Rays prospects and minor leagues: Smith strikes out 8 in Durham debut

Adrian Rondon has had a rough season, and I’d imagine he’ll be back with Bowling Green in 2018. Since he’s still only 19, that’s not the end of the world. So far in August, he’s enjoying his best stretch of the season, batting .263 in 16 games with a .739 OPS. Obviously that’s not overwhelming, but he has cut down on the strikeouts.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (77-50)

Burch Smith made his Durham debut, but the Bulls fell to Gwinnett by a 9-0 score. In five innings, Smith allowed a couple runs but did strike out eight batters. Chih-Wei Hu and Jaime Schultz each gave up a home run to Xavier Avery. Durham had eight hits.

SS Willy Adames: 0-for-4, 2 K
1B Jake Bauers: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K

RHP Burch Smith: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
RHP Chih-Wei Hu: 1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Jaime Schultz: one-third IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (33-23)

Anthony Misiewicz was sharp in Montgomery’s 5-1 win over Tennessee. His third start in the organization was his best to date. His eight strikeouts were a career-best at the Double-A level, and he only allowed a run in six-plus innings. The Biscuits scored all five of their runs with two outs in the first. Justin Williams and Nick Ciuffo each drove in two runs.

OF Joe McCarthy: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB
OF Justin Williams: 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI
C Nick Ciuffo: 1-for-2, 2 RBI, 1 BB
1B Dalton Kelly: 0-for-3, 3 K

LHP Anthony Misiewicz: 6+ IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (32-24)

Charlotte was off.

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (36-21)

Bowling Green melted down late in a 7-6 loss to West Michigan. With home runs from Garrett Whitley and Adrian Rondon plus a strong outing from Spencer Moran, the Hot Rods held a 6-1 lead through seven innings. The Whitecaps scored one in the eighth, but the wheels came off in the ninth. West Michigan scored five runs with two outs in the ninth to take the lead.

CF Josh Lowe: 1-for-4, 1 R, 2 K
OF Garrett Whitley: 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
3B Adrian Rondon: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
1B Bobby Melley: 1-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K

RHP Spencer Moran: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
RHP Orlando Romero: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (33-25)

Drew Strotman turned in another nice start in Hudson Valley’s 4-2 win over Aberdeen. In his six professional starts, Strotman has never allowed more than two earned runs. In Monday’s outing, he gave up just a run in six innings with four strikeouts. In the eighth, Zacrey Law was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Oscar Rojas followed with a walk for another insurance run.

2B Vidal Brujan: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 SB
SS Taylor Walls: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 SB
1B Brendan McKay: 1-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

RHP Drew Strotman: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Rookie Princeton Rays (23-34)

Princeton rallied late for a for a 3-2 win over Danville. In the eighth, Zach Rutherford tied the game with a sacrifice fly, and Trey Hair followed with an RBI single to score the go-ahead run. Starter Luis Moncada struck out three and allowed a run in five innings.

2B Trey Hair: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB
OF Moises Gomez: 0-for-4, 3 K
OF Michael Smith: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB

LHP Luis Moncada: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (22-27)

The GCL Rays scored a couple runs late for a 2-1 win over the GCL Red Sox. Without much offense through the first seven innings, the GCL Rays finally broke out in the eighth. After Sabriel Polanco’s double, Jonathan Aranda tied the game with an RBI single, and he scored on Granden Goetzman’s single. Starter Paul Campbell threw 3 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings.

OF Granden Goetzman: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 K, 2 SB
3B Carlos Vargas: 0-for-3, 1 K

RHP Paul Campbell: 3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

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

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

Durham v. Gwinnett 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. Aaron Blair (7-7, 4.59)

Montgomery v. Tennessee 8:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Genesis Cabrera (5-3, 3.67) v. TBA

Charlotte v. St. Lucie 6:35 PM (radio stream)
Eduar Lopez (8-7, 3.56) v. Nabil Crismatt (4-12, 4.03)

Bowling Green @ Dayton 7 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. Tony Santillan (7-7, 3.56)

Hudson Valley @ Brooklyn 7 PM (radio stream)
TBA v. TBA

Princeton @ Danville 11 AM (radio stream)
TBA v. Jaret Hellinger (3-2, 4.47)

GCL Rays @ GCL Red Sox 12 PM

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Gwinnett Braves
64-62 (2nd in IL South)
Offense: 555 R (5th) .718 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.99 ERA (9th) 1.34 WHIP (8th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Ronald Acuna (6), LHP Sean Newcomb (8), RHP Patrick Weigel (9), RHP Lucas Sims (14), OF Dustin Peterson (16), LHP A.J. Minter (18), 3B Rio Ruiz (20), 2B Micah Johnson (23), LHP Luiz Gohara

Tennessee Smokies (Cubs)
27-29 (3rd in SL North)
Offense: 498 R (4th) .696 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 3.76 ERA (5th) 1.30 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Trevor Clifton (8), RHP Duane Underwood (15), 2B David Bote (26)

St. Lucie Mets
24-33
Offense: 514 R (5th) .697 OPS (3rd)
Pitching: 4.19 ERA (11th) 1.41 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: QB Tim Tebow, RHP Justin Dunn (3), 1B Pete Alonso (13), OF Wuilmer Becerra (16), RHP Gerson Bautista (20), RHP Stephen Nogosek (26), RHP Harol Gonzalez (28), SS Colby Woodmansee (30), RHP Daniel Bard

Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati)
20-37
Offense: 558 R (7th) .690 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 4.29 ERA (13th) 1.28 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Taylor Trammell (5), C Tyler Stephenson (10), RHP Tony Santillan (11), OF Michael Beltre (23), OF Jose Siri (31)

Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
15-43
Offense: 197 R (14th) .624 OPS (13th)
Pitching: 4.75 ERA (14th) 1.48 WHIP (14th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP David Peterson, OF Quinn Brodey

Danville Braves
28-30 (3rd in AL East)
Offense: 266 R (7th) .726 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 3.85 ERA (1st) 1.35 WHIP (3rd)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Kevin Maitan (7), LHP Kyle Muller (17), SS Derian Cruz (22), RHP Huascar Ynoa

GCL Red Sox
22-27 (T-3rd in GCL South)
Offense: 217 R (10th) .670 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 4.19 ERA (12th) 1.43 WHIP (14th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Cole Brannen