Kyeong Kang

Back in 2009, two Rays outfield prospects participated in the MLB Futures Game. One you know very well: Desmond Jennings. The other one spent 2012 repeating Double-A, Kyeong Kang. Kang, who will turn 25 in a few days, essentially repeated his 2011 production for the Biscuits in 2012, managing a .243/.349/.441 line with 18 doubles, 14 home runs, a number that led the Biscuits and ranked 11th in the pitcher-friendly Southern League, 53 RBI, 4 of 6 stolen bases, and a pretty alarming 135-51 strikeout to walk ratio in 104 games and 404 plate appearances. Overall, Kang’s numbers in his return to Double-A, specifically his strikeout to walk ratio slipping from 83-53 to 153-51, have to be deemed a disappointment, but one thing specifically stood for Kang: increased patience. He struck out more and actually walked a little bit less, but according to Minor League Central, his pitches per plate appearance jumped from 3.93 to 4.24, the most in the entire Southern League minimum 250 plate appearances. And while Kang didn’t see that pay off in terms of walks, it helped him big-time in terms of quality of contact and specifically power as he improved from 11 homers and 29 extra-base hits in 2011 to 14 homers and 36 extra-base hits even in a down 2012. But really looking at the overall numbers is the wrong strategy here because Kang, a lefty batter, had an enormous platoon split. In 2011, Kang had a .888 OPS against right-handed pitching and a not terrible .692 mark against lefties. In 2012, though, he mashed righties to a .290/.406/.545 line (.951 OPS) with all 14 of his homers, all but 3 of his extra-base hits, and an 88-46 strikeout to walk ratio in 304 plate appearances. Against lefties, he didn’t play, making just 96 plate appearances, and that was because he was a total disaster managing just a .111/.167/.164 line. If we look only at the numbers against right-handed pitching, it looks like Kang made major strides, adding quite a bit more power while improving his patience. And if that’s really the case, Kang might be worth watching next season.

Kang is not a very imposing presence at the plate at 6’2″, 200, but he shows good bat speed and has made progress at finding better pitches to hit and adding lift to his swing to hit for more power. His increased patience in 2012 did not fix his pitch recognition issues- he still has to do a better job laying off breaking pitches down in the zone- but it certainly provides hope that he’ll be able to put everything together at least as a platoon player against right-handed pitching in the major leagues someday. Kang isn’t a completely lost cause against lefties although that probably won’t happen at this point, but Kang deserves a chance to go to Triple-A and see if he can become that platoon player. Kang’s struggles in 2012 may have also had a lot to do with DHing a lot more than he had in the past with the Biscuits featuring a bevy of excellent fielding outfielders, and he’s actually OK out there, featuring fringy arm strength but good range, and he can play a fine left field while managing a halfway-decent right field as well. Kang’s realistic upside is probably a platoon player who sees time in the corner outfield spots and first base against right-handed pitching and delivers a solid average and OBP along with 10-15 home runs in a part-time role. That would be far from the most exciting player you’ve ever seen, but the Rays have embraced players who can play that type of role before- with Gabe Gross immediately coming to mind- and we’ll have to see if Kang could fit in with the Rays in the same type of role at some point over the next couple of years.

Morrison is always going to stand out first and foremost for his speed, but he has shown solid ability at the plate with remaining room to grow. (Credit: Flickr user wizardkitten)

