Eliazer Suero, 23, was signed out of the Rays out of the Dominican Republic and had a rough 2012 but finished strong. On the year, Suero went 5-7 with a 5.81 ERA, a 6.0 K/9, a 6.2 BB/9, and a 1.0 HR/9 in 9 starts, 21 relief appearances, and 91.1 IP. He did, though, pitch much better his last 10 games, going 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA in 38.2 innings pitched. Suero features a projectable 6’4″, 170 frame, but his current arsenal simply isn’t there right now. Suero’s fastball hits just the high-80′s right now, and Suero is able to get a good downward angle on it when he’s right but that doesn’t happen often enough, and his delivery gets out of whack making him struggle to hit the zone. He also throws a halfway-decent breaking ball and a semi-usable changeup. Suero features some deception in his delivery to right-handed batters but has been exposed versus lefties, managing just a 23-34 strikeout to walk ratio against them. Suero’s improvement at the end of the season was fastball command, but he still walked more than he struck out. Suero has a big offseason ahead of him as he looks to begin the process of filling out his lean frame, and the Rays hope that with added strength he can begin making strides as a pitcher.

Wilking Rodriguez, who will turn 23 in March, was signed by the Rays out of Venezuela and added to their 40-man roster before last season, but he was designated for assignment and passed through waivers to remain in an organization after shoulder problems have derailed him the last two years. In 7 starts for the Stone Crabs in 2012, Rodriguez went 0-4 with a 5.56 ERA, a 7.7 K/9, a 4.0 BB/9, and a 0.8 HR/9 in 34 innings pitched. Rodriguez, 6’1″ and 190 pounds, is a very interesting pitcher when healthy. Rodriguez’s fastball hits the 92-93 MPH range with late life, and he’s able to ratchet it up to the 95-96 MPH range when he has to, albeit at the loss of control and command. Rodriguez pairs his fastball with a big high-70′s breaking ball from the same arm slot that he’ll throw to both righties and lefties, and he shows flashes of a changeup that looks to be at least average. Rodriguez’s arsenal remains impressive, but he has to find a way to stay on the mound. In an attempt to make that happen, the Rays might move him to the bullpen, and Rodriguez’s electric stuff gives him a chance to move fast in such a role. Even after lost seasons the last two years, the Rays still can’t get enough of Rodriguez’s repertoire, and if he can find a way to stay healthy a breakthrough could be in the wings in 2013.

Amazingly, the Stone Crabs’ staff leader in wins started just 1 game on the season. Lefty Jim Patterson, who was an 18th round pick by the Rays back in 2010, had himself quite a season, going 8-4 with a 2.70 ERA, a 5.8 K/9, a 2.0 BB/9, and a 0.4 HR/9 in 1 start, 38 relief appearances, and 80 innings pitched. 37 of his appearances came at Charlotte to go along with one each at Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham. Patterson, 6’0″ and 190 pounds, has done nothing but pitch well since signing, managing a 2.78 ERA in over 200 innings. Patterson’s fastball stays in the high-80′s, touching 90 MPH, but he throws it for strikes and gets great late life on it, leading to plenty of weak contact in 2012 but not enough of it on the ground for evaluators’ liking. To complement his fastball, Patterson throws a little mid-80′s slider with late break that helped generate some whiffs against lefties as they had trouble picking it up and was another pitch hitters could not square up, and he also throws a halfway-decent changeup. Patterson actually had a slight reverse split in 2012, allowing a .595 OPS to lefties compared to .553 to righties, but the difference in strikeout to walk ratio was staggering going the other way, coming in at 20-3 compared to 32-15. Patterson’s upside is a middle reliever whose specialty is getting lefties out but doesn’t have to be taken out versus righties either, and after his success in recent years, it would not be the biggest surprise if he zoomed through both Double-A and Triple-A in 2013 after cups of coffee at those levels this season and finished the year in the big leagues.

Drafted 2 rounds ahead of Patterson in the 2010 MLB Draft, Nate Garcia, who will turn 25 in May, was having a nice season before injuries ended his season prematurely in late June. In 17 relief appearances and 32.2 innings pitched, Garcia went 0-3 with a 3.58 ERA, a 7.7 K/9, a 3.9 BB/9, and a 0.8 HR/9. Garcia, who is 6’1″ and 190 pounds, works with a fastball around 90 MPH with some movement away from right-handed batters along with a mid-70′s curveball with good depth. His pitches worked well against same-side batters as righties managed just a .239/.333/.324 line against him, but his lack of usable changeup led to lefties berating him to .353/.400/.627 line (think Josh Hamilton‘s AL MVP season of 2010). Garcia is another middle relief type, but he’s has to find a way to stay healthy, improve his fastball command, and develop something to use against lefties for him to be a realistic big league option.

