Game Photos from 4/29: Stone Crabs vs Cardinals

I finally made it out to my first Stone Crabs game of the season yesterday thanks to the voice of the Stone Crabs, Mr Grant McAuley. Thank-you G. Having been the first time I have seen the 2012 team, I was very impressed with their performance. They remind me alot of the 2009 club, everyone plays their role and as a team, they click together well. Romero was touching mid-90's for most of his pitches and was on-target for the time I was there. Speaking of pitch speed, the new radar gun on the scoreboard is a great addition to the ballpark as well is the LCD screen in Right-Center.

Scores and Highlights from 4/29

Indianapolis Indians 2, Durham Bulls 0
The Bulls fell victim of a no-hitter at the hands of the Indians as they were shut-out 2-0 on Sunday. The Bulls only managed two baserunners in the game, both coming via walks. Dane De La Rosa was the lone bright spot for the Bulls as he threw 2 2/3 no-hit innings of his own, striking out 3 in the process. Alex Cobb took the loss and is now 0-3 on the season.


Birmingham Barons 5, Montgomery Biscuits 3 
For the second consecutive game, the Biscuits ninth inning rally fell short. The Biscuits trailed the entire game but put the tying run at the plate in the ninth but they couldn't push across the runs as they suffered the sweep at the hands of the Barons. Hak-Ju Lee was 2 for 4 on the afternoon. Cole Figueroa drove home two runs and Henry Wrigley pushed across the Biscuits third run. Joe Cruz was the losing pitcher for the Biscuits. Scott Shuman and Neil Schenk each provided no-hit performance from the bullpen.


Palm Beach Cardinals 4, Charlotte Stone Crabs 0
The Stone Crabs found themselves on a losing side of a pitching gem by the Cardinals as they were shut-out 3-0. The Stone Crabs mustered just 4 runs in the game but failed to translate them into runs on the scoreboard. Enny Romero hung tough, throwing four scoreless innings before being tagged for a solo home run in the fifth. The bullpen was responsible for the other two runs.


Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 5, Bowling Green Hot Rods 2
The Hot Rods could not overcome a three run eighth inning by their opponent as they lost Sunday's game against the Timber Rattlers. Matt Rice led the Hot Rods offense by going 2 for 3 with an RBI. On the bases, Taylor Motter collected two stolen bases pushing his total on the year to six. Stayton Thomas was charged with the loss for the Hot Rods.

Minor League Breakdown: The Pitching Prospects

After looking at the hitting prospects in the last (and first) minor league breakdown of the season, I'm today researching the pitching prospects.  

First, I'm looking at the condition of each minor league affiliate. Well, that's not a pretty thing to look at. The Bulls have lost all of their 7 games last week and, overall, 13 in a row. The Biscuits have only won 2 of the last 8 while the Stone Crabs have at least gone 4-4 despite losing their last three games. Even the Hot Rods out of Bowling Green have lost 5 of their last 8. This means that the 4 minor league affiliates combined for a 29% winning percentage with 9 wins and 22 losses since the last minor league breakdown. Here are the numbers per affiliate:

OPS-CH and ERA-CH stands for the OPS and ERA change in the last week.

While the overall offensive outings - with above average offenses in Montgomery and especially Bowling Green - are solid, the pitching looks horrid. The Bulls and the Biscuits are last in their respective leagues according to ERA and the Stone Crabs are not much better (3rd to last).

Prospects stats overview

I've started with the hitting prospects last week in order to let most of the minor league starting pitchers throw in 4+ games. And while most starters now have had 4 or 5 starts, it's still pretty small sample sizes we analyze here. Please keep that in mind. Therefore, I'm only looking at pitchers with at least 15 IP. Here are some trends:

• C.J. Riefenhauser (wow!), Felipe Rivero (VERY solid), Alex Cobb (control worse compared to last years), Ryan Carpenter (low K rate), Grayson Garvin (bad K/BB rate; unlucky so far) and Jake Floethe are the starters with solid starts to the season (and at least 15 IP).
• No improvement upon their control problems: Enny Romero, Chris Archer and Alex Torres, early on, show no progress regarding control and command of their pitches.
• Unlucky pitchers: Grayson Garvin, Chris Archer and Alex Torres are not liked by the luck dragon so far. 

(click on the image for a better view)

Prospects on the rise

1. C.J. Riefenhauser ... Scouts wondered whether his stuff would play as a starter at higher levels. A+ doesn't seem to be a problem.
2. Felipe Rivero ... He lives up to the promise, so far. His K% could be a bit higher, though. 
3. Chris Rearick ... The only minor league pitcher with mind-blowing results, so far. And he was even a tad unlucky!

Prospects falling

1. Alex Torres ... His strong '11 season seems far away. While it's only been 17.1 IP, his complete lack of control is not a good sign.
2. Chris Archer ... Archer hasn't pitched well since a strong first outing of the season. 
3. Scott Shuman ... While it's only 7.1 IP, his '09/'10 seasons look more and more like a fluke. His control is back to his collegiate ways. He has to find the batters box in order to utilize his 99mph heater.

Glossary

All of the stats provided above are excluding the stats from the previous day. I preferrably use FanGraphs as source for the stats. Click on each stat for its explanation:

• Traditional stats: AVG, BB%, K%, K/BB-ratio, HR/9, WHIP and ERA.
• Newer stats: FIP, BABIP and LOB%.

Scores and Highlights from 4/28

Indianapolis Indians 2, Durham Bulls 0
The Bulls and Indians went head to head in a great pitching duel but in the end, it was just one hitter that spelled loss for the Bulls. The Bulls pitching staff held to the Indians to just three hits in the game but it was an RBI triple by Brandon Boggs in the second to break the scoreless tie. Boggs then scored on a sacrifice to account for the only two runs of the contest. As for the Bulls, they managed six hits in the game but could not translate any of those hits into runs on the scoreboard. Chris Archer was charged with the loss and is now 1-4 on the season. Ryan Reid and Cesar Ramos added three scoreless innings to complete the game.


Birmingham Barons 8, Montgomery Biscuits 7
Despite rallying for an early deficit, the Biscuits failed to push across the tying run in the ninth as they lost their fourth consecutive game. The Biscuits kept chipping away at the lead and managed to tie the game by the bottom of the fifth inning. However, the Barons pushed across the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning. That set the tables for the Biscuits in the home half of the inning who could not get tying run home. Henry Wrigley paced the offense, going 2 for 5 with a double and a home run. Hak-Ju Lee was also 2 for 5 with 2 RBI's. Cole Figueroa singled in the fifth to extend his on-base streak to 24 games. Kirby Yates pitched 2 no-hit innings with 3 strikeouts. Adam Liberatore surrendered the run in the ninth and was charged with the loss.


Palm Beach Cardinals 2, Charlotte Stone Crabs 1
The Stone Crabs bullpen could not hold a slim one run lead as they fell to the Cardinals 2-1. The Stone Crabs broke the scoreless tie in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Ty Morrison. But the Cardinals tagged Jimmy Patterson with 2 runs in the late innings, earning him a loss and a blown save. Starter Grayson Garvin turned in his best start of the season, pitching six scoreless innings before exiting the game. As for the Stone Crabs offense, both Hector Guevara and Mikie Mahtook delivered multiple hits, both going 2 for 4. Robby Price had the lone extra base hit, a double.



Bowling Green Hot Rods 6, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 0
On a chilly night in Wisconsin, the Hot Rods pitching staff turned up the heat as they combined for a complete game shut-out. Both teams dueled through six scoreless innings before the Hot Rods offense struck for two runs in the seventh. The Hot Rods added four more in the ninth to earn the win and break the losing skid. The offense was spread among most of the starting lineup with all of the starters reaching base at least once. Jake Hager drove home two runs with Jeff Malm, Taylor Motter, Alejandro Segovia and Tyler Goeddel driving home the other runs. Motter also hit a double while Malm struck a triple for the Hot Rods extra base hits. As for pitching, Trevor Shull and Jacob Partridge each pitched four scoreless innings while Austin Hubbard through a shut-out ninth to round out the contest. Partridge earned the win and is now 3-0 on the season.

Rays Organization Attendance

Team, league, number of home games, average attendance, rank in league, stadium capacity, attendance as a percentage of capacity.

