Rays Minor League Baseball Blog

We’ve already seen him in action in a high profile setting in the post season but he still qualifies as a rookie and that’s why MLB.com choose Matt Moore as the top prospect in baseball.  In 2011, he dominated at every turn he made and he finished the minor league season with 210 strikeouts against 46 walks in 155 innings.  It’s been a long time coming for this 2007 draft pick who also has proved his mettle in a few major league games including his post season start.

He won’t turn 23 until June and this is why the Rays have been so successful.  Moore was an eighth round pick who could turn out to be the ace of the staff.  The Rays thought so much of him that they locked him up through 2016 with team options through 2019.  This kid is going to be fun to watch.

Scott Shuman was 0-4 with a 4.70 ERA but he stuck out 86 in 51 2/3 innings.  The problem is, he also walked 59.  If this kid can ever get that control taken care of, he could be beast because he held hitters to a .159 batting average.

Alexander Colome led the team with nine wins and he struck out 92 in 105 2/3 innings.  His 44 walks were on the high side but he held hitters in check and even held his own in limited time at Double-A.

Sergio Espinosa had a 1.95 ERA and he struck out 33 and walked only seven in 37 innings.  He wasn’t quite as good when he was bumped up to Double-A but he held his own.  He’s on the older side but he’s lefty so there might be a future for him.

Tyler Bortnick led all regulars with an .860 OPS due in large part to an exceptional 67/79 strikeout to walk ratio.  He also stole a team high 43 bases and while the power isn’t there he was second on the team with 34 doubles.  He’s a little older so I don’t know if he’s the second baseman of the future but he bears watching in Double-A next year.

Hak-Ju Lee was second on the team in OPS with .832.  He had eleven triples and he finished second to Bortnick with 28 stolen bases but he was caught 14 times.  Like Bortnick, a lot of his OPS comes from batting average so it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep this level of hitting as he moves through the ranks.

Mark Thomas led the team with thirteen home runs but he hit only .237.  He’ll be 24 and with just a .299 OBP it’s hard to tell if he’ll make it but there’s definitely some pop to his bat.  He just has to make contact more often.

Here’s the top ten Rays prospects as picked by Baseball America

1)  Matt Moore  LHP
2)  Hak-Ju Lee  SS
3)  Chris Archer  RHP
4)  Taylor Guerrieri  RHP
5)  Alex Colome  RHP
6)  Alex Torres  LHP
7)  Tim Beckham  SS
8)  Enny Romero  LHP
9)  Drew Vettleson  OF
10)  Mikie Mahtook  OF

Matt Moore.  I could have finished my column with that name but Moore is the stud in the organization.  He went 8-3 with a 2.20 ERA and 131 strikeouts and 28 walks in 102 1/3 innings.  His batting average against was .187 and he’s only 22.  Stud.

Marquis Fleming – With 104 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings. Fleming was one of the best relievers out of the pen.  He walked 42 though and that’s a little high but he was able to limit the damage with a .204 batting average against.

Matt Bush – Bush is another hard thrower with 77 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings. Oddly, hitters belted him for a .251 average.  The former top pick has bounced around and he’ll now be 26.  It’ll be interesting to see what the Rays do with him in 2011.

Montgomery finished in the bottom half of the standings but they had their share of hitting standouts.  Here are the best hitters on the team this past season.

Stephen Volgt – Volgt had a solid .301 batting average and that helped  push his OPS to the top of the hitters who played in more then 75 games.  He had 13 home runs and a solid 51/30 strikeout to walk ratio.

Henry Wrigley – Wrigley led the team in home runs (17), doubles (34) and he was second to Volgt with 84 RBIs.   Oddly, Wrigley was much better against right handed pitching then left handed pitching so we’ll see if this carries over as he moves up the ladder.

Tim Beckham – Beckham led the team with 82 runs and his 15 steals were second on the team.  He also had his share of walks with 39.  He could turn out to be a nice offensive shortstop, similar to what Reid Brignac should have been.

The Bulls had another nice year and while they’re mostly known for their pitching, the Bulls had their share of solid hitters as well.  Here were the best hitters on the 2011 team.

Russ Canzler – Canzler led the team in just about everything.  He hit 18 home runs, drove in 83 and he scored 78 runs.  With his home runs came 40 doubles and that was all good for a .930 OPS in 131 games.  He also led the team with 67 walks.  Of course Canzler is blocked by Evan Longeria so it’ll be interesting to see what the Bulls do with Canzler.

