Reinaldo Lopez, 21, has a great Rays name and was signed by the Rays out of Venezuela back in 2007. Lopez had a good season between starting and relieving in 2012, going 3-2 with a 3.49 ERA, a 5.1 K/9, a 2.8 BB/9, and a 0.6 HR/9 in 6 starts, 9 relief appearances, and 49 IP, with 13 of his appearances coming with the Renegades with the other two at Low-A Bowling Green. Lopez, a filled-out 6’2″, 221 right-hander, features a low-90′s fastball with late life that he controls well to go along with a halfway-decent curveball. He throws a lot of strikes and is able to force a good amount of weak contact, but he gets away with a few too many pitches up in the zone and doesn’t force nearly as many groundballs as he should, managing just 40.7% mark compared to the 45.6% NYPL average according to Minor League Central. Lopez needs continued work on his fastball command and his breaking ball, and the Rays will likely teach him a changeup to complete his arsenal. He did do a much better job against righties than lefties in 2012, posting a a 17-4 strikeout to walk ratio to righties versus just 11-11 to lefties, with the lack of a changeup contributing to that. Lopez has a some potential as a middle reliever who can keep hitters off-balance, throw strikes, and force groundballs.

Eduar Quinonez, who turned 23 in August, is another Venezuelan signee who worked in a swingman role with the Renegades this season and also had a solid season, going 7-3 with a 4.04 ERA, a 7.5 K/9, a 3.0 BB/9, and a 0.9 HR/9 in 5 starts, 10 relief appearances, and 62.1 IP. His 7 wins led the team. His groundball rate was a solid 43.8%. Quinonez, a 6’3″, 185 right-hander, throws a fastball in just the high-80′s, touching 90 MPH, but his money-making pitch is an 11-to-5 curveball that shows flashes of tight brake. Lefties did have their way with Quinonez this season, tagging him for a .866 OPS compared to .563 by righties, but encouragingly his strikeout to walk ratio was a decent 20-11 versus lefties, not so far from his 32-11 ratio against righties. Quinonez is on the older side for a prospect who hasn’t yet pitched in full-season ball, but he has a chance to ride his curveball to a big league bullpen role.

Lopez and Quinonez don’t exactly exhilarate you with their middle reliever potential. But we’ll finish with a pair of pitchers that the Rays are much more excited about and that have a real chance of appearing among the Rays’ top prospects in coming seasons.

Henderson had a huge season for the Renegades and has the ability to continue to improve. (Credit: Bluefield Daily Telegraph)

Brandon Henderson, 20, was the Rays’ 15th round pick in 2010 and was the Renegades’ lefty relief ace in 2012, going 5-2 with a 2.06 ERA, a 7.7 K/9, a 1.3 BB/9, and a 0.6 HR/9 in 1 start, 17 relief appearances, and 48 innings pitched. His groundball rate was 43.0%. Henderson, a 6’3″, 175 lefty, fell so far back in 2010 because his fastball velocity was non-existent as he threw in just the mid-80′s. Henderson hasn’t filled out yet, but his fastball velocity has gotten to manageable levels as he throws in the 90-91 MPH range, topping out at 93 MPH. Henderson controls his fastball extremely well with good late life and is able to both throw it consistently for strikes and force weak contact on it, a relatively rare combination for a Short Season-A pitcher, although his fastball command does still need work. But the polish on the fastball is just the start with Henderson. Because he never had the great fastball velocity in high school, Henderson was forced to begin developing a battery of secondary pitches: a slider, a curveball, and a changeup. The slider was the pitch that looked the best when I saw him, coming out of the same arm slot as his fastball sharp late break, but Henderson got into trouble when his slider and his slower curveball blended together to form a mostly ineffective slurve, although Henderson was able to force a lot of groundballs with it. The Rays will have to consider having Henderson dropping his curveball entirely from his repertoire as they try to turn the slider into a consistent dynamic pitch. Henderson’s changeup is a solid pitch against right-handed pitchers, although it was too often more of a straight change with solid arm action but unimpressive movement. Henderson rode primarily his fastball and slider to own left-handed batters, allowing just a .417 OPS with a 9-1 strikeout to walk ratio, and he was great against righties as well, allowing a .626 OPS and a 32-6 strikeout to walk ratio. Henderson’s fastball really shined in 2012 and his secondary pitches are still developing but show promise. The Rays will have to consider making Henderson a starter next season after watching him pitch effectively against hitters from both sides of the plate. The Rays hope Henderson will continue to add velocity on his fastball and improve his secondary pitches, and he has a chance to be a number three-type starter or a dependable late inning reliever if everything goes well.

