Minor Notes: Playoffs begin for Salem and Lowell

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• The playoffs are underway, with Salem and Lowell being the only two affiliates to qualify. Salem won its first game, while Lowell dropped game one despite some impressive pitching performances. 

• With the season over in the upper minors, the Red Sox called up a stable of pitchers from Pawtucket. Mike Shawaryn, Trevor Kelley, Colten Brewer, and Bobby Poyner all joined the big league club on Wednesday, and the Red Sox now have 21 pitchers on the active roster. 

• Another player who is in Boston, though he is not on the active roster, is Bobby Dalbec (pictured). Alex Speier of the Boston Globe wrote about how close Dalbec is to the big leagues and when fans could expect to see the right-handed slugger in Boston. 

• Dalbec is scheduled to play for Team USA in the Premier12 international tournament that takes place in November.

• Peter Gobis of the Sun Chronicle talked with Pawtucket manager Billy McMillon after a tough season in Pawtucket. The team had its worst record since 2015, but McMillon discussed the highlights as well as the challenges of managing the team this season. 

• The poor record as well as the team's pending move to Worcester, Mass. caused the attendance to drop significantly for the PawSox at McCoy Stadium. Attendance was down 12 percent year-over-year, and the total turnout was the lowest since 1989. 

• Salem brought in a ringer for their playoffs, as top prospect Triston Casas joined the team at the end of the regular season. Aaron McFarling of the Roanoke Times talked with Casas and some of the players who played with him in Greenville, and his approach at the plate is one thing that impresses everyone who watches him play. 

Photo Credit: Bobby Dalbec by Kelly O'Connor

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