Rays prospects and minor leagues: Cobb returns to mound, again

With the trade deadline approaching and the likelihood of a starter being moved remaining high, the Rays would probably love for Alex Cobb to be ready soon. It doesn't look like that'll be the case, but his outing Friday seemed encouraging.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (49-58)

After allowing a first-inning run, Austin Pruitt settled in for a nice start in Durham's 9-1 win over Louisville. He allowed a couple singles to start the game leading up to the run, but the Bats only managed three hits off him the rest of the way. He finished with the one run on his line on five hits and a walk in six innings with six strikeouts. Eury Perez stole home on a double steal in the third, and the Bulls were up 2-0 when they broke it open with a five-run fourth that included a two-run dinger from Taylor Motter.

Durham is now in a virtual tie for the IL South lead.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (20-14)

Montgomery blinked first in Friday's pitcher's duel, a 4-0 loss to Pensacola. The first seven innings of the game were scoreless, and Jeff Ames had two outs in the eighth before the Blue Wahoos broke through with a pair of doubles. The potent Biscuits offense was limited to two hits, and they wasted a nice start from Chris Kirsch, who struck out seven in six scoreless innings.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (18-15)

Alex Cobb resumed his rehab assignment and was sharp in Charlotte's 1-0 win over Brevard County. After a two-plus week break to work on mechanics, Cobb returned to the mound and struck out two in two perfect innings, using only 23 pitches (15 strikes). In the first, Desmond Jennings led off with a walk and eventually scored the only run of the game. Benton Moss picked up where Cobb left off and struck out three in five scoreless innings, and Brian Miller and Diego Castillo wrapped up the shutout with a scoreless inning each.

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (20-13)

David Rodriguez got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the go-ahead run in Bowling Green's 3-2 win over Lansing. With two outs and two runners in scoring position in the seventh, the Lugnuts opted to intentionally walk Brett Sullivan to face Rodriguez. Pitcher Tom Robson was unable to reacquaint himself with the strike zone and hit Rodriguez for the decisive run. Starter Genesis Cabrera was charged with two runs in five-plus innings, and Fernando Baez struck out five in three scoreless innings of relief, although he did allow an inherited runner to score.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (23-17)

Hudson Valley allowed three unanswered runs to finish the game in a 6-4 loss to Staten Island. Daniel De La Calle's double in the third scored two to give the Renegades a 2-1 lead, and bases-loaded walks from him and Miles Mastrobuoni an inning later gave them a 4-3 lead. Starter Noel Rodriguez was charged with four runs in 4 2/3 innings, and Deivy Mendez allowed Staten Island's final two runs.

Rookie Princeton Rays (19-15)

A nine-run ninth was problematic in Princeton's 12-4 loss to Danville. A pair of bases-loaded walks in the first gave Princeton a 2-0 lead, and it would grab the lead again in the seventh when Oscar Rojas hit a solo home run. Starter Edrick Agosto allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings, and Hector Lopez was effective in long relief with 3 1/3-scoreless innings after the restart. However, Reimin Ramos and Alex Estrella each allowed five runs -- four earned -- in a combined 1 2/3 innings. Catcher Blake Grant-Parks had to finish the game on the mound.

In Game 2, Princeton staged a late comeback before eventually falling to Danville, 4-3. Emilio Gustave's second homer of the season gave Princeton a 1-0 lead, but Danville scored three just a half inning later to go in front. In the sixth, Devin Davis tied the game with a two-run double before Danville scored the eventual winning run against Dalton Moats in the seventh. Peter Bayer started and threw two scoreless innings, and Sam Long allowed three runs -- one earned -- in three innings.

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (13-18)

The GCL Rays wound up on the wrong end of an 11-9 slugfest against the GCL Orioles. After the GCL Orioles went up 2-0 early, the GCL Rays responded with eight straight runs. They tied the game in the second, and Rene Pinto's two-run homer in the third powered a four-run inning. Starter Zack Trageton allowed five runs -- three earned -- in 4 2/3 innings, and the bullpen didn't fare any better. Tyler House gave up four runs over the final two innings and took the loss.

The preceding stories were not generated by the Associated Press computer using data from and in cooperation with MLBAM.

