DSL season in review: Pitching

The DSL Rays season ended August 23rd. Their final record: 29-41. Here is a look at the final pitching stats sorted by IP:

Pitcher	Age	G	GS	IP	ERA	FIP	DIPS	SO/9	BB/9	H/9	HR/9
Wilsino, Juan	19.4	13	11	57.1	2.04	2.76	2.62	6.0	1.7	6.9	0.0
Suero, Eliazer	19.2	15	12	51.0	4.06	3.69	3.36	6.7	3.0	8.8	0.4
Monegro, Jose	18.4	12	12	49.0	2.94	3.16	3.14	4.4	1.5	8.1	0.2
Mateo, Victor	19.1	14	7	48.2	4.07	4.93	4.23	6.1	4.4	7.6	0.6
Mercedes, Aneuris	21.3	17	3	44.0	4.09	3.75	3.73	7.2	5.1	8.0	0.2
Guerrero, Joan	17.6	14	4	36.1	3.47	4.30	4.31	4.7	6.2	9.2	0.0
Perez, Elvin	22.4	24	0	35.2	2.27	2.50	2.55	8.1	2.8	8.3	0.0
Lara, Braulio	19.7	17	3	34.0	3.97	3.58	3.27	10.3	5.6	7.4	0.3
Molina, Alberto	17.2	18	0	33.2	3.74	3.70	3.66	7.0	5.6	7.0	0.0
Reyes, Robinson	19.8	25	5	31.1	9.77	7.13	6.70	8.3	14.9	7.2	0.3
Fermin, Jose	17.9	18	2	29.0	5.59	6.06	5.23	5.6	7.1	9.3	0.6
Torres, Jose	17.3	16	0	28.2	4.71	5.61	4.85	6.3	3.5	7.8	1.3
Liriano, Nelson	20.7	27	0	28.1	0.32	1.79	1.78	10.8	1.3	4.1	0.3
Ozoria, Ronny	19.2	17	0	21.1	6.75	7.04	5.99	6.8	7.6	9.3	1.3
Jasco, Joselo	19.8	15	0	21.1	5.06	5.12	4.68	6.8	6.8	6.3	0.4
Almonte, Wilmer	19.0	8	8	18.1	6.38	3.69	3.36	3.9	0.5	16.2	0.5
Romero, Enny	17.6	10	0	16.1	2.76	2.77	2.40	11.0	4.4	6.1	0.0
Martinez, Carlos	19.3	9	0	10.1	4.35	3.88	3.71	6.1	5.2	9.6	0.0
Dominguez, Ney	17.1	7	2	9.0	4.00	4.09	3.55	8.0	6.0	8.0	0.0

Liriano, Wilsino, and Monegro, all showed great potential.

Tim Beckham in Hudson Valley

Hooray for behind 2 days behind on this, but #1 overall pick Tim Beckham's in Hudson Valley now and will probably debut tonight. The move makes sense because the New York-Penn league runs about two weeks longer than the Appalachian League, and the Rays want to get him as much development time as possible. I am a bit surprised that they didn't also promote guys like Ty Morrison and Matt Moore, but I guess there's only so much playing time available in HV. Also, to me, this pretty much guarantees the Rays will send him to their low-A affiliate to start 2009, wherever that is(possibly Bowling Green).

Anyway, another #1 overall pick, David Price, will also be in action tonight in Durham.

Arizona Fall League roster set

Stacy Long gives us the last two names: Chris Mason and Mike Wlodarczyk. Those two will be joining Ryan Reid, James Houser, Rhyne Hughes, J.T. Hall, and Matt Spring.

Vero Beach Devil Rays (A+) to Port Charlotte official

Per the Charlotte Sun:

"Charlotte County commissioners approved a contract, allowing Cal Ripken's Rays to play at the Charlotte County Sportspark.

Ripken will be at a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the sports Park."

