Rays prospects and minor leagues: Lee turns back clock for Montgomery

During the offseason — and I suppose spring training as well — it seemed like the Rays were moving away from players socking dingers. While the minor league personnel obviously didn’t drastically change, the affiliates certainly haven’t been going deep much. Durham and Montgomery each only have one home run, and the four teams combined have nine in 30 games so far.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (3-4)

Durham’s offense forgot to make the road trip, resulting in a 2-0 loss to Columbus. The Bulls had just one hit — a leadoff single by Joe McCarthy in the second. Forrest Snow stepped into the rotation and struck out five but allowed both Clippers runs in four innings. Columbus pitching faced just one batter over the minimum.

1B Jake Bauers: 0-for-3, 1 K, 1 SB
SS Willy Adames: 0-for-3, 1 K
LF Joe McCarthy: 1-for-3, 1 K
3B Christian Arroyo: 0-for-3, 1 K
RF Justin Williams: 0-for-3, 2 K

RHP Forrest Snow: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (2-5)

Montgomery snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-1 win over Birmingham. The top three hitters in the lineup, the trio of Andrew Velazquez, Nick Solak, and Brandon Lowe combined to reach base seven times and score five times. For the first time in exactly a year, Zach Lee threw more than five scoreless innings, striking out five in 5 2/3 frames.

2B Nick Solak: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB
LF Brandon Lowe: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
SS Jermaine Palacios: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Andrew Velazquez: 2-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 K

RHP Zach Lee: 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (2-6)

Charlotte was unable to hang on to a lead in its 7-6 loss to Daytona. The Stone Crabs scored three in the top of the first and led by as many as four, but the Tortugas only allowed two players to reach base over the final four innings. Starter Kenny Rosenberg allowed four runs in 3 ²⁄₃ innings, and Reimin Ramos allowed the final three, including the game-winner in the ninth.

SS Lucius Fox: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 K
CF Josh Lowe: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
RF Jesus Sanchez: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 K

LHP Kenny Rosenberg: 3 ²⁄₃ IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
RHP Reimin Ramos: 2 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (3-5)

Bowling Green’s offense was a little better than Durham’s in its 5-0 loss to South Bend. The Hot Rods had three hits, including Emilio Gustave’s double. They also had a batter draw a walk. Austin Franklin allowed four runs on nine hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings and didn’t strike out a batter.

C Ronaldo Hernandez: 1-for-3

RHP Austin Franklin: 4 2/3 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K

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

Durham @ Columbus 6:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Jose Mujica (0-1, 9.82) v. Stephen Fife (0-0, 1.80)

Montgomery @ Birmingham 8:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
J.D. Martin (0-1, 9.00) v. Jordan Guerrero (1-0, 0.00)

Charlotte @ Lakeland 6:30 p.m. ET
Mikey York (1-0, 1.59) v. Anthony Castro (0-0, 0.00)

Bowling Green v. Fort Wayne 7:35 p.m. ET (radio stream)
Tobias Myers* (1-0, 3.60) v. Mason Thompson (0-1, 11.57)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Columbus Clippers (Cleveland)
3-4 (T-3rd in IN West)
Offense: 24 R (T-6th) .684 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 5.58 ERA (14th) 1.68 WHIP (14th)
Top-30 prospects: C Francisco Mejia (1), SS Yu Chang (6), OF Greg Allen (8), RHP Julian Merryweather (17), C Eric Haase (31), LHP Jeff Beliveau, IF Michael Martinez, OF Richie Shaffer

Birmingham Barons (White Sox)
4-3 (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

Lakeland Flying Tigers
3-5 (T-3rd in FSL North)
Offense: 19 R (T-10th) .707 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.41 ERA (5th) 1.10 WHIP (3rd)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Alex Faedo (2), OF Daz Cameron (6), IF Isaac Paredes (7), LHP Gregory Soto (10), RHP Anthony Castro (19), RHP Jason Foley (23), LHP Austin Sodders (29)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego)
1-7 (8th in MWL East)
Offense: 29 R (9th) .648 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 7.43 ERA (16th) 1.96 WHIP (16th)
Top-30 prospects: LHP MacKenzie Gore (2), SS Gabriel Arias (10), 2B Esteury Ruiz (15), C Luis Campusano (20), OF Jeisson Rosario (22), RHP Mason Thompson (25), OF Tirso Ornelas (31)

Daily news and links

A pair of San Jose Giants hit for the cycle in the same game Wednesday.