Rays prospects and minor leagues: Lowe continues hot start

It’s only three games so far, but Josh Lowe is off to a nice start so far. He has a homer, double, 1.250 OPS, and as many walks as strikeouts (two). He’s not known for those starts. In the first three games of his pro career, he was 1-for-7 with three strikeouts. In his first three games last season, he struck out 10 times and didn’t reach base once. He’s always heated up, but maybe he’ll play more consistently throughout the season in 2018.

Also in Charlotte, Kevin Padlo exited the game after five innings.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (1-1)

Durham’s game was postponed.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (1-2)

Montgomery fell in an early hole and couldn’t get out in its 5-2 loss to Biloxi. In his return to the organization as a knuckleballer, J.D. Martin struggled in his 2018 debut, allowing four runs — three earned — on seven hits in three innings. He was relieved by Matt Krook, acquired in the Evan Longoria trade, who threw four innings of relief. Both Biscuits runs came in the eighth.

2B Nick Solak: 1-for-3, 2 BB, 1 K
DH Brandon Lowe: 0-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RF Ryan Boldt: 0-for-4, 2 K
SS Jermaine Palacios: 1-for-4, 2 K

RHP J.D. Martin: 3 IP, 7 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Mike Franco: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (1-2)

Charlotte hit three home runs en route to an 8-4 win over Fort Myers, ensuring it would not have a winless season. Robbie Tenerowicz hit a two-run homer in the first, and Josh Lowe and Tristan Gray also went deep later in the game. Kenny Rosenberg was charged with three runs in four-plus innings, and the win went to Curtis Taylor, who was acquired from Arizona for Brad Boxberger.

DH Lucius Fox: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 K, 1 CS
CF Josh Lowe: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K
RF Jesus Sanchez: 0-for-4, 2 K
LF Robbie Tenerowicz: 3-for-3, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
SS Tristan Gray: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K

LHP Kenny Rosenberg: 4+ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
RHP Curtis Taylor: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

Charlotte’s website offers this recap.

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (3-0)

Bowling Green continued hammering Dayton in its 11-2 win over the Dragons. After scoring eight runs on Friday, the Hot Rods scored eight more over the final three innings Saturday with a pair of four-run frames. Brendan McKay capped the scoring with a two-run single in the ninth. In his 2018 debut, Tobias Myers allowed two runs in five innings, but his five walks were more than double his previous career high.

2B Vidal Brujan: 1-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 SB
1B Brendan McKay: 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
DH Ronaldo Hernandez: 0-for-4, 1 BB, 1 K
SS Zach Rutherford: 2-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
RF Eleardo Cabrera: 1-for-2, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB

RHP Tobias Myers: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K

CLICK HERE FOR ALL BOX SCORES

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

Durham v. Charlotte 5:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Jose Mujica (0-0, -.--) v. Donn Roach (0-0, -.--)

Montgomery v. Biloxi 3:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. Thomas Jankins (0-0, -.--)

Charlotte v. Fort Myers 12:35 p.m. ET (radio stream)
Mikey York (0-0, -.--) v. Brady Anderson (0-0, -.--)

Bowling Green @ Dayton 2 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. Wendolyn Bautista (0-0, -.--)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Charlotte Knights (White Sox)
1-1 (T-2nd in IL South)
Offense: Will update after first series
Pitching: Will update after first series
Top-30 Prospects: Will update after first series

Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee)
2-1 (T-1st in SL South)
Offense: Will update after first series
Pitching: Will update after first series
Top-30 Prospects: RHP Luis Ortiz (6), 3B Lucas Ecreg (8), OF Corey Ray (10), 1B Jake Gatewood (14), OF Trent Grisham (15), RHP Cody Ponce (18), RHP Adrian Houser (31), C Nick Franklin, SS Jake Hager

Fort Myers Miracle (Minnesota)
2-1 (T-1st in FSL South)
Offense: Will update after first series
Pitching: Will update after first series
Top-30 Prospects: OF Aaron Whitefield (19), 1B Lewin Diaz (26), 2B Travis Blankenhorn (29)

Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati)
0-3 (8th in MWL East)
Offense: Will update after first series
Pitching: Will update after first series
Top-30 Prospects: RHP Hunter Greene (2), SS Jeter Downs (11), SS Jose Garcia (12), OF Stuart Fairchild (16), OF Miles Gordon (26), LHP Packy Naughton (28)

Daily news and links

Read more about Martin’s career as a knuckleballer in the Montgomery Advertiser.

Baseball America’s Josh Norris continued tweeting clips from Friday’s Durham game, this time of reliever Ian Gibaut.

Bowling Green is 3-0 for the first time in franchise history.

A professional football player returned to the diamond after a five-season absence.

How are the minors’ new extra-innings rules working out?