August 25th Pitching Highlights

Vero Beach's LHSP Brandon Mann, our 27th rounder in 2002, had a solid start but dropped to 3-11 on the year:

Pitcher	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO
Mann	6.0	7	3	1	1	6

Mann's ERA is dependent on his GB%. Here are his GB% and ERA by month:

April: 54% 4.05
May: 54% 3.16
June: 39% 6.67
July: 53% 3.05
August: 36% 7.20


Princeton's LHSP Matt Moore, 8th round in 2007, was excellent again but didn't get the win because the bullpen blew up:

Pitcher	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO
Moore	5.0	3	0	0	1	4

In August, Moore has pitched 24 innings, given up 1 ER, struck out 30 and walked 8. He hasn't given up a HR all year.


Hudson Valley's RHRP Marquis Fleming, our 24th round pick in 2008, has been great lately with another a scoreless outing in relief last night:

Pitcher	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO
Fleming	2.2	0	0	0	1	1

Fleming's ERA by month:
June: 1.93
July: 5.90
August: 0.00

Fleming's YTD ERA:
Home: 0.00
Away: 3.32


And Durham's RHSP Jeff Niemann had an off night but the team held on to win 9-8:

Pitcher	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO
Niemann	6.0	5	4	1	3	6

YTD totals on the four:

Pitcher	Age	G	GS	IP	ERA	FIP	DIPS	SO/9	BB/9	H/9	HR/9
Mann	24.3	23	21	118.2	4.70	4.14	4.11	7.0	2.7	9.9	1.1
Moore	19.2	11	11	49.1	1.82	1.52	1.55	13.3	3.3	4.9	0.0
Fleming	21.9	12	0	25.0	2.88	4.04	3.86	9.7	3.6	8.3	1.1
Niemann	25.4	22	22	119.1	3.54	4.05	4.11	8.4	3.5	6.9	1.1

8/25: Monitoring tonight's action

[10:26]: Odd sequence there. Elliot Johnson doubled to start the inning and Merrill bunted him to 3rd. The Indians then intentionally walked Perez AND Haynes to face Gomes. They brought a 5th infielder in, but it didn't matter because Gomes lined a single over SS, and Durham win, 9-8. Norfolk won, by the way, so Durham's magic number sits at 1.

[10:08]: So of course we're treated to extra innings. Scott Dohmann allowed a run in the 8th, and each team failed to score in the 9th. So it's 8-8 going to the 10th, and Calvin Medlock is on to pitch.

Jupiter also got a run in the 8th to tie Vero Beach, but the Rays scored in the 10th to notch a 5-4 victory. Mark Thomas drove in his 2nd run, but Hudson Valley fell 8-5.

I'll update one last time when the Durham game finishes.

[9:27]: Dale Thayer couldn't protect the lead, allowing 3 runs in the 7th to put Durham in a 7-5 hole. But as I write this, John Jaso has just hit a 3-run home run to put Durham back up 8-7. The lead has now changed hands 5 times, and there's still 2 innings to play.

Vero Beach continues to cling to its 4-3 lead. Mark Thomas hit a solo HR for Hudson Valley, but the Renegades have allowed at least a run in every inning but the 1st and trail 8-4. Princeton's game has gone final, with the P-Rays losing 7-3. Tim Beckham finished 2-4 with two doubles, but Chapa and Trevor Shull combined to allow 6 runs in relief. Brad Furdal pitched a scoreless inning.

[8:53]: After Durham went quietly, Niemann came back out for the 6th, but didn't get off to a great start with a 4-pitch walk. The #9 hitter worked a nice at-bat, but grounded into a 3-6-1 double play. Niemann got Duffy to flyout to right to end the inning. He's probably done for the night with 101 pitches, here's the line: 6 ip, 5 h, 4 er, 3 bb, 6 so.

Final thoughts: I thought he looked pretty good, not great, but he got unlucky with some hits falling and his defense didn't help him. Still, the control clearly wasn't all there, with 3 walks, 2 hit batsmen, and a wild pitch. The slider and curveball looked good, but he just wasn't commanding the fastball at times. I know he's 25 already, but I think he has time to become more consistent, both from a game-to-game standpoint and a pitch-to-pitch one.

Vero Beach still up 4-3, Vermont's tacked on another run to make it 6-3 over Hudson Valley, and Chapa coughed up the lead for Princeton, Elizabethtown leads 3-2.

