Rays prospects and minor leagues: Durham, Bowling Green squander leads

On paper, Bowling Green has a deep pitching staff, but the first six games of the season didn’t quite go its way. So far, the Hot Rods have a 5.47 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. Somehow, the Fort Wayne TinCaps have an 8.05 ERA. They haven’t won yet.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (2-3)

A 4-0 lead wasn’t enough in Durham’s 5-4 loss to Gwinnett. Brandon Snyder hit a three-run homer in the first, and Curt Casali added to the lead an inning later with a sacrifice fly. For the second straight start to open the season, Chih-Wei Hu was charged with three runs, but he did strike out six in five-plus innings. The Bulls loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Jason Coats struck out to end the game.

DH Willy Adames: 0-for-4, 2 K
SS Christian Arroyo: 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 CS
1B/LF Joe McCarthy: 0-for-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RF Justin Williams: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 1 K
1B Jake Bauers: 0-for-1, 1 BB (did not start)
3B/C Brandon Snyder: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K

RHP Chih-Wei Hu: 5+ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
RHP Ian Gibaut: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Jaime Schultz: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Diego Castillo: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

Durham’s site offers this recap.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (1-4)

Montgomery was off.

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (2-3)

Charlotte’s game was postponed.

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (3-3)

An 8-0 lead quickly turned south in Bowling Green’s 13-11 loss to South Bend. Moises Gomez tripled in a pair in a four-run first inning, and the Hot Rods scored four more in the second. However, starter Resly Linares was not sharp, and he allowed seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. The bullpen was not any better, and South Bend went ahead with a six-run sixth.

2B Vidal Brujan: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 K
DH Brendan McKay: 2-for-4, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
LF Moises Gomez: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 3B, 3 RBI

LHP Resly Linares: 3 2/3 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
RHP Orlando Romero: 1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

CLICK HERE FOR ALL BOX SCORES

Wednesday’s games (probables courtesy of milb.com)

Durham v. Gwinnett 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Anthony Banda (1-0, 0.00) v. Aaron Blair (0-0, -.--)

Montgomery @ Birmingham 8:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Genesis Cabrera (0-0, 3.60) v. Spencer Adams (0-0, 7.20)

Charlotte @ Daytona 5:30 p.m. ET (radio stream) DOUBLEHEADER
Brock Burke (0-0, 7.20) v. Tony Santillan (0-0, 0.00)
TBA v. TBA

Both games will be seven innings.

Bowling Green @ South Bend 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.tv, radio stream)
Drew Strotman* (0-0, 5.79) v. Jose Albertos (0-0, -.--)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta)
2-2 (T-2nd in IL South)
Offense: 4 R (T-13th) .507 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 2.04 ERA (3rd) 0.96 WHIP (2nd)
Top-30 Prospects: OF Ronald Acuna Jr. (1), RHP Mike Soroka (3), LHP Kolby Allard (7), RHP Patrick Weigel (16), OF Dustin Peterson (24), LHP Philip Pfeifer (29)

Birmingham Barons (White Sox)
3-2 (2nd in SL North)
Offense: 15 R (7th) .605 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 2.31 ERA (3rd) 1.18 WHIP (2nd)
Top-30 Prospects: OF Eloy Jimenez (1), C Zack Collins (6), RHP Spencer Adams (12), RHP A.J. Puckett (15), RHP Jordan Stephens (16), LHP Ian Clarkin (22), LHP Jordan Guerrero (25), OF Tito Polo (27), C Seby Zavala (29), OF Ryan Brett

Daytona Tortugas (Cincinnati)
4-1 (1st in FSL North)
Offense: 18 R (4th) .729 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 1.91 ERA (1st) 0.94 WHIP (1st)
Top-30 Prospects: OF Taylor Trammell (3), RHP Tony Santillan (6), C Tyler Stephenson (10), OF T.J. Friedl (17), LHP Scott Moss (29)

South Bend Cubs
3-2
Offense: 10 R (11th) .624 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 3.12 ERA (9th) 1.19 WHIP (3rd)
Top-30 Prospects: RHP Jose Albertos (3), LHP Brendon Little (7), RHP Cory Abbott (16), C Miguel Amaya (22), RHP Javier Assad (23), RHP Erich Uelmen (27)

Daily news and links

First at Baseball America is Ben Badler’s review of the Rays’ 2017-18 international signing period, which included the top prospect available, shortstop Wander Franco.

BA also had a couple age-related pieces. It posted the annual list of youngest players in each league, and it also had a new feature comparing the average age of each minor league affiliate to the league average. I wonder how the Rays would have stacked up a few years ago before the perceived change in aggressiveness when it comes to promoting prospects.

Durham has a new outfielder.

Montgomery has a podcast that previews the 2018 season.

Charlotte broadcaster John Vittas interviewed outfielder Josh Lowe.

Insurance spokesman Chris Paul joined the Winston-Salem Dash’s ownership group.