Here's a look at how the top prospects in the Red Sox system performed over the past month (statistics through July 31), including some rising and falling prospects and other miscellaneous notes (SoxProspects.com prospect ranking in parenthesis).
Top Position Prospects
(1) Xander Bogaerts, SS, Pawtucket -- .304/.423/.511 with 4 HRs
(2) Jackie Bradley, OF, Pawtucket -- .224/.344/.447 with 4 HRs
(3) Garin Cecchini, 3B, Portland -- .300/.397/.440 with 2 HRs and 5 SBs
(10) Blake Swihart, C, Salem -- .241/.310/.291 with 0 HRs
(13) Bryce Brentz, OF, Pawtucket -- .294/.294/.529 with 1 HR
(14) Deven Marrero, SS, Salem -- .242/.339/.284 with 0 HR and 6 SBs
(16) Jon Denney, C, GCL Red Sox -- .200/.368/.267 with 0 HR
(19) Christian Vazquez, C, Portland -- .306/.390/.375 with 1 HR
(20) Manuel Margot, OF, Lowell -- .261/.369/.333 with 0 HR and 10 SBs
Bogaerts has now played in 5 games at third base for Triple-A Pawtucket; honing his skills at the hot corner may be the sole developmental area remaining before he's promoted to Boston.... Bradley also appeared in 2 games with Boston in July, going 1-for-6.... Cecchini has impressed since his June 21 promotion to Double-A, and at 22 is one of the youngest players in the Eastern League.... Brentz had surgery to repair a torn meniscus on July 16, and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks.... 2013 third-round pick Denney made his professional debut on July 4.... Vazquez is setting himself to be a September call-up, especially given his exceptional defensive skills.... Margot was placed on the disabled list on July 25 with a lower body injury.
Top Pitching Prospects
(4) Henry Owens, LHP, Salem -- 2-2 W-L, 2.96 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 33/19 K/BB in 27.1 IP
(5) Allen Webster, RHP, Pawtucket -- 0-3, 6.75, 1.50, 27/10 K/BB in 20.0 IP
(6) Rubby De La Rosa, RHP, Pawtucket -- 1-2, 9.28, 2.11, 18/17 K/BB in 21.1 IP
(7) Anthony Ranaudo, RHP, Portland -- 0-2, 3.86, 1.25, 15/11 K/BB in 25.2 IP
(8) Trey Ball, RHP, GCL Red Sox -- 0-0, 0.00, 3.00, 1/1 K/BB in 0.2 IP
(9) Matt Barnes, RHP, Portland -- 1-3, 1.74, 1.21, 30/12 K/BB in 20.2 IP
(11) Brandon Workman, RHP, Portland -- 0-0, 0.00, 1.11, 5/2 K/BB in 6.1 IP
(12) Drake Britton, LHP, Pawtucket/Portland -- 1-1, 3.65, 1.70, 9/4 K/BB in 12.1 IP
(15) Teddy Stankiewicz, RHP, Lowell -- 0-0, 0.00, 0.00, 0/0 K/BB in 3.0 IP
(17) Brian Johnson, LHP, Greenville/GCL -- 0-0, 0.00, 0.43, 16/4 K/BB in 14.0 IP
(18) Alex Wilson, RHP, Pawtucket -- 1-0, 9.00, 3.00, 1/1 K/BB in 1.0 IP
Owens tossed 19.1 consecutive no-hit innings over three starts at the tail end of the month, earning a promotion to Double-A Portland on August 1.... Webster also made 2 starts for Boston in July, posting a 9.72 ERA.... De La Rosa has hit a rough patch over the past month, delaying what seemed to be an inevitable promotion to Boston to help the Red Sox bullpen.... 2013 first-round draft pick Ball made his professional debut on July 29, but was limited to just 2/3 of an inning.... Barnes continues to improve as the season goes on, a contrast to 2012 in which he seemed to hit a wall by mid-season.... Workman also had 4 solid appearances with the big club in July, going 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.... Britton has shown outstanding composure on the mound after a July 14 promotion to Boston, posting a 0.00 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP over 5 appearances.... 2013 second-rounder Stankiewicz made his professional debut with Short-A Lowell on July 21.... Johnson returned from a six-week stint on the disabled list on July 21.... Wilson is in Pawtucket rehabbing from a thumb injury suffered on July 8.
Risers
(21) Ty Buttrey, SP, Lowell -- 2-0, 1.57, 1.22, 15/8 K/BB in 23.0 IP
(23) Alex Hassan, OF, Pawtucket -- .322/.440/.511 with 3 HRs
(32) Wendell Rijo, 2B, GCL Red Sox -- .319/.442/.449 with 0 HRs and 8 SBs
Buttrey, a 2012 fourth-rounder who received a $1.3 million signing bonus, has pitched up to expectations with Lowell, while his fastball velocity has sat at a controlled 89-93 mph.... Hassan, already on Boston's 40-man roster, will likely be a September call-up after posting solid numbers since joining Pawtucket on June 12.... Rijo has been a force as a 17-year-old in the Rookie-Level Gulf Coast League -- he signed as an international free agent for a $575,000 bonus in July 2012.
