Rays prospects and minor leagues: Honeywell returns for Charlotte

Saturday was a day of debuts in the Rays system. Joe McCarthy made his Charlotte debut in is doubleheader, going a combined 2-for-5 with a walk. Kewby Meyer made his debut in Bowling Green after being promoted from Hudson Valley. Perhaps the biggest debuts came in the Gulf Coast League, when Josh Lowe and Chris Betts played their first professional games, and highly touted Dominican outfielder Jesus Sanchez joined them.

Note: It has been reported that a glitch has affected some box scores on milb.com. I do not know if any Rays box scores have incorrect information.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (34-43)

The Bulls had an all-around loss, falling to the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs by a 7-1 deficit. Justin Marks struck out 11 in 5 1/3 innings, but allowed three runs in his sixth loss of the season. Eddie Gamboa allowed four runs - two earned - in two innings of relief, which ultimately decided the game. The Bulls scored their lone run on a Juniel Querecuto RBI single. Durham totaled eight hits, with Daniel Robertson leading the team with two.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (2-1)

The Biscuits couldn't put much together in a 5-1 loss to the Biloxi Shuckers. Chih-Wei Hu went six innings, allowing four runs on nine hits in his fifth loss of the year. Kyle Bird also allowed a run in relief. Mike Marjama had a RBI single in the eighth to drive in Montgomery's only run.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (1-2)

Charlotte dropped both games in a doubleheader with the Bradenton Marauders, losing Game 1 3-1. Brent Honeywell made his first start since May 9, looking solid in five innings allowing only one run on a solo home run while striking out four. Mike Franco took the loss after allowing two runs coming out of the bullpen. Mac James scored Charlotte's only run on a throwing error.

In Game 2, the Stone Crabs' offense continued to falter in a 4-1 loss. Benton Moss allowed four runs - three on one home run - in his sixth loss this season. The Stone Crabs got their only run when Grant Kay scored on a wild pitch.

Class-A Bowling Green (0-3)

Bowling Green's pitching dropped the ball, leaving the Hot Rods little hope in a 9-2 loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Blake Bivens allowed four runs and Reece Karalus gave up five, so the team had a large hill to mount if it wanted to pull out a win. David Olmedo-Barrera hit a solo home run and Brandon Lowe had a RBI single to give Bowling Green its runs. Kevin Padlo went 2-for-4 with a double.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (4-5)

Hudson Valley picked up its fourth win with a 6-4 final score against the Brooklyn Cyclones. The Renegades picked up three runs in the first inning with RBI singles from Garrett Whitley and Nathaniel Lowe along with a Jose Rojas RBI groundout. Rojas picked up two more RBIs on a single in the fourth, with the Renegades scoring on a hit by pitch. These three runs gave Hudson Valley the deciding run. J.D. Busfield threw two scoreless innings relief for his first win with Hudson Valley, and Noel Rodriguez picked up his first save by shutting the door on the last batter of the game.

Rookie Princeton Rays (2-1)

Princeton dropped its first game in 2016, putting up nothing on offense in a 5-0 loss to the Burlington Royals. Joe Disla lost his season debut, allowing three runs in 4 1/3 innings. Peter Bayer allowed one run on a solo shot in two innings of relief, but struck out five as well. Blake Grant-Parks was the only Ray with multiple hits with two singles.

Rookie GCL Rays (0-2)

The GCL Rays dropped the resumption of Friday's suspended game, 6-1. Chris Betts struck out in his only trip to the plate, and Josh Lowe was 0-for-2. Jesus Sanchez doubled and drove in the team's only run. Starter Jesus Ortiz allowed two runs in two innings, and Grayson Garvin resurfaced in rehab, tossing five scoreless innings.

Eric Diomartich allowed three unearned runs in three innings as the Rays lost their second game of the year to the Orioles, 5-2. Eduard Rostillo allowed two unearned runs and three walks, but also struck out six over three innings of relief. Michael Brosseau and Ryan Caldwell each picked up an RBI.

