Catcher

Matt Rice, 23, was the Rays’ 9th round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft and enjoyed a nice season with the Hot Rods, posting a .301/.390/.402 line with 9 doubles, 4 homers, 33 RBI, and 39 strikeouts against 31 walks in 74 games and 290 plate appearances. Those stats have to be taken with a grain of salt because Rice was 2 years older than the Hot Rods’ team average for their position players and 1 year older than league average, but are still pretty impressive. He doesn’t have much power, but he makes a lot of contact and shows great plate discipline. Defensively, though, Rice was pedestrian, posting a .993 fielding percentage but allowing 8 passed balls while throwing out just 19% of attempted basestealers. Rice is a bigger catcher at 6’3″, 195 and is a solid receiver but has to work on getting down for pitches in the dirt. His arm, though, will always be below-average. Rice does get high marks for calling games behind the plate and did a good job working with the Hot Rods’ young pitchers in 2012. Rice has a chance to be a backup catcher in the Jose Lobaton mold who features a good walk rate but is unimpressive in every other regard.

Can you name the Hot Rods’ leader in slugging percentage and OPS in 2012? The surprise winner was 22 year old catcher Alejandro Segovia, who the Rays signed out of Venezuela back in 2007. Segovia had a huge offensive season, posting a .269/.362/.527 line with 14 doubles, 15 homers, 45 RBI, and 36 strikeouts versus 29 walks in 70 games and 284 plate appearances. Segovia’s combination of power and plate discipline make him very intriguing, although his bat speed is just average and he hits a lot of balls weakly in the air. He has good pitch recognition skills but will have to do a better job discerning which pitches to drive if he wants to keep hitting and hitting for power moving forward. Segovia’s biggest concern right now is his defense. He posted just a .979 fielding percentage, allowing 6 passed balls while posting a 25% CS%. Segovia features a strong but erratic arm and his receiving needs plenty of work. Segovia might have the bat to profile at first base and played 38 games there between 2008 and 2009, but that would subtract significantly but his value and put all the pressure on his bat. Segovia put together one great season and will have to make significant improvements defensively and also adjustments at the plate to reach his upside of a power-hitting catcher. Segovia has plenty of question marks around him, especially defensively, but in a Rays system that can’t find an impact catching prospect, Segovia could be the best of the bunch right now.

First Base

Jeff Malm, who turned 22 at the end of October, was Rays’ 5th round pick in 2009, signing for an above-slot $600,000 and he continues to show potential but not the consistency the Rays have hoped for. Malm had a solid season for the Renegades in 2012, posting a .263/.356/.438 line with 36 doubles, 13 homers, 61 RBI, 6 of 9 stolen bases, and 127 strikeouts versus 61 walks in 128 games and 540 plate appearances. Malm played in 71 games at first base, managing a nice .996 fielding percentage, and appeared in 22 games in the corner outfield spots, notching 6 outfield assists. Malm is a big 6’3″, 225 power bat with tantalizing ability. He shows great bat speed with flashes of big-time power, and he also has nice patience at the plate. The combination of power and bat speed gives Malm the chance to hit for nice power without too many strikeouts. That certainly did not happen in 2012. Malm does a good job at finding fastballs to drive, but he struggles recognizing breaking pitches, accounting for quite a few of his strikeouts. And Malm’s hitting is especially important because although he has a great arm, hitting 90 MPH off the mound in high school, he doesn’t have the athleticism to profile in the outfield. Malm has a chance to hit for 30-homer power to go along with a good average and on-base percentage and the Rays keep waiting for something to click and jolt him forward towards that upside.

Cameron Seitzer, who will turn 22 in January, was the Rays’ 11th round pick in 2011 and had a nice season in 2012 for the Hot Rods although his limitations were clearly present. Seitzer posted a .307/.386/.429 line with 36 doubles, 4 homers, 54 RBI, and 83 strikeouts versus 55 walks in 118 games and 488 plate appearances. Defensively, Seitzer managed just a .988 fielding percentage, playing a lot of DH with Malm at first base. Sietzer is interesting because he features good bat speed and nice plate discipline. The problem for Seitzer is that despite being a big guy at 6’5″, 220, his power has been close to non-existent the past couple of years. It’s nice that Seitzer is a pretty good pure hitter, but if he doesn’t develop solid 15-20 home run power, there’s no way he can profile as a regular in the big leagues. Seitzer also needs work to be passable defensively at first base. Seitzer has some ability but he essentially has to add an entire extra dimension to his game to be any real prospect.

