Outfielders

Johnny Eierman, who turned 20 on August 23rd, was the Rays’ 3rd round pick in 2011 but did not have a good season in his first extended pro season. Eierman posted just a .213/.299/.319 line with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 10 RBI, 6 of 10 stolen bases, and 32 strikeouts versus 14 walks in 46 games and 182 plate appearances. Eierman was originally a shortstop but the Rays converted him to left field this season and he made just 2 errors in 42 games with 3 outfield assists. Eierman features great speed, although he still needs work using it on the basepaths, and he may even be able to centerfield in the long-term, although he deferred to Bralin Jackson and Clayton Henning on this team. The problem with Eierman is in the batter’s box. Eierman has worked to get his swing more compact, but he doesn’t show consistent bat speed or patience, preventing him from hitting for average at all, and also sapping most of whatever power he has. Eierman is really raw offensively and the Rays are going to have to continue to work with him on that. Eierman should stay in a Short Season league for the third straight year next season.

Bralin Jackson, 18, was the Rays’ 5th round pick in 2012 and showed mix results in his pro debut, posting a .253/.286/.342 line with 5 doubles, 4 triples, 11 RBI, 5 of 8 stolen bases, and 39 strikeouts versus 6 walks in 39 games in 154 plate appearances. He made just 1 error versus 3 outfield assists in 28 games in centerfield, although he was less comfortable in 6 games in right field, making 3 errors. Jackson is very raw, but he has 5-tool potential. Jackson stands out for his bat speed and power potential, but his offensive potential is handicapped by his lack of patience at this point, something that will take time to improve. When he connected, Jackson hit the ball hard, posting a 19.0% line drive rate according to Minor League Central. Jackson’s speed is an asset in centerfield and he still needs to figure out how to use it on the basepaths. He also has an above-average centerfielder’s arm. Jackson lived up to the scouting reports in his pro debut and the Rays will take it slowly with him as he develops his impressive all-around game.

Clayton Henning, 18, was the Rays’ 11th round pick in 2012. He really struggled in his pro debut, but it wasn’t unexpected. He posted just a .168/.262/.177 line with 1 double, 7 RBI, 1 of 3 stolen bases, and 38 strikeouts versus 14 walks in 37 games and 132 plate appearances. Henning made 2 errors against 2 outfield assists in 19 games in centerfield, 11 game in right field, and 5 in left field. If you thought Jackson was raw, wait until you hear about Henning. Henning was primarily a football player in high school. You can’t see it in his stats, but Henning is a burner, running a 4.4 in the 40 yard dash. He’s already started to put that speed to good use in the outfield. But he has absolutely no idea how to use it on the basepaths right now. Henning also needs a ton of work on his bunting. Offensively, Henning shows good potential as well, showing above-average bat speed with at least gap power potential, but his approach at the plate isn’t nearly where it needs to be, although his halfway-decent patience was a good sign. Henning’s struggles in his pro debut probably had to be expected given his rawness, but the Rays will ease him along hoping to put his untapped abilities into use. Henning is just an 11th round pick, but if you give him time, you never know what can happen with him. Remember that back in 2006, Desmond Jennings was a 10th round pick with a football background. Henning is not nearly as advanced as Jennings was even back then, but as long as the Rays are patient with Henning, he has a chance to be that same type of player. Hennings is a longshot, but his raw talent tantalizes the Rays and they hope that he can develop well in coming years.

Yoel Araujo, 19, signed as a free agent with the Rays for $800,000 out of the Dominican Republic back in 2010. Araujo had a pretty nice season for the GCL Rays in 2012 in his first season in America, posting a .286/.339/.410 line with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 1 homer, 11 RBI, 4 of 7 stolen bases, and 35 strikeouts against 6 walks in 30 games and 116 plate appearances. He has made 2 errors versus 1 outfield assist in 22 games in the outfield, 14 in right field, 7 in center, and 2 in left. As we talked about more here, Araujo stands out for two tools, his speed and power potential. Neither of those tools really manifested themselves for Araujo this season. He shows great bat speed at times, but his swing still gets too long and his patience is still far from where it needs to be. Araujo has no idea how to steal bases at this point, although he is a solid bunter. But the good news is that Araujo hit the ball with some authority in 2012 and if he can improve his approach at the plate, improving his consistency with his swing and his patience, his power should come out. His instincts on the basepaths will come with more experience. Araujo’s arm is just average, so he probably fits best in centerfield moving forward, although the Rays hope that he will have the power to profile in a corner outfield spot. Araujo showed some promise in 2012, but he remains a long-term project and we’ll have to see if he can ever put it all together.

