Rays down on the farm April 30: Snell earns promotion

To be honest, that Blake Snell would be promoted never crossed my mind. Nor did him throwing 21 scoreless innings to start a season, for that matter. It will probably take him some time to adjust, but the Rays are clearly impressed with the nearly 100 innings of work he has put in with the Stone Crabs.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (12-9)

Durham went up big early and cruised to a 9-3 win over Lehigh Valley. Already up 2-0, the Bulls scored five two-out runs in the fourth with Taylor Motter and Alexi Casilla both picking up two-run hits. Andrew Bellatti started and allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in five innings with four strikeouts, and Andy Oliver pitched two perfect innings against his spring-training employer.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (9-11)

An early 3-0 lead did not hold up in Montgomery's 4-3 loss to Jackson. Patrick Leonard hit his first home run of the season in the second, and Richie Shaffer followed with a dinger of his own in the third. After that, the Biscuits only had three more hits. Bradin Hagens was solid again with a run allowed on six hits and a walk in six innings with three strikeouts, but the Generals scored three runs -- two earned -- off Mikey O'Brien.

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (14-6)

Charlotte was off.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (11-9)

A late bullpen collapse cost Bowling Green in its 8-7 loss to Great Lakes. The Loons scored first, but Casey Gillaspie's third homer of the season tied the game at one in the second inning. Cristian Toribio led off the third with a home run, and the Hot Rods went on to score four that inning. Greg Harris, acquired in the offseason from the Dodgers, struggled against his old organization with three runs -- two earned -- allowed in three innings, but Bowling Green ran into trouble late when Damion Carroll was hit for five runs in 1-plus frames.

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Notable performances

AAA UT Taylor Motter: 3-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI
AA OF Johnny Field: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB
A IF Riley Unroe: 0-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 SB
A 1B Casey Gillaspie: 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB
A UT Coty Blanchard: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K

AA 2B Hector Guevara: 0-for-4, 3 K
AAA LHP Jordan Norberto: 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
AA RHP Mikey O'Brien: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB 4 K
A RHP Greg Harris: 3 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB 3 K
A RHP Damion Carroll: 1+ IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

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

Durham @ Lehigh Valley 10:35 AM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Dylan Floro (2-1, 4.01) v. Chad Billingsley (0-1, 6.75)

Montgomery @ Mississippi 8 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Jaime Schultz (2-0, 1.74) v. Jason Hursh (0-1, 7.04)

Charlotte @ Fort Myers 7:05 PM (radio stream)
German Marquez (1-0, 4.20) v. TBA

Bowling Green @ Great Lakes 6:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Hyrum Formo (1-0, 3.94) v. Trevor Oaks (2-0, 0.53)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia) (updated through 4/26)
5-16 (6th in IL North)
Offense: 63 R (8th) .636 OPS (12th)
Pitching: 4.53 ERA (12th) 1.60 WHIP (14th)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B Maikel Franco (3)

Mississippi Braves (updated through 4/28)
9-9 (3rd in SL South)
Offense: 74 R (4th) .689 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 3.83 ERA (7th) 1.39 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Jason Hursh (6), 3B Rio Ruiz (10), OF Mallex Smith (16), SS Daniel Castro (25), RHP Tyrell Jenkins, OF KD Kang

Fort Myers Miracle (Minnesota) (updated through 4/28)
7-13 (6th in FSL South)
Offense: 64 R (11th) .582 OPS (12th)
Pitching: 3.02 ERA (3rd) 1.16 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Kohl Stewart (4), RHP J.T. Chargois (21), SS Engelb Vielma (22), IF Niko Goodrum (29)

Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers) (updated through 4/26)
9-8 (4th in MWL East)
Offense: 50 R (14th) .588 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 2.45 ERA (2nd) 1.16 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Grant Holmes (4), OF Alex Verdugo (5), C Julian Leon (11), RHP Brock Stewart (28), 1B Justin Chigbogu (31)