We’ll stop here for today after seeing a couple of players to watch moving forward in Segovia and Malm and two more possible big leaguers in Rice and Seitzer. We’re just getting this series revved up with plenty of talented players still to come.

For our earlier discussions of the GCL Rays, Princeton Rays, and the Hudson Valley Renegades, check our Minor League Affiliates Analysis page.

Triple-A International League: Norfolk Tides (BAL) 4, Durham Bulls 2

One bad inning- that was all it took. For 8 innings of this game, the Durham Bulls were in control. But one bad inning coupled with missed opportunities the rest of the game left the Bulls in the loser’s column for the 10th consecutive game and 13th time in their last 14.

It was Matt Torra‘s night. Torra struck out two in a perfect 1st. Then he racked up a 3rd K in a 1-2-3 second inning. Six batters later he was perfect through 4 with 4 strikeouts. The Bulls had stranded five baserunners against Norfolk starter Dana Eveland (who has 100 major league appearances under his belt, mostly for the Athletics), but they finally pushed a couple runs across in the 4th on an RBI groundout by Kyle Hudson and an RBI single by Shawn O’Malley. After four perfect innings, Torra hoped to keep it hoping into the 5th. But the perfect game and no-hitter was quickly broken up by a Joe Mahoney single. Then Luis Exposito followed with another single and a third single by Jamie Hoffmann loaded the bases. Torra then got Scott Beerer to ground into a force play at 2nd, scoring one run. Torra forced another grounder, but Matt Mangini at third made a huge error and that opened the floodgates. One run scored on the play and then Steve Tollefson followed by doubling in the inning’s third run before an Xavier Avery sac fly gave Norfolk a 4-2 lead before Torra finally got out if the inning on a Matt Antonini flyout. But the craziest part of the entire game was that after that inning, Torra got right back to his no-hit stuff, throwing a perfect 6th and allowing just a hit batsman in the 7th. Torra went 7 innings, allowing 4 runs, 3 ER, on 4 hits, striking out 6 while walking none. 63 of his 91 pitches were strikes as he was in control. But the bad 5th inning put Torra in line for the loss.

8 of the 9 Bulls starters had at least one hit, but every hit with a single and the Bulls went just 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. The Bulls lost 4-2 despite 10 hits compared to Norfolk’s 5. They had one out and the tying runs on in the 9th, but they failed to come away with a run. The one starter without a hit was Reid Brignac, who went 0 for 3 with a walk. But that wasn’t the worst of his night. In the 6th, Mahoney hit a pop-up to shallow centerfield. Brignac ventured back as Kyle Hudson sprinted in from centerfield. Brignac prepared to make the catch, but suddenly second baseman Shawn O’Malley came out of nowhere and got in Brignac’s way. O’Malley made the catch, but collided with Brignac and elbowed him in the upper body. Brignac remained in the game and actually fielded a 6-3 groundout the next play, but it may have been Brignac just trying to show his toughness after all the questions that have come up about him over the past year. Hopefully he’s actually OK. (Thanks to Bulls Gameday for the information about the collision- see here and here.) Brignac’s ordeal added injury to insult in this game as the Bulls lost a game they well should have won. The Bulls got some hits and they got 6 no-hit innings out of Torra, but everything simply could not come together as they could not get hits with runners in scoring position and Torra had one bad inning.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 8, Bradenton Marauders (PIT) 0

