Carroll has a lot of promise, but there is a lot of work still to be done before he can even think about fulfilling it. (Credit: Washington Post)

Damion Carroll, 18, is a 6’3″, 198 right-hander who was the Rays’ 6th round draft pick in 2012. Carroll’s results in his pro debut in the GCL were very mixed as he went 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA, a 9.3 K/9, an 8.8 BB/9, and a 0.0 HR/9 in 10 appearances and 19.1 IP. His groundball rate was a nice 56.5% per Minor League Central*, but his walk rate was crazy-high as Carroll could not consistently find the strike zone. Carroll throws a fastball that reaches 95 MPH that shows nice nice run away from right-handed batters along with solid sink, although Carroll struggles to locate it in the zone. The bigger problem for Carroll is that he throws three secondary pitches, a curveball, a slilder, and a changeup, and all of them are complete works in progress as Carroll can’t throw any of them for strikes. Carroll may flash the good velocity on his fastball right now, but he’s extremely raw in terms of his other pitches and that is really holding him back right now. His curveball is the best of his offspeed offerings, featuring good 11-to-5 break when Carroll can get on top of it, and the Rays could scrap Carroll’s slider as they look to develop the curveball. Carroll is talented, but he really needs everything simplified now, so look for the Rays to take Carroll slowly through the minors developing one pitch at a time as Carroll looks to translate his raw ability into results. Carroll’s lack of control in his pro debut had to be disconcerting for the Rays, but Carroll is just getting his career started and the Rays knew the moment that they drafted him that he was going to require a lot of work. They’ll continue moving Carroll’s development along next season as they look to ease Carroll into the high-upside pitcher he has the ability to be.

Isaac Gil, 20, was drafted by the Rays in the 31st round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Gil, who is a big 6’5″, 230, put together a good performance in his first extended look in pro ball, going 4-1 with a 2.38 ERA, a 7.7 K/9, a 2.9 BB/9, and a 0.0 HR/9 in 2 starts, 10 relief appearances, and 34 IP. Gil may have been a pretty late draft pick, but he has some potential as a prospect. Gil doesn’t have any projection remaining, but he throws a fastball around 93 MPH with good movement away from right-handed batters to go along with a solid curveball. Gil was much better against righties than lefties in a limited sample, holding them to a .485 OPS with 19 strikeouts versus 7 walks compared to a .692 with 10 strikeouts and 4 walks versus lefties. He currently doesn’t have any weapons to deal with lefty batters, and the Rays are sure to teach him a changeup in the near future. But he has the ability to be a solid relief prospect moving forward, and considering he’s pretty young as well, it will be interesting to see if he could be a late round steal for the Rays.

Lefty Brett Blaise, 22, was a non-drafted free agent signee by the Rays this year but is a little more interesting than your average NDFA. Blaise did struggle in his pro debut, going 1-1 with an 8.36 ERA, 10.3 K/9, a 7.7 BB/9, and a 1.3 HR/9 in 8 appearances and 14 IP. But he’s a projectable 6’3″, 180, and his current stuff is pretty interesting. He throws a fastball in the 90-92 MPH range along with a sharp curveball that hitters had an awfully hard time making contact with. The problem is that Blaise has no idea where his pitches are going. If he ever does, he could be a pitcher who could move quickly as a relief prospect. Chances are that it won’t happen, but when you have an NDFA who has a chance to make the big leagues someday, it’s always nice.

Lefty Lucas Goodgion, 23, was the Rays’ 33rd round pick in 2012 and is another late round pick who isn’t the biggest longshot to be a big league contributor someday. In his pro debut, Goodgion was great, going 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA, a 7.9 K/9, a 2.9 BB/9, and a 0.0 HR/9 in 12 appearances and 25 IP. Goodgion has good size at 6’4″, 220 and nice stuff to go with it, throwing a low-90′s fastball with late bite along with a solid slider that shows flashes. Goodgion’s control and command have a long way to go, but the inexperienced hitters of the GCL continuously swung and missed at Goodgion’s pitches, posting a 17.0% swinging strikeout rate compared to the 14.7% league average. But he couldn’t locate anything anywhere and only had such a low walk rate because hitters were swinging and missing like crazy at his pitches. More disciplined hitters won’t fall for his tricks. Goodgion’s stuff is good, but he has a long way to go and at his age (he turned 23 in July), we’ll have to see if he will ever put it all together. The good news is that between Gil, Blaise, and Goodgion, the Rays may end up with a solid big league middle reliever.

