Minor notes: MLB Draft wraps up, Duran promoted

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• The MLB Draft has come and gone for the Red Sox who made the most of their small bonus pool and draft position. You can read individual breakdowns for each pick from 1-10 on the SoxProspects.com news page here and read the recap of picks 11-40 here.

• Following Day 1 the SoxProspects podcast team got into the studio and broke down the team's first two selections, Cameron Cannon and Matthew Lugo. Chris and Ian also discussed Jarren Duran's (pictured) recent promotion and who could be next, specifically mentioning Thaddeus Ward.

• Going into Day 1 the Red Sox had the smallest bonus pool and were without a true first-round pick in addition to having the lowest draft position in the league. Given all of those handicaps, the Red Sox were still able to extract good value from the draft, and SoxProspects' own James Dunne looked at how each Red Sox draftee was ranked by national publications

• With the draft behind us, it is now officially the draft signing period. The Red Sox selected 40 players in the MLB Draft, each with their own unique background and commitments which will frame their decision to sign. Mike Andrews took a look at the money the Red Sox have to work with this signing period and some of his early expectations of who will sign and for how much money. 

• One player who embodies both the value the Red Sox reaped from their poor draft position and the difficulties facing the Red Sox heading into the signing period is Navy grad Noah Song. billy Witz of the New York Times recently wrote a feature on Song that broke down what it would take to get Noah Song on the baseball diamond as well as Song's personal feelings on the matter.  

• Several players who were drafted by the Red Sox, but failed to sign in the past were selected this year. Harry Burnham wrote a short piece detailing who was selected and by which team's, with the biggest names being Davis Wendzel and Nick Quintana who had been linked to the Red Sox in round one. 

• Back in the Red Sox system the much-awaited promotion of Jarren Duran finally materialized with the left-handed hitting machine moving up to Portland. It did not take long for Duran to settle in either, with the newly minted no. 3 prospect in the system already 3 for 8 with a double. Duran is still winning awards after his promotion however as he was named the Carolina League Player of the Month for May. 

• Also recently promoted was Dedgar Jimenez, who joined Pawtucket after putting up a 3.55 ERA in nine starts for Pawtucket. 

• In Greenville, a trio of Drive players were named to the South Atlantic League South Division All-Star team. Triston Casas headlines the group and he was joined by the promotion pushing pair of Thaddeus Ward and Devlin Granberg.

• Thaddeus Ward has been turning heads with his strong performances in 2019 and has been banging down the door to promotion with a dominant May. However, Myron Hosea of Greenville News took the Draft as an opportunity to highlight just how long and difficult the road to the big leagues is, and how Ward keeps himself prepared to always take that next step. 

• One player who has climbed the arduous minor league ladder is Mike Shawaryn who has found his chance to debut for the Red Sox denied by weather and circumstance. However, Christopher Smith of MassLive notes that Shawaryn is still in the Red Sox rotation mix and he could make his debut as soon as tonight.

Photo credit: Jarren Duran by Kelly O'Connor

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