Rays prospects and minor leagues: Franco hits 1st pro home run

It’s been discussed in the comments a few times, but it’s worth pointing out again how well Peter Maris has played this season. Playing five different positions for Class A-Advanced Charlotte and Double-A Montgomery, he’s batting .314 with a .406 on-base percentage and .608 slugging percentage. He signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (42-33)

Durham jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on for a 6-4 win over Charlotte. For the sixth time in six games, Brandon Lowe went deep, socking a three-run dinger in the first to give the Bulls a 3-0 lead. Lowe walked and scored in the third and drove in two more runs later. Forrest Snow allowed four runs — three earned — in 5 ¹⁄₃ innings.

2B Brandon Lowe: 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
RF Justin Williams: 1-for-4, 1 K
C Nick Ciuffo: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K
3B Kean Wong: 0-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 K

RHP Forrest Snow: 5 ¹⁄₃ IP, 7 H, 4 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 2 K
LHP Adam Kolarek: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (2-4)

Sam McWilliams had a rough outing in Montgomery’s 5-3 loss to Birmingham. After Curtis Taylor opened and was charged with a run in 1 ²⁄₃ innings without allowing a hit, McWilliams allowed four runs on nine hits and three walks in four innings. Peter Maris and Michael Brosseau provided support with a home run apiece.

RF Ryan Boldt: 0-for-4
2B Nick Solak: 0-for-3, 2 K
1B Nate Lowe: 0-for-4, 2 K
SS Peter Maris: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
3B Michael Brosseau: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K

RHP Curtis Taylor: 1 ²⁄₃ IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Sam McWilliams: 4 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
LHP Matt Krook: 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

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

Charlotte’s game was postponed.

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

Home runs from Ronaldo Hernandez and Taylor Walls weren’t enough in Bowling Green’s 3-2 loss to Fort Wayne. Walls tied the game at one in the sixth, and Hernandez’s 12th homer of the season pulled the Hot Rods within one in the ninth. However, they were unable to get the tying run on base. Tobias Myers allowed three runs in six innings.

SS Taylor Walls: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 CS
C Ronaldo Hernandez: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
2B Vidal Brujan: 0-for-2, 1 K
CF Carl Chester: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K

RHP Tobias Myers: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
RHP Jose Disla: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (9-3)

Easton McGee pitched Hudson Valley to a 6-1 win over Brooklyn. After allowing five runs in five innings his last time out, the righty rebounded Tuesday, striking out five and allowing just an unearned run in six innings. Jake Stone doubled and scored the first run of the game in the third, and an inning later, his two-run homer gave the Renegades a 4-0 lead.

SS Tyler Frank: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI
CF Jake Stone: 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI

RHP Easton McGee: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 5 K

Rookie Princeton Rays (4-4)

Princeton was edged by Bluefield by a 3-2 score in Game 1 of their doubleheader. Jordan Qsar homered in the first inning, but Bluefield scored once in each of the first three innings to take the lead. Starter Cristopher Sanchez allowed three runs in 3 ²⁄₃ innings, but Luis Moncada stranded the bases loaded and struck out six in 2 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Wander Franco’s first professional home run decided Princeton’s 1-0 win in Game 2. After Connor Hollis grounded out to start the game, Franco went deep as the second batter to come to the plate. After Zack Trageton pitched three scoreless innings to start the game, three Princeton relievers combined to shut down Bluefield over the final four innings.

SS Wander Franco (1): 1-for-3, 1 K
SS Wander Franco (2): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
1B Carlos Vargas (1): 0-for-1, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K
1B Carlos Vargas (2): 1-for-3, 1 2B, 2 K
RF Jordan Qsar (1): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI

LHP Cristopher Sanchez (1): 3 ²⁄₃ IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Zack Trageton (2): 3 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
LHP Luis Moncada (1): 2 ¹⁄₃ IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
RHP Juan Carlos Arias (2): 2 ¹⁄₃ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (2-5)

The GCL Rays used a pair of three-run innings to earn a 6-2 win over the GCL Twins. In the first, they scored runs on a bases-loaded hit by pitch, a bases-loaded walk, and a wild pitch. In the seventh, Russ Olive singled in a run, and they added two more on an error and run-scoring groundout. In his pro debut, Taj Bradley pitched a scoreless 1 ²⁄₃ innings. Jose Lopez followed with just an unearned run allowed in five frames.

RF Nick Schnell: 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K
SS Jelfry Marte: 0-for-4, 1 K
1B Russ Olive: 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB
3B Kaleo Johnson: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HBP

RHP Taj Bradley: 1 ²⁄₃ IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
LHP Jose Lopez: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K

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

Durham vs. Charlotte 1:05 p.m., 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream) DOUBLEHEADER
Andrew Moore (2-2, 2.89) vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA

Both games will apparently be nine innings.

Montgomery is off.

Charlotte @ Lakeland 5 p.m. ET (radio stream) DOUBLEHEADER
Riley O’Brien (0-0, -.--) vs. Gregory Soto (3-2, 4.99)
TBA vs. TBA

Both games will be seven innings.

Bowling Green @ Fort Wayne 12:05 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

Hudson Valley is off.

Princeton is off.

GCL Rays vs. GCL Twins 12 p.m.

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Charlotte Knights (White Sox)
34-42 (3rd in IL South)
Offense: 261 R (13th) .669 OPS (13th)
Pitching: 4.17 ERA (12th) 1.38 WHIP (12th)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Michael Kopech (2), RHP Zack Burdi (11), RHP Spencer Adams (12), RHP Carson Fulmer (13), RHP Jordan Stephens (16), RHP Thyago Vieira (20), IF Jake Elmore, 1B Casey Gillaspie, 3B Patrick Leonard

Lakeland Flying Tigers
3-0 (2nd in FSL North)
Offense: 282 R (9th) .652 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 3.62 ERA (5th) 1.24 WHIP (2nd)
Top-30 prospects: IF Isaac Paredes (7), LHP Gregory Soto (10), RHP Anthony Castro (19), RHP Wladimir Pinto (21), RHP Jason Foley (23), OF Troy Montgomery (27), OF Derek Hill (28), LHP Austin Sodders (29)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego)
4-2 (T-2nd in MWL East)
Offense: 307 R (10th) .666 OPS (16th)
Pitching: 4.05 ERA (11th) 1.38 WHIP (12th)
Top-30 prospects: LHP MacKenzie Gore (2), SS Gabriel Arias (10), 2B Esteury Ruiz (15), RHP Andres Munoz (19), C Luis Campusano (20), OF Jeisson Rosario (22), IF Luis Almanzar (24), RHP Mason Thompson (25), OF Tirso Ornelas (31)

GCL Twins
5-2 (1st in GCL South)
Offense: 31 R (6th) .713 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 1.84 ERA (2nd) 0.98 WHIP (2nd)
Top-30 prospects: OF Aaron Whitefield (19)

Daily news and links

Brandon Lowe was featured on Baseball America’s Hot Sheet and MLB.com’s prospect team of the week.

MiLB.com wrote about right-handed pitcher Michael Mercado adjusting to a new level.