Team           League           G     Avg    LgRank  Capacity  %Cap
Tampa Bay      American         9  24,511    8th/14    36,048   68%
Durham         International    8   5,980    5th/14    10,000   60%
Montgomery     Southern        12   4,600    2nd/10     7,000   66%
Charlotte      Florida State   10   1,985    3rd/12     6,823   29%
Bowling Green  Midwest         12   3,382    4th/16     4,559   74%
Hudson Valley  New York-Penn    0       0    -th/14     4,494    -%
Princeton      Appalachian      0       0    -th/10     3,000    -%

For comparison, here were the final figures from 2011:

Team           League           G     Avg    LgRank  Capacity  %Cap
Tampa Bay      American        81  18,878   13th/14    36,048   52%
Durham         International   71   6,517    8th/14    10,000   65%
Montgomery     Southern        68   3,771    4th/10     7,000   54%
Charlotte      Florida State   67   2,483    2nd/12     6,823   36%
Bowling Green  Midwest         67   3,538    9th/16     4,559   78%
Hudson Valley  New York-Penn   33   4,523    5th/14     4,494  101%
Princeton      Appalachian     34     814    7th/10     3,000   27%

And from 2010:

Team           League           G     Avg    LgRank  Capacity  %Cap
Tampa Bay      American        81  22,758    9th/14    36,048   64%
Durham         International   71   7,043    8th/14    10,000   70%
Montgomery     Southern        67   4,027    3rd/10     7,000   58%
Charlotte      Florida State   64   2,679    1st/12     6,823   39%
Bowling Green  Midwest         67   3,514    9th/16     4,559   77%
Hudson Valley  New York-Penn   36   4,415    5th/14     4,494   98%
Princeton      Appalachian     31     869    6th/10     3,000   29%

And from 2009:

Team           League           G     Avg    LgRank  Capacity  %Cap
Tampa Bay      American        81  23,147   11th/14    36,048   64%
Durham         International   72   6,783    8th/14    10,000   68%
Montgomery     Southern        66   4,043    3rd/10     7,000   58%
Charlotte      Florida State   60   2,855    1st/12     6,823   42%
Bowling Green  South Atlantic  66   3,530    8th/16     4,559   77%
Hudson Valley  New York-Penn   35   4,609    5th/14     4,494  103%
Princeton      Appalachian     28     927    7th/10     3,000   31%

Draft Notes: Pierce Johnson & Andrew Heaney

Two quick notes from Jim Callis' chat on Wednesday:

@Jaypers413 (IL): Is Pierce Johnson a potential 1st rounder in your opinion?
Jim Callis: I think he'll be a first-rounder if he stays healthy down the stretch. Strong return vs. Wichita State was a positive sign.

Pierce Johnson was a favorite of mine going into the 2009 draft; I listed him as a round 2-4 candidate. He wound up slipping to the 15th round because he missed a lot of the spring with a broken hand, so teams didn't get many looks at him. The Rays selected him in the 15th round but couldn't sign him. I'm not sure what sort of money he was looking for, but 20th-rounder (and another likely top-5 round pick) Dylan Floro was looking for $450,000 but was only offered $280,000. If the Rays were close to that on Johnson, it's disappointing not to get that done as he looks like a first rounder now.

Johnson has made eight starts spanning 55.1 innings for Missouri State, posting a 2.28 ERA and 80 strikeouts against 19 walks. A bout of forearm soreness caused him to miss two starts and is worth monitoring, but he was strong (nine strikeouts, no walks in 6 innings) in his return against Wichita State. Assuming continued health and performance, Johnson is a sure-fire first rounder. 6-2/165 back in 2009, he's fulfilled the projectability and grown to an ideal 6-3/180.

Casey (CA): Is Heaney at #11 an overdraft? what about Fontana or Jankowski at #34?
Jim Callis: On Heaney, not for a team that wants a college starter. I'm not as high on Fontana and Jankowski as others are.

That's Andrew Heaney, a LHP from Oklahoma State. He was also the Rays' 24th round pick in 2009 as a high schooler, ranked #15 in the state of Oklahoma by BA. While he wasn't a truly elite talent then, he wasn't considered signable with his Oklahoma State commitment. After two middling seasons as a freshman and a sophomore (5.16 and 4.03 ERAs, 106-47 K-BB in 133 innings), he's had a breakthrough spring in 2012. In 10 starts spanning 75.2 innings, he's got a 2.02 ERA and a 94-16 K-BB while holding opponents to a .201 batting average. He has an easy delivery and has shored up his curveball and change-up and looks like a potential first-rounder.

O'Conner May Not Catch This Season

After taking OF Josh Sale with pick #17, the Rays drafted catcher Justin O'Conner with their second pick in the first round in 2010, #31 overall. The O'Conner pick was compensation for not signing LeVon Washington in the 2009 draft.

Both Sale and O'Conner have struggled offensively since joining the organization, but O'Conner at least played an important defensive position, giving him value as a prospect even if he never reached his projected offensive ceiling.

Entering 2012 O'Conner only has a .183 career batting average over 2 seasons with the GCL Rays and the Princeton Rays, but he did show some pop last year in Princeton with 9 home runs in 178 at-bats. Unfortunately he also had the third-worst strikeout rate in the minors last year.

O'Conner has also battled a series of injuries, including arm and hip problems, but was reportedly healthy heading into 2012, ranking 28th in our Top 30 Rays Prospects. Now Thomas St. Myer reports that O'Conner may not be able to catch at all this season due to another hip injury suffered in spring training:

He felt a sharp pain in his left hip, eerily similar to what he felt in his right hip nearly two years ago.

"The same doctor who performed my hip surgery took a look, and he said, it was kind of the earlier stages of what was wrong with my right one, so he told me to just start taking it easy, so that's what I've been doing," O'Conner said.
...
"I'm probably not going to catch for the rest of the year," O'Conner said. "I just don't know."

Here are his career hitting stats:

Year   Age      Team  AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS
2010    18  GCL Rays 161 18 34 13  0  3  29  1  0 18  46 .211 .301 .348 .649
2011    19 Princeton 178 18 28  8  0  9  29  4  1 17  78 .157 .234 .354 .587
2 Seasons            339 36 62 21  0 12  58  5  1 35 124 .183 .266 .351 .617

Minor League Breakdown: The Hitting Prospects

The new season has started and lots of the hitting prospects have 40 or more PA's under their belt. This means, that it's time to look at their stats for the first time. Don't forget, though, that the sample sizes are extremely small. Therefore, I'm also only talking about prospects who at least have had 40 PA's so far.

Overall, the hitting prospects are doing much, much better than the pitching prospects. With the exeption of Bowling Green, every pitching staff is ranked in the bottom 4th of all teams in their leagues. The Rays prospects are doing better on the other side of the ball. The Bulls are below average, though, while having been one of the best offenses over the last couple of years. The Biscuits are about league average while the Stone Crabs' offense is below average. The Hot Rods, on the other side, boost the 2nd best offense in the young season. They have 9 players with a wOBA higher than .350 (min. 25 PA's) and with Tyler Goeddel the 4th best offensive player (according to wOBA; min. 30 PA's) in the Midwest League.

Durham Bulls: 6-11 | .678 OPS (9th of 14) | 5.98 ERA (14th of 14)
Montgomery Biscuits: 8-9 | .691 OPS (6th of 10) | 4.27 ERA (10th of 10)
Charlotte Stone Crabs: 7-8 | .644 OPS (8th of 12) | 3.80 ERA (9th of 12)
Bowling Green Hot Rods: 11-5 | .752 OPS (2nd of 16) | 2.63 ERA (2nd of 16)

Prospects stats overview

Some prospects look like superstars right now, while some look like total busts. That is what small sample sizes do to player analysis. Nevertheless, some trends can and should be recognized ... and they all open up some questions: Should Brandon Guyer, Henry Wrigley and Cole Figueroa have started into the season one level higher? Can most of the younger prospects in Bowling Green even improve upon their promising starts when the season goes on (Tyler Goeddel, Ryan Brett, Juniel Querecuto, Drew Vettleson)? Are Mike Sheridan (shows some power and contact) and Henry Wrigley (where does this plate discipline come from?) putting it together? Can Hak-Ju Lee, Mikie Mahtook and Tim Beckham improve upon their rough starts?

 

(click on the image for a better view)

Prospects on the rise

1. Tyler Goeddel ... 19 years young. No pro experience before this season. And while the BABIP is very high, the BB/K ratio (0.15) is very low and the sample size is very small, he does look promising.
2. Henry Wrigley ... The plate discipline is much, much better than in recent years (16.4 BB% in '12 vs. 4.6BB% in '11). And his BABIP even indicates that he hasn't been lucky so far, either. If he keeps this pace up, he has to be moved to Durham within the next one or two months.
3. Cole Figueroa ... He shows that he should've been assigned to AAA at the beginning of the season.

Prospects to be falling

1. Hak-Ju Lee ... While it's too early to panic, his very low contact rate is very alarming.
2. Mark Thomas ... Bad plate discipline. Doesn't put the ball in play. Lets hope he hasn't hit the AA wall.

Glossary

All of the stats provided above are excluding the stats from the previous day. I preferrably use FanGraphs as source for the stats. Click on each stat for its explanation:

• Traditional stats: AVG, OBP, OPS, BB% and K%.
• Newer stats: ISO, wOBA, wRAA, BABIP and Spd.

Future Considerations Podcast (Episode 20: Hot & Cold Prospect Starts, Matt Moore's Early Struggles, AL East)

This week, Scott and Kevin run down some hot and cold starts among the Rays' prospect ranks and whether or not we should be concerned about the cold. After the break, they discuss Matt Moore's early-season struggles and take a quick look at the AL East so far.