2012 was a bit of a coming out party for Natera as he was the GCL Rays' best power hitter. (Credit: Flickr user BeGreen90)

And we finish the outfielders with Jiminson Natera, 20, a Dominican signing by the Rays back in 2010, who pathetically led the team with 3 home runs, the only player on the team with more than 1. Natera posted a .247/.311/.401 line with 6 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers, 17 RBI, 7 of 11 stolen bases, and 64 strikeouts versus 12 walks in 49 games and 177 plate appearances. He made 2 errors against 3 outfield assists in 35 games in right field, 7 in left, and 3 in center. Natera was an unheralded signing by the Rays back in 2010, but he has some talent. He led the GCL Rays in homers, triples, RBIs (and strikeouts by a very wide margin), and it was no fluke. Natera features power to go along with good speed. He actually showed halfway-decent plate discipline, but his swing is far too long and his power is not nearly enough to compensate that. Natera hits rockets when he connects- his 24.5% line drive rate per Minor League Central  was tops in the GCL minimum 150 plate appearances. Natera does use his speed decently well on the basepaths, and that should only improve. If Natera can shorten his swing, then we’ll talk about him as a prospect. Considering he didn’t hit for any power at all in 2011 in the Dominican Summer League, 2012 was a little bit of coming out party for Natera, and we’ll see whether he can build on it.

That’s it for the GCL Rays’ outfielders and hitters as a whole. We saw quite a bit of talent, although the vast majority of it was far from evident in the stats, and it will be interesting to see how all these players develop moving forward. We’ll continue tomorrow with the GCL Rays’ pitchers.

A number of close games highlight the action around the minor leagues tonight. The Princeton Rays and Johnson City Cardinals faced off in a doubleheader as well. Here is this morning’s look at the action Friday night around the farm system:

Columbus Clippers 4, Durham Bulls 3

The Clippers used a two out home run in the bottom of the fifth by Juan Diaz to snap a scoreless tie, taking a 2-0 lead over the Bulls. Durham came back in the top of the sixth, as Tim Beckham led off the inning with a solo home run, and tied the game on a run scoring double by Leslie Anderson. The Bulls had the bases loaded with one out in the inning, but Matt Langwell struck out Reid Brignac and Cole Figueroa to end the threat. Durham took the lead in the top of the seventh, as Brooks Conrad‘s two out base hit drove in Chris Gimenez, giving the Bulls a 3-2 lead. However, the Clippers rallied in the bottom of the eighth, as Cord Phelps and Russ Canzler hit back to back home runs, giving the Clippers the eventual 4-3 victory. Brandon Gomes took the loss, giving up 2 earned runs on 2 hits in his inning of work. Conrad and Anderson both had two hits in the defeat.

Huntsville Stars 9, Montgomery Biscuits 8

The Stars jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first, highlighted by a run scoring throwing error by Nick Barnese, and a two run, bases loaded double by Hunter Morris. Barnese was knocked from the game after the 6 run barrage, having not recorded a single out. The Biscuits got two runs back in the top of the fourth, scoring on a hit batsman and a walk with the bases loaded. Montgomery batted around in the fifth, scoring six times, highlighted by a two run single from Brett Nommensen and Kyeong Kang‘s RBI double. Huntsville got a run back in the bottom of the sixth, as Brock Kjeldgaard led off the inning with a home run. The Stars took the lead with two out in the bottom of the eighth, as T. J. Mittelstaedt hit a two run single. The Biscuits attempted to rally in the top of the ninth, putting runners on first and second with no outs, but were unable to push a run across. Marquis Fleming took the loss, giving up a run on a hit and a walk in his inning of work. Kang was 3-5 with 2 runs scored, a double, and an RBI.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 6, St. Lucie Mets 5