Ian Kendall, who will turn 21 next week, was drafted 10 rounds ahead of Henderson in the 5th round of the 2010 MLB Draft and features even better upside- but was on the exact opposite of Henderson on the performance spectrum for the Renegades in 2012. Kendall went 1-0 with just a 6.21 ERA for Hudson Valley, posting an 8.8 K/9, a 5.8 BB/9, and a 0.6 HR/9 in 1 start, 16 relief appearances, and 42 IP. His groundball rate was a bit below average at 41.9%. Let’s stop the comparison with Henderson here- other than the difference between their performance in 2012, Kendall is a right-handed pitcher, features no projection at 6’0″, 205, and stands out most for his raw velocity on his fastball. Kendall consistently hits the mid-90′s on his fastball with late downward bite but fails to control his fastball with any consistency. He has another enigmatic pitch in his sharp 11-to-5 curveball that is downright nasty at its best and did generate plenty of swings-and-misses in 2012, but it hangs up in the zone too often, leading to hard contact. And then there’s his changeup, which Kendall throws with nice sink and decent arm action but no control at all. Kendall’s inability to throw his fastball for a strike often enough to sell his secondary pitches certainly didn’t help him at all. Kendall was hit hard by hitters from both sides, allowing a .796 OPS to right-handed batters and a .765 OPS to lefties, but the difference in strikeout to walk ratio was staggering as Kendall was at 28-11 versus righties compared to 13-16 against lefties. Kendall’s ceiling might be right there with Taylor Guerrieri and Jesse Hahn for highest on the team, but the chances that he’ll get there aren’t looking good right now. Kendall has a ton of work to do on all three of his pitches and the Rays are hoping that something can click for Kendall as he has number two starter upside in the dream scenario, but it seems more likely that Kendall ends up as a fireballing reliever and even a closer if he finds any control.

Don’t underestimate these Renegades relievers, with Henderson possibly jumping onto the prospect radar as soon as next season and Kendall being as big of a wild card as there is in the Rays system. We’ll finish off our analysis of the 2012 Renegades over the next few days as we continue talking about their relievers.

For the earlier installments of our breakdown of the Renegades and the Rays’ other minor league affiliates, please check out the Minor League Affiliates Analysis page.

Triple-A International League: Norfolk Tides (BAL) 10, Durham Bulls 5

Are the Rays better than the Orioles? I’ll say yes, but I have no great proof for that. Well, the Orioles’ Quad-A guys were better than the Rays’ on Thursday- have to give them that. Alex Torres lasted just 3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, striking out 2 and working 2 and the bullpen of Ryan Reid, Josh Lueke, and Romulo Sanchez allowed 6 runs in 6 innings of relief, allowing 3 home runs after Torres allowed 1 (can’t really lump Lueke into that- he tossed 2 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts). Bill Hall, Nate McLouth, L.J. Hoes, and Lew Ford all homered for Norfolk. Brandon Allen and Henry Wrigley both homered for the Bulls while Shawn O’Malley went 2 for 4 and Reid Brignac went 1 for 4 with a run scored, extending his hitting streak to 5. His numbers this season are approaching respectability after a horrific start as he has a .232/.318/.372 line in 58 Triple-A games.

Double-A Southern League: Mobile Baybears (ARI) 6, Montgomery Biscuits 5

Do bullpen collapses run in the organization? Nick Barnese was halfway-decent in this game for the Biscuits, going 4.2 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, striking out 3 while walking 2. He continues to work his way back from a shoulder injury. The Biscuits scored 4 in the 6th to take a 5-3 lead before the bullpen blew it. Ryan Garko went 3 for 5 in the game with an RBI and a run scored, raising his batting average to .340 on the season. His line is currently .340/.439/.484. We’ll have to see if the Rays bring him up to Triple-A and see if he has anything to contribute to the big league team. Michael Sheridan also went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI, and Hak-Ju Lee and Mark Thomas had the other RBIs for the Biscuits.

High-A Florida State League: Fort Myers Miracle (MIN) 8, Charlotte Stone Crabs 5

Another day, another comeback falls short for the Stone Crabs. Braulio Lara has had an awful season and went 5 innings on Thursday allowing 5 runs, 3 earned, on 6 hits, striking out 3 while walking 2. Chris Andujar struggled behind him, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits in 1.1 innings, losing control with 4 walks compared to 3 strikeouts. Chris Rearick did keep the Stone Crabs somewhat in the game with 1.2 scoreless with 2 strikeouts to finish the game. The Stone Crabs got 4 for 5 days from Cody Rogers, who had 2 RBI and a run scored, and Steven Tinoco, who had an RBI and a run scored, Robi Estrada went 3 for 4 with an RBI and Derek Dietrich also went 2 for 5 with a run scored. Rogers had a 2-run single in the 9th for Charlotte.