Fallers
(39) Jose Vinicio, SS, Greenville -- .239/.245/.250 with 0 HRs an 10 SBs
(49) Travis Shaw, 1B, Portland -- .186/.268/.477 with 6 home runs
(NR) Chris Hernandez, P, Pawtucket -- 0-5, 8.34, 2.03, 13/14 K/BB in 22.2 IP
Vinicio is still just 20, but he hasn't shown much improvement after repeating Low-A Greenville in 2013.... Shaw got by on laying off bad pitches at the A-Ball level, but he is rejiggering his approach at Double-A, where opposing pitchers have pitched to contact.... Hernandez's subpar control and velocity have led to poor results in Triple-A.
Monthly notes
As of July 1, here are your batting and pitching leaders in the Red Sox minor league system (cumulative stats, min. 250 plate appearances or 75 innings pitched).
Batting average: Cecchini at .337, Bogaerts at .298, Greenville OF Drew Turocy at .297, Salem 2B Mookie Betts at .284, and Salem OF Keury De La Cruz at .284.
OPS: Cecchini at .957, Bogaerts at .891, Bradley at .868, Betts at .862, and Pawtucket 1B Mark Hamilton at .841.
Home runs: Brentz at 16, Bogaerts at 14, Salem 1B David Chester at 13, Shaw at 13, Portland 3B/1B Michael Almanzar at 12, and Salem OF Henry Ramos at 12.
Stolen bases: Betts at 26, Pawtucket OF Jeremy Hazelbaker at 26, Greenville OF Felix Sanchez at 26, Greenville OF Aneury Tavarez at 21, Cecchini at 20, and Vinicio at 20.
ERA: Owens at 2.92, Ranaudo at 2.95, Workman at 3.21, Greenville LHP Cody Kukuk at 3.65, and Britton at 3.77.
Strikeouts: Owens with 123, Barnes with 113, Workman with 108, Ranaudo with 106, and (former) Greenville RHP Francellis Montas with 96.
WHIP: Ranaudo at 1.09, Owens at 1.14, Workman at 1.19, De La Rosa at 1.36, and Britton at 1.37.
Saves: Pawtucket RHP Anthony Carter with 15, Pawtucket RHP Brock Huntzinger with 13 (saves with Portland), (former) Greenville RHP JB Wendelken with 10, and DSL Red Sox RHP Victor Ramirez with 9.
Eight players got the call to Boston from the minor leagues in July -- IF Brock Holt, RHP Jose De La Torre, LHP Drake Britton, RHP Steven Wright, RHP Pedro Beato, OF Jackie Bradley, RHP Brandon Workman, and RHP Alfredo Aceves.
The Red Sox made four minor-league signings over the past month in RHP Jose Contreras, RHP Brandon Lyon, RHP Bobby Lanigan, and LHP Eric Niesen. The team also signed seven 2013 draft picks in July in RHP Myles Smith, OF Nick Longhi, IF Mauricio Dubon, RHP Pat Goetze, IF Rafael Oliveras, RHP K.J. Trader, and OF Jeff Driskel, and two undrafted free agents in LHP Rob Smorol an C Simon Gravel.
There were several minor-league level promotions in July: RHP Charlie Haeger from Portland to Pawtucket; OF Brandon Jacobs from Salem to Portland (and later traded for Matt Thornton); Betts, LHP Manny Rivera, and RHP Kyle Kraus from Greenville to Salem; IF Reed Gragnani, RHP Jack McGeary, OF Kendrick Perkins, and RHP Kyle Martin from Lowell to Greenville; RHP Carlos Pinales, RHP Daniel McGrath, RHP Joe Gunkel, C Danny Bethea, 1B Nathan Minnich, IF Deiner Lopez, IF Jantzen Witte, OF Aaron King, and OF Jose Colorado from the GCL to Lowell; and RHP Enfember Martinez from the DSL to the GCL.
On the injury front, Boston had Alex Wilson, Franklin Morales, and Stephen Drew all in the minor leagues on rehab assignment at various points in July. Minor leaguers on the disabled list at the close of the month included Aceves, Brentz, RHP Daniel Bard, RHP Chris Balcom-Miller, 3B Kolbrin Vitek, OF Peter Hissey, 2B Sean Coyle, RHP Kyle Stroup, 1B David Renfroe, RHP Nefi Ogando, IF Mike Miller, RHP Pat Light, Turocy, C Jordan Weems, OF Jeremy Kapstein, and Margot.