A lot of eyes were on this game, but not for the Stone Crabs but for the Marauders starting pitcher: Gerrit Cole, the number on overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft. He would be facing off against Stone Crabs lefty C.J. Riefenhauser, who was making his first start of the year after four dominant relief outing (19 K’s versus 2 walks in 13.2 IP). In this game, Riefenhauser was the superior pitcher. After Riefenhauser tossed two perfect innings to begin the game and Cole worked a 1-2-3 frame in the 1st, the defense collapsed behind Cole in the 2nd inning, making three errors as the Stone Crabs took a 3-0 lead. The only RBI hit was  a single by Derek Dietrich. The Stone Crabs then added a couple of “legitimate runs” in the 3rd, with Riccio Torrez lacing an RBI single and Dietrich hitting a sac fly. Cole did not pitch that badly, allowing 5 runs, 2 earned, in 5 innings, allowing just 3 hits as he struck out 5 while walking 2. But Riefenhauser was simply better. Riefenhauser went 5+ innings, tossing shutout ball while allowing just 2 hits, striking out 8 while walking 2. George Jensen tossed 1-hit ball for three innings before Nate Garcia worked around a hit in the 9th to complete the 4-hitter for the Stone Crabs. Their pitching was dominant all night.

C.J. Riefenhauser may not be known for overpowering stuff, but he has pitched very well throughout his pro career. (Credit: Megan Stearman Photography)

On the hitting side, the first four spots in the Stone Crabs batting order went just 0 for 17 with a walk. But the bottom of the lineup stepped up, led by Dietrich, banished to the 7th hole after being in the 3rd hole the entire year, who went 3 for 3 with a double, a sac fly, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Steven Tinoco went 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI while Riccio Torrez and Mayo Acosta each went 1 for 3 with an RBI and run scored and Mikie Mahtook went 1 for 2 with a walk, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored. Everything clicked for the Stone Crabs on Wednesday night as they went over .500 for the year at 10-9.

Low-A Midwest League: Beloit Snappers (MIN) 9, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3

We hear all about clutch hitting. But in the games where people get on base against you, clutch pitching is just as important. The Hot Rods had a decent game in the former category on Wednesday night, but execrable clutch pitching led to a blow out. The Hot Rods got out to a 2-0 lead thanks to single runs in the 3rd and 4th. Drew Vettleson had a key RBI single in the 3rd while the Rays scoring in the 4th came in vintage Rays fashion: a squeeze bunt by Matt Rice. Hot Rods started Roberto Gomez, meanwhile, had allowed just 2 hits through 4 innings and was coasting along. But then he finally got into trouble in the 5th and could not stop the bleeding. Gomez allowed a 1-out triple to Taylor Grimes, and then a Jairo Rodriguez RBI single got Beloit on the board. But then Adam Petterson was hit by a pitch. And then Wang-Wei Lin singles to load the bases and Adam Bryant made Gomez and the Hot Rods pay, drilling a 2-run single to take a 3-2 lead.

Bowling Green tied the game in the top of the 6th on an RBI single by Rice. But the Snappers rallied again, this time off of reliever Justin Woodall, who walked the bases-loaded before allowing an RBI groundout and a 2-run double. Stayton Thomas had to come in to record the final out of the inning. But then Thomas ran into trouble as the Hot Rods stretched him out, allowing 3 runs in the 8th inning on 3 hits and a walk, and the game’s final was 9-3. The Hot Rods scored just 3 runs on 10 hits while the Snappers scored 9 runs on 10 hits. The Hot Rods went 3 f0r 10 with runners in scoring position, solid, but they got just two extra-base hits, neither of which drove in a run. Jeff Malm (2 for 4, double, 2 runs), Taylor Motter (2 for 4), and Juniel Querecuto (2 for 3) all had multi-hit games for the Hot Rods and Matt Rice went 1 for 2 with 2 RBI and Drew Vettleson went 1 for 4 with an RBI, but while the Snappers were turning baserunners into 3-run rallies, the Hot Rods came away with one run each time. The Hot Rods fell to 13-7 with the loss, still a great record, and hopefully they’ll be able to get to being the clutch team they have been all season both on the mound and in the batter’s box to keep their hot streak going.

Triple-A International League Game 1: Pawtucket Red Sox 2, Durham Bulls 0 (7 innings)

In the minors, when there’s a doubleheader, sometimes the teams mutually agree to make the games seven innings instead of nine. That’s what happened here. In the first game, the seven innings cost the Bulls a chance at a comeback, but saved the bats from some additional frustration.