With the main attraction(Niemann) done, I'll check in two more times to wrap things up in a little bit.

[8:38]: Barthmaier got two quick outs in the 4th, but Merrill and Perez worked walks before Nathan Haynes doubled down the left field line to give Durham a 5-4 lead. In the 5th, Niemann got three flyouts with an infield single to Merrill interspersed. He's now in line to record his 9th win if the Bulls can hang on.

Jupiter has cut Vero Beach's lead to 4-3, while Hudson Valley has gotten 2 back against Vermont. Kyeong Kang hit his 6th home run for the 'Gades. Angel Chapa has relieved Matt Moore in Princeton, so Moore's done after 5. In his last 7 starts(including tonight) spanning 34 innings, Moore has allowed 2 earned runs. He has 44 strike outs and has allowed 14 hits and 11 walks. Those are video game stats.

[8:20]: Niemann comes back to strike out the next two hitters, including one on the slider. This is why minor league stats can be misleading. If you ask me, Niemann pitched great the inning. But the box score says he allowed a run on 2 hits(a Gomes mishap and a 20-hopper that snuck up through the middle). It's 4-3 Indians after 3 and a half innings.

Montgomery @ West Tennessee has been postponed. Jeremy Hellickson will probably pitch one of the games of the doubleheader tomorrow. Vero Beach continues to lead 4-1. Hudson Valley's down 5-1 now as Andujar struggles.

In Princeton, Matt Moore's through 5 innings. He's allowed 3 hits, an unearned run, walked a guy, and struck out 4. The P-Rays lead 2-1.

[8:11]: Chris Richard ties it with an RBI single. Niemann's curveball has been his out-pitch, but his slider has looked pretty good. Niemann struck out Mulhern with 1 out already recorded, but the runner reached on a wild pitch. That ball has to be blocked. Then Jonny Gomes misplayed a line drive into a single. So, Niemann should have been out of the inning. Instead, it was 1st and 2nd with just one out. The next hitter poked a seeing-eye single up the middle to score a run. Talk about nickel-and-diming a guy.

[8:00]: I want to know how many 2-out runs Niemann allows. It's gotta be a ton.He got a strikeout, but then hit the next two guys on consecutive pitches(again, missing off the plate to the right-hand batters box side). There was a double steal(I know Jaso doesn't throw well, but Niemann needs to keep these runners closer), another strikeout, and then a 2-out, 2-strike single that plated both runners. He got a flyout to end the inning, but it's 3-2 Indianapolis despite only allowing 1 hit. Walking guys and hitting guys is going to hurt you, bottom line. On the other hand, I like what I've seen from Niemann at points, he just can't be consistent with it. Durham's second run, by the way, came on a Ronnie Merrill double.

Vero Beach is hitting Jeff Allison hard, they hold a 4-1 lead in the 2nd. Chris Andujar allowed three runs in the 2nd inning, Hudson Valley trails 3-1. In Princeton, Tim Beckham has an RBI double, while Matt Moore has 3 shutout innings so far.

[7:34]: Early read on Niemann: He's trying to work everyone away, but the Indians (smartly) aren't biting on pitches that are even a little bit off the plate. He worked a scoreless 2nd inning despite two walks, though there was also a double play opportunity that the Bulls infield muffed. In Princeton, Matt Moore has 3 strikeouts in 2 hitless innings so far.

[7:18]: The Bulls small-ball their way to a run. Fernando Perez singles, steals a base, advances to 3rd on a bunt, and scores on a Jonny Gomes' sac fly. Elsewhere, Ryan Royster's driven in a run to give Vero Beach an early 1-0 lead.

[7:07]: Probably not the start Niemann was hoping for. After a weak groundout to 1st, Brian Bixler lined a homerun to right field to make it 1-0. Should be noted that it's drizzling a little bit, so the weather is far from idea. Niemann got the next two hitters to fly out, so hopefully the home run was just a little early hitch.

The big boys have the day off before a 9-game homestand against AL East foes Toronto, Baltimore, and New York, so tonight I'll be watching the Durham Bulls on milb.tv(provided it works, an iffy proposition at best) and keeping an eye on the rest of the Rays affiliates. Here are tonight's opponents, start times, and probable pitchers.