Ty Morrison

No one would have guessed back then, but there’s a real chance that Ty Morrison end up as the best player from the Rays’ 2008 draft class. Morrison, 22, is coming off of a breakout season of sorts as he moved up from High-A to Double-A early on in the season, managing a .272/.341/.372 line with 25 doubles, 10 triples, 3 homers, 49 RBI, 31 of 41 stolen bases, and a 117-44 strikeout to walk ratio. Morrison struck out a little bit too much and didn’t walk quite enough for a player without much power, but he was able to compensate with great speed and great defense in centerfield. He also was a lefty hitter with basically no platoon split, managing a .272/.341/.373 line against right-handed pitching and a .272/.335/.361 line against lefties. Morrison is interesting  as a four-tool player with the final tool, power, still something that might come around a little bit. A lean, athletic 6’2″, 170, Morrison stands out most for his plus speed, but also attracting attention is a quick, compact line drive swing. Morrison has always been a little overaggressive at the plate, but his pitch recognition is fine, although he could use some work against lefty breaking pitches, and he made strides being more patient in 2012, setting a career-high with 44 walks and improving his strikeout to walk ratio astronomically, from 133-43 in 2010 and 67-11 in an injury shortened 2011 to 117-44 in 2012. In terms of Morrison’s power, he’ll never be a big home run guy at all, but if he could add another 10-15 pounds of muscle to his thin frame, that would certainly help him at the plate. What he will always do well is stretching singles to doubles and doubles to triples with his speed. On the opposite edge of the spectrum, Morrison is also a great bunter and does a great job beating out groundballs for singles as well. Defensively, Morrison puts his speed to good use, showing outstanding range, and shows a slightly below-average but very accurate arm. Morrison still has work to do to give him a chance to profile as an outfield starter, specifically continuing to work on his patience and adding some power, but Morrison has a chance to be profile as a centerfield regular, maybe hitting in the bottom third in an American League lineup but showing decent ability at the plate and adding a lot of value with his speed and defense. Morrison will head to Triple-A in 2012 and has a chance to see time in the major leagues by September.

Brett Nommensen

We’ll finish off this installment of our Biscuits series with our third lefty-hitting outfielder, Brett Nommensen. Nommensen, who turned 26 in October, suffered through a lost season in 2012, out until May with some injury and not arriving in Montgomery until June. But when he was healthy he actually played OK, managing a .255/.360/.376 line with 10 doubles, 3 homers, 25 RBI, 2 stolen bases, and a nice 33-25 strikeout to walk ratio. Nommensen was old for the level in 2012, but that doesn’t mean that a future for him in the major leagues is out of the question. 5’11″ and 190 pounds, Nommensen is a player who doesn’t stand out in any of the five tools. His swing is compact but he won’t hit for a high batting average, his power is insignificant, his speed is average (although he stole 70 bases combined from 2009 to 2011 and just never got on track reading pitchers in 2012), his range in the outfield is fine, and his arm is average. Nommensen does excel, though, in patience. He’s a scrappy hitter who doesn’t strike out at all and does an excellent job fouling pitches off and working counts. That’s basically all he does, and as a player with solid outfield range but certainly not enough to play centerfield on a regular basis, he’s a fourth outfielder at best. But the ability to come into a game and deliver a professional at-bat while also showing solid speed and defense is nothing to scoff at completely, and although he may start 2013 back at Montgomery, if he can hit solidly at Triple-A he may get that opportunity someday.

Today we saw three outfielders who could see time in Tampa Bay over the next two to three years and one in Morrison with a real chance to start. Morrison is a noteworthy player with the type of topflight speed and defense that the Rays can’t get enough of, but even Kang and Nommesnen have value because they have abilities that translate to the major leagues, and considering they have made it Double-A and should see time at Triple-A next year, their talents aren’t just their potential but things they are not too far away from doing in the major leagues. It should be interesting to see where these three outfielders end up over the next few years. We’ll continue next time with the Biscuits’ starting rotation.

For more of our analysis of the Rays prospects at each level of their system, check out our Minor League Affiliates Analysis page here at RCG.

Rains wrecked havoc upon the minor league slate tonight, causing the suspension of one game, and the postponement of another. Both games will be made up as part of double-headers tomorrow. The rest of the farm system went 0-5 on the night.

Toledo Mud Hens 1, Durham Bulls 1 (suspended, bottom 4)

The Bulls jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, as Tim Beckham led off the game with a single, and scored on Leslie Anderson‘s two out base hit. In the top of the second, Durham had runners on second and third with no outs, but a fielder’s choice, a play at the plate to gun down the runner on third, and a strikeout erased the threat. Toledo came back in the bottom of the fourth, as Brad Davis drove in Danny Dorn to tie the game at 1-1. With the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the fourth, the game was suspended due to inclement weather, and will resume Saturday at 5:10 PM. Jesus Feliciano and Reid Brignac were both 1-1 with a double and a walk.