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Notable Performances

Triple-A

SS Jake Hager: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
UT Taylor Motter: 1-for-3, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB
3B Richie Shaffer: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
OF Eury Perez: 0-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 SB

RHP Austin Pruitt: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Double-A

SS Willy Adames: 0-for-2
1B Jake Bauers: 1-for-3, 1 K

LHP Chris Kirsch: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
RHP Jeff Ames: 1+ IP, 3 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 0 K

Class A-Advanced

OF Desmond Jennings: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB
OF Joe McCarthy: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 1 K
2B Riley Unroe: 0-for-4, 2 K
OF Thomas Milone: 0-for-4, 2 K

RHP Alex Cobb: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Benton Moss: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Class-A

2B Brandon Lowe: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB

LHP Genesis Cabrera: 5+ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
RHP Fernando Baez: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Short-season

OF Ryan Boldt: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB
OF Garrett Whitley: 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K
OF Jake Fraley: 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 K, 1 SB
C Daniel De La Calle: 1-for-3, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB
2B Miles Mastrobuoni: 1-for-1, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SB

RHP Noel Rodriguez: 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Rookie (Princeton)

OF Trek Stemp (1): 4-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B
OF Trek Stemp (2): 1-for-2, 1 2B, 2 BB
OF Oscar Rojas (1): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
OF Emilio Gustave (1): 0-for-5, 3 K
OF Emilio Gustave (2): 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
SS Adrian Rondon (1): 1-for-4, 2 K
SS Adrian Rondon (2): 4-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B

RHP Edrick Agosto (1): 3 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Hector Lopez (1): 3 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Reimin Ramos (1): 1+ IP, 4 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 0 K
LHP Alex Estrella (1): two-thirds IP, 3 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Blake Grant Parks (1): one-third IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Pete Bayer (2): 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Sam Long (2): 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 5 K

Rookie (GCL Rays)

2B Vidal Brujan: 0-for-5, 1 K
OF Jesus Sanchez: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
C Chris Betts: 1-for-5, 1 R, 3 K
C Rene Pinto: 2-for-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K
3B Joshua Lowe: 3-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
OF Jose Tonton: 0-for-5, 1 R, 2 K
1B Jonathan Arrowood: 2-for-2, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SB
OF Ryan Calloway: 3-for-4, 2 RBI

RHP Zack Trageton: 4 2/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Tyler House: 2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

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

Durham v. Louisville 6:35 PM ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Eddie Gamboa (4-3, 2.56) v. Amir Garrett (2-2, 2.35)

Montgomery v. Pensacola 7:35 PM ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Yonny Chirinos (4-1, 3.82) v. Barrett Astin (6-3, 2.66)

Charlotte @ Brevard County 6:35 PM ET (radio stream)
Chase Whitley v. Kodi Medeiros (4-8, 5.25)

Bowling Green @ Dayton 7 PM ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. Tanner Rainey (3-8, 5.64)

Hudson Valley v. Staten Island 7:05 PM ET (radio stream)
TBA v. Kolton Mahoney (3-2, 2.35)

Princeton v. Danville 7 PM ET (radio stream)
TBA v. Jaret Hellinger (2-3, 5.64)

GCL Rays @ GCL Orioles 10 AM

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Louisville Bats (Cincinnati)
53-53, 3rd in IL West
Offense: 379 R (12th) .688 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 3.75 ERA (9th) 1.31 WHIP (9th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Robert Stephenson (1),  LHP Amir Garrett (3), OF Jesse Winker (5), LHP John Lamb (11), OF Scott Schebler (14), OF Kyle Waldrop (21), RHP Jon Moscot (25)

Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Cincinnati)
17-17
Offense: 402 R (7th) .671 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.20 ERA (1st) 1.23 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Rookie Davis (6), SS Alex Blandino (6), RHP Nick Travieso (7), RHP Sal Romano (9), RHP Tyler Mahle (10), OF Phillip Ervin (12), 3B Eric Jagielo (13), 3B Taylor Sparks (14), SS Carton Daal (23), RHP Jackson Stephens (31)

Brevard County Manatees (Milwaukee)
10-24, 6th in FSL North
Offense: 330 R (12th) .609 OPS (12th)
Pitching: 3.99 ERA (10th) 1.39 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Kodi Medeiros (6), OF Clint Coulter (8), RHP Cody Ponce (9), RHP Bubba Derby (12), RHP Freddy Peralta (15), RHP Marcos Diplan (18), OF Corey Ray, 2B Wendell Rijo

Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati)
12-20, 7th in MWL East
Offense: 351 R (16th) .624 OPS (16th)
Pitching: 4.29 ERA (16th) 1.46 WHIP (16th)
Top 30 Prospects: C Tyler Stephenson (4), RHP Tanner Rainey (17), 3B Gavin LaValley (24), OF Narisco Crook (28), 3B Nick Senzel, C Chris Okey

Staten Island Yankees
22-18, 2nd in NYPL McNamara
Offense: 150 R (T-7th) .635 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 2.90 ERA (3rd) 1.18 WHIP (3rd)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Drew Finley (24), RHP Austin DeCarr (28), 2B Nick Solak

Danville Braves
19-16, 3rd in AL East
Offense: 162 R (8th) .711 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 4.19 ERA (5th) 1.34 WHIP (3rd)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Koby Allard (3), LHP Joey Wentz, C Brett Cumberland, LHP Drew Harrington

GCL Orioles
17-14, T-1st in GCL South
Offense: 127 R (10th) .612 OPS (15th)
Pitching: 2.36 ERA (1st) 1.10 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: None