Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 3, Norfolk Tides (BAL) 2

From the start of this one, it seemed like something special was in the air for Chris Archer. Archer slowly but surely wore down as his pitch count got up, but nevertheless he delivered a great outing reminding Rays fans just how talented he is even if his next big league chance will have to wait. Archer allowed a flyball to center off the bat of Xavier Avery, but he breezed by the next five hitters, retiring three via the strikeout and the other two on the ground. His command began to depart in the 3rd inning as he got two flyouts sandwiched around a strikeout, but after a strikeout and two groundouts in the 4th, Archer had retired 12 in a row to begin the game. Archer’s perfect game bid ended when he walked L.J. Hoes with 2 outs in the 5th, but that was only the start. Brandon Wood began the 6th inning with a solo home run, and not only was the no-hit bid over but now the score was 2-1 in the game. But even as he quickly began to tire out, Archer found a way to get out of the inning, working his way around a pair of hits to keep the Tides from drawing any closer. Archer had an excellent outing, going 6 innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 6 while walking 1. He was extremely efficient, throwing just 81 pitches, 52 strikes, and it’s a little alarming that even with his pitch count so low he still wore down. However, Archer showed dominance at the beginning of his outing and heart at the end, and once he builds his arm strength back up, the Rays may have no choice but to find him a spot on their big league roster.

Of more immediate big league concern for the Rays could be outfielders Wil Myers and Brandon Guyer after Matt Joyce left Tuesday’s Rays game with hamstring tightness. But if anyone is getting called up, it’s unlikely to be either of them. Myers went 0 for 4 with a walk in this one while Guyer went 0 for 3 with a walk. Neither has great numbers on the season, with Myers putting up a .250/.350/.382 line while Guyer’s line is at .242/.338/.406, although Guyer does have a .270/.372/.432 line in his last 10 games. Guyer has an obvious edge for a potential call-up because he’s on the 40-man roster, but if the Rays were going to call up their best available outfielder, it would probably be Jason Bourgeois, who went 2 for 3 with a double, walk, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored in this one and is hitting to a .312/.362/.428 line with 10 stolen bases and 30 RBI in 35 games. Rich Thompson, Vince Belnome, and Mike Fontenot also had multi-hit games in this one for Durham, but the most impressive performance of the game might have been Craig Albernaz, who did a great job catching Archer, went 1 for 4 at the plate, and then did an incredible job picking a runner of 2nd base to prevent a tough 7th inning from getting worse for Cory Wade. Archer’s performance was certainly the take-away from this one, but great to see several members of the Bulls offense playing well with the possibility of a big league call-up in play for someone should Joyce hit the DL.

Double-A Southern League: Huntsville Stars (MIL) 11, Montgomery Biscuits 7

Biscuits pitching got destroyed in this one, but the offense had a great game, led by Cameron Seitzer, who is suddenly red-hot again. Victor Mateo kept the Stars off the board in the bottom of the 3rd–that would be the only inning they wouldn’t score the rest of the game other than the bottom of the 9th, which did not happen. Mateo allowed 5 runs, 4 earned, on 7 hits in 5 innings before Neil Schenk and Andrew Bellatti allowed a run each in their innings of work. Then Braulio Lara allowed 4 runs in the 8th, including the second home run of the game by Jason Rodgers, a 3-run shot. Let’s head to the offense now, which was much more positive. Seitzer came up big, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, a walk, and an RBI and a run scored. He was slumping for a while after his incredible start to the season, but now he’s 9 for his last 22 (.409) and he may be on his way to another hot streak. Kevin Kiermaier went 1 for 3 with 2 walks, a stolen base, and 3 runs scored while Shawn O’Malley went 1 for 3 with a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored as the Biscuits’ lineup did great but it wasn’t nearly enough.