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Notable Performances

Triple-A

SS Daniel Robertson: 2-for-4
3B Richie Shaffer: 1-for-3, BB
C Luke Maile: 1-for-3, BB
IF Juniel Querecuto: 1-for-3, RBI (8)

RHP Parker Markel: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Double-A

C Mike Marjama: 1-for-4, RBI (30), 2 K
SS Willy Adames: 1-for-4, 2B (22), 2 K
OF Cade Gotta: 1-for-2, R, BB

RHP Brad Schreiber: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Class-A Advanced

Game 1

OF Justin Williams: 2-for-3, 2B (8)
OF Bralin Jackson: 1-for-2
3B Cristian Toribio: 1-for-2, BB

RHP Brent Honeywell: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR

Game 2

IF Grant Kay: 1-for-3, R
1B Joe McCarthy: 2-for-3, K

LHP Jose Alvarado: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Class-A

OF David Olmedo-Barrera: 2-for-4, R, HR (2), RBI (12)
3B Kevin Padlo: 2-for-4, R, 2B (15)
2B Brandon Lowe: 2-for-4, RBI (19)
1B Kewby Meyer: 2-for-4, K
OF Landon Cray: 1-for-2, 2 BB

Short-Season

OF Angel Perez: 1-for-4, 2 R, K
OF Ryan Boldt: 2-for-5, R, K
OF Garrett Whitley: 1-for-4, R, RBI (2), BB, 3 K
3B Jim Haley: 2-for-5, R, K
1B Nathaniel Lowe: 1-for-4, 2 RBI (3)
C Jose Rojas: 1-for-3, 3 RBI (3), BB

RHP J.D. Busfield: W (1-0), 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Noel Rodriguez: S (1), 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Rookie-Princeton

OF Issac Bernard: 0-for2, 2 BB, K
C Blake Grant-Parks: 2-for-4

RHP Peter Bayer: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Rookie-GCL

C Chris Betts: 1-for-1, R, 2B (1), BB
OF Ryan Caldwell: 1-for-3, RBI (1), K

RHP Eduard Rosillo: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
RHP Austin Sweet: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Today's probables (All probables courtesy milb.com)

Durham v. Lehigh Valley 5:05 PM ET (milb.tv)
Jacob Faria (0-0, -.--) v. Jake Thompson (6-5, 3.09)

Montgomery @ Biloxi 6:10 PM ET (milb.tv)
Chris Kirsch (4-2, 3.36) v. TBA

Charlotte v. Palm Beach 12:35 PM ET
Henry Ceteno (1-2, 2.65) v. Johnny Walter (1-1, 2.92)

Bowling Green v. Fort Wayne 5:05 PM ET
Genesis Cabrera (6-2, 1.98) v. Jacob Nix (1-3, 3.50)

Hudson Valley @ Brooklyn 4:00 PM ET
TBA v. TBA

Princeton v. Danville 5:00 PM ET
TBA v. TBA

GCL Rays are off

Scouting the opposition

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia)
44-32, T-2nd in IL North
Offense: 328 R (4th) .731 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 3.50 ERA (6th) 1.20 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: SS J.P. Crawford (1), OF Nick Williams (2), RHP Jake Thompson (3), C Andrew Knapp (4), RHP Mark Appel (8), RHP Edubray Ramos (17), 2B/OF Darnell Sweeney (26), RHP Ben Lively (27)

Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee)
1-2, T-3rd (Last) in SL South
Offense: 265 R (9th) .665 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 3.83 ERA (7th) 1.29 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Brett Phillips (4), OF Tyrone Taylor (7), C Jacob Nottingham (11), RHP Adrian Houser (20), OF Victor Roache (24), LHP Hobbs Johnson (25), RHP Brandon Woodruff (31)

Palm Beach Cardinals
2-1, T-1st in FSL South
Offense: 256 R (8th) .621 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 3.36 ERA (7th) 1.29 WHIP (9th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Jack Flaherty (3), LHP Austin Gomber (14), SS Oscar Mercado (26)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego)
3-0, T-1st in MWL East
Offense: 312 R (6th) .670 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.45 ERA (10th) 1.27 WHIP (8th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Rudy Giron (4), LHP Logan Allen (8), RHP Austin Smith (9), OF Michael Gettys (10), RHP Jacob Nix (11), RHP Enyel De Los Santos (15), RHP Phil Maton (26), RHP Emmanuel Ramirez (30), 1B Brad Zunica (31)

Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
3-6, T-3rd (Last) in NYPL McNamara
Offense: 35 R (T-6th) .486 OPS (13th)
Pitching: 3.20 ERA (10th) 1.16 WHIP (8th)
Top 30 Prospects: C Ali Sanchez (15)

Danville Braves
2-1, T-1st in AL East
Offense: 21 R (4th) .664 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 4.50 ERA (4th) 1.42 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: None