Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 2, Pensacola Blue Wahoos (CIN) 1

Jake Thompson was due. After a rousing 2013 debut (6 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 7 K), Thompson got destroyed in his subsequent two starts, allowing 7 runs each. He only allowed 2 unearned runs in his fourth start, but got his pitch count up and only lasted 4 innings. After beginning the season with what had appeared to be a breakthrough performance, Thompson needed to find a way to flash that same type of ability again. It wasn’t quite pristine, but Thompson did just that for the Biscuits to lead them to victory over the Blue Wahoos. Thompson went 6 innings allowing no runs on 2 hits, striking out 3 while walking 4 but managing an incredible 11-2 groundout to flyout ratio. Thompson’s command has been a major question for him the past couple of years, but he has begun to make progress in that regard and get back on the path to the major leagues. Hopefully this time Thompson can build on his 6 shutout innings in his coming starts.

Behind Thompson, C.J. Riefenhauser worked 2 shutout innings allowing 2 hits while striking out 1 and getting 3 more outs on the ground. Riefenhauser’s ERA on the season now stands at a minuscule 0.48 in 18.2 IP to go along with a 15-3 strikeout to walk ratio.Riefenhauser seems to have found his niche out of the bullpen and we’ll have to see whether he could become a bullpen option for the Rays over the next couple of years.

In terms of the run support, Mikie Mahtook had an RBI single in the 6th before Shawn O’Malley brought home a second run in the 7th on a groundout to give the Biscuits just enough to win. Robby Price and Mayo Acosta also went 2 for 4 for Montgomery. Thompson and Riefenhauser stole the show for the Biscuits in this one, and while the offense gave them little, their were more than willing to live up to the task.

Low-A Midwest League: Kane County Cougars (CHC) 5, Bowling Green Hot Rods 4

The Hot Rods entered the 9th inning down 4-1. Former Rays draft pick Pierce Johnson had shut them down for 6.2 innings, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 4 while walking 1 and managing an 11-2 groundout to flyout ratio, and Bowling Green had been equally feeble against the Kane County bullpen. But in the 9th everything changed. Luke Maile singled to begin the inning off Jeffry Antigua, and two batters later, Patrick Leonard added a single of his own. Marty Gantt‘s infield baseball loaded the bases and put the tying runs on base for the Hot Rods, And Leonardo Reginatto got 1 in on his single to make it 4-2 before Joey Rickard‘s scored two more, and suddenly the game was tied at 4. That was all Bowling Green would get, but Nick Sawyer tossed a hitless 9th and the game went into extra innings. However, the Hot Rods went down in order and then Lake County made quick work of Marcus Jensen, getting a Pin-Chieh Chen double, a sac bunt, and a Dan Vogelbach walk-off single as the Cougars won 5-4. It has been an outstanding comeback in the 9th, but it had been entirely for nought as the Hot Rods lost the following inning.

Blake Snell got the start for Bowling Green in this one and failed to complete 5 innings for the 4th time time in 5 starts. Snell went 3.1 innings allowing 3 unearned runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 3 and forcing a 4-0 groundout to flyout ratio. Snell’s ERA stands at 2.75, but he has just a 24-16 strikeout to walk ratio in 19.2 innings on the season and has to find a way to limit the walks a lot better than that. Following Snell was Jose Alberto Molina, not to be confused with the Rays catcher, and if Molina keeps pitching the way he did on Wednesday, the confusion will disappear before long. Molina went 3.2 innings allowing just 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 6 while walking none and forcing a 4-1 groundout to flyout ratio. On the season, Molina’s ERA is just 5.06, but his strikeout to walk ratio is 16-3 in 16 innings pitched. Then there was Sawyer, who went 2 no-hit innings striking out 2 while walking 1. Sawyer hasn’t allowed an earned run since his first appearance of the season, a stretch of 7 appearances and 13 IP, but he needs work figuring out where his mid-90′s fastball and sharp slider are going as his strikeout to walk ratio has been just 19-12 over that stretch, just under a walk an inning. Hot Rods fans got to see some electric performances on Wednesday, but what does overpowering batters mean if you can’t throw strikes?