Questions or comments? E-mail podcast@raysprospects.com

Music is from Isle of Q

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Wednesday Wrapup, Thursday Open Thread

Durham Bulls 3 -at- Charlotte Knights 4

- The Bulls fall to 1-6 on their current 14-game road trip.

- Durham is 5-2 at home and 1-6 on the road.

- The Bulls had no extra-base hits in the game, only 8 singles.

- DH Leslie Anderson was 1-2 with 2 walks and an RBI. That extends Anderson's hitting streak to 14 games dating back to September 2nd of last season. This season he's 20-43, a .465 batting average.

- CF Jesus Feliciano was 1-4, extending his hit streak to 10 games.

- SS Tim Beckham was 0-4 with a walk and a run scored. He's now hitting .216 on the year.

- RF Brandon Guyer was 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored, raising his average 44 points to .235.

- Catcher Nevin Ashley was 0-3 with a walk.

- Starter Chris Archer gave up 4 ER in 4.0 innings on 4 hits and 4 walks with only 1 strikeout. He threw 88 pitches, 49 for strikes. Season ERA = 9.95.

- After Archer came Ryan Reid with 3.0 scoreless and Josh Lueke with a shutout 8th, lowering his ERA to 22.50.

- Current standings for the Bulls and the rest of the organization are on the right sidebar once all of tonight's games are finished.

Thursday starter: RH Matt Torra. Projected for the rest of the week: Friday - RH Alex Cobb, Saturday - LH Alex Torres.


Montgomery Biscuits 1 -vs- Mobile Bay Bears 3 -- Game 1

- Each team only managed 2 hits.

- RF Henry Wrigley was 1-3 with a double, driving in Cole Figueroa with the only Biscuits run.

- Montgomery's other hit was a single by 1B Mike Sheridan, who was 1-2 with a walk.

- 2B Tyler Bortnick had 0 ABs but reached base 3 times - 2 walks and a HBP.

- The Biscuits committed 2 errors - Sheridan and SS Hak-Ju Lee.

- Lee was 0-3 at the plate, now batting .192.

- B.J. Upton played CF in game 1 and was 0-3.

- Starter Kyle Lobstein went 5.2 innings and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits (1 HR) and 5 walks with 7 strikeouts. His ERA after 3 starts is 2.76.

- RH Kirby Yates closed out the 7-inning game with 1.2 innings, getting charged with an unearned run.

Thursday starter: RH Jake Thompson. Projected for the rest of the week: Friday - the newest Rays player, RH Matt Buschmann, Saturday - RH Shane Dyer, who was moved back a day due to the groin injury last Sunday.


Montgomery Biscuits 6 -vs- Mobile Bay Bears 2 -- Game 2


- Henry Wrigley hit his 5th home run of the season.

- David Wendt was 2-3 with 2 RBI and Omar Luna went 2-3 with an RBI.

- B.J. Upton went 0-3 before being pinch-hit for.

- Hak-Ju Lee was 1-4

- Cole Figueroa was 1-3 with a doub;e

- Joseph Cruz allowed 2 runs on 2 hits -- both solo HRs -- in 5.2 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 3.

- Adam Liberatore pitched 1.1 scoreless with a strikeout. Only baserunner allowed was a HBP who was erased on a double play.



Charlotte Stone Crabs -vs- Nobody

- Off day.

- Steaks to watch on Thursday: Charlotte has lost 3 in a row. 3B Riccio Torrez has an 11-game hitting streak, longest in the Florida State League. He's batting .283.

Thursday starter: RH Albert Suarez. Projected for the rest of the week: Friday - LH Braulio Lara, Saturday - RH Wilking Rodriguez.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 5 -vs- Great Lakes Loons 4

- The Hot Rods had no extra-base hits but managed 5 runs on 7 singles and 5 walks.

- 2B Ryan Brett was 2-4 with 2 runs scored, boosting his average to .302.

- RF Drew Vettleson was 2-4 with an RBI and 2 stolen bases.

- 3B Tyler Goeddel was 2-4 with a stolen base. He's batting .385.

- SS Juniel Querecuto was 1-2 with a walk.

- All the other Hot Rods were hitless, but both 1B Cameron Seitzer and DH Alejandro Torres walked twice.

- Starter Parker Markel had a perfect game through 10 batters but was roughed up the second time through the Loons order. He gave up all 4 Loons runs in the 4th inning. In all he pitched 6.0 innings and only allowed the 4 runs on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts and no walks. His ERA is 4.50.

- Jacob Partridge pitched 2 shutout for the win and Austin Hubbard had a scoreless 9th for his 3rd save.

- The Hot Rods are now 4-2 at home and 5-2 on the road.

- Attendance in Bowling Green was 3,743.

Thursday starter: LH Ryan Carpenter. Projected for the rest of the week: Friday - RH Roberto Gomez, Saturday - RH Jake Floethe.


Today's moves: Signed RHP Lance Pendleton, pending a physical.

Rays Sign Pitcher

The Tampa Bay Rays have signed RHP Lance Pendleton pending a physical. The 28 year-old was in spring training with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League when he was seen by a scout in the Houston area and signed. Pendleton was scheduled to be the Skeeters opening day starter according to Skeeters Manager Gary Gaetti. More from the team release:

“This is what we play for,” Pendleton said about getting signed. “The arm is healthy, and I feel ready to contribute in whatever way they decide to use me. Whether I come out of the bullpen or start in the rotation, I will be full-strength.”

Pendleton, a Kingwood native and Rice University graduate, participated in two practices and one exhibition game during spring training with the Skeeters. Originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2005 MLB Draft, he spent the majority of his first six years within the New York Yankees organization.
...
After spending the majority of 2011 with the Yankees, Pendleton was designated for assignment by the club and claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros in September 2011. At the start of spring training for the 2012 season, Pendleton signed a minor league contract with the Astros to join the club in Kissimmee, Florida. He was released by the Astros on March 30, 2012, as a free agent.

Here are his career minor league stats, all in the Yankees organization:

Year   Age         Team    Lev  W  L  ERA   G GS    IP HR  BB  SO  WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2005    21 StatenIsland     A-  1  0 2.33   9  6  27.0  1  13  23 1.481 9.0  0.3  4.3  7.7
2006    22 Did not play 
2007    23      Yankees     Rk  0  0 4.61   8  6  13.2  1   6  16 1.463 9.2  0.7  4.0 10.5
2008    24   Charleston      A  7  9 3.52  28 23 128.0  3  46 119 1.422 9.6  0.2  3.2  8.4
2009    25        Tampa     A+ 11  5 2.58  20 18 104.2  1  31  87 1.261 8.7  0.1  2.7  7.5
2009    25      Trenton     AA  1  3 4.47   8  8  44.1  4  15  43 1.241 8.1  0.8  3.0  8.7
2010    26      Trenton     AA 10  4 3.43  23 22 120.2  9  45 111 1.160 7.1  0.7  3.4  8.3
2010    26 Scranton/W-B    AAA  2  1 4.24   6  5  34.0  6  12  22 1.206 7.7  1.6  3.2  5.8
2011    27 Scranton/W-B    AAA  3  4 3.10  18 10  66.2  7  24  45 1.230 7.8  0.9  3.2  6.1
6 Seasons                      35 26 3.36 120 98 539.0 32 192 466 1.284 8.3  0.5  3.2  7.8

And here are his major league stats from last year:

Year   Age Team Lg W L   ERA  G GS   IP HR BB SO ERA+  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2011    27  NYY AL 0 0  3.21 11  0 14.0  2 10  8  141 1.429  6.4  1.3  6.4  5.1
2011    27  HOU NL 0 0 17.36  4  0  4.2  4  1  5   24 2.357 19.3  7.7  1.9  9.6
1 Yr               0 0  6.75 15  0 18.2  6 11 13   66 1.661  9.6  2.9  5.3  6.3

He has yet to be assigned to an affiliate, but I will guess he's headed to Durham to take the rotation spot vacated by Bryan Augenstein going on the DL. Jhonny Nunez has filled in twice through the rotation, but only lasted 3.0 innings each time, creating a burden on the bullpen.

Tuesday Wrapup, Wednesday Open Thread

Durham Bulls 2 -at- Charlotte Knights 3

- The Bulls fall to 1-5 on their current 14-game road trip.

- Durham is 5-2 at home and 1-5 on the road.

- Leslie Anderson was 3-4 with a double and a run scored. That extends Anderson's hitting streak to 13 games dating back to September 2nd of last season. This season he's 19-41, a .463 batting average.

- RF Jeff Salazar was 0-3 with a sacrifice and 3 strikeouts, ending his 6-game hitting streak.

- CF Jesus Feliciano was 1-4, extending his hit streak to 9 games.

- SS Tim Beckham was 1-3 (triple) with a walk, now hitting .234 on the year.

