Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 13, Syracuse Chiefs (WAS) 3

Through his first 10 games of the 2013 season, Vince Belnome had really been struggling, going just 6 for 29 (.207) with no homers, 2 doubles, and  2 RBI. Then the last 10 games have been an entirely different story. Belnome has hit .486 (18 for 37) with 5 doubles, 4 homers, and 15 RBI including his second four-hit game in five days on Sunday to lead the Bulls to a 13-3 victory. J.D. Martin, the only pitcher in a prospect-laden Bulls rotation who isn’t really a prospect, got the start for Durham and allowed quite a few hits, 10 in 6 innings, but managed to deliver a good outing nevertheless, allowing just 3 runs while striking out 6 and walking none. Martin has now allowed 38 hits in 26 innings pitched, but his strikeout to walk ratio on the season has been really impressive as he has struck out 21 (7.3 per 9) while walking just 4 (1.4 per 9). Will Inman and Kirby Yates finished off the game for the Bulls striking out 4 while allowing just 1 hit over the final 3 innings. Now to the offense. Belnome had a huge game, going 4 for 5 with a homer, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored, Cole Figueroa went 2 for 4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, and Tim Beckham went 2 for 5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Beckham is another player who has been red-hot of late, hitting .353 (12 for 34) in his last 10 games after starting just 6 for 31 (.194). Wil Myers and Jason Bourgeois also had multiple RBI for the Bulls, who had an outstanding all-around day on their way to an easy win.

Double-A Southern League: Birmingham Barons (CHW) 14, Montgomery Biscuits 8

How crazy was this game? Every hitter in both teams’ lineups reached base at least once, with every player but one for Birmingham reaching at least twice, and the winning pitcher in this game allowed 6 earned runs. Go figure. Enny Romero started and didn’t have any control for Montgomery, going 3 innings allowing 4 runs on 3 hits, striking out 3 while walking 4. Just 39 of his 80 pitches were strikes. Andrew Bellatti and Zach Quate were even worse behind him, allowing 9 runs in 2.1 innings, before C.J. Riefenhauser and Braulio Lara held the Barons to just one more run in the final 2.2 frames. On the whole, Biscuits pitching had an afternoon they would much rather forget. The lopsided score overshadowed the enormous game that the Biscuits received from Todd Glaesmann, who went 3 for 5 with a double, a homer, 5 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Glaesmann, the Rays’ 2012 Minor League Player of the Year, has struggled to a .253/.301/.453 line so far this season for the Biscuits with his plate discipline being a major concern, but he has incredible power and he just has to learn to harness it more often. Mikie Mahtook and Cameron Seitzer also notched 3-hit games for the Biscuits, with Mahtook going 3 for 5 with a triple, a double, a stolen base, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Seitzer going 3 for 3 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored. Seitzer continues to thoroughly impress, now getting his average up to .318 on the season, and between Glaesmann, Seitzer, and Mahtook, the Biscuits will be just fine on offense–if only they can get some pitching.

High-A Florida State League: Lakeland Flying Tigers 11, Charlotte Stone Crabs 4

No one can do anything against Jesse Hahn right now. However, the Rays have limited to just 3 innings per start for right now as they try to limit his innings, and the Stone Crabs have to worry about the other 6 innings of the game. Hahn’s ERA in this one was 0.00–the rest of the Stone Crabs had an ERA of 16.50. Hahn went 3 innings allowing just 1 hit, striking out 4 while walking 2. He has now tossed 15 innings allowing just 1 run on 10 hits, striking out 16 while walking just 4. With a fastball hitting 98 MPH, Hahn is an excellent prospect for the Rays, but you really want to see him go more innings before you start evaluating him. If Hahn does keep dominating even when he gets extended to 5 or 6 innings, though, the innings he’s saving early on in the year may be enough for Hahn to surface in a big league bullpen role at the end of the year if the Rays so choose. But the rest of Charlotte’s pitchers were a great deal worse. Jake Floethe has had his moments this season relieving Hahn but had absolutely nothing in this game, going 3+ innings allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, on 7 hits, striking out just 1 while walking 3. Floethe simply didn’t have it, but because Hahn only went 3 innings and the Stone Crabs needed length from Floethe, they basically had to hang him out to dry. Nate Garcia allowed 6 more runs in 2.2 innings before first baseman/left fielder Steven Tinoco came to the mound to record the final out of the game. Tinoco also had a solid day at the plate, going 1 for 4 with a walk and 2 RBI, and Drew Vettleson and Luke Scott both went 2 for 5 with a double, with Scott also scoring a run. How he performed Monday was going to determine whether Scott returned to the major leagues for the Rays on Tuesday, and it looked like he will make his long-awaited season debut after looking great for the Stone Crabs the last few days.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 9, Peoria Chiefs (STL) 4