The Rays have to be frustrated with the way Linsky’s 2012 went but know he still has considerable ability as a pitcher. (Credit: Flickr user BeGreen90)

Lenny Linsky, who will turn 23 in March, was the Rays’ 2nd round pick in 2011 and could have started off his professional career off any better, overpowering hitters at Short Season-A and Low-A to the tune of a 1.23 ERA and a 30-7 strikeout to walk ratio in 29.1 innings pitched. The Rays thought Linsky could continue pitching well in 2012, starting out the season in High-A before finishing the season in Double-A or maybe even Triple-A as he raced towards the big leagues, but instead a shoulder injury threw Linsky completely off, sidelining him until June and messing up his feel for his pitches even after he came back. In 18 games, Linsky went a decent 1-2 with a 3.07 ERA but managed just a 3.7 K/9, a 5.8 BB/9, and a 0.6 HR/9 in 18 appearances, and ironically, the same 29.1 IP that he threw in 2011. He then went to the Arizona Fall League but continued to struggle, managing just a 5.56 ERA and a 7-7 strikeout to walk ratio in 9 appearances and 11.1 IP. Linsky, who has a good pitcher’s frame at 6’2″, 220, shows excellent stuff when he’s fully healthy, throwing a heavy sinker in the 92-94 MPH range that’s a nightmare for hitters to square up to go along with a sharp mid-80′s slider from the arm slot with devastating break. Linsky’s pitches were not nearly up to that caliber in 2012 as his sinker lost velocity and flattened out and his slider hanged up in the zone too often at times and even when it had its good movement, it looked nothing like a strike. 2012 was undoubtedly a lost season for Linsky and now the question is whether it will derail his career or be just a blip on the radar. The Rays will send Linsky back to Charlotte to begin 2012 and hope that he’ll be healthy and overpowering to begin the season and back on the fast-track to the big leagues before long.

Hard to sell A-ball relievers as all that exciting, but within a couple of years the Rays have a trio of pitchers who could be making big league hitters miserable in Rodriguez, Linsky, and Patterson, and Rodriguez and Linsky have the stuff to profile in the late innings if they can stay healthy. There’s always going to be risk involved, but the potential reward is evident and considering these pitchers are at High-A, their big league reliever could not be so far away.

Overall, the Stone Crabs were a horrific team in 2012, going just 55-79, but that was not a reflection of the caliber of players they had on their roster. Players like Enny Romero, Mikie Mahtook, the since-traded Derek Dietrich, Lucas Bailey, and Linsky are all talented but had their share of troubles this season between injuries and inconsistency. The Rays know that 2012 could have gotten better for the players who spent time with the Stone Crabs, but the ability remains in those players and they could be on the verge of figuring everything out and reaching their potential.

That’s it for our discussion of the Stone Crabs and we’ll continue next time with the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. For more of our scouting reports on the Stone Crabs and the rest of the Rays organization, check out our Minor League Affiliates Analysis page here at RCG.

The Rays actually made a move themselves on Saturday, outrighting Rich Thompson and RHP Wilking Rodriguez down to Triple-A Durham. As Marc Topkin talked about on Twitter, the Rays are doing these moves now because they need to take Brandon Guyer and Robinson Chirinos off the 60-day DL. Thompson appeared in 25 games for the Rays this season but is really just a spare part backup outfielder, while Rodriguez, 22, has electric stuff but dealt with injury problems in 2012 and was only at High-A even when he was healthy. He is hypothetically exposed to the Rule 5 Draft now, but it seems unlikely that he will be selected given his injury problems and lack of any experience above A-ball. The Rays are excited to welcome Guyer and Chirinos back after season-ending injuries, shoulder surgery for Guyer and a concussion for Chirinos, and both have the talent to contribute to the Rays’ big league effort in 2013.

Topkin also wrote about how the Rays’ are considering adding a second hitting coach to pair with Derek Shelton to ease his workload and hopefully deliver the best possible offensive product on the field. Three MLB teams had two hitting coaches in 2012 and the Phillies will also have a two-coach situation in 2013. At this point, the Rays might as well try everything possible to generate some offense- although the most important thing is going to be to acquire some bats to bolster their lineup (more on that later today).

Speaking of the Phillies, they recently hired Steve Henderson to be their principal hitting coach. Henderson was the Rays’ hitting coach in 1998 and from 2008 to 2009. Topkin speculated that the hiring of Henderson may make the Phillies the favorite to sign B.J. Upton.

The Rays hope to see Francisco swing the bat well for them in September. (Credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE)

On Friday, the Rays acquired 30 year old outfielder Ben Francisco for the Rays in exchange for a player to be named. Francisco, who many of you remember from his time with the Indians and Phillies, is now on his third team in 2012 and fourth in the last 12 months as he was traded from the Phillies to the Blue Jays to the Astros and now to the Rays. Francisco gives the Rays an experienced backup outfielder for September who can do a bunch of different things. Francisco can play both corner outfield positions and has a .258/.328/.425 career batting line over the past 6 seasons including a .244/292/.370 mark in 2012. Francisco has a little pop, slamming 15 homers each in his only full major league seasons in 2008 and 2009, and he also can run a little bit, swiping 14 bases in 2009 and going 8 for 8 in steals in 2010. Francisco also has a solid .259/.352/.398 career line as a pinch-hitter, which is a role that he could play for the Rays quite a bit as a right-handed bat. The Rays acquired Francisco for next to nothing and they hope he’ll give them some quality at-bats in September. Francisco popped out in his first Rays at-bat on Saturday.