Jackson Generals 4, Montgomery Biscuits 2

Scoreless through the first, the Generals took the lead in the top of the second when Johermyn Chave hit a two-out, two run home run, driving in Jesus Sucre to give Jackson the 2-0 lead. Montgomery came back in the bottom of the inning, as Derek Dietrich doubled, coming around to score on Kyeong Kang‘s one out base hit, trimming the lead to 2-1. Jackson extended the lead back to two, as Rich Poythress hit a two out double, driving in Brad Miller. Stefan Romero homered leading off the top of the fifth, giving Jackson a 4-1 advantage. The Biscuits cut the lead back to two in the bottom of the inning, as Mikie Mahtook homered to start off the frame. Montgomery had one last chance to get closer in the bottom of the ninth, as Ty Morrison tripled with one out. However, Logan Bawcom and Yoervis Medina ended the threat, preserving the 4-2 victory. C.J. Riefenhauser took the loss, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 4.1 innings, while striking out 8 batters. Morrison and Kang each had 2 hits in the loss.

Charlotte Stone Crabs v. Jupiter Hammerheads (postponed)

Due to rain and lightning in the area, the Stone Crabs and Hammerheads matchup on Friday was postponed. It is slated to be made up as part of a double-header, with game one beginning at 5:05 PM on Saturday, August 11th.

South Bend Silver Hawks 2, Bowling Green Hot Rods 1

The Silver Hawks grabbed a quick 1-0 lead, as Chris Ellison walked, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on Ryan Court‘s RBI double. After a one out walk put runners on first and second with one out, Bowling Green starter Paker Markel settled in, escaping further trouble. Bowling Green got the run back in the bottom of the inning, as Jake Hager tripled, and scored on an RBI groundout, tying the game at 1-1. Markel and South Bend starter Tyler Green got into a groove, matching one another inning for inning. Bowling Green had a chance to score in the bottom of the third, with runners on first and third with one out. Hager, however, was thrown out at home, and the game remained tied until the top of the ninth. Eric Groff doubled with one out, and scored on a two out error by Tyler Goeddel, giving the Silver Hawks a 2-1 victory. Charlie Cononie was stuck with a tough loss, giving up an unearned run on 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 5 in two innings. Kes Carter was 2-2 with a double, a stolen base, and 2 walks.

Lowell Spinners 9, Hudson Valley Renegades 5

Lowell jumped out to a 4-0 lead through the top of the second, highlighted by Mookie Betts‘ two run double in the three run first. With the score 4-1 heading to the bottom of the second, the Reengades tied the game, as Luke Maile hit a two run triple, and scored on an RBI double by Ryan Dunn. The Spinners grabbed the lead again in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with no outs. David Chester hit a sacrifice fly, plating Mike Miller. A throwing error allowed the runner to advance to third, but Jake Davies was gunned down at second. With two out, Betts hit an RBI single, giving the Spinners a 6-4 lead. Miller hit a two run home run in the top of the eighth, extending the lead to 8-4. Michael Williams hit an RBI double with two out in the bottom of the inning, trimming the lead to 8-5; however, the Spinners tacked on another run in the top of the ninth for the 9-5 victory. Jesse Hahn struggled in his start, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks over 3.2 innings, striking out 4 batters. Maile and Wililams each had 2 hits, and Richie Shaffer was 0-2 with 3 runs scored in the loss.

Greeneville Astros 5, Princeton Rays 0

Greeneville pitchers Daniel Minor and Tanner Bushue combined on a one hit shutout, as the Astros defeated the Rays 5-0. Princeton had the first scoring chance of the night, with Andrew Toles hitting a two out triple. After William Argo walked, Minor was able to get Ariel Soriano to groundout to third, ending the threat. The game remained scoreless until the top of the fifth, as the Astros had runners on second and third with two out. Brian Blasik singled, driving in Jose Monzon to put Greeneville on top 1-0. Monzon scored again in the top of the seventh, coming home on a groundout by Angel Ibanez. The Astros broke the game open in the top of the eighth, scoring three runs, highlighted by Ricky Gringas’ two run home run. Minor allowed only the 1 hit and 1 walk through his 7 innings of work, striking out 11 batters. William Argo was 0-2 with 2 walks in the loss.