Granden Goetzman was a second round pick by the Rays in 2011 and has been a highly-touted prospect since then–but played in only 37 games because of a series of injuries. Goetzman hopes that this is the year he stays healthy and shows what he can do, and he got off to a great start in his season debut with the Hot Rods, slamming a 3-run triple as the Hot Rods won 9-4. Eduar Quinonez got the start for Bowling Green and allowed 3 runs on 5 innings, but this game was really all about the offense. Marty Gantt, who has found his way to the third spot in the Bowling Green batting order after batting a low as 9th earlier in the season, went 1 for 3 with a 2-run homer, 2 walks, and 3 runs scored, Tommy Coyle went 1 for 3 with a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored out of the leadoff spot, and Luke Maile, Patrick Leonard, and Leonardo Reginatto also had multi-hit games to go along with Goetzman’s 3 RBI as the Hot Rods offense pulled away in this one even batting against one of the Cardinals’ top prospects, right-hander Tyrell Jenkins. The Hot Rods went a ridiculous 5 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left just 6 runners on base all game as they made the most of their opportunities and made sure this one wasn’t close.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 9, Toledo Mud Hens (DET) 8

A bullpen collapse made this game crazy at the end, but the Bulls’ offense had quite a night and Frank De Los Santos stepped up at the end to nail down the save as the Bulls got by Toledo 9-8. Jake Odorizzi started for Durham and had a rough game but managed to avoid disaster. He allowed 3 home runs in the first 2 innings, all solo shots, and then walked 3 batters in the 3rd, but he managed to toss shutout ball over his final 3 innings as he went 5 innings allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, striking out 5 while walking 4. As disaster starts, though, you can certainly do worse than that, and great composure by Odorizzi to battle when his stuff wasn’t fooling anyone. On the offensive side, the Bulls scored 4 in the first inning, and although Odorizzi gave those runs back, they were able to avoid the vintage Rays tendency of having one big inning and faltering the rest of the game and provide their pitchers with plenty of run support. They would need it all. Tim Beckham had a really nice game, going 1 for 3 with a a triple, 2 walks, a stolen base, and 2 RBI, Vince Belnome went 4 for 5 with 2 doubles, an RBI, and 3 runs scored. Cole Figueroa went 3 for 5 with a double and 3 RBI, and Wil Myers, Leslie Anderson, and Juan Apodaca also had multi-hit games. Lefties Jeff Beliveau and Adam Liberatore tossed shutout ball in the 6th and 7th as the game appeared to be out of reach at 9-4 after 7 innings, but Wil Inman allowed 4 runs in just two-thirds of an inning in the 8th to make it 9-8. But that was when De Los Santos, who had managed just a 7.27 ERA in his first 7 appearances of the season, came in and slammed the door, recording the final out of the inning before working around a hit in the 9th, as the Bulls won 9-8. In a slugfest like this, all the pitching you can get matters even more than usual, and the Bulls were able to limit the damage to a couple of bad innings while pitching strongly the rest of the way, and that made all the difference. Great offensive showing by Durham, and nice to see the pitching coming up big when it mattered most.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 5, Tennessee Smokies (CHC) 4

