Minor Notes: Jordan on fire; Sox promote three arms

The Red Sox are making a few changes by promoting three pitchers in what was an otherwise quiet week. A Sox pitcher also earns a Player of the Week honor for the third time already this season. 

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Sox promote Dobbins, Coffey, Blalock

According to Christopher Smith of MassLive.com, Hunter Dobbins and Isaac Coffey are being sent up to Portland, while Bradley Blalock is getting the call to Greenville. Dobbins, a right-handed pitcher selected in the eighth round in 2021, was having a great season with Greenville. In 41 innings spread across seven starts, he was 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA with a very impressive 44 strikeouts to just five walks. His WHIP sits under one at 0.95 and has only allowed one home run all season. 

Coffey, another right-handed arm, was also pitching extremely well for the Drive. In 11 starts and 60 1/3 innings, he was 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA, 83 strikeouts, and just 10 walks. He was taken in last year's draft in the 10th round out of Oral Roberts and has flourished so far in his first full season of professional ball. 

Blalock is another exciting arm in the system that has broken out in 2023. A 32nd-round pick in 2019, Blalock missed all of the 2022 season due to injury. He has made four starts so far this year for Salem, allowing just three runs in 18 innings (1.50 ERA) with only 10 hits allowed. He has struck out 22 with just four walks and has a shiny 0.78 WHIP. 

Kyle Barraclough signed to a minor-league deal 

The Red Sox picked up a veteran bullpen arm in Barraclough, who has seen time in the big leagues with five different teams. In 274 1/3 career innings, he has a 3.61 ERA with 346 strikeouts. This year, he was pitching independently in the Atlantic League where he had a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings with 17 strikeouts and four walks.

Murphy, Cespedes thriving

Chris Murphy has taken off since moving to the bullpen and has been able to help the big league team in this role. In six innings for Boston, the lefty has yet to allow a run on just three hits. He has eight strikeouts, one walk, and a 0.667 WHIP. Per our own Ian Cundall, his velocity has seen a noticeable uptick since moving to the pen. 

Yoeilin Cespedes, a 17-year-old from the Dominican Republic, has been on fire all season for the DSL Sox. He is 15 for 43 (.349) with five doubles, a triple, and two home runs, good for a 1.042 OPS.

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Players of the Week

Blaze Jordan, 3B, Greenville Drive

6 G, 22 AB, 12 H, 4 2B, 3 HR, 7 R,10 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K, .545/.607/1.136

Jordan (pictured, above) earns his first Player of the Week award of the season with a monster performance over the past six games. He is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak, with multiple knocks in five of those nine games. His power has been terrific of late as well, as he has homered in three of his last four games after starting out June with just one long ball in the first 11 games of the month.  

Overall on the season, Jordan is hitting .323/.379/.546 in 58 games with the Drive. He has 30 extra-base hits to go along with 47 RBI. The third baseman hit well in his 25-game stint with Greenville last year as well, posting an .828 OPS in 93 at-bats. A promotion to Portland will be something to look out for over the next few weeks.

Dalton Rogers, LHP, Greenville Drive

1 G, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K

This is already Rogers' (pictured, left) third Player of the Week honor here at SoxProspects.com. The 2022 third-round selection has been absolutely terrific in his first full season.  The 11 strikeouts in his most recent start set a new season-high by three. With no hits allowed and just one walk over six innings, it's one of the best starts from a Sox minor league player all season. 

Rogers has split time this year between Salem and Greenville, and his numbers with each team are very similar. With Salem, he pitched to a 2.49 ERA over 21 2/3 frames with a .139 batting average against and a 1.11 WHIP. With Greenville so far, he has tossed 19 2/3 innings with a .121 batting average against and a 1.07 WHIP. 

Photo Credit: Blaze Jordan and Dalton Rogers by Kelly O'Connor 

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