- CF Brandon Guyer was 1-4 with a double, raising his average to .191.

- Catcher Craig Albernaz was 0-2 and remains hitless on the season (7 ABs over 4 games).

- LF Kyle Hudson stole a base and Anderson was caught stealing, giving the Bulls 7 SB and 8 CS on the year.

- Ex-Rays on the Knights: DH Dan Johnson was 0-2 with 2 walks, C Hector Gimenez was 0-3 with a walk, and SS Ray Olmedo was 3-3 with 2 doubles.

- Starter Jhonny Nunez only lasted 3.0 innings, giving up 2 ER on 3 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in his 2nd fill-in start of the year. He needed 70 pitches to get those 9 outs, 40 for strikes.

- After Nunez came Cesar Ramos with 1.2 scoreless, Romulo Sanchez who allowed 1 run in 1.2 and took the loss, and John Gaub, who finished things off with a hitless, scoreless 1.2 innings and 3 strikeouts.

- Current standings for the Bulls and the rest of the organization are on the right sidebar once all of tonight's games are finished.

Wednesday starter at Charlotte: RH Chris Archer. Projected for the rest of the week: Thursday - RH Matt Torra, Friday - RH Alex Cobb, Saturday - LH Alex Torres.


Montgomery Biscuits -vs- Mobile Bay Bears

- Rained out. Double-header on Wednesday.

- B.J. Upton is scheduled to play in both games on Wednesday, in the outfield in game 1 and at DH in game 2. If all goes well he should be finished with his rehab assignment with the Biscuits.

Wednesday starters vs Mobile: LH Kyle Lobstein and RH Joseph Cruz. Projected for the rest of the week: Thursday - RH Jake Thompson, Friday - the newest Rays player, RH Matt Buschmann, Saturday - RH Shane Dyer, who was moved back a day due to the groin injury on Sunday.


Charlotte Stone Crabs 1 -vs- St. Lucie Mets 6

- After only 4 hits Monday night the Stone Crabs were held to a mere 3 hits on Tuesday, all singles. SS Derek Dietrich was 1-3 with a walk, 1B Phil Wunderlich was 1-3 with a walk, and 3B Robby Price was 1-3 with a walk.

- Everyone else in the lineup was hitless: DH Ty Morrison, 2B Hector Guevara, CF Mikie Mahtook and C Mayo Acosta were all 0-4; RF Kevin Kiermaier was 0-3; and LF Cody Rogers was 0-2 with a walk.

- Starter Enny Romero went 5.0 and allowed 3 ER on 4 hits (all 4 were doubles) and a walk while striking out 5. His ERA stands at 3.75 and he has 14 strikeouts and 10 walks in 12.0 innings over 3 starts.

- RH George Jensen followed with 2 shutout innings. LH Chris Rearick pitched the final 2 innings and was charged with 3 unearned runs in the 9th due to an error by SS Derek Dietrich.

- DH Ty Morrison and RF Kevin Kiermaier each stole a base and 3B Robby Price was caught stealing. The Stone Crabs now have an even 12 SB and 12 CS this season.

- Riccio Torrez took the night off, leaving his 11-game hitting streak, longest in the Florida State League, intact until Thursday evening. He's batting .283.

- Charlotte has lost 3 in a row.

- The Stone Crabs are 4-3 at home and 2-3 on the road.

- Attendance in Charlotte was 1,533.

Wednesday starter: Off day. Projected for the rest of the week: Thursday - RH Albert Suarez, Friday - LH Braulio Lara, Saturday - RH Wilking Rodriguez.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 0 -vs- Great Lakes Loons 1

- After setting franchise records with 22 runs, 23 hits and 6 home runs on Sunday, the Hot Rods have been held to 9 hits the past 2 nights (4 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday). Unlike Monday's comeback win in the bottom of the 9th, Bowling Green was shut out on Tuesday, ending their 6-game win streak.

- All 5 hits tonight were singles: 3B Taylor Motter, LF Todd Glaesmann, and 1B Cameron Seitzer were each 1-4; and CF Joel Caminero and C Alejandro Segovia were both 1-3.

- RF Drew Vettleson was 0-3 with a walk, DH Jeff Malm was 0-2 with a walk and a HBP, and SS Jake Hager and 2B Juniel Querecuto were each 0-3.

- Starter Felipe Rivero went 6.0 innings, allowing only an unearned run on 3 hits with 7 strikeouts and no walks. Rivero threw 78 pitches, 55 for strikes. Rivero has yet to allow an earned run in 17.0 innings over 3 starts. He has struck out 16 and only walked one batter this season.

- RH Stayton Thomas replaced Rivero and pitched 2 shutout innings, followed by RH Charlie Cononie with a scoreless 9th.

- The Hot Rods are 3-2 at home and 5-2 on the road.

- Attendance in Bowling Green was 2,306.

Wednesday starter: RH Parker Markel. Projected for the rest of the week: Thursday - LH Ryan Carpenter, Friday - RH Roberto Gomez, Saturday - RH Jake Floethe.


Today's moves: The Hot Rods placed OF Kes Carter on the 7-day DL with a hamstring and added catcher Alejandro Torres.

Ex-Rays news: LHP Michael Jarman has signed with the Lincoln SaltDogs of the American Association. OF Nick Schwaner signed with the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League. OF John Shelby signed with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League. And IF/OF Anthony Scelfo has signed with the Laredo Lemurs of the American Association.

Monday Wrapup, Tuesday Open Thread

Durham Bulls 2 -at- Charlotte Knights 14

- The Bulls only managed 2 runs on 11 hits, led by 1B Leslie Anderson going 3-4. That extends Anderson's hitting streak to 13 games dating back to September 2nd of last season. He's batting .432 this season.

- The only extra-base hit was a double by DH Jeff Salazar, who was 1-3 and now has a 6-game hitting streak.

- CF Brandon Guyer was 1-4 with a strikeout, raising his season average to .186.

- C Nevin Ashley was 2-4 and is now batting .321.

- RF Jesus Feliciano had 2 hits, extending his streak to 8 games.

- 3B Matt Mangini had the only error, his second in two days.

- Tim Beckham did not play.

- Starter Alex Torres only lasted 3.1 innings, giving up 6 ER on 4 hits and 7 walks with 5 strikeouts. For the season his ERA sits at 6.36 with 14 walks 12.2 innings.

- After Torres came Marquis Fleming who allowed 3 ER in 2.2 IP, and Josh Lueke who gave up 5 ER in 1.0. DDLR finished things off with a hitless, scoreless 8th.

- The Bulls pitchers threw 190 pitches in 8 innings. Pitches-strikes breakdown: Torres 93-47, Fleming 55-32, Lueke 36-18, De La Rosa 6-6. Overall that's just 103 strikes in 190 pitches, or 54% strikes.

- Current standings for the Bulls and the rest of the organization are on the right sidebar.

Tuesday starter at Charlotte: RH Jhonny Nunez in Bryan Augenstein's #3 spot. Projected for the rest of the week: Wednesday - RH Chris Archer, Thursday - RH Matt Torra, Friday - RH Alex Cobb, Saturday - LH Alex Torres.


Montgomery Biscuits 8 -vs- Mobile Bay Bears 7

- RF (yes) Henry Wrigley led the offense with a home run, a double, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored in 5 ABs. His grounder brought home Hak-Ju Lee with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th. He now has 4 HRs and one double on the year.

- SS Hak-Ju Lee was 1-4 with a walk, now batting .204 on the season.

- CF B.J. Upton made his Montgomery debut in style, singling home the tying run in the 9th. He was 2-4 with a walk for the game.

- 3B Cole Figueroa was 1-4 with a walk, lowering his season average to .340.

- 2B Tyler Bortnick was 0-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. He's batting .213.

- DH Kyeong Kang was 1-4 with an RBI and stole a base. He's batting .136.

- Starter Frank De Los Santos threw 4.0 shutout innings before giving way to newcomer RH Matt Buschmann who allowed 5 ER in 2.2. LH Adam Liberatore gave up 2 more runs in the final 2.1 innings but picked up the win.

- Attendance for the second home game of the season was 1,591, down from 6,308 for the opener on Sunday.

Tuesday starter vs Mobile: LH Kyle Lobstein. Projected for the rest of the week: Wednesday - RH Joseph Cruz, Thursday - RH Jake Thompson, Friday - the newest Rays player, RH Matt Buschmann, Saturday - RH Shane Dyer, who was moved back a day due to the groin injury on Sunday.


Charlotte Stone Crabs 0 -vs- St. Lucie Mets 2

- Charlotte batters only saw 74 pitches tonight, and it was the first time they have been shut out this season.

- The Stone Crabs only managed 4 hits in the game, a double by C Mayo Acosta and singles by RF Ty Morrison, 3B Riccio Torrez, and 1B Phil Wunderlich.

- Starter Grayson Garvin took the loss going 5.0 and allowing 3 hits, 2 ER and a walk while striking out 5. Both runs came in his last inning of work, the 5th.