Low-A Midwest League: Fort Wayne Tincaps (SDP) 8, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3

Tough day for the Hot Rods- although you have to credit them for offensive efficiency. They managed 3 runs despite just 3 hits, just one for extra-bases, and went just 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Trevor Shull and Jacob Partridge each allowed 4 runs in 3 innings, combining to allow 9 hits in 6 innings, striking out 7 but walking 8, although they combined for a 9-2 groundout to flyout ratio. Justin Woodall closed out the game for Bowling Green with 2 shutout innings, forcing a 5-0 groundout to flyout ratio. On offense, Alejandro Segovia went 1 for 3 with an RBI triple, a walk, and ar un scored, Josh Sale went 1 for 2 with a walk and an RBI, and while Tyler Goeddel went 0 for 2, he did walk twice and score a run, so that’s a good sign.

Nice to see O'Conner and the pitching fuel the Renegades. (Credit: Poughkeepsie Journal)

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 6, Vermont Lake Monsters (OAK) 0

Taylor Guerrieri tossed a bullpen and hopes to make his next scheduled start in 5 days after missing his last two starts because of shoulder stiffness. He has to be happy with how the Renegades’ pitching performed in his absence on Thursday. Reinaldo Lopez got the start for Hudson Valley and was great, going 5 innings allowing no runs on 4 hits, striking out 4 while walking none and posting an 8-3 groundout to flyout ratio. The bullpen was just as good, with Brandon Henderson allowing no runs on 2 hits in 2.1 innings, striking out 4, before Ryan Garton retired all 5 batters he faced to end the game, striking out 4. The Renegades got all the run support they needed on a 3-run home run by Justin O’Conner as part of a 4-run 5th inning. O’Conner went 1 for 4 with a walk in the game, but he made the 1 count. Deshun Dixon also went 3 for 3 with a walk, a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Pulaski Mariners 5, Princeton Rays 4

Always terrible to lose in walk-off faction, but there are some positives to take from this game as well. Eli Echarry had easily his best start in a season of struggles, going 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, striking out 1 while walking none. His groundout to flyout ratio was a good 10-5. He was followed by Nick Sawyer, who made his first appearance at Princeton and did so quite well, allowing a hit but tossing a shutout inning with 2 strikeouts. But Alex Keudel struggled in the 9th, allowing a game-tying RBI double from Tyler Marlette and then a Felipe Burin walk-off single as the Mariners won 5-4. On offense, Oscar Hernandez, John Alexander, and Omar Narvaez each went 1 for 4 with a double, with Hernandez and Alexander each scoring a run and Narvaez driving in 1. James Harris and Juan Morillo had the other RBIs for Princeton.

Rookie Gulf Coast League: GCL Red Sox 6, GCL Rays 4

Geisel De La Cruz is not an imposing figure, coming in at 6’0″, 139. But the little lefty had impressed the Rays so much over the past two seasons that they brought him from the Dominican Summer League over to the the US and the GCL Rays. De La Cruz was electric in his first US start on June 29th, going 6 innings allowing not a single run on 3 hits, striking out 8 while walking 1. The results were not nearly as good, but the ability continues to be there. De La Cruz lasted just 4 innings allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, on 6 hits. But he struck out 2 while walking none and his groundout to flyout ratio was a great 7-1. He got penalized by the poor GCL defense in this one. We’ll have to hear more about his repertoire of pitches, but there definitely appears to be some promise here. Isaac Gil followed De La Cruz with 2 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits by striking out 2, before the pairing of 2012 high picks Nolan Gannon and Damion Carroll closed out the game. Gannon allowed an unearned run on 1 hit in 2 innings, striking out 4. We’ll have to see how long it is before we see him starting games. Carroll tossed a shutout 9th, allowing a walk but forcing 2 groundouts. The GCL Rays got more impressive performance from Ben Kline. Kline went 2 for 4 but actually saw his average slip to .607. But Kline hasn’t been hitting for much power, and he changed that on Thursday, slamming a 2-run homer, the first of his professional career. Adderly Rosa also went 2 for 3 with a triple, a double, and an RBI, while Leopoldo Correa went 2 for 4 with a run scored.