Alex Moshier, 23, was another NDFA signed by the Rays this season. Moshier had a solid pro debut with the GCL Rays, going 1-3 with a 2.82 ERA, a 6.4 K/9, a 4.0 BB/9, a 0.4 HR/9, and 4 saves in 14 appearances and 22.1 IP. He has since moved to Short Season-A Hudson Valley, where he has been excellent in 2 appearances spanning 4 IP, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 4 while walking none. Mosher, 5’11″, 200, throws a low-90′s sinker along with a halfway-decent slider. He doesn’t generate very many swings and misses at this point, managing just a 10.9% swinging strikeout rate compared to the 14.7% league average and he doesn’t force groundballs either, posting a 40.9% groundball rate. Moshier needs to improve his command and control for him to even think about continued success. Moshier has been much better against righties than lefties, holding them to a .529 OPS compared to .864 versus lefties in a limited sample. He’s going to need to add a changeup to handle lefties. Moshier has a little ability, but he has a lot of development still to do and at 23 years old, he’s running out of time.

Kyle Pelchy, 22, is one final NDFA that played for the GCL Rays. Pelchy posted just a 5.25 ERA in 12 appearances and 24 IP in his pro debut, but the interesting thing was that he posted a 7.1 K/9, a 1.9 BB/9, and a 0.0 HR/9. Pelchy, who is 6’0″, 210, throws in just the high-80′s with his fastball but he does throws a nice curveball that he commands well. Pelchy is another pitcher who struggles against opposite-handed batters, as they tagged him for a .980 OPS and 7 strikeouts versus 4 walks compared to just a .628 OPS and 12 strikeouts versus 1 walk by righties. Pelchy has an extremely uphill battle ahead of him, but with one plus pitch and hopefully further development in his arsenal, he’ll give it a shot.

And we close with lefty Dayne Quist, 23, who was the Rays’ 28th round pick in 2012. Quist had a really nice start to his pro career with the GCL Rays, going 1-2 with a 2.55 ERA, an 8.7 K/9, a ridiculous 0.5 BB/9, and a 0.0 HR/9 in 11 appearances and 17.2 IP. His groundball rate was an impressive 56.1%. Quist, who is just 5’10″, 180, doesn’t have great stuff, throwing a high-80′s fastball, a decent curveball, and a fringy changeup. But he stands out thanks to superlative command of all 3 pitches. Quist’s pure stuff isn’t great, but he’s able to keep the ball down and get groundballs and because of that he has a chance to be a lefty reliever someday. Quist turns 24 in January so time is definitely not on his side, but his great command could take him to the big leagues, especially as a lefty.

That’s it for our look at the 2012 GCL Rays. All in all, we see that there’s a lot of talent, most of it yet unfulfilled, but there are plenty of players to watch moving forward as we see who’s going to figure it out and who will not. I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about some of the Rays’ lowest-level minor leaguers.

Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, and Part 3 is here.

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*All groundball rate, line drive rate, swinging strikeout rate, etc. data in this article is courtesy of Minor League Central.

Triple-A International League: Syracuse Chiefs (WSN) 14, Durham Bulls 3

This game had to remind you of some of the Rays’ recent games. And given the nature of the Rays’ recent games, that’s not a good thing. In this game, Syracuse had 14 hits while Durham had 13. However, the Chiefs went 8 for 16 with runners in scoring position while the Bulls went just 2 for 9. Jim Paduch had a catastrophe of a start, allowing 12 runs, 10 earned, on 11 hits in 5 innings. On offense, every Bull had a hit, including a 3 for 5 day with a 2-run homer for Henry Wrigley, a 2 for 4 days for Reid Brignac and a 2 for 5 day for Matt Mangini. Tim Beckham went 1 for 4 with an RBI double.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 8, Jacksonville Suns (MIA) 3