- LH C.J. Riefenhauser finished out with 4.0 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks (1 intentional) and striking out 4.

- Riccio Torrez and Phil Wunderlich each stole a base. The Stone Crabs now have 10 SB and 11 CS this season.

- Torrez now has a hit in all 11 Charlotte games this season. He's batting .283.

- Nearly as good, Morrison has a hit in 8 of his 9 games and is batting .306.

- SS Derek Dietrich was 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. He's batting .289.

- One error tonight, Torrez' 1st of the year.

- Attendance in Charlotte was 899.

Tuesday starter vs St. Lucie: LH Enny Romero. Projected for the rest of the week: Wednesday - Off day, Thursday - RH Albert Suarez, Friday - LH Braulio Lara, Saturday - RH Wilking Rodriguez.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 2 -vs- Great Lakes Loons 1

- After setting franchise records with 22 runs, 23 hits and 6 home runs on Sunday, the Hot Rods won their 6th straight with 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th.

- Like the Stone Crabs, the Hot Rods only managed 4 hits on the night: a triple by LF Todd Glaesmann, a double by SS Jake Hager, and singles by 1B Jeff Malm and DH Taylor Motter.

- Hager's walkoff double in the bottom of the 9th drove in both Bowling Green runs. He was 1-3 with a walk and is now hitting .265 on the year.

- 2B Ryan Brett was 0-3 with a walk, .282 on the season.

- RF Drew Vettleson was 0-4, now with a .263 average.

- Glaesmann was 1-4, Malm was 1-3 with a HBP, and Motter was 1-2 with a walk.

- 3B Tyler Goeddel was 0-3 with 2 strikeouts, dropping his average to .371.

- Starter Jake Floethe went 6.0 allowing only an unearned run on 3 hits with 2 strikeouts and a walk. Floethe threw 77 pitches, 55 for strikes. After 3 starts his ERA is 0.56.

- RH Jason McEachern got the win with 3.0 scoreless, hitless innings.

- Attendance in Bowling Green was 2,782.

- Per Micheal Compton, OF Kes Carter hasn't played since 2 ABs on Friday due to a hamstring tweak, remains day-to-day.

- Micheal also has quotes from Jake Hager and Manager Brady Williams about tonight's game HERE.

Tuesday starter vs Great Lakes: LH Felipe Rivero. Projected for the rest of the week: Wednesday - RH Parker Markel, Thursday - LH Ryan Carpenter, Friday - RH Roberto Gomez, Saturday - RH Jake Floethe.


Today's moves: LH Adam Liberatore and RH Jim Paduch were sent from Durham to Montgomery, OF Isaias Velasquez was put on the Montgomery DL after a fly ball to the face on Sunday, Alex Cobb back to Durham from Tampa, RH Brandon Gomes to Tampa from Durham, and CIF/COF Steve Tinoco activated by Charlotte.

On the Depth Chart the Montgomery roster shows as 27, 2 over the limit, but B.J. Upton doesn't count since he's on MLB rehab and Paduch hasn't been officially activated yet because he pitched in Durham on Sunday. So they really are at 25, but I didn't have any more room in the DL/RES area for Paduch.

Matt Moore & Pitch-Tipping (Revisited)

So there's some concern that Matt Moore was tipping his pitches in his game yesterday against the Red Sox. Check out these quotes:

"We were trying to think of anything that he might be doing to tip his pitches, and we were talking about he might be tapping his glove on his fastball or something like that," [Chris] Gimenez said. "I didn't see that, but Hick did." 

After the game, Hickey said their concerns were alleviated because video showed it was more a matter of bad location on Moore's pitches than anything else. 

And Moore said he was confident there was no issue with tipping off the hitter -- "I don't think so at all" -- and had not been in the past. "Not that I've been told," he said. "Maybe years ago when I was in rookie ball or something like that. But not as far as I can remember."

I'm at work so I can't go back and watch the video of the game, but this stuff aligns with what I found last year regarding Moore's glove-tapping. The short-story version is that he tended to sort of pump the ball into his glove before throwing a fastball, but his hand remained still on curveballs. Check out the links to last year's stuff to read more (again, I'm at work, so I'm hoping the videos still work).

When I get home, I'll take a look at yesterday's game and see if I notice the same sort of thing happening. Jim Hickey says the tape doesn't show anything, and frankly Moore wasn't locating his fastball anyway, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox were just crushing mistakes. But it's still worth checking out.

Sunday Wrapup, Monday Open Thread

Durham Bulls 5 -at- Gwinnett Braves 1

- Only extra-base hit was a double by C Nevin Ashley, who was 1-3 with a walk and 2 RBI.

- SS Tim Beckham was 1-5 with a strikeout, now hitting .227.

- RF Brandon Guyer was 1-4 with a sacrifice and 2 RBI, hitting .179 on the season.

- RH Jim Paduch made the start after being called up from Montgomery to replace Alex Cobb. His line: 3.0 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. Paduch and LH Adam Liberatore will rejoin the Biscuits on Monday.

- Only error was by 3B Matt Mangini, his first of the year.

- Current standings for the Bulls and the rest of the organization are on the right sidebar.

Monday starter at Charlotte: LH Alex Torres. Not sure who will start Tuesday in Bryan Augenstein's #3 spot, Ryan Reid threw 28 pitches over 2+ innings on Sunday (and got the win).


Montgomery Biscuits 3 -vs- Mobile Bay Bears 11

- Montgomery was the last team in MILB to have their home opener (others were Sunday too, but Biscuits started latest).

- Starter Shane Dyer only lasted 1 inning due to a groin injury, giving up 3 ER on 3 hits and a walk.

- Of the 5 Biscuits pitchers on Sunday, only Greg Sexton didn't allow a run. The 27 year-old third baseman made his professional pitching debut to close out the rout, going 2.0 IP and only allowing 1 hit while striking out 1.

- SS Hak-Ju Lee ended his slump going 2-4 with a walk, raising his average to .200.

- C David Wendt was also 2-4, with a run scored and an RBI.

- 3B Cole Figueroa continued to hit, 1-3 (triple) and a walk, now batting .349.

- DH Henry Wrigley was 0-2 with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. He's hitting .211 on the year.

- After RF Isaias Velasquez left with an injury, Kyeong Kang replaced him and hit a 2-run HR in the 9th inning, lifting his average to .111.

- More on the injuries: Velasquez was hit in the head by a fly ball and taken to the hospital, Dyer is day-to-day with the groin, and Omar Luna injured his shoulder in a collision at 2B.

- Top pitching prospect Trevor Bauer started for the Bay Bears and held the Biscuits to 1 run over five innings, but did walk 5 Biscuits while only striking out 2.

- Attendance for the home opener was 6,308.

Monday starter: Unknown. This is Alex Colome's #2 spot, which was to be filled by RH Jim Paduch, who was called up for an emergency start in Durham to replace Alex Cobb, who was called up to Tampa to...


Charlotte Stone Crabs 4 -vs- St. Lucie Mets 6

- All 4 Charlotte runs came with 2 outs in the 1st inning off St. Lucie starter Angel Cuan.

- 1B Phil Wunderlich hit a HR. It was only the 2nd HR of the year for the Stone Crabs (Riccio Torrez had the 1st).

- CF Mikie Mahtook was 0-5, now at .250 on year.

- 3B Riccio Torrez was 1-4, has a hit in all 10 games this year.

- SS Derek Dietrich was 3-4, now hitting .314.

- 2B Hector Guevara was 1-4 and is hitting .324. He was also caught stealing. The Stone Crabs now have 8 SB and 11 CS this season.

- RH Wilking Rodriguez had a nice start: 5.2 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. His ERA is now 2.61.

- Eliazer Suero relieved Wilking and took the loss with 4 ER in 1.1 IP.

- Attendance in Charlotte was 975.

Monday starter vs St. Lucie: LH Grayson Garvin.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 22 -at- Lake County Captains 12

- The wind was blowing out in NE Ohio and the Hot Rods set new franchise records with 22 runs, 23 hits and 6 home runs.

- A combined 34 runs were scored yet the game only lasted 3 hours and 9 minutes. Also, there were no errors.

- The only pitcher on either team (out of 8) who didn't allow a run was Jacob Partridge, who faced only 3 batters (walking one) but was awarded the win for the Hot Rods.

- I'll touch on some highlights, but it's probably best to just look at the box score yourself.

- The Hot Rods only had hit 2 HRs all season entering Sunday. Sunday's six home runs: 2 by 3B Tyler Goeddel, others by DH Ryan Brett, RF Todd Glaesmann, LF Jeff Malm, and Drew Vettleson (his 1st extra-base hit of the season).

- Glaesmann also hit 2 doubles, giving him 4 hits on the day. Goeddel also had 4 hits.

- Goeddel had 6 RBI, Glaesmann and Vettleson 5 each. Vettleson did it despite not entering the game until the 8th inning, when he came on as a pinch runner for 1B Cameron Seitzer.