Indianapolis @ Durham, 7:05. Jeff Niemann makes the start, and the Bulls can clinch their division title with a win and a Norfolk loss.

Montgomery @ West Tennessee, 8:05. Jeremy Hellickson has allowed 13 HRs in 11 AA starts. We'll see if he can keep the ball in the yard. The Biscuits are fading fast, having lost 4 in a row and now sit 4 and a half games behind division-leading Mississippi.

Vero Beach @ Jupiter, 7:05. Brandon Mann tries to avoid loss #11.

Rome @ Columbus has already been called due to rain. They'll play two tomorrow.

Hudson Valley @ Vermont, 7:05. The Renegades will try to bounce back from yesterday's loss, likely sending Chris Andujar to the hill.

Princeton @ Elizabethtown, 7:05. The P-Rays have only two games remaining. They've shuffled their rotation around all season, but my guess is that Matt Moore will get the ball tonight.

Five Biscuits going to Arizona

Stacy Long reports that Ryan Reid, James Houser, Rhyne Hughes, J.T. Hall, and Matt Spring will be representing the Rays in the Arizona Fall League. I think one or two others will be named, probably from Durham or Vero Beach.

Minor League Shuffle

Some of the Rays lower minor league affiliates will be making moves in 2009. As we've known for a couple of years, spring training will move from Vero Beach to Port Charlotte on the west coast of Florida. But that is just the beginning.

The Columbus Catfish (A, South Atlantic League) will move to Bowling Green, KY. What is not known is whether they will also move from the South Atlantic League to the Midwest League. The Cleveland Indians would love to move their Lake County affiliate to the Midwest League to reduce travel. Lake County is the northernmost team in the Sally, located just outside of Cleveland. Since two teams would have to make the move together, Bowling Green may be the most likely partner to move to the Midwest with Lake County. Financial considerations (both getting into the Midwest and out of the Sally) will be the determining factor.

The Vero Beach Devil Rays (A+, Florida State League) will move to Port Charlotte now that they have been bought by the Ripken group. Possible name: Port Charlotte Ripken-Rays. Since they are moving from the east coast to the west coast, there will probably be a realignment of the FSL. There has been some talk of switching to North and South divisions, but the simpler and more likely scenario is for Port Charlotte to move to the FSL West and Lakeland to the FSL East. This will increase travel costs for Lakeland but something (money) can probably be worked out.

The Princeton Devil Rays (high rookie) will remain in West Virginia and the Hudson Valley Renegades (short-season A) will remain 70 miles north of Manhattan. The only remaining question is whether the Rays will add a seventh minor league franchise in the Gulf Coast League (low rookie) based out of the Port Charlotte complex. There are obvious advantages to having the organizations youngest players (high school picks, Venezuelans and Dominicans coming to the states) under the team's watchful eye at the complex. No official word yet, but 2010 looks more likely to add the GCL team.

8/29 Update: From someone with knowledge of the Indian's system, Lake County isn't moving to the Midwest League in 2009. That means Columbus will remain in the Sally too. Lake County is planning on 2010, but by then it's uncertain who they will take with them. Bowling Green's site is here, link to next year's schedule on the right.

Niemann, Hellickson, Moore all shine

Durham Bulls: Jeff Niemann was clearly the star, tossing a complete game shutout. He surrendered just 4 hits, struck out 6, and perhaps most importantly, did not walk a batter. He's now 8-5 with a 3.54 ERA on the year, but he's still been inconsistent from start to start(in his last outing, he walked 6 in 4.2 innings). John Jaso walked three times and hit a home run, his 4th at AAA. In his last ten games, he's walked 9 times and struck out just three. After going 2-4 in his AAA debut, Chris Nowak added a 2-3 day yesterday. He's also walked once in each game.

Montgomery Biscuits: Jeremy Hellickson has had some trouble adjusting to AA, but he's also shown evidence he can handle. Last night, both sides were on display, as he pitched 5 innings, allowed 8 hits, 2 earned runs, struck out 5, and walked 1. Both runs were scored on a 2-run home run, which has been Hellickson's bugaboo in AA, as he's now allowed 13 in 64 innings. The good news: His AA strikeout:walk ratio is about 6:1, and his hit rate is probably going to come down a bit. He just needs to corral the gopher balls. The Biscuits lineup lacks any half-decent prospects with Nowak's promotion.