GCL Orioles 6, GCL Rays 1

The Rays struck first, as Jiminson Natera hit a one out triple in the top of the second, and scored on Armando Araiza‘s sacrifice fly, giving the Rays a 1-0 lead. The game remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth, as the Orioles plated two runs with the help of a wild pitch and an error. Manuel Hernandez and Hector Veloz each had an RBI groundout, giving the Orioles a 2-1 lead. The Orioles put the game away in the bottom of the seventh, sending eight batters to the plate in the four run inning. With four runs already in, the Orioles had runners on first and third with no one out, when Hector Veloz lined into a double play. Kristopher Richards then grounded out, ending the threat. Geisel De La Cruz took the loss, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks over 5 innings of work. Isaac Gil was hammered, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk in 1.2 innings of relief.

Could a trade spring Archer back into a big league starting role? (Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE)

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 8, Norfolk Tides (BAL) 0

All smiles for the Bulls on Saturday. Chris Archer was on a pitch count as he returns from an oblique injury, but he made the 60 pitches count, going 4 innings allowing no runs on 1 hit, striking out 3 while walking 1. Nice to see Archer throwing the ball well. Ryan Reid followed with a perfect frame before Frank De Los Santos allowed a hit and a walk while striking out 3 in two more shutout innings. Brandon Gomes then was perfect in the 8th, and suddenly the Bulls had a 2-hit shuout going. Adam Liberatore allowed 2 hits in the 9th, but he kept the Tides off the board to nail down the shutout. The Bulls only needed 1 run to win on Saturday but got plenty more. Rich Thompson went 4 for 5 with a double, 2 RBI, and a run scored, and Henry Wrigley and Will Rhymes each went 2 for 4 with a double, with Wrigley driving in 1 and scoring twice and Rhymes driving in 2 and scoring once. The other news item was that Evan Longoria was scheduled to play in this game but did not go, but it turns out that he was just a little sore and will be back in the Bulls’ lineup on Sunday. Phew.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 3, Jackson Generals (SEA) 2 (10 innings)

Mikie Mahtook came through in the clutch in his 5th game with the Biscuits to lead them to victory. Mahtook had an RBI double as part of a 2-run first inning for Montgomery to give starter Nick Barnese a little breathing room. Barnese went 5 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 2, walking 2 as well, and posting a 7-4 groundout to flyout ratio. But Neil Schenk blew the lead in the 6th, and good bullpen work the rest of the way by both teams, including 4 strikeouts in 2 innings by Chris Rearick, send the game into extra innings. Mahtook made sure it didn’t go any longer with a sac fly in the 10th as the Biscuits won 3-2. Mahtook went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI, Shawn O’Malley went 2 for 4 with a run scored, and the dynamic duo of Hak-Ju Lee and Ty Morrison were at it again from the top of the lineup as Lee went 2 for 3 with a walk, his 34th stolen base of the year, and a run scored while Morrison went 3 for 4 with a double, his 15th steal with the Biscuits and 26th overall, and a run scored as well.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 13, Dunedin Blue Jays 6

A huge 7th inning swayed this one as the Stone Crabs completely turned this one around. Braulio Lara had a tough start, going 4.1 innings allowing 4 runs on 6 hits, striking out 6 while walking 2, and Alex Koronis allowed 2 more runs in 2.2 innings. Charlotte had led 4-0 after 1 inning but trailed 6-4 after 6. But everything changed in the 7th, as the Stone Crabs sent 14 batters in the plate as they tallied 9 runs, including a 3-run triple but Todd Glaesmann and a 2-run triple by Robby Price. Price and Glaesmann each went 2 for 5, with Price also hitting a double, driving in 4, and scoring twice, while Glaesmann simply drove in 3 and scoring once. Steven Tinoco also went 3 for 5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored for Charlotte.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, West Michigan Whitecaps (DET) 2