- Goeddel also led the way with 4 runs scored.

- Goeddel ended up with 10 total bases, Glaesmann was next with 9.

- The only Hot Rods player without at least 2 hits was 2B Juniel Querecuto, who was 0-5, but he did draw a walk and scored a run.

- Somehow Jeff Malm managed to strike out 3 times, but he still went 2-5 with a walk.

- Mr. Diamond Tom is barred from complaining about the offense until at least the month of May. :)

- Roberto Gomez made his 2nd start of the year and gave up 4 ER in 4.0 IP, leaving him with a 5.40 ERA.

- Andrew Bellatti had the toughest outing for BG, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits (2 for HRs) in 1.1 IP.

Monday starter vs Great Lakes: RH Jake Floethe.

Goodbye for Now

Good morning guys. I am just writing you to let you know that I will be off the site until further notice. We have been battling a long foreclosure process and yesterday it ended with an eviction notice. So right now I need to focus more on my family as I evaluate what comes next and try to avoid being homeless in ten days. This process has been hard on me and my family and Rays Prospects and baseball has been my oasis during this time. I have met some great people over the years here at RP and I thank all you for helping me keep my mind off things even for a little while. Thanks for being there.

Rays Sign Dominican Shortstop

The Rays have signed shortstop Christian Toribio for $65,000 out of the Dominican Prospect League. Here is an overview from the DPL website:

Rays scouting supervisor in the Dominican Republic Danny Santana followed him though the 2011 DPL season and said “he projects to develop into a solid ML SS with power potential”.

Click here for a brief scouting report on Toribio.

Scores and Highlights from 4/13

Gwinnett Braves 12, Durham Bulls 7 
Despite taking an early lead, the Bulls could not overcome a six run third inning by the Braves as they fell 12-7 on Friday night. The Bulls out hit the Braves 13-9 but they could not turn those hits into runs. Every Bull made it on base at least once in the game with Leslie Anderson, Will Rhymes, Tim Beckham and Matt Mangini enjoying multi-hit nights. Chris Archer was charged with nine of the runs and took the loss. Marquis Fleming was responsible for the other 3 runs. The bullpen trio of Cesar Ramos, Brandon Gomes and Craig Albernaz combined for 3 shut-out innings to end the game.


Mississippi Braves 4, Montgomery Biscuits 0
The Biscuits offense was pretty much non-existent as they managed just two hits in a shut-out loss to the Braves. All four runs came off Biscuits starter Joseph Cruz as he fell to 0-2 on the season. Cole Figueroa and Brad Coon delivered the two hits for the Biscuits.


Charlotte Stone Crabs 3, Jupiter Hammerheads 2 (10 innings)
The Stone Crabs walked away with a thrilling extra innings win over the Hammerheads. Riccio Torrez waited till the tenth inning to extend his hitting streak to eight games, but it was well worth the wait as he drove home the winning run to give the Stone Crabs the walk-off win. The game was dominated by a great pitching duel between Albert Suarez and Jupiter's starter Chad James. Phil Wunderlich drove home the Stone Crabs first run in the fourth. Then in extra innings, the Hammerheads took the edge by scoring in the top of the tenth. But the home team rallied in the bottom of the tenth with Mikie Mahtook driving home the tying run and Torrez driving home the winning run. George Jensen picked up the win and is now 2-0 on the season. Ty Morrison, Derek Dietrich and Robby Price each enjoyed a multi-hit night with Morrison and Dietrich both hitting doubles. BJ Upton got his first hit of his rehab stint, a single to right. Upton then proceeded to swipe second and third base.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 2, Lake County Captains 1
The Hot Rods left victorious in a close fought match-up against the Captains. Both of the Hot Rods runs came in the first inning but it proved to be all that was needed as the Hot Rods pitching staff commanded the game. Parker Markel kept the Captains off the scoreboard until the sixth inning, earning his first win of the season. Jacob Partridge and Austin Hubbard combined for 3 shut-out innings to round out the game. Kes Carter drove in a run with an RBI triple and Cameron Seitzer was 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Biscuits Week in Review: April 5 to April 12

The Montgomery Biscuits opened up the 2012 season by going 3-5. They are currently tied for third place in the division, three games back from the leader Mobile. The Biscuits will have a chance to gain some ground against the division leader as they travel to Mobile for a five game series to close out the upcoming week.

Hitting Leaders:
Average: Omar Luna (.400, third in SOU)
Slugging: Cole Figeroa (.636, second in SOU)
On Base Pct: Omar Luna (.455, eighth in SOU)
Hits: Cole Figeroa (12, third in SOU)
Doubles: Cole Figeroa and Mike Sheridan (3, tied second in SOU)
Triples: Tyler Bortnick (3, first in SOU)
Home Runs: Cole Figeroa and Henry Wrigley (2, tied second in SOU)
RBI’s: Cole Figeroa (7, tied fourth in SOU)
Stolen Bases: Tyler Bortnick and Omar Luna (2, tied sixth in SOU)

Pitching Leaders:
ERA: Jim Paduch (1.23, ninth in SOU)
Wins: Alex Colome, Shane Dyer and Kyle Lobstein (1)
Saves: Jim Paduch (1)
Strikeouts: Alex Colome (10, ninth in SOU)

Team Hitting Stats (league rank):
Average: .245 (4 of 10)
Slugging: .387 (2 of 10)
On Base Pct: .324 (4 of 10)
Hits: 67 (4 of 10)
Doubles: 14 (2 of 10)
Triples: 5 (1 of 10)
Home Runs: 5 (tied 2 of 10)
Runs Scored: 36 (1 of 10)
Stolen Bases: 7 (5 of 10)

Team Pitching Stats (rank):
ERA: 4.66 (10 of 10)
Runs Allowed: 37 (10 of 10)
Strikeouts: 56 (8 of 10)
Walks: 28 (6 of 10)

Transactions: Craig Albernaz promoted to Durham (4/8/12). David Wendt added to roster from extended spring training (4/8/12). Alex Colome placed on 7-day disabled list (4/12/12). Greg Sexton activated (4/12/12).

Disabled List: Nick Barnese, Alex Colome, Richard De Los Santos and Zach Quate.

The Week Ahead: 4/13/12-4/14/12: at Mississippi Braves (2-6). 4/15/12-4/19/12: vs Mobile Bay Bears (6-2).

Scores and Highlights from 4/12

Gwinnett Braves 7, Durham Bulls 1
The Bulls offense struggled to make anything happen as they scored just one run in Thursday's loss to the Braves. Matt Mangini was 2 for 3 and drove home the lone run for the Bulls. The Bulls managed to get 8 hits and draw 4 walks but they were unable to convert those base runners to runs as they went 2 for 9 with RISP. Jhonny Nunez suffered the loss for the Bulls. John Gaub and Craig Albernaz each provided a scoreless inning of relief in the final frames.


Montgomery Biscuits 3, Mississippi Braves 2 The Biscuits edged the Braves by one run to earn the victory and pull out of the basement of the Southern League South Division. Tyler Bortick spotted the Biscuits a lead in the third with a two run triple. Then Mark Thomas plated the go ahead run in sixth. The bullpen threw 4 scoreless innings to ensure Thomas's run would be the winner. Kyle Lobstein earned the win with Jim Paduch getting the save.


Charlotte Stone Crabs 4, Jupiter Hammerheads 0 The Stone Crabs snapped their brief losing streak by shutting out the Hammerheads 4-0. Enny Romero, CJ Riefenhauser and Chris Rearick combined for 11 strikeouts in the shut-out. Robi Estrada delivered a multi-hit performance by going 2 for 3 with a double. Ty Morrison drove home two runs. Riccio Torrez singled in the second to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Romero picked up the win and Rearick notched his third save of the season.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 5, Lake County Captains 2 The Hot Rods followed a great offensive performance yesterday by turning in a great pitching performance in the series opener against Lake County. The Hot Rods held their foe off the scoreboard for eight inning before surrendering two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Meanwhile the offense was doing their part to steer the Hot Rods to victory. Juniel Querecuto and Tyler Goeddel led the offensive production with three hits a piece including a double by each. Jeff Malm struck the first homer of the season for the Hot Rods, a solo shot in the second to put the Hot Rods in the lead. Felipe Rivero pitched 6 scoreless inning to earn the victory. Rivero is now 2-0 on the season and has thrown 11 consecutive scoreless innings to start the season. Andrew Bellatti followed with two more scoreless innings.

Stone Crabs Week in Review: April 5 to April 11

The Stone Crabs opened up the 2012 season by sweeping the season opening series against the Miracle. However they were later swept by the Mets to finish the week 3-3. The Stone Crabs are currently tied for second in the division, two game back from the St. Lucie Mets. Riccio Torrez finished the week on a six game hitting steak as he has hit safely in every game so far this season.