On offense for the Hot Rods, Leonardo Reginatto went 2 for 4 with a stolen base and an RBI, keeping his clutch gene going with his big RBI single in the 9th. Reginatto was huge for Short Season-A Hudson Valley in the playoffs last season and Brazil in the World Baseball Classic, and he’s not much a prospect but tantalizes you by just coming up with hit after hit when it matters most. Marty Gantt also went 2 for 4 with a run scored, Luke Maile went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored, and Rickard went 1 for 5 with a stolen base and his critical 2-run single. Tyler Goeddel also went 1 for 5 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. There were certainly plenty of positives for Bowling Green in this one, but it had to be frustrating that they came all the way back only to lose an inning later.

You can see in this picture (taken with poor resolution by me) how far Ames’ arm goes behind his shoulder before coming all the way back around.

Ames, 21, is a big 6’4″, 220 and filled out, but he has a lot of work he still needs to do on his arsenal. The 42nd overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, Ames features a crossfire delivery that provides deception but also comes with its own set of issues. Ames has some effort in his delivery, not a scary amount but still a little concerning, and he also can’t find a consistent release point, throwing off his control. I saw Ames throw out of a crazy amount of arm slots in the game, mostly ranging from high-three quarters to low-three quarters.

Ames throws a fastball, a changeup, and a slider. His fastball in the low-90′s features good run and nice sink when he is able to get on top of it, which is most of the time but certainly not all. Ames can get his fastball up to 95-96 MPH, but way too often when he does that he completely loses control of it. Ames gets into trouble when he leaves his fastball up in the zone, which is way too common an occurrence at this point. Ames’ changeup at its best shows great arm action and tantalizing late break with the bottom falling out at the end. But it varies quite a bit, at times flattening out, and he also tipped it a few times by slowing down his arm action. And then there’s the matter that he couldn’t always control it, let alone command it, leaving it up in the zone at times and a few times missing way off the plate. And then there’s his slider. When he had his high-three quarters arm slot on it, it looked exactly like his fastball before featuring devastating late break. But that was by no means all the time. He didn’t always know where it was going, and the worst thing was that it got slurvy at times. He actually got a strikeout as the hitter watched the slurvy slider go by and had an expression on his face like “what the heck was that?”

Ames shows flashes of three plus pitches that play up thanks to deception, but his delivery completely throws him off way too often. When he’s on, he’s dominant with three plus pitches that force swings-and-misses and weak contact. When he’s off, he walks every other batter and leaves pitches up in the zone as a tee for bullets coming off the opposition’s bats. Ames is 21 years old and has time to figure himself out as a pitcher, and if he does, he has good potential, maybe as high as a number two starter. Will that ever happen?

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Finneran, who turns 23 in September, is the greatest pitcher in the history of Bentley University and was actually drafted out of their business school. Finneran, selected by the 37th round of the 2012 MLB Draft is relatively similar physically to Ames at 6’3″, 215 and also throws a fastball, a changeup, and a slider, but he is not nearly the same caliber prospect. Finneran is another guy with a pretty deceptive delivery. His fastball is in the 90-91 MPH range with some sink at its best, but too often it straightens out and is left hittable in the middle of the plate, and that’s when Finneran gets hit hard. Finneran’s changeup is probably his best pitch, featuring nice arm action with good late sink, but he throws it out of a slightly higher arm slot at times, preventing him from selling it. He also gets in trouble when he fails to get on top of it and fails to get the late bite. His slider is only a decent pitch, featuring late break but not an exceptional amount of it, and it gets slurvy at times as well. Finneran has a lot of work that needs to be done to get the movement on his fastball and stop leaving it up in the zone. His upside appears to be a middle reliever.

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Jose Alberto Molina is interesting primarily because of his name, but he has some ability. A 21 year old lefty listed at 5’11″, 160 (he looked bigger to be), Molina features major control issues on his fastball as he overthrows it. But when Molina can just relax and throw his fastball in the lower 90′s, it features heavy sink. His changeup is another interesting pitch, featuring nice run and sink from the same arm slot. But he struggles to control and command both his offerings, limiting his consistency at this point. You always have to watch the lefties, and Molina is no exception. His upside appears to be a middle reliever who can come in and get out of jams with double plays.