers. Pawtucket added Marco Hernandez from Salem, Jake Romanski from Portland, and sent Josh Tobias down to Portland. Marcus Wilson was also sent from Portland to Salem. Greenville added Kevin Biondic from extended spring training. The Red Sox also signed Dylan Thompson and assigned him to Salem.
Players of the Week (May 13 through May 19)
This is already the third time that Duran has been the SoxProspects.com Player of the Week in 2019. He was also the SoxProspects.com April Player of the Month and still as his batting average comfortably over .400, at .409. On May 14, Brian Bannister was in attendance to see Duran and posted a video of Duran showing off his speed on a double. In addition to his robust batting average, Duran also has 16 extra-base hits and 13 stolen bases.
1 G, 7 1/3 IP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 0.68 WHIP
Ward (pictured, left) only allowed four hits in his brilliant start for Greenville and none of them went for extra bases. For the season, the right-hander has a 2.91 ERA in 43 1/3 innings pitched. He also has an impressive 51 strikeouts, a 1.18 WHIP, and a .208 batting average against. Ward was selected in the fifth round in last year's draft out of UCF.
Photo Credit: Jarren Duran and Thaddeus Ward by Kelly O'Connor