High-A Florida State League Game 1: Charlotte Stone Crabs 4, Clearwater Threshers (PHI) 2 (7 innings)

The Stone Crabs played a doubleheader on Tuesday to make up for a Monday rainout, and if they were going to have to play two, they could not have picked a better rotation spot to be in line to start. Jesse Hahn and Jake Floethe have been splitting starts for Charlotte all season, and the Stone Crabs were able to just start Hahn in Game 1 and Floethe in Game 2 to get through this doubleheader without any problem. In this game, Hahn was absolutely dominant. Going 4 innings for the second straight outing as the Stone Crabs are beginning to take the training wheels off of him, Hahn was a little more hittable than usual, allowing 4 hits, but he struck out 4 and recorded 7 of his other 8 outs on the ground. The other out came on a Drew Vettleson outfield assist. In 9 starts, Hahn has a 0.96 ERA, striking out 29 while walking just 5 and managing a 2.80 groundout to airout ratio in 28 innings pitched. Eliazer Suero allowed a pair of runs to cross in the 6th, but Nate Garcia struck out 2 in a perfect 9th to nail down the save. Garcia’s ERA on the season is an ugly 6.05, but he has tossed perfect ball in his last two appearances, shutout ball in his last three, and has a 9-1 strikeout to walk ratio in his last five. In terms of the run support, Hector Guevara went 2 for 3 with a double, a stolen base, 2 RBI, and a run scored, and Willie Argo went 1 for 3 with a 2-run double. Vettleson also capped his strong defensive game by going 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored. Vettleson started off the year incredibly slowly, but he has a .361/.452/.583 line in his last 40 plate appearances as he is really hitting his stride.

Game 2: Stone Crabs 3, Threshers 1

Floethe wasn’t nearly as dominant as Floethe, but he combined with Chris Kirsch to hold Clearwater to just 1 run in 7 innings as the Stone Crabs swept the doubleheader. Floethe went 4.2 innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 3 while walking 4. Flothe’s control certainly was not at its best, but he was still able to do a nice job forcing weak contact on the ground, managing a 7-2 groundout to flyout ratio to help him pitch as well as he did. Tossing the game’s final 2.1 innings was Kirsch, who made his season debut for Charlotte after debuting as a professional with Advanced Rookie Princeton last year and beginning this season in extended spring training. Kirsch went 2.1 innings allowing just 1 hit, striking out 1 while walking 1, as he acquainted himself quite well to full-season ball despite skipping the Low-A level. With a fastball touching 94 MPH and an assortment of secondary pitches, Kirsch has the ability to be an impressive pitcher, and hopefully this outing can spur him to a strong season. On the offensive side, Kes Carter delivered a 2-out, 3-run triple in the 2nd inning to account for all three of the Stone Crabs’ runs and provide Charlotte with all the runs they would need thanks to the strong performances of Floethe and Kirsch.

Triple-A International League: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (PHI) 9, Durham Bulls 3

This game was kind of a pity because the Bulls scored the final three runs in this game…but only after Lehigh Valley tagged Will Inman for a scary 7 runs in the 7th. Maybe the Bulls don’t score those runs if the IronPigs don’t rally like that but you never know. Chris Archer started this game for the Bulls after missing a start with a calf bruise,  and he was on a strict pitch count. Archer wound up going 3 innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 4 while walking 3 as he was off, but hopefully he can build himself back up and resume dominating Triple-A hitters and pushing for a big league spot. Jim Paduch made up for Archer’s shortened start and pulled a Houdini act to only allow 1 run in his 3 frames, somehow working around 3 walks and 6 hits, striking out 3 in the process. Then, after Inman’s implosion, Adam Liberatore allowed just 1 hit over the final 2 innings, striking out 2. Everyone but Inman was great for the Bulls, but you need a complete team effort to win (or at least no one completely messing up), and the Bulls didn’t get that. On the offensive side, Mike Fontenot slammed his first homer of the season for the Bulls as he went 2 for 3 with that homer, a double, and 2 RBI, and Shelley Duncan went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

Double-A Southern League: Mississippi Braves 5, Montgomery Biscuits 4 (11 innings)

