Rays prospects and minor leagues: Hazelbaker homers in Durham debut

In two appearances this season, Matt Krook has been used in relief of J.D. Martin. Krook was a first-round pick in 2013 but did not sign. The Giants took him in the fourth round three years later, and the Rays got him in the Evan Longoria trade. In those two appearances, he’s thrown eight innings and has a 25.8 percent strikeout rate and 12.9 percent walk rate.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (4-4)

Durham’s offense broke out in a 12-3 win over Columbus. The Bulls led 5-3 and put the game away with a seven-run seventh inning that included home runs from Jeremy Hazelbaker and Joe McCarthy. The bats backed a nice effort from Jose Mujica, who tied a career high with eight strikeouts and allowed two runs — one earned -- in five innings.

SS Willy Adames: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 CS
1B Jake Bauers: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K
RF Justin Williams: 2-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 K
LF Joe McCarthy: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 CS
2B Kean Wong: 3-for-5, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
DH Jeremy Hazelbaker: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K

RHP Jose Mujica: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 8 K
RHP Jaime Schultz: two-thirds IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Ian Gibaut: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Diego Castillo: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (2-6)

Just one bad inning sunk Montgomery in a 5-4 loss to Birmingham. The game was tied at one after one inning, but the Barons struck for four in the third against J.D. Martin. After the knuckleballer exited after four innings, Matt Krook was sharp. The lefty struck out six and only allowed a hit in four innings of relief.

2B Nick Solak: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 SB, 1 CS
LF Brandon Lowe: 2-for-5, 2 K
SS Jake Cronenworth: 0-for-4, 2 K
RF Ryan Boldt: 2-for-3, 1 SB
CF Andrew Velazquez: 0-for-5, 3 K
3B Michael Brosseau: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K

RHP J.D. Martin: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
LHP Matt Krook: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (2-7)

Charlotte’s late rally wasn’t enough in a 6-3 loss to Lakeland. The Stone Crabs were held off the scoreboard on just five hits through eight innings. In the ninth, all three runs scored on a Tristan Gray double. In 4 ²⁄₃ innings, Mikey York tied a career high with five runs allowed, but only two were earned.

SS Lucius Fox: 1-for-4, 2 K
CF Jesus Sanchez: 1-for-4
DH Robbie Tenerowicz: 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B
RF David Olmedo-Barrera: 0-for-4, 3 K

RHP Mikey York: 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 1 K

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (3-6)

Eleardo Cabrera homered in the ninth, but it was not enough in Bowling Green’s 13-2 loss to Fort Wayne. The TinCaps scored three off Tobias Myers in the first, and the rout was one. Jose Disla was charged with six runs without recording an out, and two position players had to pitch.

2B Vidal Brujan: 1-for-5, 1 SB
1B Brendan McKay: 0-for-2, 1 BB
C Ronaldo Hernandez: 1-for-1 (did not start)
RF Eleardo Cabrera: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
C Mac Seibert: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 3B

RHP Tobias Myers: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
RHP Jose Disla: 6 BF, 1 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 0 K
RHP Devin Davis: 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Mac Seibert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

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

Durham @ Columbus 6:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Vidal Nuno (0-0, 1.93) v. Adam Wilk (1-0, 0.00)

Montgomery @ Birmingham 7:30 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Benton Moss (0-1, 7.36) v. Ian Clarkin (1-0, 0.00)

Charlotte @ Lakeland 6 p.m. ET
Willy Ortiz (0-0, 3.00) v. Tom de Blok (0-1, 9.00)

Bowling Green v. Fort Wayne 7:35 p.m. ET (radio stream)
Alex Valverde (0-0, 0.00) v. Osvaldo Hernandez (0-1, 7.36)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Columbus Clippers (Cleveland)
3-5 (T-3rd in IL 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)
5-3 (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
4-5 (T-2nd 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)
2-7 (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

Baseball America’s Josh Norris has more video, this time of a recent appearance by Durham reliever Hunter Wood.

BA had an interesting look at the number of miles between each organization’s full-season affiliates. It doesn’t really mean anything, but I thought it was neat.

The Beloit Snappers threw the first no-hitter of the minor league season.