Rays prospects and minor leagues: Rays add Cozens on minor league deal

Josh Tolentino was the first to report the Dylan Cozens signing. He brings power, strikeouts, a reported fight with his high school coach, and a reported fight with a former Rays prospect — but a lot of power. He won’t play again this season due to toe surgery.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (66-52)

Durham’s first-inning run wasn’t enough in its 3-1 loss to Indianapolis. Kean Wong tripled and scored on Michael Perez’s single, but that was it for the Bulls’ offense. They were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 15 on base. On the mound, Trevor Richards struck out four and allowed a run in 2 ¹⁄₃ innings.

1B Nate Lowe: 0-for-4, 1 BB, 1 K (.930)
LF Dalton Kelly: 2-for-3, 1 BB, 1 HBP (.803)

RHP Trevor Richards: 2 ¹⁄₃ IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (2.70)
RHP Peter Fairbanks: 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (4.00)

Durham’s site offers this recap.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (31-18)

Just one inning sunk Montgomery in its 4-2 loss to Birmingham. Through 4 ¹⁄₂ innings, the game remained tied at zero, but a wild pitch followed by a two-run homer gave the Barons a 3-0 lead. Kenny Rosenberg allowed all three runs in five innings after Matt Krook’s two-inning opener appearance.

2B Lucius Fox: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB (.701)
SS Vidal Brujan: 1-for-4, 2 K, 1 SB (.721)
DH Taylor Walls: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 K (.746)
CF Josh Lowe: 1-for-4 (.738)

LHP Matt Krook: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (4.17)
LHP Kenny Rosenberg: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (3.15)

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (36-15)

Charlotte edged Tampa, 5-4. Many of the Stone Crabs’ top offensive prospects factored into the scoring. Wander Franco drove in two runs, Garrett Whitley homered, and Ronaldo Hernandez plated the eventual winning run. For the first time since the end of June, Tommy Romero’s ERA rose above 2.00 after allowing four runs in six innings.

SS Wander Franco: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI (.863)
C Ronaldo Hernandez: 1-for-4, 1 RBI (.703)
RF Moises Gomez: 2-for-4, 2 2B, 1 K (.692)
CF Garrett Whitley: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 K (.733)
1B Zach Rutherford: 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B (.567)

RHP Tommy Romero: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (2.08)

Charlotte’s site offers this recap.

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (29-19)

A wild pitch was the difference in Bowling Green’s 4-3 win over Great Lakes. Home runs from Seaver Whalen and Ford Proctor helped the Hot Rods build a 3-0 lead, but the game was tied by the seventh. In the ninth, a sacrifice bunt moved two runners into scoring position, and Osmy Gregorio scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Easton McGee struck out eight and allowed two runs in six innings.

CF Ruben Cardenas: 1-for-5, 1 K (.808)
SS Ford Proctor: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 HBP (.782)
1B Seaver Whalen: 1-for-2, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 HBP (.709)

RHP Easton McGee: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (3.64)

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (32-21)

Hudson Valley scored 13 unanswered runs in a 13-3 win over Tri-City. The ValleyCats scored three in the first, but that lead quickly disappeared. Jordyn Muffley hit a two-run homer in the second, and Mason Mallard cleared the bases with a triple in the fifth. Mallard later capped the six-run eighth with an RBI double. After allowing three runs in the first, Jacob Lopez settled in and pitched five innings.

CF K.V. Edwards: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 K, 2 SB (.536)
SS Nick Sogard: 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB (.686)
RF Hill Alexander: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP (.839)
DH Luis Trevino: 3-for-5, 3 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI (.755)
LF Pedro Diaz: 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 HBP (.593)
3B Mason Mallard: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI (.588)
C Jordyn Muffley: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI (.390)

LHP Jacob Lopez: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (3.00)

Rookie Princeton Rays (23-27)

Princeton topped Bluefield in an 11-10 slugfest. Nick Schnell homered in the top of the first, but the Rays trailed 4-1 after an inning. That changed when they scored four in the second and five in the third. Gionti Turner hit a three-run homer in the third. Seth Johnson allowed four runs and only lasted an inning.

DH Nick Schnell: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 CS (.909)
RF Diego Infante: 2-for-5, 3 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 1 K (.827)
LF Gionti Turner: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K (.753)
CF Aldenis Sanchez: 3-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B (.615)

RHP Seth Johnson: 1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (12.00)

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (19-17)

The GCL Rays’ game was suspended.

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

Durham vs. Indianapolis 5:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. Dario Agrazal (4-3, 4.25)

Montgomery @ Birmingham 5 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Jason Garcia (5-0, 2.83) vs. Tanner Banks (1-6, 4.69)

Charlotte @ Tampa 1 p.m. ET (radio stream)
Tobias Myers (5-1, 2.71) vs. Clarke Schmidt (4-4, 2.98)

Bowling Green @ Great Lakes 2:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

Hudson Valley @ Lowell 4:05 p.m. ET (radio stream) DOUBLEHEADER
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA

Both games will be seven innings.

Princeton @ Johnson City 5 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

The GCL Rays are off.

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh)
58-59 (2nd in IL West)
Offense: 518 R (14th) .753 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 4.77 ERA (5th) 1.40 WHIP (5th)
Top-30 prospects: 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (1), RHP Mitch Keller (2), SS Cole Tucker (4), 2B Kevin Kramer (8), RHP Luis Escobar (10), 1B Will Craig (11), OF Jason Martin (20), RHP Dario Agrazal (21), RHP JT Brubaker (22)

Birmingham Barons (White Sox)
25-21 (3rd in SL North)
Offense: 436 R (6th) .683 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 4.12 ERA (9th) 1.37 WHIP (8th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Micker Aldofo (6), OF Blake Rutherford (8), OF Luis Gonzalez (9), 1B Gavin Sheets (14), SS Laz Rivera (16), RHP Alec Hansen (17), RHP Zack Burdi (18), OF Luis Basabe (23), RHP Codi Heuer (26), OF Joel Booker (27), RHP Tyler Johnson (29), LHP Kodi Medeiros (30)

Tampa Tarpons (Yankees)
24-25 (2nd in FSL North)
Offense: 442 R (6th) .655 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 3.67 ERA (10th) 1.30 WHIP (10th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Estevan Florial (1), RHP Luis Gil (4), RHP Clarke Schmidt (13), RHP Alexander Vizcaino (20), C Jason Lopez (21), RHP Frank German (23)

Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers)
29-19
Offense: 605 R (1st) .735 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 3.85 ERA (10th) 1.30 WHIP (9th)
Top-30 prospects: 3B Kody Hoese (6), 2B Michael Busch (11), RHP Zach Willeman (22), LHP Robinson Ortiz (23)

Lowell Spinners (Boston)
31-23 (1st in NYPL Stedler)
Offense: 222 R (6th) .672 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 3.30 ERA (6th) 1.26 WHIP (6th)
Top-30 prospects: SS Antoni Flores (9), OF Gilberto Jimenez (9), SS Cameron Cannon (13), OF Nick Decker (16), 3B Nicholas Northcut (19), RHP Noah Song (21), RHP Ryan Zeferjahn (29)

Johnson City Cardinals
27-23 (1st in AL West)
Offense: 265 R (5th) .733 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 4.75 ERA (8th) 1.40 WHIP (6th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Jhon Torres (13), 3B Malcom Nunez (20), OF Trejyn Fletcher (23), SS Mateo Gil (24)

Daily news and links

How are scouts evaluating players in Triple A this season? Baseball America tried to find out.