Minor Notes: Cannon debuts for Lowell, Hernandez back in the bullpen

Here are Saturday's minor league notes:

• Thanks to our wonderful readers and listeners, we've reached our goal in this year's site Donation Drive of $7,000. Thank you all so much for your support. Although the Drive is over, we always accept support at https://soxprospects.com/donate.htm and https://www.patreon.com/soxprospects.

• SoxProspects's own Chris Hatfield (@SPChrisHatfield on Twitter) visited Frederick to catch Salem for a pair of games, highlighted by a (shortened) start by Thaddeus Ward. Chris put together a Patreon Game Update for our Patrons containing a first-hand report on Ward and a number of other Salem players. 

• Following a short stint with the GCL Red Sox, first-round draft pick Cameron Cannon made his debut for Lowell this week. Although he was held hitless in his first game, Cannon exploded for three hits and five RBI including a double (his first extra-base hit as a professional).

• Elsewhere Tanner Houck also made his debut with Pawtucket as he works to join the major league bullpen. Houck has been pitching exclusively out of the bullpen since early July and has thus far found success in Pawtucket, pitching three scoreless innings in two appearances. Amin Touri of WEEI recently profiled Houck as he adjusts to life as a reliever.

• In a week full of promotions, perhaps the most significant has been that of Darwinzon Hernandez, who has been called upon to shore up the much-maligned Boston bullpen. Hernandez has found the most success in this most recent cup of coffee, striking out four in two innings across two scoreless appearances. 

• Although he has already been called upon twice before, this stay in the majors may stick for Hernandez argues Boston.com's Nicole Yang. With the bullpen struggling and the salary cap tight, the Red Sox may be forced to turn to internal candidates such as Hernandez and Tanner Houck who could find themselves as permanent members of the bullpen sooner rather than later.

• On Baseball America's weekly Hot Sheet, both Gilberto Jimenez and Brayan Bello earned mentions for their strong performances. While the BA staff sees Jimenez as one of the more interesting prospects in the Red Sox system, they wanted to see more consistency from Bello, who made a large jump in 2019. 

• With the trade deadline approaching and the draft signing period over, Baseball America has updated its rankings for each team and for MLB as a whole. Making the Top 100 list for the Red Sox were Triston Casas (75), Bryan Mata (89), Bobby Dalbec (96), while Jaren Duran (previously 93) dropped out. 

• On Fangraphs, Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen reviewed the future value of several prospects, and they had Jarren Duran listed as a prospect whose stock had fallen. While his speed cannot be denied, the pair of writers had questions about Duran's offensive profile going forward after a look at the Futures Game. 

• One prospect whose stock has certainly not been hurt in 2019 is Bryan Mata, who has seen his stock shoot back up after an up-and-down 2018. Chris Smith of MassLive.com highlighted Mata's dominant season, and the attention this has garnered the young pitcher across the league. 

• Lower in the minors another young prospect, Brandon Howlett, is turning heads with his bat. Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald looked at Howlett's season that has been turned around in a big way since his slow start. 

Photo Credit: Cameron Cannon by Kelly O'Connor

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