Brett, 20, was enjoying a good season for the Hot Rods in 2012, posting a .285/.348/.393 line with 20 doubles, 6 homers, 35 RBI, 48 of 56 stolen bases, and 73 strikeouts versus 37 walks in 100 games and 456 plate appearances. Brett entered the season as one of the Rays’ top 15 or 20 prospects thanks to his speed, pure hitting ability, and potential defensively at second base. Cononie, 23, went 2-4 for the Hot Rods with a 4.20 ERA, a 10.4 K/9, a 6.8 BB/9, and a 0.2 HR/9 in 34 relief appearances and 60 innings pitched while Woodall, 24, went 2-3 with a 4.76 ERA, an 8.0 K/9, a 5.5 BB/9, and a 0.5 HR/9 in 30 appearances, including a start on Wednesday, and 58.2 IP.

This is pure stupidity. Cononie and Woodall weren’t top prospects to begin with and their professional baseball careers may very well be over. Brett was a player known for his character, and now that has to be pulled into question. Why would they do it? Probably stress. Cononie and Woodall are barely hanging on to their pro careers, and Brett has experienced some struggles this season. But all they have done is betray the trust of the Rays. Organizational players are asked by the teams that draft and sign them just to be quiet, go out there and give their best whenever they play, and if they’re lucky, they’ll get a chance for at least a game or two in the major leagues. That’s over for Cononie and Woodall. For Brett, the Rays really like his abilities and even if he struggled mightily this season, the Rays would have stuck with him. This mistake makes the Rays question everything they have seen in him.

This year, five Rays have been suspended for drugs: Tim Beckham, Deshun Dixon, and these three guys. Especially Beckham and Brett are players who have the ability to be starting-caliber players in the major leagues if not more. All they’re doing is throwing their careers away. Every thing Beckham does is placed under the microscope now. One more mistake and the Rays may be out of patience. The same will now be true of Brett. He made a mistake- nobody’s perfect- but this is a big one. Again, this is a player known for his intangibles, his hustle. And no one is going to use those terms to describe him again. But they will mention this suspension. Brett is going to have to do everything he can to regain the Rays trust. He’s going to need to spend this rest of his minor league career overcoming this mistake.

The Hot Rods have moved on, calling up right-hander Sean Bierman from Short Season-A Hudson Valley and infielder Benjamin Kline from the Rookie GCL Rays. Both played well for their previous teams (Bierman had a 36-5 K-BB ratio) and get an opportunity the rest of the season to prove themselves as being worthy of full-season ball. The Hot Rods will move on to the Midwest League postseason in a few weeks, and good luck to him without their leadoff hitter in Brett and two contributing relievers in Cononie and Woodall.

The minor leagues worked a lot of overtime on Saturday, with a double header and three extra inning games. Here is today’s look around the action last night:

Toledo Mud Hens 7, Durham Bulls 2 (Game One)

In the resumption of last night’s suspended game, the Toledo Mud Hens were ready. Tied 1-1 with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, new pitcher Brandon Gomes walked the first batter he faced before escaping the damage. Toledo poured on the offense in the fifth inning, scoring five times, highlighted by Justin Henry‘s two run double and Jerad Head‘s two run home run. The Bulls got a run in the top of the ninth, as Cole Figueroa drove in Reid Brignac with an RBI single, but it was not enough as Durham fell 7-2. Gomes allowed 5 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks over 1.1 innings. Tim Beckham was 2-5 with a run scored in the loss.

Toledo Mud Hens 4, Durham Bulls 2 (Game Two, seven innings)

Durham jumped out to a quick lead in the top of the second, as Will Rhymes hit a two run home run with two outs. Immediately after the home run, Toledo starter Drew Smyly hit Nevin Ashely with a pitch, leading to Smyly and Toledo manager Phil Nevin to be ejected from the game. The Mud Hens came back in the bottom of the fourth, putting runners on first and second with two out. Danny Worth hit a ground rule double, plating a run and moving Danny Dorn to third. Dorn the scored on a wild pitch, tying the game at 2-2. Toledo took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, as Ben Guez hit a two run triple, putting the Mud Hens ahead 4-2. In the top of the seventh, Toledo had two more ejections, as Bruce Rondon and pitching coach A.J. Sager were tossed from the game. Adam Liberatore took the loss, giving up 2 earned runs on 3 hits in an inning of work.

