When Wednesday's games concluded, the top 3 levels of the Rays Minor Leagues were all in for major changes
Seth McClung returns to St. Pete, this time as a reliever
It's been awhile since we last seen Seth, but this isn't the same Seth anymore. He converted to bullpen duties and has thrived in the closer's role in Durham, where he was relying more upon his offspeed stuff. His K/BB was an amazing 26 to 3...and he's able to throw the 99 heat again without worrying about saving it, which he had to as a starter.
What I see interesting is the lack of a replacement in Durham for Seth's departure. Jim Magrane replaced Howell when J.P. got moved up, so will Andy Sonnanstine replace someone in the rotation(Seddon, maybe?) and Seth's spot on the roster? More reasons on why Sonnanstine is more than likely headed to AAA are below.
Last night, it was reported by the Montgomery Newspapers that Briggy was promoted to AA. However, Baseball America has reported that Longoria is coming along with him. At first, I disliked Brignac being promoted because of the fact that he appeared to have been paired up with Longoria as a dynamic duo(Like Delmon/Bankston in 2004 and Dukes/Delmon in 2005). However, I've yet to see an additional roster move to be made to make this double-promotion possible. Either someone has to be promoted(Sonnanstine?) or someone has to be DLed(which is possible, due to Elliot Johnson's groin pains).
At 20, both Longoria and Brignac are still younger than most of their AA competition. With the breakout season that Brignac was having in Cali, where he has improved every facet of his game, it was a matter of time before a promotion was coming his way. Longoria has surpassed all scouts thoughts on his lack of power and appears to be rarely overmatched. It was thought to be happening after the season ended, especially with Visalia being in the playoff hunt. However, it seems that the NDRO has enough confidence in Brignac and the 2006 draftee to put them in the Southern League's playoff-contending Biscuits.