The emphasis on getting complete team play is even more incisive here in this closer game as a top-heavy lineup and a bottom-heavy pitching effort wasn’t enough for the Biscuits to come away with a victory. Victor Mateo has gotten off to a terrible start for the Biscuits this season but had arguably his best start in this game–but that was setting the bar pretty low. Mateo went 5.2 innings allowing 4 runs on 11 hits, striking out 6 while walking 2. Mateo wasn’t on the hook for the loss when he departed because the Biscuits rallied for 3 runs in the 5th, with the top three players in their lineup, Kevin Kiermaier, Robby Price, and Mikie Mahtook, all notching consecutive RBIs on a single, a groundout, and a triple. After Mateo, the Biscuits bullpen went into lockdown. Marquis Fleming tossed 2.1 one-hit innings with 4 strikeouts to lower his ERA to 1.13, Juan Sandoval tossed a 5-pitch perfect frame with 3 groundouts to lower his ERA to 3.32, and C.J. Riefenhauser tossed a hitless inning to lower his ERA to 0.79 to get Montgomery through 10 innings. But someone had to come apart eventually, and that was Matt Nevarez, who finally allowed a run for the first time all season in his 7th appearance (raising his ERA to 0.93), and that proved to be the decider as the Braves won 5-4. Great bullpen work only means so much when your starter struggles, but the even larger disparity may have been between the top three in the Biscuits lineup and everyone else. Kiermaier, Price, and Mahtook went 5 for 14 (.357) with 2 walks between them and an RBI each. The rest of the lineup went just 3 for 26, and take out Mayo Acosta, who notched 2 hits, and they were only 1 for 22. Finding better starting pitching and more well-rounded offense wil be key for the Biscuits as they try to get back on the winning track.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 4, Bradenton Marauders (PIT) 1

Speaking of the need for starting pitching, Ryan Carpenter certainly gave Charlotte as good of a starting as they could have hoped on Saturday and that was the key to the Stone Crabs’ 4-1. Carpenter went 7 innings allowing just 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 6 while walking 1, throwing just 90 pitches in the process. He could have gone 8 innings! Carpenter’s great start broke a string of a couple poor performances, but his ERA still stands at 2.85 as he has gotten off to a fabulous start to the season, striking out 43 while walking just 7 in 41 innings. Also impressing was Lenny Linsky, who worked around a hit for a scoreless 8th, striking out 2 and getting his other out on a groundout. Finally healthy after shoulder problems plagued him last season, Linsky has a 3.10 ERA and a 19-6 strikeout to walk ratio in 20.1 innings pitched. On the offensive side, the entire Stone Crabs offense consisted of home runs, with Drew Vettleson and Hector Guevara both slamming 2-run shots. Richie Shaffer and Jeff Malm both went 2 for 5 for Charlotte as well, with Malm lacing a double. Shaffer is slowly but surely breaking out, going 12 for his last 41 (.293) to get his average up to .240 on the season.

Low-A Midwest League: Lake County Captains (CLE) 6, Bowling Green Hot Rods 1

Not much to see here as the Hot Rods were thoroughly outplayed. Eduar Quinonez‘s defense didn’t do him any favors as he went 6 innings allowing 4 runs, just 1 earned, on 4 hits, striking out 3 while walking 1. He came blame his defense all he wants, but he would have been better served not allowing a 3-run home run following the error. In terms of the offense, the Hot Rods were held to just 2 hits on the day as Dylan Baker and a pair of relievers shut them down. They didn’t manage a single hit from 2 outs in the 2nd all the way to 1 out in the 8th. Ryan Dunn went 1 for 3 with a double and the only RBI while Andrew Toles went 1 for 4 with 2 stolen bases.

