Triple-A International League: Norfolk Tides (BAL) 3, Durham Bulls 2 (7 innings- rain)

For the second straight day, the Bulls-Tides game was shortened by rain and lasted just 7 innings. This time, though, it was the Bulls that were on the wrong end of a 3-2 score–but a couple minutes later and it easily could have ended differently. The game was ludicrously called with the Bulls have two on, nobody out and one run already across in the 7th inning, so if this game goes nine innings, the Bulls very well could have won. J.D. Martin got the start for Durham and tossed a rain-assisted complete game, going 7 innings allowing 3 runs, 2 earned on 9 hits, striking out 7 while walking just 1. Martin is the “other guy” in a Bulls rotation laden with prospects, but he has pitched very well, going 5-2 with a 3.48 ERA and a 36-9 strikeout to walk ratio in 9 starts and 51.2 innings pitched. On the offensive side, Wil Myers had an encouraging game, going 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored without striking out. Myers hasn’t gotten his power stroke going all season, but he’s showing improved plate discipline and you have to hope that he’s on the cusp of breaking out.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 3, Huntsville Stars (MIL) 0

In 2012, Matt Moore had a 3.81 ERA, showing promise but plenty of inconsistency. Merrill Kelly is not nearly as talented as Moore, but the same can be said of his ERA and his performance. This game was one of the good ones. Kelly went 6.2 innings allowing no runs on 3 hits, striking out 5 while walking 2. In three of his nine appearances (eight starts), Kelly has a 2-0 record, a 0.90 ERA, and a 16-6 strikeout to walk ratio in 20 innings pitched. In the other six, he is just 1-4 with a 5.76 ERA and a 16-16 strikeout to walk ratio in 29.2 IP. Kelly’s low-90′s fastball is a solid pitch, but maybe it’s the effectiveness of his changeup and curveball that fluctuates, leading to his inconsistent results. C.J. Riefenhauser and Juan Sandoval tossed perfect ball in the final 2.1 innings to seal the 3-hitter. On the offensive side, the Biscuits didn’t get much themselves but went an outstanding 3 for 4 with runners in scoring position. Cameron Seitzer went 1 for 3 with a double and a hit-by-pitch and Mikie Mahtook and Todd Glaesmann had the other RBIs for Montgomery. Seitzer has been in an extended slump, but he’s now 5 of his last 14 (.357) and hopefully he’s getting himself back on track.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 2, Fort Myers Miracle (MIN) 0

It wasn’t pretty but it somehow all worked out for Stone Crabs pitching as they stranded 8 hits and 6 walks on their way to victory despite striking out just 5. Felipe Rivero took the ball for Charlotte and was able to escape several jams, going 5.2 innings allowing no runs on 6 hits, striking out 4 while walking 3. Jake Partridge worked around 2 walks to pitch scoreless ball for the next 1.1 innings before Lenny Linsky got past 2 hits and a walk to nail down the save in the final 2 frames. In terms of the run support, Richie Shaffer went 2 for 4 with an RBI while Willie Argo, batting third now after hitting extremely well to begin the year, went 1 for 4 with 2 stolen bases and a run scored. Shaffer is doing great in his last ten games, going 15 for 44  (.341) as he’s beginning to erase his early-season struggles from his numbers.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 8, West Michigan Whitecaps (DET) 0 (7 innings)

Just seems like there is no way to stop Taylor Guerrieri. Guerrieri got the start and was dominant once again, going 6 innings allowing no runs on just 1 hit, striking out 3 while walking 1 and managing an 11-2 groundout to flyout ratio. Guerrieri tossed shutout 1-hit ball for the second straight outing, and while he wasn’t able to overpower hitters in this one, his command is just uncanny for Low-A and he is just able to force groundball after groundball. He threw just 59 pitches and could have easily gone the complete game, but the offense gave him plenty of run support and made sure this game was out of reach and the Hot Rods coaching staff decided to play it safe with the Rays’ prized right-handed pitching prospect. Leonardo Reginatto went 2 for 3 with a double, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored, Joey Rickard went 2 for 2 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, and Tyler Goeddel and Luke Maile drove in 2 runs each.

Whitecaps 5, Hot Rods 1 (completion of suspended game)

This suspended game did not go nearly as well. Reinaldo Lopez has been surprisingly good all season for Bowling Green managing a 1.64 ERA in 33.1 IP entering Sunday, but this was simply not his game. Lopez went 5.1 innings (on May 10th) allowing 4 runs on 7 hits, striking out 3 while walking 2. He forced a ton of groundballs, managing a 9-2 groundout to flyout ratio, but his results were not nearly as good this time around. Marcus Jensen went the final 3.2 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 3 while walking none. In terms of the offense, there wasn’t much going on as Tommy Coyle went 1 for 4 with an RBI triple and Graden Goetzman went 1 for 3 with a run scored as they teamed to account for the only Bowling Green run.