The Bulls simply could not get anything against Red Sox started Justin Germano, who tossed 6 shutout innings, striking out 5 while walking none and allowing just 3 hits. Former Rays draftee (and former Tiger, Marlin, and Red Sox) Andrew Miller struck out two in a perfect 7th for the save. The Bulls’ 3 hits came from Will Rhymes, who went 1 for 3 with a stolen base, Jesus Feliciano, who went 1 for 3, and Shawn O’Malley, who went 1 for 2. Stephen Vogt‘s slide continued even after he was demoted as he went 0 for 3 to increase his slide to 0 for 16. The Bulls did see some progress from right-hander Chris Archer, who went 5.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 4 while walking 3 to lower his ERA on the season to… 8.00. He allowed just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 3 in his final 3.1 frames, and on the day he forced 8 groundouts compared to 3 flyouts, a positive development. We know that Archer has electric stuff, and hopefully he’s finally finding his groove.

Game 2: Pawtucket Red Sox 7, Durham Bulls 1 (7 innings)

This one was a frustrating game. The Red Sox started longtime big leaguer Aaron Cook, who is making a case to be the Red Sox’ big league 5th starter, and he made an impressive on this evening. Cook had his sinker working to perfection, allowing 8 hits and walking 2 while striking out just 1 as he went the complete game (7 innings), but forcing 15 groundouts compared to just 2 flyouts. The Bulls got an excellent spot stat from Ryan Reid as he went 3 innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 5, and he would be relieved by three ex-big leaguers. Unfortunately, two of the trio could not do the job. Lance Pendleton took the loss, allowing 3 runs in a lone inning and Romulo Sanchez following with an even worse inning, allowing 4 runs, including 3 on a 3-run blast by Red Sox top prospect Will Middlebrooks. But there were a couple positives for the Bulls offensively. Stephen Vogt finally got a hit, two to be exact, as he went 2 for 3, and Reid Brignac (1 for 4) and Brandon Guyer (1 for 3 with a walk) both singled for Durham.

Vogt's confidence must be shattered right now, but hopefully he can get back on track at Durham and work his way back to the big leagues. (Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

These two losses send the Bulls to just 6-13 on the season. These are not the most talented guys in the system, but they have a ton of ex-big leaguers along with a few nice prospects, and with Vogt along with Brignac joining the team, hopefully they’re on the verge of a breakthrough.

Double-A Southern League: Penascola Blue Wahoos (CLE) 10, Montgomery Biscuits 4

This game did not turn out well for the Biscuits, but at least is had a cool pattern. In both the first and ninth innings, the Blue Wahoos scored 4 runs and the Biscuits responded with 1, and the Biscuits got 2 runs in the 6th before Penascola got 2 in the 7th. Kyle Lobstein allowed those four runs in a rough first inning in which he allowed 4 hits and walk. Lobstein rebounded after that to finish with middling numbers for the game as he went 4 innings, allowing 6 runs on 4 hits, striking out 2 while walking 3. He threw 80 pitches, just 43 strikes. While Lobstein and three relievers experienced their struggles, the Biscuits offense did not have that bad of a day. Greg Sexton hit a 9th inning homer as part of a 2 for 4 day, and Chris Sheridan went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Hak-Ju Lee continued to slowly find his form, going 1 for 4 with a single to leadoff the game. This loss takes the Biscuits below .500 at 9-10.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 8, Palm Beach Cardinals 6

If your organization is going to have just one win in a day, you better make it count. The Stone Crabs did just that.

The Stone Crabs jumped out to a lead in the 2nd inning, stringing together a Phil Wunderlich walk, a Mikie Mahtook double, and Riccio Torrez groundout to take a 1-0 lead against Cardinals starter Drew Benes. But the Cardinals tied the game against Enny Romero in the bottom of the inning, with Michael Swinson walking, rehabbing big leaguer Alan Craig singling, and Chris Edmonson driving in Swinson on a single. Charlotte tied it in the 4th when Mahtook singled and scored on a Robby Price single, but the Cardinals scored a run on a Romero wild pitch to retake the lead in the bottom of the frame. Romero went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 5 while walking 2. He did force 6 groundouts compared to 3 strikeouts.

