Rays prospects and minor leagues: Plassmeyer sharp again in Hot Rods win

Michael Plassmeyer — a fourth-round pick from Missouri by Seattle — was acquired along with Mike Zunino. In 29 ¹⁄₃ innings, he has a 1.23 ERA, 32 strikeouts, and just seven walks. In his pro debut last season, he had 44 strikeouts and four walks in 24 innings in the Northwest League.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (14-12)

Durham cruised to an 8-2 win over Gwinnett. After the Stripers scored in the fourth to cut their deficit to 2-1, the Bulls immediately responded with four runs. Nathan Lukes’ first home run of the season extended the lead to 4-1, and Kean Wong singled home a pair. The Stripers’ second run came later on a wild pitch, and they only had three hits. Colin Poche opened with two scoreless innings, and Ricardo Pinto allowed two runs in 5 ¹⁄₃ innings.

CF Andrew Velazquez: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K (.888)
LF Nick Solak: 2-for-2, 3 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB (.786)
SS Jake Cronenworth: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B (.995)
2B Kean Wong: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 K (.987)
DH Jake Smolinski: 0-for-2, 3 BB, 1 SB (.703)
RF Nathan Lukes: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 K (.616)

LHP Colin Poche: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (10.13)
RHP Ricardo Pinto: 5 ¹⁄₃ IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (3.38)

Durham’s site offers this recap.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (16-10)

Montgomery didn’t get enough offense in a 3-1 loss to Mobile. The Biscuits trailed 3-0 through eight innings and had two of their seven hits in their run-scoring ninth inning. Miles Mastrobuoni hit an RBI single. After Dalton Moats opened, Sam McWilliams allowed a run in 4 ²⁄₃ innings.

SS Lucius Fox: 0-for-4, 2 K (.680)
CF Josh Lowe: 1-for-4, 2 K (.848)
RF Jesus Sanchez: 2-for-4, 1 K (.751)

RHP Sam McWilliams: 4 ²⁄₃ IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K (3.44)

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (12-15)

Charlotte scored five in the third, but it wasn’t enough in a 6-5 loss to Tampa. The Stone Crabs trailed by two due to a Miguel Andujar home run, but they stormed ahead with a big inning. Seaver Whalen reached on an error to start the inning, and they then had four straight hits, including RBI triples from Vidal Brujan and Thomas Milone. However, they only had three hits over the final six innings. Brian Shaffer was charged with five runs — two earned — in five innings.

SS Vidal Brujan: 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB (.806)
LF Moises Gomez: 0-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K (.652)
RF Garrett Whitley: 1-for-4, 3 K (.809)

RHP Brian Shaffer: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 3 K (1.82)

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (16-11)

Michael Plassmeyer was sharp again in Bowling Green’s 2-0 win over Cedar Rapids. The lefty struck out eight and gave up just three hits and two walks in 6 ¹⁄₃ innings, and Justin Marsden and Chris Muller combined to throw 2 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Tony Pena doubled in one run, and Roberto Alvarez singled in the other.

SS Wander Franco: 1-for-3, 1 HBP (.948)

LHP Michael Plassmeyer: 6 ¹⁄₃ IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K (1.23)

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

Durham vs. Gwinnett 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. Kyle Wright (1-2, 11.81)

Montgomery vs. Mobile 7:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Kenny Rosenberg (2-1, 2.19) vs. Jeremy Beasley (1-1, 3.48)

Charlotte vs. Jupiter 6:30 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

Bowling Green @ Peoria 7:35 p.m. ET (radio stream)
Shane McClanahan (1-3, 4.71) vs. Dieg Cordero (2-1, 1.46)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta)
15-12 (2nd in IL South)
Offense: 142 R (4th) .850 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 4.52 ERA (4th) 1.29 WHIP (1st)
Top-30 prospects: 3B Austin Riley (1), RHP Kyle Wright (4), RHP Bryse Wilson (6), LHP Luiz Gohara (10), LHP Kolby Allard (14), C Alex Jackson (23)

Mobile BayBears (Angels)
12-14 (3rd in SL South)
Offense: 69 R (10th) .581 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 3.76 ERA (7th) 1.35 WHIP (6th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Jo Adell (1), OF Brandon Marsh (3), 2B Jahmai Jones (5), LHP Patrick Sandoval (12), C Jack Kruger (17), RHP Jeremy Beasley (20)

Jupiter Hammerheads (Miami)
8-17 (6th in FSL South)
Offense: 66 R (12th) .544 OPS (12th)
Pitching: 3.54 ERA (7th) 1.34 WHIP (9th)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Sixto Sanchez (1), OF Victor Victor Mesa (2), RHP Edward Cabrera (8), SS Jose Devers (11), LHP Trevor Rogers (12), LHP Braxton Garrett (13), RHP Jordan Holloway (16), 3B James Nelson (20), LHP Will Stewart (21), 2B Riley Mahan (30)

Peoria Chiefs (St. Louis)
11-13 (7th in MWL West)
Offense: 107 R (9th) .753 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 4.70 ERA (14th) 1.40 WHIP (10th)
Top-30 prospects: 3B Nolan Gorman (4), C Ivan Herrera (21), OF Leandro Cedeno (28)

Daily news and links

Recent chatter indicates it’s draft season. ESPN subscribers can read Keith Law’s top 50 prospects. The Rays have the No. 22, 36, and 40 picks.

Baseball America subscribers can read about the troubles of high velocity among high school draft picks.