J.D. Martin has never thrown very hard. Back when the Indians selected him 35th overall in the 2001 MLB Draft, that was because he was a lean 6’4″, 160 right-hander with room to grow. Even though Martin has filled out to 6’4″, 220, the velocity still never came as Tommy JohnSurgery and other arm problems took it away. His fastball peaked at 90-91 MPH for a time, but almost always he has stayed in the 87-88 MPH range. Despite that, he did just about nothing but pitch well the first 10 years of his professional baseball career. In his pro debut at Rookie-level Burlington, he was untouchable, going 5-1 with a 1.38 ERA, striking out 72 while walking just 11 in 10 starts and 45.2 innings pitched. Martin’s hype from his pro debut got out of hand, but in his first full pro season at Low-A Columbus, he continued to impress, going 14-5 with a 3.90 ERA, an 8.5 K/9, a 3.5 BB/9, and a 0.8 HR/9 in 26 starts, 1 relief appearance, and 138.1 innings pitched. It was the next year, though, that his elbow first became an issue, and two years later he had Tommy John Surgery.

Martin pitched pretty well with the Nationals only to see injury issues throw him off course. (Credit: Flickr user natshq)

Martin continued to pitch well when healthy, managing a 2.03 ERA and a 40-5 strikeout to walk ratio in 13 starts and a relief appearance in 2006, but injuries knocked out most of his 2007 season, prompting the Indians to move him to the bullpen for 2008. Even after Martin was dominant between Double-A and Triple-A that year, going 12-3 with a 7.9 K/9, a 2.1 BB/9, and a 0.7 HR/9 in 26 relief appearances, 9 starts, and 89.2 innings pitched, the Indians let him leave as a free agent. After a great season at Triple-A for the Nationals the next season, he made his big league debut in July and was decent, going 5-4 with a 4.44 ERA (96 ERA+), a 4.3 K/9, a 2.8 BB/9, and a 1.6 HR/9 in 15 starts and 77 innings pitched. He was back in the minors to begin 2010 but pitched fine when he returned, going just 1-5 but with a 4.13 ERA, a 5.8 K/9, a 2.1 BB/9, and a 1.7 HR/9 in 9 starts and 48 innings pitched, but his season ended in July from a herniated disk in his back. Since then, Martin has struggled, managing just a 3.93 ERA at Triple-A in 2011 before slipping to just a 5.95 ERA at Triple-A for the Marlins in 2012 (although his FIP was a solid 4.18).

Martin’s specialty is control. He has a 2.0 BB/9 in 1022.2 minor league innings and a 2.5 mark in 125 MLB innings, and at Triple-A, he’s been as low as 1.3 per 9 innings. However, his career 7.0 K/9 in the minors drops to 6.1 at Triple-A and just 4.9 in the majors, and that’s not something so surprising- it’s awfully hard to miss bats with a fastball in the 87-89 MPH range. But when healthy, Martin can be a solid pitcher. He may throw his fastball at just 87-88 MPH most of the time, but he throws it for strikes like there’s no tomorrow and has solid command of the pitch. The issue is that solid command is not enough at higher levels when your fastball is that soft. However, his other pitches give him the ability to move beyond that. He gets his swings and misses on a big mid-70′s overhand curveball with big 12-to-6 action that works well against batters from both sides and he also throws a solid cutter and a usable changeup that has shown promise in the past (something the Rays will undoubtedly work with him on considering it’s their organizational strength). If Martin can stay healthy, he has the arsenal to be a solid  starter in the back of a major league rotation or at least a useful middle reliever. Martin faces an uphill batter to return to the big leagues, let alone stay there. However, he has the ability to be more than just Triple-A fodder and could conceivably make an impact in the big leagues for the Rays next season.

It sounds crazy to say that a 30 year old pitcher with a fastball that never touches 90 MPH is an upside play, but Martin is exactly that. Until the past two years, he was a solid pitcher everywhere he went, including the major leagues, and with better health and a little refinement to his secondary pitches, he could play himself into a major league role. The Rays are known for looking for undervalues assets, and Martin certainly qualifies- who could think that a 30 year old with injury issues and below-average fastball velocity could make an impact in the major leagues? Maybe Martin amounts to nothing whether through more injury issues or simply poor performance, but at no risk to them at all, the Rays have found a pitcher with the ability to contribute for them in 2013.