Another great finish in this one as it was tied 3-3 after 8 innings before the Biscuits scored 2 in the top of the 9th and survived a run in the bottom of the inning to win. Victor Mateo started for Montgomery and was decent overall, going 4.2 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 3 and walking 3 as well. He had tossed 4 shutout innings before coming apart in the 5th to put Montgomery down 3-2. But Mayo Acosta quickly tied it in the 6th on a solo home run, and 3.1 innings of shutout relief from Braulio Lara and Matt Nevarez got the Biscuits through 8. Then in the top of the 9th, Robi Estrada and Kevin Kiermaier singled to begin the inning and the Biscuits elected to bunt them to 2nd and 3rd. That immediately paid dividends as Mikie Mahtook hit a soft groundball that scored Shawn O’Malley, who had pinch-run for Estrada, and a throwing error brought in Kiermaier to make it 5-3. Juan Sandoval allowed a 1-out RBI single in the 9th that made it 5-4, but he buckled down from there to retire the next 2 hitters as the Biscuits won 5-4. Estrada and Kiermaier had nice games, with Estrada going 2 for 3 with a walk and Kiermaier going 2 for 5 with the key insurance run scored in the 9th, and Cameron Seitzer also went 1 for 3 with 2 walks and an RBI. The Biscuits’ rally wasn’t too flashy, but they took advantage of their opportunity and found their way to a satisfying victory.

Low-A Midwest League: Fort Wayne Tincaps (SDP) 3, Bowling Green Hot Rods 2

Blake Snell allowed 3 runs in the first inning and unfortunately the Hot Rods could not overcome that as they went 3-2. Snell has been dominant to begin the year but allowed 3 walks and 2 hits in the 1st before settling in. He went 4 innings allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, on 6 hits, striking out 3 and walking 3 as well. His groundout to flyout was also an impressive 5-0, but his control was off early on and it cost him. Reinaldo Lopez was incredible in relief of Snell, going 4 innings allowing just 2 hits and nothing else, striking out 1 and forcing 8 more outs on the ground. But it wasn’t enough as the Hot Rods managed just 2 runs on 4 hits in the game and blew the opportunities they did have, going just 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Tommy Coyle had a big game for Bowling Green, going 3 for 4 with a triple, 2 stolen bases, and a run scored, and Marty Gantt brought in both Hot Rods runs with another triple, but that was basically it. Tyler Goeddel did have an encouraging game as well, going 0 for 0 but with 3 walks and a stolen base of his own. In terms of stolen bases, Coyle ranks second in the Midwest League with 11, Andrew Toles, who walked and stole a base in this one, has 10, and Goeddel is tied for 5th with 7. Great to see the Hot Rods living up their nickname and their billing as members of the Rays organization by stealing so many bases. But it’s awfully hard to steal home, and they have to find a way to push some runs across with hits. Otherwise, they’ll be left contemplating what could have have been after a disheartening loss like this.

Belnome, who will turn 25 in March, is coming off a solid but injury-riddled season primarily at the Padres’ Triple-A Tuscan affiliate. Taking out 7 rehab games at Rookie ball and High-A, Belnome managed a .275/.380/.384 line with 11 doubles, 5 homers, 33 RBI, 5 of 6 stolen bases, and 72 strikeouts versus 43 walks in 80 games and 303 plate appearances while seeing time at every infield position but shortstop. For Rays prospects watchers, your first reaction to Belnome’s stats is that he’s very similar to another infielder the Rays acquired from the Padres, Cole Figueroa, who was teammates with Belnome in 2009 and 2010. Belnome’s 2012 numbers were very similar to Figueroa’s 2011 numbers at Double-A where he posted a .283/375/.398 line with 5 home runs. That being said, he appears to have worse plate discipline although he’s still above-average, and his numbers really aren’t as good as they seem because the Triple-A Pacific Coast League where he played in is a hitter’s paradise. But what makes Belnome interesting is his numbers from 2010 and 2011. In 2010 at High-A, he managed a .273/.397/.436 line with 16 home runs in 606 plate appearances and in 2012 he got into just 75 games but managed a .333/.432/.603 line at Double-A with 17 homers in 318 plate appearances.