Vero Beach Devil Rays: Postponed due to wet grounds.

Columbus Catfish: Mike McCormick hit his 10th home run and Stephen Vogt added two extra-base hits.

Hudson Valley Renegades: All-Star break, set to resume league play today.

Princeton Devil Rays: Matt Moore is still here. For some reason. He turned in 5 more brilliant innings last night, giving up no runs on 1 hit with 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. For the season, he's allowed 27 hits in 49 innings, walked 18, and struck out a whopping 73. His ERA stands at 1.82. Tim Beckham and Ty Morrison each collected a hit.

The 2008 Scouting Report, By the Fans, For the Fans

Tangotiger is tallying the scouting reports from his readers. If you like Tom's work as I do, take some time to represent the Rays here.

"It’s the 6th Annual Fans’ Scouting Report.

Every year, I get a jump in participation, from the first year where I had close to 500 ballots, to last year where it exceeded 2000 ballots. If you’ve enjoyed my blog, appreciated my work, or somehow wondered what you could do in return, this is it. All I ask from you is 5-10 minutes of your time, and we’ll call it even."

UPDATE: We have the 5th most responses so far, ahead of the Yankees and Cubs. And people say we have no fans. Keep it up!

1. 97 SEA
2. 49 BOS
3. 34 CHA
4. 33 TOR
5. 30 TBA
6. 23 NYA
7. 22 CHN

Best Tools

Several Rays minor leaguers were judged by Baseball America to have the best tools in their league. (Full season leagues only.)

AAA International League
Fastest Baserunner - Fernando Perez
Best Changeup - Mitch Talbot
Best Defensive Shortstop - Reid Brignac
(former Rays outfielder Jason Pridie won for Best Defensive Outfielder)

AA Southern League
Best Control - Jeremy Hellickson

A+ Florida State League
Best Pitching Prospect - David Price
Best Control - Jeremy Hellickson

Price has obviously moved up, and up again. Hellickson with the best control in two leagues is impressive. Expect him to be on everyones Top 50 prospects heading into next year. And it's nice to see Talbot get some recognition, he's often overlooked with all the great arms in our system.

Reminder

Only a couple of weeks left in the regular season. Final scheduled regular season games for our minor league affiliates:

Durham (AAA) = September 1
Montgomery (AA) = September 1
Vero Beach (A+) = August 31
Columbus (A) = September 1
Hudson Valley (A-) = September 6
Princeton (R) = August 26
DSL Rays (R) = August 23
VSL Rays (R) = August 2 (did not make the playoffs)

Beckham blasts off again

#1 pick Tim Beckham went deep for his 2nd home run in an otherwise forgettable 16-4 loss for the P-Rays. He also doubled, bringing his season line up to .240/.299/.347. In August, he's hitting .276/.338/.466.

Catching up with the class of '05

In 2004, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays finished 70-92, their best mark in franchise history, until this year's team, course. After picking 1st overall in 2003(Delmon Young), the D-Rays went into the 2005 draft armed with the 8th overall pick. Here's what happened(ain't hindsight great?):

1st round, 8th overall: Wade Townsend, RHP, Rice - We'll probably never know exactly what happened. But the story goes that the scouting team wanted Andrew McCutchen, a toolsy outfielder who would go to Pittsburgh two picks later, while the outgoing ownership group led by Vince Naimoli wanted the cheaper Townsend. Townsend had been taken in the 8th overall spot last year, but was unable to come to terms with the Orioles. He was actually ineligible to pitch at Rice in 2005, but he went back anyway to finish up his degree.