Hitting Leaders:
Average: Hector Guevera (.400, seventh in FSL)
Slugging: Riccio Torrez (.600)
On Base Pct: Mikie Mahtook (.423)
Hits: Hector Guevara, Riccio Torrez (8, tied seventh in FSL)
Doubles: Derek Dietrich, Hector Guevara, Riccio Torrez and Phil Wunderlich (2)
Triples: Luke Bailey, Ty Morrison and Riccio Torrez (1, tied second in FSL)
Home Runs: Riccio Torrez (1)
RBI’s: Hector Guevera (8, second in FSL)
Stolen Bases: Hector Guevara, Mikie Mahtook and Kevin Kiermaier (1)

Pitching Leaders:
ERA: George Jensen (1.29)
Wins: George Jensen, CJ Riefenhauser and Eliazer Suero (1, tied second in FSL)
Saves: Chris Rearick (2, tied third in FSL)
Strikeouts: George Jensen and Chris Rearick (7)

Team Hitting Stats (league rank):
Average: .269 (2 of 12)
Slugging: .361 (6 of 12)
On Base Pct: .330 (5 of 12)
Hits: 56 (4 of 12)
Doubles: 10 (tied 6 of 12)
Triples: 3 (tied 2 of 12)
Home Runs: 1 (tied 10 of 12)
Runs Scored: 29 (tied 2 of 12)
Stolen Bases: 3 (tied 10 of 12)

Team Pitching Stats (rank):
ERA: 4.15 (10 of 12)
Runs Allowed: 29 (9 of 12)
Strikeouts: 46 (tied 6 of 12)
Walks: 29 (12 of 12)

Transactions: BJ Upton added to roster for MLB rehab assignment (4/9/12).

Disabled List: Chris Andujar, Jay Buente and Brett Nommensen.

Restricted List: Felix Fuentes.

The Week Ahead: 4/12/12-4/14/12: vs Jupiter Hammerheads (2-4). 4/15/12-4/17/12: vs St. Lucie Mets (5-1). 4/18/12: Day Off.

Minor League Hitting Stats

Here are the Rays minor league team batting stats through last night's games, sorted by runs per game:

Team                    R/G  G  AB   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS
Durham Bulls           5.00  7 243  35  66 10  0  4  30  6  5 33  51 .272 .360 .362 .723
Charlotte Stone Crabs  4.83  6 208  29  56 10  3  1  29  3  7 11  33 .269 .330 .361 .691
Montgomery Biscuits    4.71  7 243  33  62 14  4  5  29  7  5 25  59 .255 .331 .407 .738
Bowling Green Hot Rods 4.00  6 216  24  59 15  2  0  22  6  6 18  53 .273 .338 .361 .699
Affiliate Totals       4.65 26 910 121 243 49  9 10 110 22 23 87 196 .267 .340 .374 .714

And here are the individual batting stats, sorted by OPS:

Batter               Age  Tm AB R  H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS
Cole Figueroa*        25 MTG 29 5 11  3  0  2   7  1  1  2  5 .379 .419 .690 1.109
Mayo Acosta           24 CHA  4 0  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  0  1 .500 .500 .500 1.000
Kevin Kiermaier*      22 CHA  8 3  3  1  0  0   0  1  1  1  2 .375 .500 .500 1.000
Omar Luna             25 MTG 16 3  7  1  0  0   5  2  0  1  0 .438 .500 .500 1.000
Leslie Anderson*      30 DHM 20 2  8  3  0  0   4  0  0  2  1 .400 .435 .550  .985
Riccio Torrez         22 CHA 25 6  8  2  1  1   4  0  0  0  2 .320 .346 .600  .946
Chris Gimenez         29 DHM  8 2  3  1  0  0   1  0  1  1  2 .375 .444 .500  .944
Cameron Seitzer*      22 BWG 11 2  3  1  0  0   2  0  0  7  2 .273 .556 .364  .919
Henry Wrigley         25 MTG 24 4  6  0  0  2   3  0  0  7  6 .250 .419 .500  .919
Hector Guevara        20 CHA 20 2  8  2  0  0   8  1  0  0  1 .400 .381 .500  .881
Kes Carter*           22 BWG 21 2  7  1  1  0   2  2  1  2  7 .333 .391 .476  .867
Tyler Goeddel         19 BWG 18 3  6  2  0  0   2  0  1  1  5 .333 .400 .444  .844
Ryan Brett#           20 BWG 23 3  7  2  1  0   2  1  0  2  5 .304 .360 .478  .838
Jeff Salazar*         31 DHM 15 2  3  0  0  1   1  2  0  6  5 .200 .429 .400  .829
Brandon Guyer         26 DHM 26 3  5  1  0  2   5  0  0  6  7 .192 .364 .462  .825
Michael Sheridan*     24 MTG 24 3  7  3  1  0   0  0  1  1  6 .292 .320 .500  .820
Mikie Mahtook         22 CHA 21 2  7  1  0  0   3  1  2  2  1 .333 .423 .381  .804
Shawn OMalley#        24 DHM 15 3  4  0  0  1   4  0  0  2  3 .267 .333 .467  .800
Jeff Malm*            21 BWG 21 2  6  4  0  0   2  0  0  0  3 .286 .286 .476  .762
Emeel Salem*          27 MTG  8 0  3  0  0  0   0  0  2  0  2 .375 .375 .375  .750
Tyler Bortnick        24 MTG 26 4  6  2  2  0   4  2  0  2  6 .231 .286 .462  .747
Matt Rice             23 BWG 17 0  6  1  0  0   2  0  1  0  3 .353 .333 .412  .745
Matt Mangini*         26 DHM 27 2  9  2  0  0   6  0  0  0  7 .333 .333 .407  .741
MONTGOMERY TOTALS                                             .255 .331 .407  .738
Kyle Hudson*          25 DHM 21 1  7  0  0  0   2  1  2  3  5 .333 .400 .333  .733
Ty Morrison*          21 CHA 21 3  6  0  1  0   2  0  1  2  3 .286 .348 .381  .729
Will Rhymes*          29 DHM 24 5  7  1  0  0   2  0  1  3  1 .292 .393 .333  .726
DURHAM TOTALS                                                 .272 .360 .362  .723
ORGANIZATION TOTALS                                           .267 .340 .374  .714
Juniel Querecuto#     19 BWG  8 0  2  1  0  0   0  0  0  1  4 .250 .333 .375  .708
Jake Hager            19 BWG 18 2  5  2  0  0   0  0  0  1  4 .278 .316 .389  .705
BOWLING GREEN TOTALS                                          .273 .338 .361  .699
Todd Glaesmann        21 BWG 22 4  7  1  0  0   4  0  0  0  5 .318 .333 .364  .697
CHARLOTTE TOTALS                                              .269 .330 .361  .691
Isaias Velasquez      24 MTG 22 3  6  2  0  0   1  0  1  0  4 .273 .304 .364  .668
Brad Coon*            29 MTG 22 2  5  1  0  0   3  1  0  4  7 .227 .370 .273  .643
Philip Wunderlich*    23 CHA 24 3  6  2  0  0   4  0  0  2  5 .250 .308 .333  .641
Jesus Feliciano*      33 DHM 24 5  7  0  0  0   1  1  1  2  1 .292 .346 .292  .638
Drew Vettleson*       20 BWG 21 2  6  0  0  0   2  2  2  2  2 .286 .348 .286  .634
Nevin Ashley          27 DHM 16 3  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  2  4 .250 .368 .250  .618
Lucas Bailey          21 CHA 18 3  4  0  1  0   1  0  1  0  4 .222 .250 .333  .583
Tim Beckham           22 DHM 26 4  6  1  0  0   2  1  0  3  6 .231 .300 .269  .569
Derek Dietrich*       22 CHA 23 4  4  2  0  0   4  0  0  2  8 .174 .296 .261  .557
Alejandro Segovia     22 BWG  6 1  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0  3 .167 .375 .167  .542
Robi Estrada#         23 CHA  4 1  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0  0 .250 .250 .250  .500
Hak-Ju Lee*           21 MTG 31 4  6  2  0  0   3  1  0  2  8 .194 .242 .258  .500
Robby Price*          24 CHA 11 1  2  0  0  0   0  0  1  1  1 .182 .308 .182  .490
Kyeong Kang*          24 MTG 15 1  1  0  0  1   3  0  0  3  6 .067 .211 .267  .477
Mark Thomas           24 MTG 20 3  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  2  8 .150 .227 .250  .477
Cody Rogers*          23 CHA 18 1  4  0  0  0   2  0  1  0  3 .222 .250 .222  .472
Juan Miranda*         29 DHM 20 3  3  1  0  0   2  0  0  3  8 .150 .261 .200  .461
David Wendt           25 MTG  6 1  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  1  1 .167 .286 .167  .452
Keith Castillo#       24 CHA  7 0  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0  1 .143 .250 .143  .393
Taylor Motter         22 BWG 17 3  2  0  0  0   1  1  1  2  6 .118 .211 .118  .328
B.J. Upton            27 CHA  4 0  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  1  1 .000 .200 .000  .200
Joel Caminero         22 BWG 13 0  1  0  0  0   3  0  0  0  4 .077 .077 .077  .154
Craig Albernaz        29 DHM  1 0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0  1 .000 .000 .000  .000

It's still very early, but does anyone stand out, good or bad?

