While two levels of the system have been graced with major league talent this week with the rehab stints of Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron, there are other notable developments on the minor league front. Among the scenarios of note is the promotion of Felix Doubront to Triple-A Pawtucket, where he takes the roster spot of Joe Nelson, who joined the big club earlier this week.
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Last week: No. 1
Casey Kelly, RHP
Kelly is coming off his worst start of the season. He needed 69 pitches to get through just three innings in Friday night’s 11-8 comeback win for Double-A Portland. The 20-year-old gave up five runs on five hits and walked three for the second straight start before being yanked on the short end of a 5-2 score. Kelly said he was erratic with the fastball and didn’t have his off-speed stuff working. According to reports, he reached 3-0 on four different batters.
Kelly still has 28 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings and has held opponents to a .242 average in May. He just needs to work through his current issues with command and he’ll be OK going forward.
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Last week: No. 2
Ryan Kalish, OF
It’s been a bit of a slow week for Kalish, who has just one extra-base hit (a double) in his last eight games and has not stolen a base in his last seven. But he continues to get on base — his 25 walks (against only 18 strikeouts) rank second in the Eastern League to teammate Nate Spears — and he still leads the club in runs scored.
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Last week: No. 3
Lars Anderson, 1B
Friday night was a rough one for Anderson, who was wearing a tight collar after the club’s 3-2 loss to Norfolk. Anderson struck out in all four at bats and now has seven Ks against zero walks over his last five games. He did, however, slug his second Triple-A home run Thursday night and has 17 extra-base hits in 35 games split between Portland and Pawtucket.
Lefties have gotten the better of Anderson since he joined the PawSox. He is 0-for-7 with five strikeouts at the Triple-A level while facing southpaws.
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Last week: No. 5
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
There have seemingly been no issues for Rizzo since his promotion to Double-A. After slugging his second home run with the Sea Dogs in a 2-for-4 effort Friday, he was hitting .281 (9-for-32), and continues to flash a solid glove. The power-defense combination that the 20-year-old possesses has him gaining more notoriety among the ranks.
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Last week: No. 6
Jose Iglesias, SS
Simply put, Iglesias is on fire. While he continues to dazzle with the glove, Iglesias has recorded two four-hit efforts in the span of nine games and has quietly moved into seventh place in the Eastern League with a .323 average. The 20-year-old Cuban native still is a bit of a free-swinger (he has just five walks in 33 games) but his success with those swings is a wonderful sign for the organization.
There was talk this week that Iglesias would be a candidate to fill in for Marco Scutaro, who missed two games following a cortisone shot in his left elbow. But team officials shot that down, saying Iglesias needs to continue to develop. So far, so good on that front.
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Last week: No. 4
Josh Reddick, OF
It continues to be a grind for Reddick at Pawtucket. An 0-for-4 showing Friday left him 4-for-31 (.129) over a seven-game stretch with 10 strikeouts against zero walks. A sometimes streaky hitter, the 23-year-old has yet to have a prolonged stretch of success in 2010. He is hitting just .182 overall and his .217 on-base percentage is a bit troublesome this far into the season.
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Last week: No. 8
Felix Doubront, LHP
There was an opening in Pawtucket and Doubront was the best candidate to fill it. The 22-year-old lefty was spectacular at the Double-A level, where he was 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA in eight starts for Portland. He had a 1.48 ERA in his last four outings before the promotion, including seven innings of scoreless ball Tuesday against New Britain.
Doubront, whose turn to start would come Sunday, did not allow a home run in 43 innings with the Sea Dogs.
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Last week: No. 7
Luis Exposito, C
The power is expected to come at some point for the burly Exposito. He has just one home run this season, but he does lead the Sea Dogs with 12 doubles and continues to rake in key situations. Exposito is hitting just .170 with the bases empty, but .324 (24-for-74) with runners on. It might just be a random statistic, but Exposito has been regarded for his coolness, and perhaps that is one small indication.
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Last week: No. 9
Stolmy Pimentel, RHP
Pimentel has been swapping good starts for OK starts of late, but the most recent good one was really, really good. On May 15 at Myrtle Beach the 20-year-old retired all 18 men he faced in a 9-1 Salem rout. Pimentel struck out four in the perfect outing. He followed it up by allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings against Potomac.
There was some curiosity as to whether Pimentel would fill Doubront’s spot at Portland, but Jeremy Kehrt got the call instead.
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Last week: No. 10
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Two more hits Thursday and another Friday has kept Middlebrooks among the best hitters in the South Atlantic League, in which he is tied for third in batting at .341. And despite not homering for some time, his slugging percentage of .522 is among the league leaders and his OPS (.957) ranks sixth.