Brandon Guyer – Guyer was almost as good as Canzler, he just didn’t play in as many games.  He had fourteen  home runs and he was tied with Canzler with 78 runs.  He struck out less then Canzler, but he also walked less and it all worked into a .905 OPS.  He does have some speed and he finished with sixteen steals and five triples.  Guyer struggled with the big league club but he should compete for an outfield job with the Rays next year.

Dan Johnson – Johnson is no longer a prospect but he’s turned into a Four-A player.  Still, he had a solid season with thirteen home runs in 93 games.  He did walk 58 times and struck out just 65 times which was a nice rate and he finished with an .842 OPS.

John Sickels put out his Tampa Bay Rays Top 20 prospect list and there’s some studs at the top.    Sickels uses a grade ranking and at the of the list is Matt Moore with an A.  This guy is an ace in waiting and he’s major league ready and having this guy in the rotation is just going to make the Rays better.

Number two is Hak-Ju Lee who got a B+.  The shortstop has moved up the chain and he’s getting closer and closer to making his big league debut.  Alexander Torres (B, LHP), Alex Colome (RHP, B) and Taylor Guerrieri (RHP, B) round out the top five.

The Bulls have their share of pitching prospects and while some of these guys have already graduated to the Rays, the Bulls still had their share of pitching stars.

Alexander Torres – Topping the list is the soon to be 24 year old Alexander Torres.  He struck out 156 in 146 1/3 innings but the walks are still a concern.  He finished with 83 walks.  He did have a 9-7 record with a very nice 3.08 and it all got him a short stint with the Rays in 2011.

Dane De La Rosa – Dane was one of the better relievers for the Rays.  He had a 3.20 ERA and he struck out 83 in 70 1/3 innings.  He also struggled in his short time with the Rays and he’s well past the point of being a prospect but you always want a guy or two like this hanging in Triple A in the event the pen has a rash of injuries.

Rob Delaney – Delaney led the team with thirteen saves and he had a very nice 1.86 ERA.  He struck out 57 in 67 2/3 innings and while he only gave up three home runs, he didn’t have a great ground ball ratio.

Their final game ended with a rain out but the last six games the played were all losses.  The finale wa sa 10-5 beat down by the Lookouts.  Alexander Colome gave up four runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings.  The loss dropped him to 3-4.

Henry Wrigley went three for five with a double and two RBIs.  Shawn O’Malley went three for five with a double and a run.

Matt Moore improved to 1-0 on the season with a really nice start in the Bulls 4-0 win over the Braves. He gave up three hits and two walks with thirteen strikeouts in eight shutout innings.

Reid Brignac went three for four with a run.  Ray Olmedo went two for four with a double and a run.

The Durham Bulls top the Rays minor league affiliates and for them it’s been so far, so good with a 14-11 record.  That’s good for second place, just a half game behind the first place Braves.  Brandon Guyer has been one of the top hitters with a 1.040 OPS and he leads the team with five home runs.  Alexander Torres has been mowing down batters and he’s 2-2 with 33 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings.

The Biscuits sit at 11-13 and they’re in third place in their division.  Stephen Vogt has been the best of the regular hitters.  He has 26 hits and 15 RBIs with a .914 slugging.  Pitching has been a problem because most of the starters have an ERA over 5.00.

Charlotte is just 9-15 on the season.  No hitter has more then two home runs but Greg Sexton has 22 RBIs.  Alex Koronis is 1-0 with 26 strikeouts and a 3.86 ERA in 25 2/3 innings.  Bowling Green is 13-10 and Lucas Bailey has been on of their top hitters.  C.J. Riefenhauser has been one of the better pitchers with a 2.74 ERA in 23 innings.

Kevin Goldstein took a look at the Rays stacked system as his top eleven prospect series winds down.  Of course Jeremy Hellickson comes in at number one but he’s joined by two other five star prospects and a pair of four prospects.  Goldstein does hedge a little and he says the Rays lack their normal prospect depth but with all of the draft picks in the pipeline, the Rays are bound to do some restocking.

Number two is Matt Moore, the hard throwing lefty in the system.  Moore dominated High-A and he’ll face his biggest challenge yet with a full season at Double-A in 2011.  He also talked about his second half (130 strikeouts in 84 innings) and he projects Moore to be with the big league club in 2012.

Number three is Desmond Jennings.  It looked like Jennings was going to replace Carl Crawford in the outfield but now he could be relegated to a fourth outfielder with the signing of Johnny Damon.  There’s also a chance he spends the first month or so with Durham so he can get regular playing time.  Chris Archer (close to major league ready, right handed pitcher) and Jake McGee (lefty closer in waiting, should make the Rays out of camp) round out the top five.