Francisco actually is arbitration eligible for the third and final time this coming offseason after making $1,537,000 in 2012, little of which is being paid for by the Rays. I don’t see any way that the Rays retain Francisco following the season with Sam Fuld being their 4th outfielder (and as we know, so much more) and Francisco making more than chump change, and he will likely be non-tendered.

In order to make room for Francisco and Jeff Niemann on the 40-man roster, the Rays designated right-hander Albert Suarez and infielder Will Rhymes for assignment.

Suarez, 22, was signed out of Venezuela by the Rays way back in 2006, was having a pretty decent year at High-A Charlotte, going 5-9 with a 4.08 ERA, a 4.4 K/9, a 2.1 BB/9, and a 0.8 HR/9 in 25 starts and 125.2 IP. Suarez, who is 6’2″, 235, was consistently in the 93-94 MPH range back in 2009 before undergoing Tommy John Surgery and he also missed much of 2009 with Lyme disease in his left knee. His velocity has been inconsistent since then, and he has never really gotten the consistency the Rays would have liked to see in his curveball and changeup. The Rays put him on the 40-man roster to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft in 2010. The Rays have designated Suarez for assignment, meaning not necessarily that they want to get rid of him, but that they want to remove him from the 40-man roster. The Rays hope that Suarez will pass through waivers and remain in the organization. Suarez still has some upside if he can regain his pre-injury sharpness, but there wasn’t any point of wasting a 40-man roster spot on a questionable prospect not nearly big league ready down at A-ball.

Wilking Rodriguez has to be happy about his standing with the Rays. (Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE)

The one interesting thing with Suarez getting DFA’d is that the Rays decided to designate him as opposed to a player in an extremely similar situation, fellow 22 year old Venezuelan right-hander Wilking Rodriguez. Rodriguez was added to the 40-man roster this past offseason for the same reason Suarez was added the year before, to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft. Rodriguez, a smaller pitcher at 6’1″, 180, made just 7 starts in 2012 for High-A Charlotte, going 0-4 with a 5.56 ERA, a 7.7 K/9, a 4.0 BB/9, and a 0.8 HR/9 in 34 innings pitched. Rodriguez has dealt with a lot of shoulder problems over the last two years that have held him to just 18 starts and 79 innings. Doesn’t Rodriguez seem worse than Suarez given that he has been injured much more over the last two seasons and is even farther from helping the big league team? The answer to that is yes based on the stats, but the Rays choosing Rodriguez over Suarez has a lot more to do with Rodriguez’s stuff than anything else. Rodriguez throws a fastball that touches the mid-90′s with natural sink when he’s right, and he complements it with a big high-70′s curveball and a solid changeup. His arsenal is the same as Suarez, but the difference is that Rodriguez frankly misses a ton more bats than Suarez. Rodriguez’s 8.2 career K/9 dwarfs Suarez’s 5.5 mark. Even if Suarez has been a little bit more healthy the past two years, Rodriguez has never undergone Tommy John Surgery, and even though he’s currently out, he has the ability to help the big league team within a couple of seasons, especially if he’s converted into a relief role. The Rays hope to keep both Suarez and Rodriguez, but they have made clear that they believe Rodriguez has more of a future with their ballclub. Rodriguez has to feel pretty good about himself right now.

Will Rhymes, 29, appeared in 47 games for the Rays this season, posting a .228/.299/.285 line in 137 plate appearances. He posted a .256/.326/.390 line in 46 games for the Triple-A Durham Bulls. Rhymes can play second and third base and he’s a decent player, but he is not a great hitter and he can’t play shortstop either, making him expendable as he would not receive much playing time if the Rays called him up for September. The Rays like Rhymes’ character, and he was not the worst injury fill-in in the world, but they’re giving him a shot in another organization. With the minor league season basically over, you would expect Rhymes to elect free agency even if he passes through waivers in the hope that some major league team gives him a shot in September. Good luck to Rhymes wherever he ends up.

The Rays had to be feeling pretty good about themselves when Jeff Niemann began mowing down the Blue Jays in his first major league game since May. But after recording the first out of the fourth inning, Niemann suddenly had to leave the game and was replaced by J.P. Howell. Niemann’s injury was curiously described later in the game as “arm tightness.” Joe Maddon explained what was going on following the game.

“He just didn’t feel right. There’s no way when a pitcher tells you his arm is a little sore you’re going to leave him out there.”

Niemann’s injury is just a day-to-day thing and hopefully he’ll be OK to make his next start. When exactly that will be is up in the air as the Rays will have to decide how to utilize their 6 starters over the rest of the season. The good thing about that is that Niemann will be able to wait as long as he needs to make his start.