Anyway, Townsend wound up signing with Tampa Bay for less money than Baltimore had offered him a year ago. He reported to Hudson Valley, and then pitched in the Arizona Fall League before injury cut that short. The diagnosis? Shredded elbow, needs Tommy John surgery. Townsend spent all of 2006 rehabbing before returning with low-A Columbus in 2007. In the nearly two full seasons he's pitched, he's been inconsistent, to say the least. He's shown flashes of plus-stuff(but nothing like when he was at Rice), but he'll follow that up with three poor outings. Townsend will be 26 by opening day next season, so while the clock hasn't run out, it's ticking down. His ceiling at this point is probably just that of a pedestrian middle reliever.

Compounding Townsend's bad luck and poor results is how terrific the 2005 1st round looks now. Of the top 12 picks, only Townsend, McCutchen, and Ricky Romero haven't made the majors, and McCutchen is knocking on the door. Mike Pelfrey, Cameron Maybin, McCutchen, and Jay Bruce were the four picks directly after Townsend. Ouch.

2nd round, 56th overall: Chris Mason, RHP, UNC Greensboro - Mason's had quite the interesting past 3 seasons. He looked pretty bad even by Cal League standards with high-A Visalia in 2006, posted a 2.57 ERA and anchored a championship staff at AA Montgomery in 2007, and has had things fall apart again in AAA Durham. After starting the season in the rotation, he's been moved to the bullpen, but hasn't fared much better. Mason's hit rate skyrocketed from AA to AAA, while his strikeout rate held steady and his walk rate increased by about .75/9 innings.

Mason probably won't ever be any more than a reliever, especially with the Rays loaded system. My guess is he'll be moved back to the rotation in Durham next year and given a chance to straighten things out. If he can keep his walks down and somehow stymie the hit rate, then he can at least have moderate success in the big leagues someday.

The second round was actually pretty weak this year, so the Rays shouldn't get knocked a whole lot for this pick. Kevin Slowey, also a college RHP, was selected later in the round by Minnesota.

3rd round, 88th overall: Bryan Morris, RHP, TN HS - Ah, the days of the draft-and-follow. Basically, we drafted Morris knowing he'd probably play JC ball for at least a year, as his father was the coach. Morris indeed went to junior college, but when the deadline came and went to sign him(just before the 2006 draft), no deal got done. Morris re-entered the draft in 2006 and was selected 26th overall by the Dodgers. He's now in the Pirates system as part of the Manny/Bay trade. He wound up needed Tommy John surgery, but that didn't appear to come up until after LA drafted him, meaning it didn't impact TB's negotiations. Check-minus on this pick, because you can't just throw away a 3rd rounder like this.

4th round, 118th overall: Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, IA HS - Hellickson was actually a bit of a question mark at draft time, because the majority of Iowa's HS baseball season is actually after the draft. That, combined with Hellickson's "short righty"ness and an injury that wiped out his junior year, caused him to fall to round 4, where the Rays clearly got a bargain. Hellickson's broken out as a top prospect this season, posting a 10:1 strikeout:walk ratio in 136 innings split between Vero Beach and Montgomery. He's struggled somewhat in his first taste of AA ball, but should be able to make to adjustments. Other interesting names from this round include Mat Gamel to Milwaukee and Brian Matusz(as a high schooler) to the Angels.

5th round, 148th overall: Mike McCormick, 3B, OR HS - Yup, he was drafted as a 3B. Considered a high-ceiling(albeit raw) bat at draft time, McCormick hit decently at Princeton for two seasons before being promoted to Hudson Valley and converted to a catcher. He put up an impressive .821 OPS there, but has completely hit a wall with Columbus this season. His batting average has hovered in the low .200s and his on-base skills are lacking. He's shown some of his power, but a .605 OPS just isn't going to cut it. Still, the Rays aren't about to give up on him. My guess is he'll repeat low-A as a 22-year old in 2009 and hope for better results and a possible promotion to Vero Beach/Port Charlotte. The rest of the 5th round wasn't all that interesting.

6th round, 178th overall: Greg Reinhard, RHP, Wisconsin-Whitewater - Reinhard was the Division-III strikeout leader in 2005, and actually showed some decent stuff to back it up. He pitched at HV in 2005 and Southwest Michigan in 2006 before being traded that offseason to Chicago as part of the deal for Jae Kuk Ryu. He's been back and forth between AA and AAA with the Cubs, and has a chance to contribute as a reliever some day, though he'll likely need to shore up his control.

