Devers nearly builds perfect cycle for Salem

Needing the easiest of hits to complete the cycle on Saturday night, Rafael Devers instead showed a maturity at the plate that's not often seen in a player his age.

The second-ranked Red Sox prospect fell a single short of the cycle but went 3-for-3 and reached base five times to spark Class A Advanced Salem to a 5-2 victory at Frederick.

Devers doubled to right field with one out in the first inning, then launched a two-run homer over the wall in right-center in the third. After tripling and scoring again in the fifth, he drew a pair of walks on nine pitches in his final two plate appearances.

"He hit the ball good tonight," Red Sox hitting coach Nelson Paulino said. "He told me the pitch before [the home run] he fouled off to the other way and he was thinking, 'Wow, the pitcher thinks I'm late with my swing and I'm gonna be ready for the fastball.' He was ready for the fastball and it was up in the zone and he was on time and he smacked the ball to center field."

Perhaps the most impressive part of his night was being willing not to lay off bad pitches in pursuit of personal glory.

"When he tried to hit for the cycle, the good sign was he got two walks. He didn't try to force anything," Paulino said. "I talked to him: 'I need one single, focus and keep your approach.' He said, 'OK, don't worry I'll try to do that. But if I don't get a good pitch, I won't swing.' And guess what happened? He showed me he's got a good approach."

After compiling a .584 OPS through the end of May, Devers has seen his bat come to life. The native of the Dominican Republic put together a .313/.352/.386 slash line in June and is 5-for-7 to start July. The power has started to come as well, with nine Devers producing nine of his 20 extra-base hits since June 1.

"Right now, he's confident at the plate," Paulino said. "Day-by-day, he looks much better because he understands what pitch he can handle right now. With him, it's always, I say, try to work inside the baseball. If it's to the pull side, you have to behind the ball and working inside. It's not easy when you start the season hitting .150 and you battle like that. Now the hits are coming when you trust the process."

With fellow top prospects Yoan Moncada and Andrew Benintendi having made the jump from Salem to Double-A, it would be natural to wonder what's next for Devers, but MLB.com's No. 14 overall prospect is focused on the present.

"He's not thinking about that right now," Paulino said. "He tells me when he's ready, OK; but right now, he's not thinking of Double-A."

Mike Meyers drove in two runs and Red Sox No. 16 prospect Wendell Rijo scored twice for Salem. Starter Anyelo LeClerc (1-0) gave up two hits and a walk while striking out four over five shutout innings.

Wynston Sawyer and Conor Bierfeldt hit solo homers for the Keys, with Bierfeldt going yard for the fifth time in his last six games.