Montgomery Biscuits 4, Jackson Generals 3

Scoreless into the bottom of the fourth inning, Montgomery put two runners on with consecutive two out walks. Mayo Acosta followed up with a two run double, putting the Biscuits ahead 2-0. The Biscuits put another run on the board with Ty Morrison‘s RBI groundout in the fifth, putting the lead to 3-0. The Generals came back in the top of the seventh, as Francisco Martinez hit a two run double, trimming the lead to 3-2. Jackson completed the comeback in the top of the eighth, as Leury Bonilla‘s sacrifice fly drove in Rich Poythress with the tying run. In the bottom of the ninth, Mikie Mahtook led off the inning with a single. Derek Dietrich walked, putting runners on first and second. After a force out, Jonathan Arias uncorked a wild pitch, moving the runners to second and third. Following an intentional walk, Brett Nommensen grounded into a force out at second, scoring Dietrich with the winning run. Chris Rearick picked up the win, giving up an unearned run on 1 hit with 1 strikeout over 2.2 innings of work.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 2, Jupiter Hammerheads 1 (13 innings)

The Hammerheads scored first, with Aaron Dudley‘s sacrifice fly driving in Mark Canha to give Jupiter an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second. The score remained 1-0 into the bottom of the sixth, when Todd Glaesmann hit a solo home run with one out to tie the game. Despite several scoring chances on both sides, the game remained tied 1-1 until the bottom of the 13th inning. Robbie Price led off the inning with a single, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Cody Rogers then had an infield hit to the mound, where pitcher Patrick Merkling had a throwing error, allowing Price to score from second. Victor Mateo had an excellent start for Charlotte, giving up 1 run on 5 hits and a walk, striking out 5 in 8 innings. Chris Andujar picked up the victory, allowing 1 hit in his inning of work. Price finished 3-5 with a run scored.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 2, West Michigan Whitecaps 1 (15 innings)

The Hot Rods scored in the top of the first inning, as Ryan Brett singled, and eventually scored on Jeff Malm‘s sacrifice fly. West Michigan tied the game in the bottom of the third, as Joshua Sale‘s throwing error following a Eugenio Suarez base hit allowed Carlos De Los Santos to score. Bowling Green looked as though they were going to take the lead back in the top of the fourth, with runners on first and third with no outs. However, a ground ball to the mound cut down Cameron Seitzer as he attempted to score from third, and two groundouts ended the threat. Although there were scoring chances for both teams, the game remained tied at one until the top of the fifteenth inning. Jake Hager reached on an error, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a base hit by Taylor Motter, giving Bowling Green a 2-1 win. Justin Woodall picked up the victory, allowing 2 hits and 1 walk over 5 innings of relief, striking out 5 batters. Five Hot Rods players had two hits each in the marathon win.

Lowell Spinners 6, Hudson Valley Renegades 5 (13 innings)

The Spinners took advantage of three errors and a balk by the Renegades, eventually scoring a 6-5 victory in 13 innings. Lowell kicked off the scoring in the top of the first, as Mike Miller reached on an error, and came around to score on Dreily Guerrero‘s single. Lowell loaded the bases with no out in the top of the second, scoring a run on a double play. The Renegades got on the board in the bottom of the inning, as Ryan Dunn doubled on a popup to second, reached third on a throwing error, and came around to score on a groundout. Hudson Valley took the lead in the bottom of the third, as Luke Maile had an RBI single, and Dunn drove in a run with a groundout. The Renegades and the Spinners each traded runs in the sixth and seventh innings, before Lowell tied the game in the top of the eighth as Matthew Marquis scored on Miller’s RBI single. The game went into extra innings, where the Renegades loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the tenth, but Joey Rickard grounded into a double play to end the threat. Deven Marrero homered in the top of the thirteenth, giving Lowell the eventual 6-5 victory. Brandon Henderson picked up the tough loss, allowing the 1 run on 3 hits in 4 innings of relief, while striking out 5 batters. Leonardo Reginatto was 3-6 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.

Greeneville Astros 6, Princeton Rays 5

Even though the Astros scored a run in the top of the third, the Rays came back to grab a 4-1 lead heading into the top of the seventh. Princeton scored twice in the bottom of the third, as James Harris tripled and scored on Brandon Martin‘s base hit. Martin came around to score, forced in on a bases loaded walk to Omar Navarez. The Rays put up two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, as Navarez hit a two run double. Greeneville came back in the top of the seventh, scoring four runs highlighted by a two run home run from Ricky Gringas, taking the lead 5-4. The Astros put another run on the board when Terrell Joyce and Jean Batista had back to back singles, with Joyce scoring on an error by James Harris. Princeton threatened to come back in the bottom of the ninth, with runners on second and third with no one out. However, Andrew Toles grounded into a double play, scoring a run, but effectively ending the threat as Princeton fell 6-5. Jacob Faira took the loss, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits while striking out 2 in 3.1 innings. Martin was 2-5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI in the loss.

GCL Rays 4, GCL Orioles 1 (6 innings)

The Rays jumped out to an early lead, and cruised to the 4-1 victory in a shortened game. With two out in the bottom of the second, Johnny Eierman and Leopoldo Correa executed a double steal, with Eierman scoring on an error by the Orioles’ third baseman. Correa came around to score on a single by Miguel Beltran. A double by Taylor Hawkins with two out in the bottom of the fifth drove in Douglas Duran and Beltran to give the Rays a 4-0 lead. The Orioles put runners on second and third with one out in the top of the sixth, scoring a run as Steel Russell hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Adrian Marin. Luis Cabrera picked up the victory in relief, giving up 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks over 3 innings, while striking out 3 batters. Beltran was 2-2 with a run scored and an RBI.