7/24 ML Gameday Thread: Ball, Cosart & Steen

9. Henry Owens, lhp, Red Sox

Team: Triple-A Pawtucket (International)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: 1-0, 2.25, 12 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 15 SO

The Scoop: The struggle is always the same for Owens, who continues to aim for better command of the strike zone and pitch efficiency. Mission accomplished on both accounts this week, when he fanned 15 against three walks over two starts. He’s still operating primarily with a three-pitch mix of fastball, curveball and changeup and is working on commanding the former two pitches in an effort to sharpen himself before he moves to the next level.

11. Andrew Benintendi, of, Red Sox

Team: short-season Lowell (New York-Penn)
Age: 21
Why He’s Here: .318/.483/.818 (7-for-22), 4 R, 1 3B, 3 HR, 4 RBIs, 6 BB, 5 SO

The Scoop: The No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft and our College Player of the Year, Boston valued Benintendi’s combination of power, speed and defense in center field. He showed off his best assets this past week with a triple, three home runs and six walks against just three strikeouts. He’s slight of frame, but his skill set is loud and he’s not likely to finish the season in the New York-Penn League.

17. Rafael Devers, 3b, Red Sox

Team: low Class A Greenville (South Atlantic)
Age: 18
Why He’s Here: .318/.348/.682 (7-for-22), 4 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 5 BB, 4 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: While most of Devers’ peers from the 2013 signing class are just making their debuts in one of the Rookie-level complex leagues this summer, Devers has already played in the Futures Game and proven himself to be a .300 hitter with power in the low Class A South Atlantic League. After slumping in June, Devers has gotten himself back on track at the plate this month. For an 18-year-old kid going through the first long, 140-game grind of a minor league season, it would be understandable if we saw some drop-off in Devers’ production the rest of the way, but he still looks like the same sweet-swinging lefty with plus power that has made scouts so excited about him from his amateur days in the Dominican Republic.