Rays down on the farm August 20: NYPL All-Star Game ends in tie

A couple links to check out that mention Rays prospects:

Nathaniel Stoltz at FanGraphs checked out Nick Ciuffo, with .gifs

Jeff Moore at Baseball Prospectus saw Patrick Leonard ($)

People who were already a bit down on Ciuffo might not see anything to change their minds, but that is a really positive report on his defense.  The report on Leonard backs up this season's stats.  He has a nice approach and can hit, but is it enough for first base?  He was forced to the position because he's played at the same level as Tyler Goeddel the last two seasons, and I would guess if the Rays thought he could play the hot corner, they'd at least make a minimal effort to get him some innings there.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (67-63)

Enny Romero was good, but he didn't get much support in Durham's 2-1 loss to Norfolk.  In the fifth inning, Norfolk tied the game at one with a two out double, but that would be the only run Romero allowed.  He finished with that run allowed on seven hits and a walk in six innings with six strikeouts.  Cory Burns took the loss when he allowed the eventual winning run in the eighth.

The Bulls could only manage four hits, and their only run of the game was conceded by the Tides.  Cole Figueroa walked to lead off the fourth, and after moving to third on Mikie Mahtook's 31st double, he scored on Tim Beckham's groundout.  Leading off, Nick Franklin had two of those hits, and he also walked.  Wil Myers was 0/3 with a walk and two strikeouts, and Evan Meek recorded the save for Norfolk.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (25-33)

Taylor Motter's walkoff three run home run capped a wild comeback in Montgomery's 7-6 win over Tennessee.  After an Addison Russell grand slam put the Biscuits in a 6-0 hole two innings earlier, they responded with two runs of their own in the seventh.  Two errors killed the Smokies in the five run ninth, and the only out they recorded was on a Jake Hager sac fly that made it a 6-4 game.  Ryan Brett, Luke Maile and Kes Carter had two hit games.

After allowing two first inning runs, Albert Suarez settled in and wasn't bad.  He went on to allow just those two runs on four hits and a walk in six innings with three strikeouts, but the offense waited until he was out to mount their comeback.  Matt Lollis allowed the Russell grand slam.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (29-26)

A half inning after blowing an 8-2 lead, Charlotte retook the lead with three runs in their 11-8 win over St. Lucie.  Nick Sawyer entered the game and couldn't record an out in four batters, and Jose Alberto Molina threw some gas on the fire by doing the same thing.  Inheriting two runners, Ryan Garton induced a double play and flyout to preserve the tie.  In the bottom half of the inning, a wild pitch gave the Stone Crabs the lead again, and Granden Goetzman's two out, two run single added insurance.

Because of the blown lead, Reinaldo Lopez came away with nothing to show for his solid start.  He allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in 5.2 innings with three strikeouts, and those were the only strikeouts Charlotte's staff managed in the game.  They were able to build their big lead with a handful of solid offensive performances, led by Johnny Field and Patrick Leonard with three hits each.  Field was a home run shy of the cycle, and Leonard drove in four runs.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (26-31)

Bowling Green could've used more than one hit in their 3-0 loss to Lake County.  That hit was an infield single by Pat Blair in the fifth, and that also presented their best opportunity to score.  With two runners in scoring position and one out, James Harris and Spencer Edwards made outs to end the threat.  German Marquez took the loss by allowing a two run home run in the first inning, but it was another solid start with just those runs allowed on five hits in five innings with seven strikeouts and no walks.  Hot Rods hitters struck out 13 times and only walked once.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (41-22)

The NYPL All-Star game ended in a 1-1 tie.  Bralin Jackson and Jace Conrad each had a hit, and Jackson scored the North's only run.  Hunter Lockwood, Casey Gillaspie and Coty Blanchard combined to go 0/6 with four strikeouts and a walk.  Nolan Gannon started the game and recorded a 1-2-3 inning, and Hunter Wood later did the same with one strikeout.

Rookie Princeton Rays (32-25)

A ninth inning comeback helped Princeton top Elizabethton by an 8-7 score.  Both runs were unearned due to a pair of errors by the Twins third baseman though.  Thomas Milone reached on the first one to lead off the inning, and the second one allowed the go-ahead run to score on what could've been a game-ending double play.  Prior to that, the Rays got the majority of their offense in a five run fourth inning.  For the second straight game, Carter Burgess had four hits.