Left Field

Josh Sale, 21, was the Rays’ first round pick, 17th overall, in 2010 and finally showed signs of putting it all together in 2012 before a 50-game suspension for meth abruptly ended his season. Sale began the season at extended spring training after a horrific 2011 season at Advanced Rookie Princeton, but the Rays decided to challenge him in May by sending him to Bowling Green and he more than held his own, posting a .264/.391/.464 line with 10 doubles, 10 homers, 44 RBI, and a 62-54 strikeout to walk ratio in 74 games and 297 plate appearances. He got after to a staggering start in May before cooling off, but his overall numbers were still very impressive. Sale shows outstanding bat speed and lift in his swing to go with remarkable plate discipline, but the problem for him that his game will be all about his hitting. Sale, who is 6’0″, 215, is not a great athlete and doesn’t have a great arm, limiting him to left field. If he doesn’t hit, he will go nowhere as a prospect. The good news is that Sale has the ability to be a prolific hitter in the big leagues, potentially hitting .300 with 35-homer power and an on-base percentage approaching .400. Sale still has kinks to work out in his offensive game. He is very patient but needs to continue to work on figuring out which pitches to drive (which was the main reason why he struggled so mightily in 2011), and his two-strike approach still isn’t great. He also gets into trouble when he tries to sell out for power as opposed to let his power flow naturally through his great strength and bat speed. And then of course there’s the matter of the drug suspension. The suspension went against everything we thought we knew about Sale as he was known for outstanding character and work ethic, and his father takes pride in being one of the few professional weightlifters who does not use performance-enhancing drugs. Sale vehemently denied that he knowingly took any PED. Hopefully we will be able to look at this incident as an aberration as Sale proves that his intangibles will win out in the long-term. Sale is a strange player in an organization that prides itself most for pitching and defense, but his offensive potential is tremendous and the Rays hope he can build off the positives from his 2012 season while moving on from the suspension that has put everything into question.

Taylor Motter, who turned 23 in September, was the Rays’ 17th round pick in 2011 and after just 148 minor league games over the last two seasons, he has already played every position on the diamond except pitcher and catcher. He also has been decent with the bat, posting a .244/.357/.363 line with 17 doubles, 5 homers, 37 RBI, 24 of 36 stolen bases, and 60 strikeouts versus 50 walks in 99 games and 361 plate appearances. Motter is not the next Ben Zobrist, but he does have some potential. Motter features a compact stroke with average bat speed although very little power, and he has a nice patient approach at the plate. Motter hits way too many balls in the air for his own good at this point, most of them weakly. His best tool is above-average speed, and the flyballs don’t help him at all in utilizing that to get on base. Motter also needs to learn how to bunt and improve at reading pitchers. Defensively, Motter features solid actions, good range, and a strong arm, and he is similar to Zobrist in that he can profile at least defensively just about everywhere. Motter’s .244 batting average in 2012 was just above Elliot Johnson‘s .242 mark, and Motter is a similar player to Johnson but with more consistent defense and better patience but less speed and less power (and considering EJ doesn’t have much power at all, that’s not good). Motter’s biggest concern moving forward will be proving that he can hit at higher levels. Motter fits a solid utility profile and the Rays hope he can hit enough to be a big league contributor.

Centerfield

Todd Glaesmann, who turned 22 in late October, was the Rays’ 3rd round pick in 2009 and their Minor League Player of the Year this year. Glaesmann had a big year in 2012, posting a .285/.336/.493 line with 25 doubles, 7 triples, 21 homers, 75 RBI, 8 of 11 stolen bases, and 124 strikeouts against 30 walks in 127 games, 91 with the Hot Rods and 36 at High-A Charlotte, and 540 total plate appearances. Glaesmann, who is 6’4″, 220, has as much upside as any position player in the system but also considerable risk. He has five tool potential with great pure bat speed leading the ability to hit for average and power, above-average speed, good defense, and a strong arm. But the problems become clear immediately from Glaesmann’s strikeout to walk ratio. Glaesmann swings and misses way too often for a player with his bat speed because he struggles with pitch recognition, getting consistently baffled by breaking pitches. Even on fastballs, he is overaggressive and the power show he put on in 2012 will not continue unless he vastly improves in that regard as well- Low-A pitchers leave a whole lot more fastball right down the middle that Double-A pitchers, let alone big league ones. Glaesmann also gets into trouble when he lets his swing gets long as power becomes the only thing on his mind. Another aspect of his game where Glaesmann needs to improve is stealing bases- Glaesmann has the ability to steal 15 bases annually but is very raw in terms of reading pitchers. Defensively, Glaesmann has good range and a great arm but is a better fit in right field than center moving forward. Glaesmann has excellent upside, with a chance to hit near .300 with 30 homers, 15 stolen bases, and strong defense in right field, but even after an outstanding season, his all-around game remains very raw. Glaesmann’s incredible 2012 campaign highlighted his enormous potential but also put the things he needs to work on clearly into view, and the Rays hope he can continue developing his game to give him a chance to put up numbers like he did this season in the big leagues someday.