Benes got into a rhythm following the Price single, retiring 5 in a row. But the quickly came to an end in the 6th when Wunderlich led off the inning with a double. Wunderlich advanced to 3rd on a Mahtook flyout before Benes hit Riccio Torrez with a pitch to end his outing. In came Dean Kiekhefer and things got ugly fast. Price came up with another big hit, doubling to score Wunderlich, and then Mayo Acosta picked a great time for his first home run of the year, slamming a 3-run shot to give Charlotte a 6-3 lead. Eliazer Suero then came in for the Stone Crabs and tossed 2 shutout innings, but apparently 3 was just too much. Suero allowed three quick runs in the 8th on a Patrick Elkins home run, a Geoffrey Klein single, and then a Ronny Gil homer to tie the game at 6 before Chris Rearick came into the game to escape further trouble. But the Stone Crabs had a response in the top of the 9th. Cody Rogers walked to begin the inning before Ty Morrison bunted a single and Hector Guevara bunted the runners to 2nd and 3rd. That took the bat out of slugger Derek Dietrich‘s hands, but Phil Wunderlich was more than ready for his big chance, drilling a 2-run single to give the Stone Crabs an 8-6 lead, and that would be the final. Wunderlich had himself a nice day, going 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Guevara went 3 for 4 with the big sac bunt, Mahtook went 2 for 5 with the double and triple, Robby Price went 2 for 4 with a double, 2 RBI, and a run, and Mayo Acosta had a satisfying season debut, going 1 for 4 with his 3-run jack. The pitching was a little sketchy for the Stone Crabs, but the offense stepped up as Charlotte improved to 8-9 on the year.

Low-A Midwest League: Quad Cities River Bandits (STL) 10, Bowling Green Hot Rods 2

You’re not going to find a bizarre yet completely boring game than this one. In this game, the Hot Rods’ first three hitters in the lineup, Ryan Brett, Drew Vettleson, and Todd Glaesmann, all went 1 for 4 with a double and none of them scored a run nor drove in an RBI. What? But wait, one more thing. In this game, the Hot Rods were blown out thanks to the battery of Cardinals top pitching prospect Tyrell Jenkins and Jesus Montero… time out! Jesus Montero plays in the major for the Seattle Mariners! Oh, you didn’t hear.

M’s have an off-day so they lend Jesus Montero to the Cardinals’ Low-A affiliate for the day and he homers. milb.com/milb/stats/sta…

— Robbie Knopf (@RobbieKnopf) April 24, 2012

Just kidding. There just so happens to be two Jesus Montero’s who are catchers. This Montero is 21 years old and can actually catch (38% CS% in 4+ MiLB seasons). And he also entered this game with just 1 home run in 142 pro games, and that homer came back in 2007 at Foreign Rookie ball. As the Tweet noted, he now has two as he hit a solo blast off of Rays prospect Parker Markel. Montero went 2 for 4 with the homer, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored from the nine-hole. Jenkins, meanwhile, tossed 6 innings of 5-hit, 2 run ball, striking out 2 while walking none. The runs he allowed were on a 2-run blast to Hot Rods catcher Matt Rice, his first home run of the season and 4th as a pro. Jenkins kept his fastball too far up in the zone on the day, posting a 6-8 groundout to flyout ratio, but only Rice could capitalize. Rice had a tough day behind the plate as his pitchers struggled mightily. Markel allowed 6 runs on 8 hits in 4 innings, walking 2 while striking out none. He forced a 7 to 1 groundout to flyout ratio, but when he missed, he got hammered as he allowed 2 home runs, to Montero and Colin Walsh. Reliever Trevor Shull came in and promptly allowed 4 runs on 5 hits in 2 innings before Andrew Bellatti and Stayton Thomas combined for 3 scoreless frames to end the night. The loss dropped the Hot Rods to 12-6 on the season, still tops among Rays affiliates, and hopefully they can laugh this strange game off and get back to their winning ways with their talented roster.