Rays prospects and minor leagues: Hu shines in Futures Game

In the Futures Game, the World earned a surprising blowout victory. Chih-Wei Hu was the star among the Rays' contingent. He struck out a pair of batters in one inning, showing some nice fastball velocity and a baffling palmball. Willy Adames struck out in an 0-for-2 game, but he did show some of the best bat speed in the game, according to a graphic late in the broadcast. Ryne Stanek had the high-octane velocity as everyone expected, but he had trouble throwing strikes, particularly with his breaking ball.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (40-52)

Dayron Varona's solo home run was all the offense Durham could muster in its 4-1 loss to Pawtucket. The Bulls were already down 3-0 when Varona hit his 12th homer of the season, and they only totaled four hits while committing six errors. Starter Justin Marks struck out six in six innings and allowed three runs -- one earned.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (10-6)

Montgomery was postponed.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (9-8)

An eight-run inning proved problematic in Charlotte's 10-1 loss to Daytona. The game was tied at one at that point before things quickly got out of hand in the sixth. The Tortugas sent 12 batters to the plate, leaving starter Chris Pike charged with eight runs -- three earned -- in 5 2/3 innings.

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (8-9)

A 4-0 lead evaporated quickly in Bowling Green's 10-6 loss to South Bend. Already up by two, the Hot Rods got a two-run homer from Angel Moreno in the fourth, but the game collapsed from there. South Bend slugged three doubles and knocked out Roel Ramirez, who finished with five runs charged to his line in three-plus innings. Bowling Green never regained the lead despite getting homers from Manny Sanchez and Brandon Lowe. It was Lowe's first professional dinger.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (11-12)

A trio of runs in the second inning could not hold up in Hudson Valley's 4-3 loss to Brooklyn. The Renegades were already down 1-0 before back-to-back doubles by Nathaniel Lowe and Jose Rojas to start the inning tied the score. Landon Cray later singled home Rojas, but the offense checked out after Bill Pujols' sacrifice fly. A triple play in the eighth inning did not help the Renegades' cause. Starter Spencer Moran allowed two runs in four innings, and Deivy Mendez allowed the other two in 2 2/3.

Rookie Princeton Rays (7-8)

Princeton rattled off 11 unanswered runs in a 13-4 win over Bristol. Down 4-2, Princeton went up for good with a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by Eleardo Cabrera's two-run double. In the eighth, it added six more runs and sent 11 batters to the plate, including a two-run double by Robbie Tenerowicz. Willy Ortiz allowed four runs -- one earned -- in five innings with six strikeouts, and Orlando Romero punched out four in three scoreless innings of relief.

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (4-9)

The GCL Rays were off.

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Notable Performances

Triple-A

SS Taylor Motter: 1-for-4, 1 2B
OF Richie Shaffer: 0-for-2, 2 BB
C J.P. Arencibia: 0-for-4, 2 K
3B Daniel Robertson: 0-for-3
OF Dayron Varona: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
2B Jake Hager: 0-for-3

LHP Justin Marks: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 6 K

Class A-Advanced

OF Joe McCarthy: 2-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB
OF Justin Williams: 1-for-4
C Armando Araiza: 0-for-4, 2 K

RHP Chris Pike: 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 8 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 2 K

Class-A

3B Kevin Padlo: 0-for-4, 1 BB
OF Manny Sanchez: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
2B Brandon Lowe: 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
OF Angel Moreno: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

RHP Roel Ramirez: 3+ IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Taylor Hawkins: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K

Short-season

OF Ryan Boldt: 1-for-3, 1 SB
OF Jake Fraley: 0-for-2, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB

RHP Spencer Moran: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Deivy Mendez: 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Rookie (Princeton)

OF Eleardo Cabrera: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
1B Devin Davis: 0-for-4, 1 RBI, 3 K
SS Adrian Rondon: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 K
2B Robbie Tenerowicz: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K
3B Juan Rodriguez: 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB

RHP Willy Ortiz: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 6 K
RHP Orlando Romero: 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

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

Durham is at its All-Star break

Montgomery @ Jackson 6:05 PM ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream) DOUBLEHEADER
Steve Ascher (3-1, 4.83) v. Tyler Herb (0-1, 7.20)
Chris Kirsch (4-3, 3.83) v. Andrew Moore (3-0, 3.73)

Both games will be seven innings

Charlotte @ Daytona 7:05 PM ET (radio stream)
TBA v. Wendolyn Bautista (2-0, 1.33)

Bowling Green @ South Bend 7:05 PM ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. Ryan Kellogg (3-5, 3.52)

Hudson Valley v. West Virginia 7:05 PM ET (radio stream)
TBA v. TBA

Princeton v. Bristol 7 PM ET (radio stream)
TBA v. TBA

GCL Rays v. GCL Red Sox 10 AM DOUBLEHEADER

Both games will be seven innings

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Pawtucket Red Sox
47-44, 5th in IL North
Offense: 356 R (9th) .697 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 3.41 ERA (4th) 1.26 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Brian Johnson (6), 1B Sam Travis (7), SS Deven Marrero (8), RHP Pat Light (11), RHP Noe Ramirez (26)