Rays prospects and minor leagues: Nate Lowe homers 3 times

The international signing period started Tuesday, and the Rays’ class is starting to take shape. They don’t seem to be in the mix for any of the highly touted players this year, but their organization is stocked with players who received smaller bonuses but became well-known prospects.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (50-34)

Nate Lowe’s three home runs lifted Durham to an 8-2 win over Charlotte. He hit a solo homer in the fifth, another one in the seventh, and a three-run shot in the eighth. Michael Perez and Mike Brosseau also went deep. In his Durham debut, Jalen Beeks allowed a run in 4 ²⁄₃ innings.

1B Nate Lowe: 3-for-4, 3 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB (.938)
RF Joe McCarthy: 0-for-2, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K (.742)
SS Jake Cronenworth: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 CS (.964)
3B Mike Brosseau: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI (.998)
C Michael Perez: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB (.808)

LHP Jalen Beeks: 4 ²⁄₃ IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (1.93)
RHP Ian Gibaut: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (2.16)

Durham’s site offers this recap.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (6-7)

Montgomery couldn’t overcome a three-run first in a 3-2 loss to Jackson. The Generals only had two hits, but they made them count when a double cleared the bases. Paul Campbell finished with the three runs allowed in five innings. Tristan Gray’s solo homer in the ninth pulled the Biscuits within one, but David Rodriguez struck out to end the game with the potential tying run on base.

SS Vidal Brujan: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (.873)
CF Josh Lowe: 2-for-4, 1 R (.754)
RF Jesus Sanchez: 0-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 K (.730)
2B Lucius Fox: 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K (.689)
1B Tristan Gray: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI (.700)

RHP Paul Campbell: 5 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (3.41)

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (10-4)

Shane McClanahan somehow lowered his ERA in Charlotte’s 9-3 win over St. Lucie. He did allow a couple inherited runners to score following an opener, but in his 4 ²⁄₃ innings, he was only charged with an unearned run as he struck out six batters. His ERA with the Stone Crabs is now 0.39 in 23 ¹⁄₃ innings. Wander Franco and Michael Smith each had two-double games.

SS Wander Franco: 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB (1.562)
C Ronaldo Hernandez: 1-for-5, 1 RBI (.671)
DH Moises Gomez: 0-for-4, 1 BB, 2 K (.664)
RF Garrett Whitley: 1-for-4, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 SB (.739)
LF Michael Smith: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI (1.262)

LHP Shane McClanahan: 4 ²⁄₃ IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 6 K (0.39)

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (10-2)

Caleb Sampen was sharp in Bowling Green’s 3-0 win over Dayton. He struck out seven and gave up just three hits and a walk in seven innings before Nick Padilla finished the shutout. It was the Hot Rods’ second shutout in their last three games. In the ninth, Jonathan Aranda’s first homer of the season added insurance.

DH Chris Betts: 0-for-4, 1 BB, 2 K (.722)
SS Ford Proctor: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B (.757)
2B Jonathan Aranda: 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB (.902)

RHP Caleb Sampen: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K (3.19)

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (8-10)

Hudson Valley was topped by Brooklyn, 7-4. The Cyclones scored four in the top of the sixth to go up 4-1, but the Renegades scored twice a half inning later to pull within one. However, Brooklyn scored the next three runs to add insurance. Zack Trageton struck out seven but allowed four runs in 5 ²⁄₃ innings.

2B Cristhian Pedroza: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP (.641)
1B Jacson McGowan: 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB (.679)

RHP Zack Trageton: 5 ²⁄₃ IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 7 K (3.48)

Rookie Princeton Rays (7-7)

Princeton rallied for a 6-5 win over Burlington. The Royals scored twice in the first and led 5-0 through five innings. In the sixth, Luis Leon got the Rays on the board with a two-run single, and they pulled within one in the eighth. In the ninth, two runs scored on a Nick Schnell single to give them the lead. Matthew Peguero allowed four runs in three innings, but Stanly Sabino and Mitchell Walters combined to strike out 10 in six innings of relief.

