Down On The Farm: June 20

Fans have been waiting for it for months, and the day finally came. It was Oscar day in the Appy League. Remember that if you're an MiLB.TV subscriber, you can watch Taylor Guerrieri's pro debut tonight.

AAA Durham Bulls (32-41)

After an unfathomably poor start to the season, Alex Torres slid back into the rotation Tuesday in Durham's 8-2 win at Rochester. He pitched very well, striking out six in five scoreless innings, allowing just a hit and two walks. In his first start since April, Torres threw 63% of his pitches for strikes. The early run support certainly didn't hurt. Durham scored the first eight runs of the game over the first five innings, and the barrage included home runs by Stephen Vogt and Reid Brignac. It was a four hit night for Vogt whose average is now up to .288 after a slow start to the season. Brandon Allen added three hits of his own.

AA Montgomery Biscuits (0-0)

The South division in the Southern League won the All-Star Game 6-2. Kyeong Kang walked and scored, and Omar Luna went 1/2. Frank De Los Santos threw a scoreless inning. Former Rays farmhand Matt Gorgen struck out two.

High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (0-0)

If the 4th inning didn't count, Palm Beach would've won 1-0. However, it does and Charlotte won the game 8-6. Albert Suarez was charged with the five Palm Beach runs that inning, but a Philip Wunderlich really made things difficult. The Stone Crabs stormed back with a eight run inning of their own, led by Luke Bailey's three run homer, his second of the season. The final five runs were scored with two outs as the Cardinals made a pair of errors to prolong the inning. In the 13 hit outburst, only Bailey's home run went for extra bases, and four Stone Crabs had multi-hit games.

Low-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (0-0)

The MWL East All-Stars destroyed the West squad in an 18-2 win. Bowling Green featured some of the key contributors, especially Tyler Goeddel who had two hits, including a two run dinger. Matt Rice entered the game as a sub for Austin Hedges and drove in two with one hit. Jeff Malm started and scored three runs and drove in another while reaching base twice. Neither Ryan Brett or Josh Sale had a hit, but Sale did reach via walk. Felipe Rivero allowed a hit and walked a batter in a scoreless inning, and Jake Partridge recorded two clean outs.

Short Season-A Hudson Valley Renegades (1-1)

A five run 4th inning for Aberdeen doomed Hudson Valley in their 8-3 loss. All eight runs were charged to Eduar Quinonez in his 2012 debut over the course of 3.1 innings. He was in relief of Jesse Hahn, finally making his pro debut after being drafted in 2010 coming off Tommy John surgery and attending the Will Kline Injury Rehab Academy. His appearance was solid, striking out two in three scoreless innings, only allowing two hits and a walk. Marty Gantt's hot start continued with three more hits and an RBI.

Rookie Princeton Rays (1-0)

Thanks to a strong start by Blake Snell and a strong offensive output, the P-Rays opened their season with an 8-4 win over Kingsport. Snell was firing from the first pitch, striking out the first two batters of the game on his way to a seven-K effort. He threw five scoreless innings and only allowed one hit, but he did walk three. The big blow for Princeton came in the 4th when speedy center fielder James Harris hit a three run home run, the first in his professional career. Fellow 2011 top pick Granden Goetzman was also productive, going 2/4 with a double and stolen base. Of course, perhaps the most anticipated aspect of Princeton's season is catcher Oscar Hernandez. The Oscar had two hits and also caught a runner trying to steal.

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (2-0)

The GCL Rays won a tight pitcher's duel against the GCL Red Sox 3-2. In relief of Carlos Cedeno, Stepan Havlicek proved to be a relief ace for the GCL squad, striking out five in four scoreless innings while only allowing two hits and a walk. Johnny Eierman, playing left field for the second straight game, got his first career hit, a double. Leadoff man Douglas Duran reached base three times and scored twice.

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Star of the day- Blake Snell got Princeton's season off to a good start with seven strikeouts in five scoreless innings.

Goat of the day- Tough to go with anyone besides Eduar Quinonez.

Today's games (probables courtesy of milb.com)

Durham @ Rochester 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV)
Shane Dyer (1-3, 6.23) v. Cole De Vries (2-5, 4.53)

Montgomery is at the All-Star break

Charlotte v. Palm Beach 6:30 PM
Victor Mateo (0-2, 5.93) v. Todd McInnis (0-3, 5.33)

Bowling Green is at the All-Star break

Hudson Valley @ Aberdeen 7:35 PM (MiLB.TV)
Taylor Guerrieri (0-0) v. Jorge Rivera (0-0)

Princeton v. Kingsport 7:05 PM
Eli Echarry (0-0) v. TBA

GCL Rays @ GCL Twins 12 PM
TBA v. TBA

Scouting the opposition

Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota)
32-39 (6th in IL North)
Offense: 232 R (14th) .663 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.87 ERA (9th) 1.34 WHIP (8th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Deolis Guerra (15), RHP Carlos Gutierrez (17), RHP Lester Oliveros (26)

Palm Beach Cardinals
0-0
Offense: 245 R (12th) .670 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 3.65 ERA (4th) 1.26 WHIP (2nd)
Top 30 Prospects: C Cody Stanley (24)

Aberdeen IronBirds (Baltimore)
1-1 (2nd in McNamara)
Offense: 11 R (5th) .705 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 4.76 ERA (10th) 1.59 WHIP (13th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Roderick Bernadina (22)

Kingsport Mets
0-1 (2nd in APP West)
Offense: 4 R (6th) .628 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 5.63 ERA (8th) 1.50 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Bradley Marquez (25), SS Gavin Cecchini

GCL Twins
1-1 (2nd in GCL South)
Offense: 8 R (7th) .605 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 4.24 ERA (11th) 1.35 WHIP (9th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Byron Buxton