Triple-A Durham Bulls (65-41)
Jake Bauers smashed his ninth home run of the season, two thirds of the way in and at just 21 years old. Will that power continue to translate as he grows into more strength? If so, the Rays have themselves a quality power bat for years to come.
Yonny Chirinos tossed another quality game and it looks like he’s being held back by pitch count at this point. 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 7 K on 83 pitches is a pretty effective night by most metrics. Chirinos will be Rule 5 eligible this offseason.
Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (59-46)
Montgomery took control in the first inning and never looked back. Nick Ciuffo reached base safely four times, while Dalton Kelly and Jake Cronenworth both drove in two runs a piece. This could be a potent offense going into the playoffs.
Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (49-54)
On the rehab front, Kevin Kiermaier was scratched due to back tightness, and Daniel Robertson went 2-3 with a hit-by-pitch. On the prospect front, Brandon Lowe, Kevin Padlo, and Ryan Boldt all contributed extra-base-hits in the blowout 10-3 loss to the St. Lucie Mets.
Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (51-51)
The Hots Rods escaped with a 5-4 win over the South Bend Cubs 5-4, probably in large part to Jonah Heim’s 3 hit effort. Heim not only caught the entire game, he also included a triple and a double with the bat. At just 22 years old, Heim still has time to develop and could be something special down the road.
Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (16-20)
2017 first round draft pick Brendan McKay started at the Designated Hitter spot, one day before being slated to be the starting pitcher. This is something to monitor going forward as the Rays will surely try to figure out what the preferred routine will be for McKay in between pitching starts.
Rookie Princeton Rays (15-22)
Nothing exceptionally positive to post here for the day. The team dropped both double header games to Elizabethton.
Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (10-17)
Jose De Leon continued his rehab assignment with the GCL Rays yesterday, throwing a nice 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 K performance to earn the win. The entire line up put in a team effort, contributing 16 hits and 4 walks.
Go here for yesterday’s box scores and here for today’s match ups. Looks like Genesis Cabrera and Burch Smith are getting the starts for AA Montgomery and A+ Charlotte today.