The Mets put a quick run on the board, as Alonzo Harris singled to lead off the top of the first, stole second, and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Daniel Muno. The Stone Crabs tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, as Luke Scott led off the inning with a home run, knotting the game at 1-1. The Mets took the lead again in the top of the fifth, as Cory Vaughn hit a two run double, and came around to score on Aderlin Rodriguez‘s single. The Rays and Mets swapped runs over the next inning, giving the Mets a 5-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Charlotte then exploded int he bottom of the seventh, as Luke Scott hit a two run single with the bases loaded, putting the Stone Crabs within one. Todd Glaesmann, who homered in the sixth, double to tie the game. Scott then scored the game winning run on Cody Rogers‘ base hit. Alex Koronis picked up the victory in relief, giving up 1 run on 3hits and a walk over 2 innings, striking out 3 batters. Scott and Glaesmann each finished 2-4 with a home run.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 2, Great Lakes Loons 1

The Hot Rods jumped out to a quick lead, as Ryan Brett doubled, stole third, and scored on a sacrifice fly to give Bowling Green a 1-0 lead just two batters into the game. The Loons tied the game in the bottom of the third, as James Baldwin singled, stole second, and scored on a groundout. Hot Rods’ starter Jake Floethe left while warming up in the bottom of the fourth, due to an apparent injury. The Bowling Green bullpen, however, was up to the task, shutting down the Loons the rest of the way. The Hot Rods got another run in the top of the fifth, when Juniel Querecuto doubled, and advanced to third on an error by Nick Akins. Querecuto then scored on a base hit by Tyler Goeddel. The Bowling Green bullpen pitched six innings, giving up two hits and three walks. Justin Woodall picked up the victory, pitching 2 hitless innings, walking 2 and striking out 3 Loons. Brett was 1-3 with a double, a stolen base, a run scored, and 2 walks.

Connecticut Tigers 5, Hudson Valley Renegades 3

After falling behind 1-0 after the first inning, the renegades came back, scoring a run as Ryan Dunn singled, went to second on a passed ball, stole third, and scored on a Jake DePew single to tie the game at 1-1. Hudson Valley took the lead in the top of the fifth, as Joey Rickard doubled, scoring DePew, and came around to score on a base hit by Richie Shaffer. The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, and scored a run with a two out bases loaded walk. Jordan Dean singled, the ball glancing off of Luke Maile‘s glove, driving in two and giving the Tigers a 4-3 lead. Connecticut tacked on an insurance run in the eighth, coming back for a 5-3 win. Matthew Spann took the loss, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3 in 5.2 innings. Three Renegades had two hits each in the loss.

Johnson City Cardinals 10, Princeton Rays 9 (7 innings)

In the first game of the double header, the Rays jumped out on the Cardinals. The Rays scored a run in the top of the second, then put another three runs on the board in the third, highlighted by Reid Redman‘s RBI double and a run scoring single from Andrew Toles. Princeton scored four more runs in the top of the fourth, on two runs home runs from Brandon Martin and Toles, taking an 8-0 lead midway through the fourth inning. The Cardinals got three runs back in the bottom of the inning, as Jeremy Schaffer, Gerwuins Velazco, and Ronard Castillo each had RBI doubles. Both teams swapped runs in the sixth, giving the Rays a 9-4 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. However, the Cardinals came all the way back, scoring six times in a wild inning. Two errors and a wild pitch contributed to the baserunners, and the scoring was highlighted by a two run bases loaded double by Carson Kelly. With the game tied and the bases loaded with two out, a passed ball allowed Bruce Caldwell to score from third, giving the Cardinals the 10-9 victory. Jonathan Weaver picked up the loss, giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits without recording an out. Andrew Toles and William Argo each had three hits in the defeat.