7th round, 208th overall: Mike Wlodarczyk, LHP, Boston College - Wlod(I'm not agonizing over his spelling this whole post) was drafted as a college senior who starred in the Cape Cod League. However, it appears that the 6'5" lefty basically is what he is at this point, and that's a good organizational arm with a minimal chance at cracking the big leagues.

8th round, 238th overall: Andrew Lopez, OF, CA HS - Lopez actually signed an over-slot deal, as the Rays hoped they had a semi-late bloomer on their hands. Lopez "broke out" his senior season of HS, and actually had a solid debut season with Princeton. He returned to the P-Rays in 2006, where was less impressive, and was the other piece of the Jae Kuk Ryu deal that off-season(with Reinhard). Lopez played sub-average ball at three different levels with Chicago in 2007, and appears to be out of baseball in 2008.

9th round, 268th overall: Derek Feldkamp, RHP, U. Michigan - Feldkamp was basically a big guy who threw hard, and that's enough to get drafted in the top 10 rounds, as teams hope something clicks in pro ball. He was the Wolverines closer his last two years, and broke into pro ball in the bullpen before being moved to the rotation. He proved to be too hittable, and after putting up ERAs over 6.50 in 2006 and 2007, Feldkamp is out of the organization and apparently out of baseball.

10th round, 298th overall: John Matulia, OF, FL HS - This is where the guys start to sound really non-descript. Matulia's about par for the course as far as 10th rounders go, in that he hasn't broken out for flamed out. He's currently with Vero Beach and profiles as an organizational guy at best.

11th round, 328th overall: Jeff Kamrath, RHP, U. Virginia
12th round, 358th overall: Ryan Zimmerman, RHP, Salt Lake CC
13th round, 388th overall: Ryan Morse, LHP, Southwest Minnesota State
14th round, 418th overall: Henry Wrigley, 1B, College of San Mateo
15th round, 448th overall: Matt Fisher, RHP, Franklin Pierce College
16th round, 478th overall: Neil Walton, SS, Cal State-Fullerton
17th round, 508th overall: Ronald Edwards, C, LA HS
18th round, 538th overall: Tommy Hunter, RHP, IN HS
19th round, 568th overall: Ike Davis, 1B/LHP, AZ HS
20th round, 598th overall: Wade Miley, LHP, LA HS

It's just going to be easier to do it this way from now on. Kamrath actually struck a bunch of people out and was a deep sleeper of mine this season, but injuries and control problems took care of that. Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Fisher are out of the Rays organization. Ryan Morse, Henry Wrigley, and Neil Walton are toiling away in the minors. Ronald Edwards didn't sign.

Neither did Hunter, Davis, or, Miley. Hunter went to Alabama and was the 54th overall pick(Rangers) in 2007. Davis went to Arizona State and was the 18th overall pick(Mets) in 2008. Miley went to SE Louisiana and was the 43rd overall pick(Diamondbacks) in 2008. Of course, this stuff happens all the time, so it's not like anyone can fault the Rays for not signing any of those guys.

24th round, 718th overall: Neal Frontz, RHP, Jacksonville University
41st round, 1226th overall: Garrett Groce, OF, Columbus State University
45th round, 1342nd overall: Leon Johnson, OF
48th round, 1428th overall: Brad Matthews, IF, Wallace State CC

These are just the rest of the guys I have comments on(you're not missing much with the guys I omitted, trust me). Frontz has gotten all the way to AA Montgomery, where he's working out of the bullpen. Garrett Groce has carved out a heck of a career for a 41st rounder(he's currently with Vero Beach). Leon Johnson is the brother of Durham infield Elliot Johnson. Leon didn't sign because he went on a mormon mission(much like Elliot, if I recall). The Rays actually drafted Leon in 2003, 2005, and 2006, with him not signing each time. He was taken in the 10th round by the Cubs in 2007, he's currently in A-ball. And Brad Matthews I put on there for no other reason than the fact he used to post on the raysbaseball(now raysbb) forums.

