Tampa Bay Rays MiLB Recap: Tyler Goeddel Slams 3 Homers

Jun 18, 2013; Dayton, OH, USA; East batter Tyler Goeddel during the Midwest League-All Star Game at Fifth Third Field. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

If Thursday’s minor league games are any indication–which they are not–today’s trade deadline is going to be crazy for the Tampa Bay Rays. We had history from an unlikely source in Montgomery, a pair of extra-inning thrillers, and three of the Rays’ top prospects doing exciting things down in the Gulf Coast League. Let’s get into it.

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Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 4, Tennessee Smokies (CHC) 3

If I told you that a Tampa Bay Rays prospect had just hit 3 home runs in a game, Tyler Goeddel would not be one of your first guesses. Richie Shaffer would come to mind first, and understandably so because he hit 3 home runs on June 12th. J.P. Arencibia and his “homers but nothing else” season would come next, but he isn’t exactly a prospect. Then you would think of Casey Gillaspie, who is on the DL, guys with a lot of raw power like Hunter Lockwood and Patrick Leonard, and maybe a player just having a terrific all-around season like Taylor Motter. You would glance at the Rays’ affiliates homer leaderboard to add Johnny Field and Jace Conrad to the list, and at that point, you would think that you had covered every possible name.

But no, it was Goeddel, who began Thursday with 4 home runs and finished it with 7. It has been lucky sevens for Goeddel this season as he now has 7 doubles, 7 triples, and 7 homers–but especially the doubles are bizarrely low after he hit 25 of them last season. In any event, Goeddel’s first homer tied the game at 1 in the fourth inning, he second knotted it at 3 in the sixth, and his third gave the Biscuits a 4-3 lead. MiLB.com has video of all three home runs,

Overall, Goeddel now has a .255/.332/.385 line in 371 plate appearances on the season. Speaking of lucky sevens, this game finally got Goeddel’s OPS above .700 at .717. There have been some highlights–particularly his 17 steals in 21 attempts, his strong outfield defense, and the fact that he has decreased his strikeout rate from 2014 while keeping his walk rate constant–but his lack of power entering this game was a major concern. This is the 22-year-old Goeddel’s fourth year as a professional, yet he still hasn’t filled out his 6’4″ frame as he weighs just 186 pounds. He has the leverage in his swing to have games like this, but not the strength to hit homers more consistently.

Goeddel is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft following the season, and as of right now, it is hard to believe that the Rays would add him (a little bit of a teaser for the mailbag piece I’m going to write about the Rule 5 after the trade deadline). However, the Rays loved his upside when they gave him the second-highest bonus in their 2011 draft class behind only Taylor Guerrieri, and most of that upside remains. Goeddel is no longer a third baseman, but that won’t matter if he starts tapping into his vast power potential. Is that something he can do over the season’s last month to give himself a chance for a 40-man roster spot?

To finish the offensive performances, Juniel Querecuto had the lone non-Goeddel RBI, Hector Guevara went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored, and Joey Rickard walked twice and stole 2 bases. On the pitching side, meanwhile, Jacob Faria was solid on his 22nd birthday, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 6 while walking 2. He labored (92 pitches), and managed just a 3-6 groundout to flyout ratio, but he battled to give Montgomery another strong start. Ryan Garton then allowed 2 unearned runs on 2 hits in 3 innings, striking out 4 while walking 1, before Brad Schreiber stranded a walk with 2 K’s for the save.

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High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 5, Lakeland Flying Tigers (DET) 4 (19 innings)

This game was downright bizarre–it was just 1-1 entering extra innings. The Stone Crabs scored a run on an error in the seventh, but Eduar Quinonez was unable to strand the runner that he inherited on second base as Lakeland tied the game. Charlotte finally scored again in the 14th on a Yoel Araujo RBI single, but Isaac Gil blew the save. They came through for a second straight frame in the 15th on a Maxx Tissenbaum RBI single, but Josh Kimborowicz let the Flying Tigers tie it again. In the 19th, though, the Stone Crabs got 2 runs on an Andrew Velazquez double, a Mike Marjama triple, and then a Willy Adames RBI single. Position player Pat Blair allowed only 1 run in his second inning of work in the bottom of the frame as Charlotte finally won by a 5-4 score.

Something that was probably long-forgotten in Lakeland by the time the game finished was how dominant Hunter Wood was. He tossed 6 innings allowing a 2-out single in the third inning and nothing else, striking out 6 without a walk. Wood made just 3 starts in Bowling Green before being promoted to Charlotte as a starter, but he continues to dominate nonetheless, maintaining a 1.42 ERA through 3 outings. We will have to see if his changeup develops sufficiently for Wood to remain a starter, but the Rays will give him every chance to do so at this point.

We didn’t actually mention the relievers that were good. Kyle McKenzie tossed 4 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits, striking out 3 while walking none. Then, much later in the game, Steve Ascher pitched 2 scoreless frames, giving up a lone hit while striking out 1. On the offensive side, meanwhile, Adames went 4 for 9 with his RBI and a run scored, Araujo went 4 for 8 with his RBI, Granden Goetzman went 3 for 9, and Blair accompanied his 1 run allowed in 2 innings on the mound by going 2 for 7 with a walk and 2 runs scored. Tissenbaum also played a position other than catcher (third base) for just the second time since 2013.