The Rays are interested in seeing what Belnome can do at the plate. (Credit: Flickr user StormBaseball)

Vince Belnome has never been that highly regarded as a prospect, beginning when he was a 28th round draft pick back in 2009 by the Padres, but he has flat-out hit everywhere he has gone, managing a .300/.414/.487 line in 1588 plate appearances. Belnome, a lefty batter, features a smooth thing and excels at hitting the ball the other way with good plate discipline and solid power. A question with Belnome is whether his power is going to continue to surface at higher levels, as we saw was a problem in 2012, especially considering his bat speed is just average. In order for that to happen, his plate discipline is going to have to be really good wherever he goes, and Belnome did walk at a 14.4% clip at Triple-A in 2012, but he struck out in 23.5% of his plate appearances and doesn’t cut it. In terms of his platoon splits, Belnome is certainly better against right-handed pitching, managing a .302/.402/.462 line against them in 2012 with even better numbers in the past, but he isn’t unplayable against lefties, managing a .361 OBP in 2012 although just a .233 batting average and a .267 SLG as his power was completely sapped, and he actually hit to a .267/.394/.372 line against lefties in 2011 (again, notice the lack of power even though he hit better). Defensively, Belnome has good arm strength but is a slow runner with poor range. He’s a halfway-decent second baseman but below-average basically everywhere else. The bottom line with Belnome is that he has to continue to prove that he can stay healthy and that he can hit. His upside is an average big league second baseman with solid 15-homer power and a good OBP or a good bat-first utility man, but the Rays are reasonably hoping for a potential platoon bat against right-handed pitching who is a solid hitter with a little power. He’s not the most exciting player, but he looks like he can break into the big leagues for the Rays by the end of next season if he can stay healthy and give the Rays a fair contribution to their 2013 effort.

In Rearick, the Rays are losing their Organizational Reliever of the Year for the past two years but not a player with very much upside. Rearick, who turned 25 earlier this month, dominated at High-A to begin 2012, managing a 1.79 ERA and a 59-15 strikeout to walk ratio and not a single homer allowed in 45.2 IP, but he was much worse at Double-A, managing a 4.38 ERA, a 9.5 K/9, a 2.9 BB/9, and a 1.5 HR/9 in 24.2 innings pitched. Rearick, who is 6’3″, 190, is a little interesting because he has a chance to be more than just a situational lefty. Rearick’s fastball is just in the 88-90 MPH range and he controls it well but doesn’t command it consistently, which was a big reason he allowed all the homers at Double-A. His best pitch is his low-80′s slider with sharp, tight break, that he can throw to both lefties and righties, but the issue with Rearick moving forward is that it’s most effective when he can establish his fastball, and it’s questionable whether he’ll be able to do that moving forward. He also throws a decent changeup as another pitch he can throw to right-handed batters. Rearick’s upside is a lefty middle reliever who comes in for lefties but doesn’t have to be taken out if theres’s a righty in between, and he still has to conquer Double-A and Triple-A before he can get there.

In this trade, the Rays are trading a pitcher with modest upside for a player with some talent and the ability to contribute to their big league team next season. The Rays are taking on some risk, but worst-case scenario is that Rearick becomes a solid but replaceable reliever at the big league level while Belnome doesn’t hit or can’t stay healthy, which is far from a catastrophe, and the potential reward could be another productive utility player the Rays have produced. This won’t be a trade that Andrew Friedman hangs his hat on, but it gives the Rays to get a solid big leaguer who can come out of nowhere and help the Rays win ballgames over the next few years. The high-profile moves like the Shields for Wil Myers trade get all the attention and deservingly so, but sometimes it’s the subtle moves like this trade that make the difference between being a playoff team or sitting on the couch in October.