We know that in spring training, a slew of unproven prospects receive opportunities to catch the eye of the Rays coaching staff, and the Rays are starting to figure out who some of those prospects will be within their organization. The Rays have announced that relievers Marquis Fleming, Kirby Yates, and Adam Liberatore have been invited along with catcher Mark Thomas.

Fleming, 26, started the year in Triple-A for the Rays but struggled and spent most of the year back in Double-A. He’s an interesting relief prospect in that he only throws in the 87-89 MPH range with his fastball, but it features great sink and run away from right-handed batters and he pairs it with a good changeup and solid slider. His pitches feature such remarkable movement that he struggles to control them and he needs more consistency on his secondary pitches, but despite his lack of fastball velocity he still has the potential to be a solid middle reliever in the big leagues.

Yates, who will turn 26 in March, had a good year at Double-A for the Rays, striking out 12.4 batters per 9 innings but also walking. He’s a more conventional relief prospect thanks to a fastball that touches 95 MPH and usually hits the 92-94 MPH range to go along with a sharp slider in the mid-80′s. He’s been working on a changeup that would help him against lefties, but that remains a work in progress. You can never have enough power arms, and if Yates can improve his control and command of all his pitches and develop his changeup into a usable offering, he’s someone we could see in the major leagues at some point next season.

Liberatore, who will turn 26 in May, is a big lefty coming off a big year between Double-A and Triple-A, managing a 2.47 ERA and bizarrely striking out 9 batters per 9 innings at Triple-A compared to just 4.7 at Double-A. Liberatore is the rare the lefty that can bring it a little bit, sitting 90-92 MPH and touching 94 to go along with a good slider and a decent changeup, and he does that out of a deceptive delivery that gives lefty batters fits. LIberatore is another one of these pitchers who needs work on command and control, but a future as a lefty specialist in the major leagues is a possibility.

Finally, Thomas, who will turn 25 in May, might be the Rays’ de facto catcher of the future thanks to excellent defensive skills and some promise at the plate. Thomas has thrown out 41% of attempted basestealers against him in the minor leagues including 46% at Double-A in 2012 thanks to a fluid actions and a strong arm, and he’s potentially the complete package defensively thanks to his talent receiving and blocking balls in the dirt. The biggest question, though, is going to be whether Thomas will ever hit. Thomas slammed 13 home runs in 2011, but he’s severely handicapped at the plate right now by a lack of plate discipline and managed just a .254/.323/.383 line with 5 home runs in 2012. The lack of patience hampers both Thomas’ ability to get on base consistently and to make quality contact as he hasn’t done a good job waiting for pitches to hit. It will be fun for all the Rays’ pitchers to throw to Thomas this spring training and be amazed by his defense, and hopefully the Rays’ coaching staff can help him make the adjustments at the plate that will give him a chance to hit enough to profile as a major league starting catcher, although that is going to be an uphill battle.

ESPN’s Keith Law ranked (Insider-only) the top 25 MLB players under 25 and the Rays’ own Matt Moore came in at number 14. Law said that he “expects Moore to join David Price as a second ace atop the Rays’ rotation” and whether by coincidence or not, 14 is the number that Price happens to wear. Moore was inconsistent his rookie year, but his promise is evident and hopefully 2013 is the year everything comes together for him.

Speaking of fireballing lefties, Jack Moore of Fangraphs talked about how Jake McGee‘s altered throwing motion helped lead to his success in 2012. Moore talked about McGee in advance of McGee being a possibility in a Rays trade for Mike Morse, but I don’t think the Rays will trade three more years of a lefty with closer potential in McGee for one year of Morse. That aside, Moore’s piece is certainly worth the read.

Finally, a couple of Rays are involved with camps raising money for important charities in their community. Jeremy Hellickson is going to make a guest appearance at the “Kids Living Brave” pitching clinic in Hellickson’s hometown of Des Moines, Iowa on January 26th for kids age 8-14, and all the proceeds will go to children fighting cancer. Great to see Hellickson heading back to his hometown to make an impact in the lives of aspiring pitchers and most importantly to raise all that money for kids undergoing cancer treatment. And we have to finish with the one, the only Sam Fuld, who will be running his Sam Fuld Sports Camp once again for children with diabetes ages 8-18 from February 2nd to 3rd at the University of South Florida in Tampa. All participants will receive instruction in 7 different sports: baseball/softball, basketball, tennis, soccer, football, cheerleading (if you count that as a sport), and golf, with professionals or collegiate players in each sport, all of whom have Type 1 Diabetes, on hand to run the programs. Always amazing to see Fuld involved in the community and especially for children with diabetes, and with Fuld at the helm, you know that his event will be a tremendous success once again.