Rays prospects and minor leagues: Archer sharp in rehab appearance

Chih-Wei Hu has had an inconsistent season for Durham so far, but he’s been very good in his last two starts, allowing two runs on 12 hits and two walks in 15 innings with nine strikeouts.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (49-34)

Despite recording just two hits, Durham edged Gwinnett by a 2-1 score. The Bulls didn’t need either of their hits to score their runs. In the eighth, they drew three walks, and the tying run scored on a wild pitch. In the ninth, Jason Coats drew a walk-off, bases-loaded walk. Chih-Wei Hu had his second straight strong start, striking out five and allowing just one run in seven innings.

2B Brandon Lowe: 1-for-4, 1 K
RF Justin Williams: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K
C Nick Ciuffo: 0-for-3, 1 BB

RHP Chih-Wei Hu: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
RHP Jaime Schultz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
LHP Colin Poche: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (8-4)

Montgomery pitching shut down Jacksonville in a 3-1 Biscuits win. For the second time this season, Matt Krook opened, and he struck out five and allowed a run in three innings. The Biscuits then turned to the knuckleballer J.D. Martin, who struck out seven in five scoreless innings. Nate Lowe doubled in the go-ahead run in the sixth.

SS Jake Cronenworth: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB
2B Nick Solak: 0-for-3, 1 R, 1 K
1B Nate Lowe: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI

LHP Matt Krook: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
RHP J.D. Martin: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (5-7)

Chris Archer and Blake Bivens combined to shut out Fort Myers in Charlotte’s 1-0 win. In his first rehab assignment, the Rays’ ace struck out seven and walked one in four hitless innings, and 37 of his 54 pitches were strikes. In relief, Bivens struck out four over the final five innings. The Stone Crabs scored the only run of the game on Josh’s Lowe’s fifth-inning double.

SS Lucius Fox: 0-for-4, 1 K
CF Josh Lowe: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
DH Jesus Sanchez: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K
2B Jermaine Palacios: 0-for-2

RHP Chris Archer: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
RHP Blake Bivens: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (8-5)

Just one inning cost Bowling Green in its 6-3 loss to South Bend. The Hot Rods held a 3-1 lead through six innings, but Austin Franklin couldn’t make it through the seventh. He recorded one out and gave up two runs, and Tyler Zombo allowed two inherited runners to score, leaving Franklin charged with five runs — four earned — in 6 ¹⁄₃ innings.

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

RHP Austin Franklin: 6 ¹⁄₃ IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 1 K

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (13-5)

Hudson Valley edged Aberdeen by a 1-0 score in a rain-shortened game. The Renegades scored on a first-inning wild pitch, and that was the only run they needed. Easton McGee struck out four in five scoreless innings.

SS Ford Proctor: 0-for-3
2B Tyler Frank: 1-for-2, 1 K

RHP Easton McGee: 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Rookie Princeton Rays (8-6)

Princeton earned a 5-4 win in Game 1 of its doubleheader against Elizabethton. A half inning after losing a 4-3 lead, Princeton scored the winning run on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth. Zack Trageton allowed three runs in five innings.

Princeton couldn’t put Elizabethton away in a 10-6 loss in Game 2. It entered the seventh with a 6-2 lead, but Elizabethton scored eight runs in its final at-bat. Francisco German nearly had the final out on a strikeout, but Jordyn Muffley’s error allowed the batter to reach. Princeton committed two more innings as the game unraveled from there. Starter Luis Moncada struck out five and allowed two runs in four innings.

SS Wander Franco (1): 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB
SS Wander Franco (2): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
1B Carlos Vargas (1): 0-for-2, 1 BB, 1 K
CF Jordan Qsar (1): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB
RF Jordan Qsar (2): 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB
2B Jake Palomaki (2): 0-for-1, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 SB
1B Vincent Byrd (2): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K

RHP Zack Trageton (1): 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
LHP Luis Moncada (2): 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
RHP Francisco German (2): two-thirds IP, 0 H, 5 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 2 K

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (6-7)

The GCL Rays allowed five runs in the top of the first and eventually fell to the GCL Red Sox by a 10-5 score. Taj Bradley had a rough time in his second professional start. He only recorded one out and was charged with all five first-inning runs. The GCL Rays responded with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning, but the GCL Red Sox scored the next four runs to put the game away.

RF Nick Schnell: 2-for-3, 1 3B, 1 BB, 1 SB
SS Jelfry Marte: 1-for-4, 1 R
3B Kaleo Johnson: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB

RHP Taj Bradley: one-third IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

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

Durham @ Charlotte 6:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Ryan Weber (5-3, 2.23) vs. Jordan Guerrero (1-0, 5.40)

Montgomery vs. Pensacola 7:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

Charlotte @ Florida 6:31 p.m. ET (radio stream)
Kenny Rosenberg (5-1, 4.70) vs. Kyle Muller (3-1, 3.10)

Bowling Green vs. South Bend 7:35 p.m. ET (radio stream)
Josh Fleming (5-1, 1.19) vs. Jesus Camargo (3-2, 2.62)

Hudson Valley @ Staten Island 7 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

Princeton @ Burlington 6 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. Randy Acevedo (0-1, 5.73)

GCL Rays @ GCL Red Sox 10 a.m. ET

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Charlotte Knights (White Sox)
38-46 (3rd in IL South)
Offense: 301 R (12th) .675 OPS (13th)
Pitching: 4.13 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

Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Cincinnati)
9-3 (1st in SL South)
Offense: 319 R (9th) .683 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.93 ERA (5th) 1.22 WHIP (1st)
Top-30 prospects: OF Jose Siri (7), 2B Shed Long (8), RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (9), OF TJ Friedl (17), 1B Gavin LaValley (21), RHP Keury Mella (22)

Florida Fire Frogs (Atlanta)
3-8 (6th in FSL North)
Offense: 264 R (11th) .635 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 3.82 ERA (8th) 1.43 WHIP (12th)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Ian Anderson (5), OF Cristian Pache (9), LHP Joey Wentz (11), LHP Tucker Davidson (13), LHP Kyle Muller (20), OF Isranel Wilson (27), RHP Josh Graham (30), SS Ray-Patrick Didder (31)

South Bend Cubs
7-6 (4th in MWL East)
Offense: 351 R (7th) .711 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 3.59 ERA (3rd) 1.28 WHIP (3rd)
Top-30 prospects: LHP Brendon Little (7), C Miguel Amaya (22), RHP Javier Assad (23)

Staten Island Yankees
6-12 (4th in NYPL McNamara)
Offense: 47 R (14th) .589 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.23 ERA (3rd) 1.26 WHIP (4th)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Matt Sauer (11), RHP Juan De Paula (21)

Burlington Royals
2-12 (5th in AL East)
Offense: 39 R (10th) .552 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 6.22 ERA (8th) 1.66 WHIP (8th)
Top-30 prospects: LHP Daniel Lynch

GCL Red Sox
8-5 (T-1st in GCL South)
Offense: 38 R (16th) .646 OPS (15th)
Pitching: 2.34 ERA (1st) 1.17 WHIP (1st)
Top-30 prospects: 1B Triston Casas, OF Nick Decker

Daily news and links

MiLB.com handed out midseason grades for each team’s farm system, and Rays fans should be happy with what’s taken place in 2018, despite all the injuries to pitchers.

The Rays were well represented on this week’s Hot Sheet at Baseball America.

Also at BA, you can keep track of the Rays’ activity in the international market.

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

Shane McClanahan is one of a dwindling number of top picks who hasn’t signed. The deadline is Friday.