Johnson City Cardinals 8, Princeton Rays 4 (7 innings)

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Rays again started quickly, scoring three times in the top of the first. Andrew Toles had an RBI double, moved to third on the throw home, and scored on a throwing error. The Cardinals came back in the bottom of the inning, as Bruce Caldwell hit a bases loaded single, driving in two runs. Toles scored again in the top of the third, this time on a Omar Narvaez sacrifice fly, giving the Rays a 4-2 lead. As in the previous game, the Cardinals came back, scoring a run in the fourth as Trevor Martin hit a solo home run. Johnson City then put three more runs up in the fifth, highlighted by an RBI double by Michael Knox. Knox scored on an attempted stolen base by Trevor Martin. The Cardinals scored twice more in the sixth, as Bruce Caldwell hit a two run double, providing the final margin in the 8-4 victory. Hugo Duarte took the loss, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits in his inning of work, while registering 3 strikeouts. Toles, William Argo, and Chad Nacapoy each had two hits in the defeat.

GCL Rays 6, GCL Orioles 1

The Rays broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on Bralin Jackson‘s two out, bases loaded triple. The Rays tacked on single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, opening up a comfortable 6-0 lead. The Orioles got a run back in the top of the eighth, as Adrian Marin hit a two out RBI single to score Andres Aguilar. However, it was too little, too late, as the Rays won 6-1. Isaac Gil picked up the victory, pitching 5 scoreless innings, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 batters. Jackson was 2-4 with a triple and 2 RBIs, and Armando Araiza went 1-3 with an RBI, a walk, and 2 runs scored.

Toledo Mud Hens 7, Durham Bulls 5

Durham exploded for five runs in the top of the third innings, as Nevin Ashley homered to lead off the frame. After loading the bases with one out, Chris Gimenez hit a two run single, and Leslie Anderson and Cole Figueroa contributed RBI singles, putting the Bulls up 5-0. Toledo came back in the bottom of the inning, on Jerad Head‘s two out, two run home run. The Mud Hens scored twice more in the bottom of the fifth, as Don Kelly and John Lindsey each had two out RBI singles. The game became tied in the bottom of the seventh, when am error by Tim Beckham put Justin Henry on second. Henry would come around to score on Head’s RBI single. With two out and two on in the bottom of the eighth, Brad Davis doubled, plating two and giving the Mud Hens the eventual 7-5 victory. Ryan Reid picked up the loss, giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits over three innings. Anderson, Feliciano, and Reid Brignac each had two hits in the loss.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 10, West Michigan Whitecaps 4

Scoreless into the top of the fifth, the floodgates opened in the top of the fifth. Back to back doubles by Jeff Malm and Cameron Seitzer put the Hot Rods on the board. After a walk, Kes Carter had an RBI single, driving in Seitzer. After an out, another walk loaded the bases. A wild pitch and a sacrifice fly led to two more runs, as Bowling Green pulled out to a 4-0 lead. West Michigan got a run back in the bottom of the frame, as the Whitecaps had runners on second and third with no outs. A groundout lead to a run, but Ryan Carpenter managed to escape further harm. Bowling Green scored twice more in the top of the sixth, when Joshua Sale had a two out, two run single. The Whitecaps scored twice more in the bottom of the seventh, cutting the lead to 6-3, however, the Hot Rods put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth. The Hot Rods scored four times on three consecutive RBI singles and a sacrifice fly, stretching out to a 10-3 lead. West Michigan got a run back in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough as the Hot Rods rolled to a 10-4 victory. Carpenter picked up the win, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 2 in 6 innings of work. Four Rays had 2 hits each, with Malm and Seitzer each hitting 2 doubles.

GCL Rays 7, GCL Red Sox 3 (8 innings)

The Rays jumped out on the Red Sox early and often, cruising to a 7-3 victory. Yoel Araujo kicked off the scoring with a two run, two out double in the first inning, giving the Rays an early 2-0 lead. A Bralin Jackson two out triple plated another run in the top of the second. The Rays tacked on another run in the top of the fourth, and two more in the top of the fifth, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. The Red Sox clawed back, scoring single runs in the bottom of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to pull within three. The Rays put another run up in the top of the eighth, as Armando Araiza had an RBI double. The game was called with two out int he top of the eighth, giving the Rays a 7-3 win. Matthew Ramsey picked up the victory in relief, giving up 1 run on 2 hits and a walk over 1.1 innings, striking out 2 batters. Araiza, Jackson, and Benjamin Kline each had two hits in the victory.