A coule of relatively unheralded players had big days as the Biscuits rolled. Jake Thompson, who has had a struggle of a season, had a nice start, going 6.1 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, 2 of which were solo home runs, striking out 5 while walking 3. But he posted a 10-1 groundout to flyout ratio, so hopefully he’s making progress. On offense, Ryan Garko had a 3-run shot and Greg Sexton had a 2-run shot while Mark Thomas went 3 for 4. A mid-level prospect, Tyler Bortnick, went 1 for 4 with his 20th stolen base of the season. And the loosely-defined top prospects, Hak-Ju Lee and Ty Morrison, both had nice games as well. Lee went 2 for 4 with a double, a triple, a walk, and a run scored, while Morrison went 2 for 3 with a double, 2 walks, an RBI, and a run scored.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 7, Fort Myers Miracle (MIN) 5

Sorry, no triple-header for the Stone Crabs today. Just a win. Victor Mateo had a run of the 4′s, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, striking out 4, walking 4, and allowing 4 groundouts. He tossed 5 innings and forced 5 flyouts, so there’s a couple 5′s. He got the win in the game thanks to some nice offense. Luke Bailey and Stephen Tinoco each went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI and Derek Dietrich, Robby Price, and Christopher Murrill all had multiple hits as well. Theron Geith, Jim Patterson, and Chris Rearick combined for 4 innings of one-run relief, with Rearick recording his 15th save of the season.

Low-A Midwest League: Lansing Lugnuts (TOR) 8, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3

One horrific inning was exactly the difference in this one. Parker Markel allowed just 1 hit in the first 2 innings before completely imploding in the third inning. Allowing 5 runs on 6 hits. The Hot Rods couldn’t muster enough offense to compensate. Drew Vettleson went 2 for 4 with his 7th homer of the season and 10th stolen base, Alejandro Torres went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI, and Todd Glaesmann and Juniel Querecuto each went 2 for 4 with a run scored. Josh Sale and Tyler Goeddel went a combined 0 for 5 with 2 walks, one by each.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League; Hudson Valley Renegades 9, Staten Island Yankees 3

Jeff Ames was sharp and Ryan Dunn had the best day of his young career as the Renegades blew out the Yankees. Ames went 5 innings, allowing an unearned run on 3 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1 and posting a 4-2 groundout to flyout ratio. Dunn went 3 for 4 with a double, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Justin O’Conner also went 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored from the two-hole. Tommy Coyle (1 for 3), Michael Williams (1 for 4 with a triple), and Leonardo Reginatto (0 for 2 with 2 RBI) had the other RBIs.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Princeton Rays 9, Bristol White Sox 4

A lot of people came out of this game happy. Bruedlin Suero allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings in his start, but he did strike out 3 while walking 1 and post a 7-1 groundout to flyout ratio. Willie Gabay followed with 2 shutout relief innings for his first professional win. Randy Davis and Jon Weaver each struck out 2 in a hitless relief appearance, although Davis walked 3. And then there was the offense. Granden Goetzman went 2 for 5 with a double, 3 stolen bases, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Brandon Martin went just 1 for 5 but swiped 2 more bases, John Alexander went 3 for 4 with a double, a walk, and 3 RBI, and Oscar Hernandez went 3 for 5 with a double, an RBI, and 2 runs scored.

Jackson has a ways to go, but the Rays really like his potential. (Credit: BeRecruited)

Rookie Gulf Coast League: Game 1: GCL Rays 4, GCL Twins 3 (7 innings)

This game alone was the pro debuts of four Rays 2012 draft picks: outfielders 5th rounder Bralin Jackson (a power-speed threat), 11th rounder Clayton Henning (a raw athlete, but with tons of potential), lefty Dayne Quist from the 28th round (underwhelming stuff but superb control), and right-hander Luke Goodgion from the 33rd round (great stuff, needs work with control). For more on those four, please see here. But how were their debuts? Carlos Cedeno showed some positive and not-so-positive signs in his second start of the season, going 4 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, but striking out 4 while walking 1 and posting a 4-0 groundout to flyout ratio. The next three pitchers, Quist, Goodgion, and non-drafted free agent signee Alex Moshier, all tossed perfect innings with a strikeout each. On offense, Armando Araiza and Leopoldo Correa each had a hit and an RBI, and the other GCL Rays runs scored on errors. How about Jackson and Henning? Jackson, unfortunately, went 0 for 4, while Henning went 1 for 3 with a walk and a caught stealing (he’s fast but needs a lot of work stealing bases- see his profile at the lin above). Adderly Rosa also had a double and Yoel Araujo had a triple for their lone hits in the game.