Elizabethton was able to battle back from a 5-1 hole in Roel Ramirez's worst start of the season.  Errors affected his line too though.  He allowed a first inning solo home run to former Rays pick Tanner English, and he would finish with five runs (two earned) allowed on eight hits in five innings with one strikeout and no walks.  Rafael Cordova was credited with the win with four strikeouts in two scoreless innings of relief.

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (28-24)

A ninth inning rally fell short in the GCL Rays' 5-4 loss to the GCL Red Sox.  After allowing two runs in the top half of the inning to fall behind 5-2, the Rays answered with two of their own.  Matt Ford and Cade Gotta each had RBI hits, and an intentional walk to load the bases with one out set the stage for David Rodriguez.  Unfortunately both Rodriguez and Bill Pujols popped out to end the game.  Three Rays had two hits, including Zacrey Law reaching base three times.

Eduar Quinonez made his first appearance in 2014.  After throwing 57 innings for Bowling Green last year, he pitched an inning for the GCL Rays, allowing a run on two hits with two strikeouts.  Deivi Mendez replaced him in long relief and took the loss after giving up two runs on five hits and two walks in four innings with five strikeouts.

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Star of the day- A few Rengades contributed to... that All-Star game.

Goat of the day- Durham's offense let Romero down.

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

Durham v. Norfolk 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Matt Andriese (11-7, 3.83) v. Chris Jones (7-8, 3.84)

Montgomery v. Tennessee 8:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Grayson Garvin (1-7, 3.65) v. Pierce Johnson* (5-4, 2.36)

Charlotte v. St. Lucie 6:30 PM (Radio stream)
Austin Pruitt (9-5, 3.69) v. Domingo Tapia* (5-8, 4.17)

Bowling Green v. Lake County 8:05 PM (Radio stream)
Ben Griset (2-6, 4.24) v. Dace Kime8 (6-13, 5.09)

Hudson Valley v. Aberdeen 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. TBA

Princeton is off

GCL Rays @ GCL Red Sox 12 PM
TBA v. TBA

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Norfolk Tides (Baltimore)
60-70 (2nd in IL South)
Offense: 588 R (5th) .716 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 4.53 ERA (12th) 1.42 WHIP (9th)
Top 30 Prospects: DH Henry Urrutia (7), RHP Mike Wright (8), OF Dariel Alvarez (15), 1B Christian Walker (18), LHP Chris Jones (27), RHP Josh Stinson (28)

Tennessee Smokies (Cubs)
31-27 (1st in SL North)
Offense: 567 R (3rd) .716 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.66 ERA (5th) 1.33 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Addison Russell (1), RHP C.J. Edwards (3), CF Albert Almora (4), RHP Pierce Johnson (6), 3B Christian Villanueva (13), RHP Corey Black (15), RHP Ivan Pineyro (21), RHP Zach Cates (27), OF Rubi Silva (29)

St. Lucie Mets
28-29 (5th in FSL South)
Offense: 598 R (2nd) .728 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 4.27 ERA (10th) 1.41 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Gavin Cecchini (9), RHP Michael Fulmer (14), RHP Domingo Tapia (19), RHP Matt Koch (24)

Lake County Captains (Cleveland)
29-27 (3rd in MWL East)
Offense: 538 R (10th) .703 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 4.26 ERA (14th) 1.35 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Clint Frazier (2), OF Dorssys Paulino (6), RHP Dace Kime (16), OF Anthony Santander (20), LHP Luis Lugo (21), RHP Mitch Brown (24), 1B Nellie Rodriguez (27), 1B Mike Papi

Aberdeen IronBirds (Baltimore)
21-41 (4th in McNamara)
Offense: 206 R (14th) .622 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.69 ERA (9th) 1.36 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Stephen Tarpley (21), C Jonah Heim (21), C Alex Murphy (31)

GCL Red Sox
30-20 (1st in GCL South)
Offense: 253 R (1st) .663 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 2.74 ERA (1st) 1.18 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B Rafael Devers (20), SS Javier Guerra (27), RHP Michael Kopech, RHP Jake Cosart