CF Nick Schnell: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K (.778)
SS Jelfry Marte: 1-for-3, 1 BB (.441)

RHP Matthew Peguero: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 0 K (6.00)
RHP Mitchell Walters: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (2.45)

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (3-4)

The GCL Rays scored eight in the second, but it wasn’t enough in an 18-14 slugfest loss to the GCL Twins. Despite having a team OPS under .500 entering the game, the Twins were able to pile up seven extra-base hits among their 20 total. In addition to their eight-run inning, the Rays scored five in the ninth. Starter Victor Munoz allowed seven runs — six earned — in three innings.

SS Abiezel Ramirez: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K (1.039)
DH Edgardo Rodriguez: 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K (1.265)
2B Amador Arias: 1-for-4, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K (.382)
RF Saul Fortuna: 2-for-5, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 K (.448)

RHP Victor Munoz: 3 IP, 9 H, 7 R (6 ER), 2 BB, 1 K (7.88)
RHP Ryan Fineman: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

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

Durham vs. Charlotte 6:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. Justin Nicolino (6-3, 4.65)

Montgomery @ Jackson 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Kenny Rosenberg (6-1, 3.20) vs. Joel Payamps (2-3, 3.71)

Charlotte vs. St. Lucie 6:30 p.m. ET (radio stream)
Stephen Woods Jr. (5-1, 2.32) vs. TBA

Bowling Green @ Dayton 7 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Miller Hogan (1-1, 1.76) vs. Ricky Salinas (3-3, 3.65)

Hudson Valley vs. Brooklyn 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. Matt Cleveland (0-1, 5.11)

Princeton @ Burlington 6:30 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

GCL Rays @ GCL Orioles 12 p.m. ET

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Charlotte Knights (White Sox)
46-38 (3rd in IL South)
Offense: 466 R (2nd) .822 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 5.41 ERA (12th) 1.56 WHIP (13th)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Ian Hamilton (13), C Seby Zavala (15), RHP Spencer Adams (20), RHP Zach Thompson (28)

Jackson Generals (Arizona)
6-7 (T-3rd in SL North)
Offense: 349 R (2nd) .710 OPS (3rd)
Pitching: 3.52 ERA (6th) 1.28 WHIP (5th)
Top-30 prospects: SS Jazz Chisholm (1), C Daulton Varsho (3), 1B Pavin Smith (17), 3B Drew Ellis (21), C Dominic Miroglio (23), RHP Emilio Vargas (25)

St. Lucie Mets
9-6 (T-2nd in FSL South)
Offense: 308 R (6th) .658 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 3.55 ERA (7th) 1.33 WHIP (10th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Desmond Lindsay (11), RHP Jordan Humphreys (16), 2B Carlos Cortes (19), RHP Tony Dibrell (24), LHP Kevin Smith (30)

Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati)
4-8 (T-7th in MWL East)
Offense: 308 R (15th) .627 OPS (15th)
Pitching: 4.50 ERA (15th) 1.51 WHIP (16th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Mike Siani (8), OF Mariel Bautista (13), RHP Lyon Richardson (14), RHP James Marinan (16), 3B Juan Martinez (19), LHP Jacob Heatherly (20), OF Bren Spillane (27)

Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
10-7 (T-1st in NYPL McNamara)
Offense: 50 R (12th) .605 OPS (12th)
Pitching: 4.01 ERA (10th) 1.20 WHIP (5th)
Top-30 prospects: None

Burlington Royals
5-9 (5th in AL East)
Offense: 58 R (4th) .664 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 3.03 ERA (1st) 1.20 WHIP (3rd)
Top-30 prospects: LHP Rylan Kaufman (25)

GCL Orioles
6-0 (1st in GCL South)
Offense: 43 R (2nd) .878 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 3.60 ERA (8th) 1.31 WHIP (9th)
Top-30 prospects: None

Daily news and links

Baseball America’s latest Hot Sheet featured two Rays prospects and this quote:

There are scouts who will tell you that Bowling Green is the best low Class A team they’ve ever seen.