Game 2: GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 1 (7 innings)

Not exactly fun getting 4-hit. Stepan Havlicek got the start for the GCL Rays and wasn’t so great, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits in 3.2 innings, striking out 4 while walking 2. Nicholas Sawyer (40th round in 2012), Oscar Armenta, and lefty Jordan Harrison (25th round in 2012), did combine for 3.2 shutout relief innings. 2 of the 4 hits came from Ben Kline, who went 2 for 3, and Johnny Eierman went 1 for 2 with a walk and a stolen base.

27 of the Rays’ 40 picks were college players, 67.5%, the percentage of any draft in Rays history. The Rays selected 35 college players in 2011, but they had 20 more picks in that draft compared to 2012 because of all their supplemental picks as compensation for departed free agents and because the draft was shortened from 50 to 40 rounds in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. 35 divided by 60 is 58.3%. And the number of college players that the Rays selected trails only 2011 in their history. Where are the Rays doing?

The fact that the players are coming out of college obscures the fact that the Rays still drafted a lot of them (12 of 27) for upside. And secondly,  as we touched upon after Day 2, this will allow the Rays to sign as many picks as possible. The Rays drafted just 7 high school players and they’re going to be able to do everything they can to sign all 7. For their 6 junior college selections, some are easier signs than others, but they’ll look to sign as many as possible of them as well. What the Rays did in this draft was maximize their efficiency. College upside picks, especially in the later rounds, can be signed on the cheap but still come with the potential for big reward. And signing those picks cheaply allows the Rays to focus their energies on the tougher high school and junior college players and the funds to potentially get most of them signed. There’s next to no chance that the Rays sign all 40 of their picks. But there’s a real chance they could sign 36 or 37 the way they allotted they picks. Let’s go pick by pick with quick thoughts on the player being selected where they were selected. We’ll give a grade to each pick as well (which has to do with the players based on their draft slots, not necessarily on the players’ abilities or their abilities compared to one another). For actual scouting information on the players, please click the links on each players name.

1st Round: 3B Richie Shaffer- Nice value pick as he could have gone earlier. Gives the Rays legitimate power and a relatively safe bet to make the big leagues as productive corner player. Nothing flashy, but good value. Grade: A-

2nd Round: SS/CF Spencer Edwards- High school shortstop who will likely move to the outfield but was announced as a shortstop. Nice upside as 5-tool prospect, although hitting is most questionable tool. Grade: A

3rd Round: CF Alvin Toles - JC product is speedster in center with 5-tool talent as well, although once again hitting is a little questionable. Grade: A

4th Round: RHP Nolan Gannon- Projectable HS righty with a nice sinker, shows flashes with 12-to-6 curve. Nice upside but will be a project. Grade: B+

5th Round: OF Braylin Jackson- HS outfielder with more hit tool questions, but nice power/speed potential. Grade: B+

6th Round: RHP Damion Carroll- HS arm with mid-90′s velocity, everything else in question. Grade: B

7th Round: CF Marty Gantt- Senior is a great story and has solid tools across the board. Definite potential to be big league contributor. Grade: A-

8th Round: C Luke Maile- Junior has power and plate discipline, too many defensive questions. Grade: B-

9th Round: CF Joey Rickard- Junior can run and play defense. Upside of a 4th outfielder. Grade: B-

10th Round: LHP Sean Bierman- 5th-year senior has injury questions, shifty but not great stuff. Money-saving pick. Grade: C+

11th Round: CF Clayton Henning- High school football wide receiver is extremely raw but shows flashes of 4 tools. Grade: B+

12th Round: C Taylor Hawkins- High school catcher with big-time present power. Hit tool in question but tools defensively as well. Grade: A

13th Round: RHP Dylan Floro- Junior’s stuff regressed since being drafted by Rays out of high school. If restored, has nice upside. Grade: B

14th Round: LHP Chris Kirsch- JC lefty has four pitches including plus fastball and curve that flashes plus. Control is an issue. Grade: A