Scores and Highlights from 4/11

Durham Bulls 5, Charlotte Knights 4
The Bulls scored four runs in the first and held off a late surge by the Knights to squeak by with a 5-4 win. Matt Mangini drove home two runs with a double while Leslie Anderson and Jeff Salazar each plated a run in the fourth to put the Bulls in front early. Kyle Hudson later scored in the seventh to account for the Bulls fifth run of the afternoon. Mangini's double in the first extended his team leading hitting streak to six games. Alex Torres recorded his first win of the season by striking out 6 and walking 4 in 5 innings pitched. Brandon Gomes notched the save.


Mississippi Braves 8, Montgomery Biscuits 2
A big six run inning by the Braves put the Biscuits in a hole they could not dig out of as they lost 8-2. Not only did they lose the game, they lost starter Alex Colome who departed in the fourth with an injury. The Biscuits offense struggled to get anything going as they combined for just five hits and only one of them for extra bases, a double by Isaias Velasquez. Colome was charged with the loss but it was Merrill Kelly who was roughed up and charged with 4 earned runs. On the bright side, Neil Schenk threw 2 2/3 no-hit innings.


St. Lucie Mets 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 4
A late game rally wasn't enough to overcome a season high five errors as the Stone Crabs were swept by the Mets following a 6-4 loss in the series finale. The Stone Crabs kept it close through the first four frames as they battled run for run with Mets. But things got out of hand in the sixth when they gave up three runs to the Mets and put them behind for good. The Stone Crabs rallied in the ninth but it fell two runs short in the end. Riccio Torrez was 2 for 4 on the night with 2 runs scored, extending his hitting streak to six games. Hector Guevara drove home 2 runs. Of the team's 5 errors, 3 of them were committed behind the plate by Luke Bailey. Eliazer Suero was charged with the loss for the Stone Crabs.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 9, West Michigan White Caps 4
The Hot Rods bats came alive on Wednesday afternoon as they compiled a season high 9 runs and 18 hits to defeat the White Caps and snap their losing streak. Every member of the Hot Rods reached base in the game. Jeff Malm, Todd Glaesmann and Matt Rice each drove home two runs each with Ryan Brett, Taylor Motter and Tyler Goeddel each driving in a run to account for the run production. Of the 18 hits, 6 of them were for extra bases with Malm striking 2 doubles and Brett, Glaesmann, Rice and Goeddel each hitting one double. Jake Floethe improved to 2-0 with the win.

Hot Rods Week in Review: April 5 to April 10

The Bowling Green Hot Rods started the season with back to back wins but then lost three straight games to end the week, resuling in a 2-3 record for the first week of the season. The Hot Rods are currently tied for second in the league, three games back from the leader.

 Hitting Leaders:
Average: Matt Rice (.353)
Slugging: Ryan Brett (.478)
On Base Pct: Cameron Seitzer (.556, fourth in MID)
Hits: Ryan Brett, Kes Carter, Todd Glaesmann (7)
Doubles: Jeff Malm (4, tied first in MID)
Triples: Ryan Brett (1, tied third in MID)
Home Runs: n/a
RBI’s: Todd Glaesmann (4)
Stolen Bases: Kes Carter, Drew Vettleson (2)

 Pitching Leaders:
ERA: Felipe Rivero (0.00, tied first in MID)
Wins: Jake Floethe (2, tied first in MID)
Saves: Charlie Cononie, Austin Hubbard (1, tied first in MID)
Strikeouts: Jake Floethe, Austin Hubbard (8)

 Team Hitting Stats (league rank):
Average: .273 ( 2 of 16)
Slugging: .361 (5 of 16)
On Base Pct: .338 (3 of 16)
Hits: 59 (tied 2 of 16)
Doubles: 15 (2 of 16)
Triples: 2 (tied 3 of 16)
Home Runs: 0 (tied 15 of 16)
Runs Scored: 24 (8 of 16)
Stolen Bases: 6 (tied 9 of 16)

 Team Pitching Stats (rank):
ERA: 2.56 (4 of 16)
Runs Allowed: 20 (2 of 16)
Strikeouts: 45 (tied 11 of 16)
Walks: 9 (1 of 16)

 Transactions: none.

 Disabled List: Jairo De La Rosa and Lenny Linsky.

 The Week Ahead: 4/11/12: at West Michigan White Caps (3-3). 4/12/12-4/15/12: at Lake County Captains (3-3). 4/16/12-4/17/12: vs Great Lakes Loons (2-4).

Scores and Highlights from 4/10

Charlotte Knight 5, Durham Bulls 0
The Bulls offense struggled to get anything going on Tuesday night as they were shut-out 5-0. The Bulls managed just four hits in the game but could not convert a bases loaded situation in the seventh as they took the loss. Alex Cobb was charged with the loss.



Montgomery Biscuits 7, Mississippi Braves 3
The Biscuits snapped their three game losing streak by opening the series against the Braves with a win. The Biscuits grabbed the lead in the fourth and never looked back. Mark Thomas led the offense by reaching base three times on the night including a triple to lead off the seventh. In addition to the triple by Thomas, the Biscuits offense produced 4 doubles. Shane Dyer dominated in his start, retiring the first nine hitters he faced to earn the win.


St. Lucie Mets 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2
The Stone Crabs fell from the top spot in the division following their second straight loss to St. Lucie. The Stone Crabs were held scoreless until the eighth inning when they pushed across a pair of runs in the final two frames of the contest. Both runs of the night were attributed to Luke Bailey. Bailey tripled and later scored in the eighth then drove home a run in the ninth on a sac fly. Bailey was also the only Stone Crabs to pick up multiple hits by going 2 for 4. Wilking Rodriguez suffered the loss for the Stone Crabs.


West Michigan White Caps 4, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3
The Hot Rods broke their scoreless streak by scoring in the second inning but that wasn't enough to keep them from losing their third straight game. Ryan Brett led off the inning with a triple and then scored to end the Hot Rods streak of 15 consecutive scoreless innings. But the Hot Rods quickly relinquished the lead in the bottom of the first and trailed until a two run rally in the top of the ninth to tie the game. However the White Caps struck in the bottom of the ninth to earn the walk-off win and hand the Hot Rods the loss. Joel Caminero drove home 2 of the Hot Rods 3 runs of the game. Stayton Thomas was charged with the loss and has fallen to 0-2 on the season.

Scores and Highlights from 4/9

Durham Bulls 13, Charlotte Knights 5
The Bulls offense came alive Monday night as they dominated the Knights 13-5. The Bulls produced 18 hits in the contest with every player reaching base. The Bulls pushed across runs in five of the eight frames. The offense was led by Jesus Feliciano, Matt Mangini and Juan Miranda who each had three hits. Brandon Guyer delivered a two run homer in the fourth inning for the Bulls lone home run of the contest. On the mound, Matt Torra earned the win while Cesar Ramos, Romulo Sanchez and John Gaub combined for 3 1/13 scoreless innings of relief.



Pensacola Wahoos 6, Montgomery Biscuits 5
Henry Wrigley demonstrated his power on Monday night as he struck two home runs to power the Biscuits offense but it wasn't enough as the Biscuits drop the series finale against Pensacola. Cole Figueroa also went deep in tithe game with his second home run of the season. The Biscuits even battled back after giving up a grand slam in the third inning but could only tie the game briefly before giving up the winning run in the bottom of the eighth. Jim Paduch was charged with the loss. Jake Thompson pitched 4 innings and was responsible for the grand slam in the third.


St. Lucie Mets 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 5
The Stone Crabs suffered their first loss of the season in an exciting see-saw matchup against the St. Lucie Mets. Both clubs exchanged runs throughout the contest only to have the Mets deliver a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to hand the Stone Crabs the loss. Much of the Charlotte offense was delivered by two players with Ty Morrison going 2 for 3 with a triple and 2 walks and Hector Guevera who plated two of the Stone Crabs runs by going 2 for 4. BJ played 4 innings in his rehab debut, going 0 for 2 with an RBI. Braulio Lara made his first start of the season, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits in 3 2/3 innings before reaching his pitch count limit. The loss was charged to Nate Garcia.


West Michigan White Caps 4, Bowling Green Hot Rods 0
The Hot Rods suffered a shut-out loss at the hands of the White Caps in the opener to their seven game road trip on Monday night. The Hot Rods managed five hits on the night with Jeff Malm and Jake Hager each recording a double but they couldn't translate those hits to runs as they suffered the loss. Ryan Carpenter was responsible for all 4 runs as he suffered the loss in his debut. Andrew Bellatti pitched 2 scoreless innings to wrap up the game.