Rays Notes: Injury Concern, Draft Signing, Another NDFA

The Rays have had enough with injuries. But maybe they’re not out of the woods yet. Ben Zobrist has finally found his stroke. In his last four games, Zobrist has gone 8 for 15 (.533) with 2 homers, 6 RBI, and 4 walks compared to just 2 strikeouts. But he was scratched on Tuesday with a hand injury after getting hit in the hand on a throw to second base. X-rays were negative, but you still have to worry. Hopefully Zobrist can come back soon and continue his hot streak.

In a minor league note, Jake Floethe at Low-A Bowling Green will miss at least his next start with back spasms, as Micheal Compton of the Bowling Green Daily News first reported, and he has since been placed on the DL. Floethe, the Rays’ 6th round pick in 2011, has gotten off to a nice start in 2012, going 6-1 with a 2.94 ERA, 50 strikeouts, 16 walks, and just 1 home run allowed in 13 starts and 70.1 IP. His groundout to airout ratio is an impressive 2.30. Hopefully he can get healthy and back on track.

Shifting gears, the Rays have signed their 6th round pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, Damion Carroll, a hard throwing right-hander. Jim Callis first reported the signing and here are his full remarks.

If 140 characters aren’t enough for you, here’s our full scouting report on Carroll. Profiles of all the Rays’ picks in this year’s draft can be found here.

And to close, the Rays have signed another non-drafted free agent, catcher Ryan McChesney, a local out of Florida Tech University in Division II. McChesney stood out at FTU for his offense. He posted a .368/.478/.601 line with 13 doubles, 7 homers, and 39 RBI in 48 games. His 7 homers was not far off from half of the team’s total of 17. He shows some good bat speed with a little power. Defensively at catcher, though, it doesn’t look promising. McChesney threw out just 4 of 45 attempted basestealers- ouch- and played more at first base that he did at catcher. But for a non-drafted free agent, it’s nice to get a player who can hit a little bit, and if he sticks at catcher, that’s a big bonus.