Good pitching and 4 early runs were the difference for the Hot Rods in this one. Roberto Gomez and Felipe Rivero split the start for Bowling Green, but Gomez’s first 3 innings of the game were better than Rivero’s middle 3. Gomez allowed no runs on 2 hits, striking out 2 while walking 1 and posting a 5-1 groundout to flyout ratio, while Rivero allowed 2 runs on 6 hits in his three frames, striking out 1 while walking none although he did post a 4-1 groundout to flyout ratio. Jacob Partridge and Austin Hubbard tossed the final 3 innings scoreless for the Hot Rods. In terms of the offense, Alejandro Segovia went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI, Jeff Malm slammed a solo homer, Juniel Querecuto went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored, and Tyler Goeddel went 1 for 3 with a double and also scored a run.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 5, Williamsport Crosscutters (PHI) 3

The Renegades and Crosscutters each tallied all their runs in just one half-inning, but luckily the Renegades’ outburst was bigger as they won 5-3. Jeff Ames got the start for Hudson Valley and went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs, all in the 4th, on 4 hits, striking out 5 while walking none while posting a 5-3 groundout to flyout ratio. The Renegades scored 5 for Ames in the 5th, including RBI hits by Marty Gantt, Luke Maile, and Deshun Dixon, to take a 5-3 lead, and Jose Alberto Molina and Ryan Garton survived 4 walks in the final 4 frames to pitch shutout ball as the Renegades won 5-3. Gantt went 2 for 3 with a double, 2 walks, a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored while Maile went 2 for 4 with a stolen base and an RBI.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Princeton Rays 8, Bluefield Blue Jays 2]

Bruedlin Suero pitched well for the third straight time out and the P-Rays offense came up with some clutch hits as they won in a blowout. Suero went 6 innings allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 4 while walking none. Suero has a 1.13 ERA in his last 3 starts after an 8.66 ERA in his previous 5. In termos of the offense, the P-Rays went 5 for 14 with runners in scoring position as they managed 8 runs despite just 9 hits, 8 of which were singles. Willie Argo went 3 for 4 with an RBI and 3 runs scored, Ariel Soriano had a double, the lone extra-base hit, and 2 RBI, and five other P-Rays drove in a run, including Oscar Hernandez, who went 1 for 3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.

Rookie Gulf Coast League: GCL Rays 10, GCL Orioles 3

The Gulf Coast League is usually a very pitcher-friendly league. The league average ERA in the GCL entering Saturday was 3.58, with 2 teams, including the GCL Rays, posting ERAs under 3.00. (Despite their 2.58 team ERA, the GCL Rays entered Saturday at 16-19 thanks to the second-fewest runs scored in the league.) But there are always going to be outlier games, and this was one of them. Matthew Ramsey started for the Rookie Rays (sounds more catchy than GCL Rays) and allowed an unearned run as he works his way into shape following Tommy John Surgery. Jorge Rodriguez allowed just another unearned run over the next 4 innings despite allowing 7 hits, neither striking out nor walking a batter. He did post a great 8-1 groundout to flyout ratio. Alex Moshier tossed a perfect 7th before Kyle Pelchy allowed yet another unearned run in the 8th as he worked the final 2 innings. And now to the rare showing of offense. The top 4 of the Rookie Rays lineup had a crazy afternoon, going 9 for 18 with 2 doubles, 4 stolen bases, 5 RBI, and 7 runs scored. Ben Kline raised his average to .425 on the season in 73 at-bats, going 3 for 5 with 2 stolen bases, an RBI, and 2 runs scored. He’s been about the only Rookie Ray that has hit all season long, and that shows in his batting average. The GCL Rays were hitting .240 as a team entering Saturday. Take out Kline and they’re at .229. Bralin Jackson also went 2 for 5 with a double, a stolen base, 2 RBI, and a run scored, Spencer Edwards went 2 for 4 with a double, a stolen base, and 3 runs scored, and among the non-top 4 in the lineup, Jiminson Natera went 2 for 4 with a double, 2 RBI, and a runs scored. Other good news is that Rays 2012 12th round pick Taylor Hawkins finally got his first professional hit after starting 0 for 11. Congratulations to him, and hopefully it’s the first of many.