An Update on AA Montgomery Pitching

The Rays have an abundance of pitching talent in the minor leagues. AAA Durham features World Series starter Andy Sonnanstine, top pitching prospect Wade Davis, and the recently promoted Jeremy "Narwhal" Hellickson. The A Bowling Green Hot Rods have the very promising Matt Moore, Nick Barnese, and Joe Cruz. A+ Charlotte has featured some of the best pitching in the Florida State League with Darin Downs, Alex Cobb, and David Newmann. AA Montgomery has become the red-headed stepchild of the Rays organization since the recent Hellickson and Desmond Jennings promotions.  So who is in Montgomery and how are they doing?

Analysis After the Jump:

-Heath Rollins has been a bit of a letdown in 2009. Rollins was listed as the #15 organization prospect by Baseball America and the number 8 pitching prospect by RaysProspect to being 2009. Rollins tRA sits at 4.60, just shy of the league average 4.67. He has done a nice job inducing ground balls but his strikeout rate  has fallen from 21.34% in A+ ball to 14.07% in AA. Last year he had a cup of coffee in Montgomery which also was north of 20%. Rollins induces a team low 7.8% swinging strikes.

-Eduardo Morlan is a fireballer that came to the Rays from the Twins along with a couple other guys named Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza. Morlan posted a K/9 of 12.69 in A+ ball with the Twins. His 2008 season with the Biscuits was hampered with shoulder issues as his K/9 dropped to 8.62. There is some good news on Morlan beyond his seasonal numbers. His K/9 monthly splits from April to July go: 5.4, 7.3, 9.19, 10.45. His April and May swinging strike % was 9.7%. For June and July that number jumps to a sexy 14.2%.  It seems as though Morlan's thunder may be coming back.

-Young Aneury Rodriguez came from the Rockies in the deal that sent off Jason Hammel. Rodriguez struggled early but has been come on strong the past month. He is a flyball pitcher who was dealing with some control issues. His monthly BB/9 splits however are: 6.4, 5.5, 3.3, 2.3. Rodriguez has allowed just 1 Earned Run in his past 26.1 IP. His future seems to be growing brighter by the day.

-Matt Gorgen was recently promoted to Montgomery after absolutely dominating in Charlotte. He is off to a somewhat rough start as his BB/9 has jumped from 3.02 to 5.69 while his K/9 has fallen from 11.1 to 5.7. There are high hopes around here for Gorgen, so keep an eye to see if he can finish the year strong. Keep in mind he was in Hudson Valley at this time last year.

-Two Rays reclamation projects of former prospects of other organizations sit at the of the leader board in Swinging Strike % at 12.3%. Paul Phillips and Rayner Oliveros were recently profiled here. Oliveros doesn't fastball does not make it into the 90's so he is inducing the whiffs with some good movement. Phillips is more of a power pitcher. Oliveros generates a nice amount of ground balls.

-Two starter/relievers, Oliveros and Baker induce noteworthy swinging strike rates out of the pen. Baker sits at 13.1% in relief while Oliveros is at 14.5%. In 23 innings of relief Oliveros has a FIP of 2.39 while Baker sits at 2.61.