I’m approaching 1000 words just from those two games, so we’re going to have to do this in slides for once.

Next: The Hot Rods' Doubleheader

Jun 30, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays first round draft pick Garrett Whitley looks on prior to the game against the Cleveland Indians at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Princeton Rays 10, Bluefield Blue Jays 7

There was a lot of great pitching in the system on Thursday, but this one was a good old-fashioned slugfest. David Olmedo-Barrera went 4 for 4 with a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored, but he really had only the third-best game on the P-Rays. Blair Beck went 3 for 4 with a homer, a walk, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored while Brett Sullivan went 3 for 5 with a homer, a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. The Rays brought the non-drafted free agent Beck up from the GCL even though he was hitting just .149, and he has seized the opportunity, hitting to a .375/.512/.656 line in 10 games in Princeton.

Sullivan, meanwhile, doesn’t stand out for his .243/.278/.419 line on the season, but considering his plate approach was poor in college, that can’t be a huge surprise. Even so, the Rays selected him in the 17th round because he had the bat speed and power potential to be interesting at the plate if he could get his strikeouts and walks in order, and coincidence or not, he is looking much better in his second month in the minors. In his last 11 games and 47 plate appearances, Sullivan has a .333/.362/.889 line, and it will be interesting to see how he performs the remainder of the season.

Kewby Meyer also went 2 for 5 with an RBI for the P-Rays while Peter Maris went 2 for 5 with an RBI and Jose Rojas went 1 for 3 with a double and an RBI. On the mound, Spencer Moran continues to look much more questionable as a starter than he did as a reliever, although that may be nothing more than coincidence. Moran allowed 5 runs on 8 hits in 3 innings in this game, striking out 2 while walking 2. He has a 7.36 ERA and a 9-8 strikeout to walk ratio as a starter compared to 2.25 with a 17-1 K-BB as a reliever, but he is actually averaging more innings per appearance as a reliever. This is just a case of young pitchers, even talented ones, being inconsistent.

Bryan Bonnell followed with 4 innings allowing 2 unearned runs on 3 hits, striking out 3 while walking 2, before Andrew Woeck finished the game with 2 shutout innings.

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Rookie Gulf Coast League Game 1: GCL Rays 5, GCL Twins 4 (7 innings)

This was an interesting doubleheader because the GCL Twins were home for the first game while the GCL Rays were home for the second. This game in particular was amusing because it was 1-0 after 5 innings before both teams’ bats came alive. However, as usual, it is really the individual performances that we will harp on. In this game, Tampa Bay Rays 2015 first rounder Garrett Whitley went 1 for 4 with his first professional home run. That is exciting for him, and may it be the first of many. Arguably most interesting, though, is the fact that only in this, his fifth pro game, did he strike out for the first time. He did strike out twice, but even 2 in 18 plate appearances is only half of the team average strikeout rate. It’s great to see his approach looking strong, and now the results will start to come.

This was also Daniel Robertson‘s first full rehab game after he got into just a few innings the other day, and he looked fine as he went 0 for 2 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and 2 runs scored. The Rays are looking forward to getting him back to Montgomery, and the hope is that he can make it Triple-A before the season is through. Usual Grays shortstop Adrian Rondon also went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored while Joseph Astacio went 2 for 4 with a stolen base and Juan Carlos Arias went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk.

Jose Disla started for the GCL Rays and tossed 3.1 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 1 while walking 3. Justin Marsden, the Rays’ high-upside 22nd rounder, then made his pro debut by facing 2 batters and retiring them both, 1 via the strikeout. Nice to see him get off to a good start. Matt LeVert then allowed 3 runs in 2.2 innings before Collin Chapman also retired both batters he saw to finish the game.

Game 2: GCL Rays 7, GCL Twins 2 (7 innings)

Rondon was right back at it again in this game, going 2 for 4 with a double, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Rondon has had his ups and downs in his first professional season, but bear in mind that he just turned 17 on July 7th yet still leads the team in walks. We have seen nothing to suggest any actual reason for concern. Astacio also went 2 for 4 with another steal and a run scored while Oscar Rojas had a big game, going 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, 2 stolen bases, an RBI, and a run scored. In addition, Miguel Hernandez went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored while Devin Davis went 1 for 3 with a walk.

On the pitching side, 19-year-old right-hander Adrian Navas got the start and looked alright, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, on 4 hits in 3 innings, striking out 4 while walking 2. Up next was Jesus Ortiz, the Rays’ 24th round pick from this year, and he looked dominant, tossing 3 shutout innings giving just 2 hits, a walk, and a hit batsman while striking out 5. Ortiz has pitched shutout ball since allowing 5 runs in his first appearance, but this was the first time that he truly blew by hitters. Edrick Agosto (Round 20) then finished the game with a scoreless inning, getting past a hit with 2 strikeouts and a groundout.

Next: Tampa Bay Rays: Who Should Replace DeJesus on Roster?