Kes Carter, 22, was selected by the Rays with one of their supplemental picks in the 2011 draft but has never been able to get his pro career going. Carter got into just 44 games in 2012 and only 37 with the Hot Rods because of a hamstring injury. The 7 games in the GCL don’t really count, and in the 37 in Bowling Green, he posted just a .228/.363/.346 line with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 16 RBI, 9 of 13 stolen bases, and 34 strikeouts versus 23 walks in 37 games and 158 plate appearances. Carter shows 5-tool potential but can’t stay on the field long enough to develop it. Carter shows nice bat speed and good patience at the plate but still gets fooled a little too often by offspeed pitches and doesn’t use his ability to work deep counts too much to his advantage in terms of materializing his power as he can’t recognize which pitches to drive. Then there’s the whole issue that Carter, a lefty, doesn’t hit left-handed pitching at all, an issue that goes back to his college days, and he went just 2 for 19 (.105) versus lefties with the Hot Rods, albeit in a minuscule. That’s a major issue when it’s coming up this low in the professional ranks and even earlier, in college, although you hope that the Rays will figure out a way to help him get past it. Carter has plus speed but needs more work figuring out how to use it on the basepaths, and his approach at the plate doesn’t do anything to help him use his speed to get on base as he hits a ton of balls in the air. At least Carter is solid defensively, although he needs to work on the accuracy of throws. Carter has interesting ability, but he has to find a way to stay healthy to give himself a chance to rectify his current problems and reach his upside.

Right Field

Drew Vettleson, 21, was a supplemental first round pick by the Rays in 2010 and was arguably the Hot Rods’ best all-around player this season. Vettleson posted a .275/.340/.432 line with 24 doubles, 5 triples, 15 homers, 69 RBI, 20 of 31 stolen bases, and 117 strikeouts against 51 walks in 132 games and 562 plate appearances. Vettleson isn’t as flashy as some of the players above, but he may have the best chance of becoming a big leaguer regular. Vettleson shows a quick stroke with good bat speed and solid power to all fields. The question on that would be why he struck out so often (20.4% of his plate appearances) but the answer is a combination of some moderate struggles against left-handed pitching, especially getting frozen on a few too many fastballs. Vettleson should be a player who makes a good amount of contact and hit for a good average, and he’ll look to improve on that moving forward. His patience isn’t great, but it’s more than passable and hopefully it will only continue to improve. Vettleson’s power isn’t prolific but he hits a lot of balls to the gaps and should have 15-20 power moving forward. He shows solid speed but needs to work on his basestealing. Defensively is where Vettleson really shined in 2012, racking up 20 outfield assists thanks to his great arm strength, and he moved well in right field as well, albeit while struggling mightily in a brief trial in centerfield. Vettleson shows nice ability and solid polish in all facets of the game while still having room to grow in several regards, and the Rays hope he can continue developing his tools on his way to becoming an above-average right fielder in the big leagues.

There is some chance that among these five outfielders you could have your three outfield starters of the future for the Rays. The talent is certainly there, and although there’s plenty of work still to be done, you’re looking at players with some of the most lofty potential in the Rays system. The Rays are excited to see what Sale, Glaesmann, and Vettleson can do after big seasons and have to hope all of them can continue refining their games, with Sale having to deal with whatever happened this year with the drug issue, Glaesmann needing to work on patience, and Vettleson simply sharpening up his skills across the board. The outfield is not the biggest strength for the Rays right now, but if things break right with these guys, that will not be the case in three or four years.

For more of our analysis on the Hot Rods and the Rays’ other minor league affiliates, check out our Minor League Affiliates Analysis page here at RCG.