15th Round: RHP Willie Gabay- Hard throwing JC relief prospect who could move fast. Nice sinker. Grade: B+

16th Round: 2B/SS Tommy Coyle- Junior with solid tools all around with some speed. Utility player upside. Grade: B

17th Round: SS Ryan Dunn- Junior is low for shortstop but fluid actions and surprising power. Valuable if can stay at short. Grade: A-

18th Round: LHP Kevin Brandt- Senior lefty with unimpressive fastball but solid secondary pitches. LOOGY potential. Grade: B

19th Round: 1B Miguel Beltran- Senior has big power potential but looks out-of-shape and other tools are questionable. Grade: C+

20th Round: RHP R.J. Davis- Senior who touches triple-digits with fastball but command and secondary pitch issues. Grade: B+

21st Round: RHP Jon Weaver- Senior reliever is not overpowering but all-around solid arsenal. Middle relief potential. Grade: B

22nd Round: CF Willie Argo- Senior slipped in college but has power-speed upside. Could be a steal at this spot. Grade: A+

23rd Round: INF Reid Redman- 5th-year senior provides sparkling defense at third and second base, great utility profile. Grade: B+

24th Round: 3B Daniel Duran- Senior with nice hit tool but little power and no defensive position. Grade: B-

25th Round: LHP Jordan Harrison- Junior has questionable arsenal other than occasional flashes. Grade: C

26th Round: RHP Jason Wilson- Senior has nice fastball, solid curve, poor control. Shows potential as 4th-5th starter or back-end bullpen. Grade: A-

27th Round: RHP Alex Keudell- Senior features great curve but questionable fastball. Good command. Grade: B

28th Round: LHP Dayne Quist- Little senior lefty with little stuff but great command. Middle relief potential. Grade: B-

29th Round: P/OF Keaton Steele- JC pick has potential as bullpen arm, outfielder. The Rays are going to have fun with him. Grade: A-

30th Round: C Michael Williams- Senior plays solid defense, may hit a little. Grade: B

31st Round: C/OF Taylor Ward- HS pick does not have catcher skill-set, speedy with solid swing. Doubt he stays at catcher long-term. Grade: B-

32nd Round: SS Ben Kline- 5th-year senior has nice defensive tools and rock-solid ability all-around. Potential big league starting SS. Grade: A

33rd Round: LHP Luke Goodgion- Junior has good size, stuff, erratic control. Bullpen potential. Grade: B

34th Round: RHP Ryan Garton- Little senior righty but excellent change and solid all-around arsenal with some projection. Sleeper potential. Grade: A-

35th Round: RHP Kris Carlson- Senior with nasty stuff, fastball hits mid 90′s and great movement on slider, but horrific control. Grade: B+

36th Round: SS Bret McAfee- JC pick selected by Rays for second year in a row. Injury prone, but great defense with some offensive tools. Grade: B+

37th Round: RHP Rob Finneran- 5th-year senior with bulldog mentality and solid stuff. Best pitcher in the history of Bentley University. Grade: B

s38th Round: C Chad Nacapoy- 5th-year senior shows solid defense but needs work and questionable offense. Grade: B-

39th Round: C Geoff Rowan- Senior has untapped tools both offensively and defensively. Definite upside. Grade: B+

40th Round: RHP Nick Sawyer- JC pick has nice fastball-curveball combination but terrible control. Grade: B+

Looking at the grades, they’re mostly within the A’s and B+’s (over half of them are). I certainly didn’t like every pick, but I do really like this draft class. The Rays got several outstanding values from the college guys and some nice upside from the high school and JC ranks. There’s a lot of risk here. Most of these players they have great upside but come with significant questions as well. Most of them will not pan out. But this isn’t a boom or bust draft. There are just so many upside players that a handful of them will have to pan out and the Rays could really end up with several quality big leaguers and a bunch of other minor contributors from this draft class. It was strange that the Rays drafted so many college players, but they chose the best ones they could find and ones with often considerable potential and that’s all that really matters. And then there’s the factor that since the Rays drafted so many college players, it should help them get nearly everybody signed. This is a very interesting draft class by the Rays and it’s going to be exciting to see the Rays get these guys signed and have them start their pro careers, and we’ll have to see how they develop.