Conclusion: The Rays really only got one potential impact player in this draft, and that's Jeremy Hellickson. He was a great value in round 4, but does that make up for the botched 1st and 3rd rounders? Townsend, Mason, and McCormick are the only other guys with a chance to contribute to the MLB team some day(though it should be noted that Reinhard also has a shot at the majors in a different organization). It would obviously have been great to woo one of the Hunter/Davis/Miley troika away from college, but the Rays don't get docked any points for not doing that. The bottom line is that without Hellickson this is frankly a terrible draft, punctuated by not grabbing a top talent in round 1 when just about everybody else did and failing to sign their 3rd round pick. If Hellickson hits his ceiling, I think that covers for Townsend/Morris. The Rays are in the fortunate position where one bad draft doesn't cripple them, which is mostly due to the fruitful 2004 draft.

Friday wrap-up

Durham Bulls: Jeff Niemann was underwhelming(6 walks in 4.2 innings), but the bullpen was solid and the Bulls came from behind to win 6-5. John Jaso hit his 3rd AAA home run, but allowed a whopping 7 stolen bases defensively.

Montgomery Biscuits: James Houser returned from injury, but left after just 1.1 ineffective innings(another injury?). Gino Gonzalez was poor in relief as the Biscuits fell 7-3.

Vero Beach Devil Rays: Brandon Mann put the VB Rays in a hole early, and their offense wasn't able to climb out of it, as they fell 7-5.

Columbus Catfish: It took 13 innings, but the Catfish outlasted Hagerstown, 3-2. Jesse Darcy started, while John Baird, Austin Hinkle, and Justin Garcia combined for 7 shutout innings out of the bullpen. Maiko Loyola stole his 41st base.

Hudson Valley Renegades: The 'Gades scored 5 in the 1st inning and coasted to a 7-2 win, sparked by Robi Estrada's 3 hits. Tyree Hayes went 7 strong and earned his 4th win.

Princeton Devil Rays: In a reversal of yesterday, the P-Rays lost both ends of a double-header, including a 15-2 whooping in game 2. Tim Beckham started both games but failed to record a hit. Ty Morrison played only in game 1 and went 1-2.

Lobstein watch

Just a reminder: Teams have until midnight tonight to get deals done with their unsigned draft picks(excluding college seniors). Unsigned for the Rays are:
2. Kyle Lobstein, HS LHP
15. Brandon Meredith, HS 1B
21. Ryan Carpenter, HS LHP
29. Brandon Magee, HS 1B
30. Ryan Turnder, JC 2B
31. Greg Williams, HS LHP
32. Kyle Gaedele, HS OF
33. Kyle Hunter, HS LHP
All picks from round 36-50

All indications are that Lobstein is really the only one of that group who is a potential sign, and according to Kevin Goldstein, that deal is basically done. It'd be nice to see the Rays bring in a high-ceiling bat like Meredith or Magee, or a high-ceiling LHP like Ryan Carptenter or Greg Williams, but it appears all four will go the college route(Magee is already at Arizona State's football practices).

Updating, 3:51 EST: Lobstein signs as per the Heater:

"Also, the Rays have signed second-round pick LHP Kyle Lobstein, hours in advance of the midnight Friday deadline. He had been considering a scholarship to Arizona."

Thursday wrap-up

Just glossing over the highlights today:
*Mitch Talbot pitched 7 innings for Durham
*Jeremy Hellickson struck out 10 and walked 0, allowing 3 runs over 7 innings in Montgomery
*Vero Beach got shut out
*Anthony Scelfo homered for Hudson Valley
*Princeton swept a doubleheader by the combined score of 5-1. Tim Beckham went 1-3 in the only game he played. Matt Moore allowed 1 hit in 5 innings, and my boy Jason McEachern lowered his ERA to 0.95

Wednesday wrap-up

Durham Bulls: David Price made his first AAA start, but only lasted 4 innings and took his first loss as a pro. He allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, walked none, and struck out 6. Joel Guzman and John Jaso each went 2-4 with two doubles, but the Bulls came up short, losing 7-6.

Montgomery Biscuits: It was a less-heralded debut than Price's, but Heath Rollins AA debut went about as well as it could've: 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, no walks, 9 strikeouts. Unfortunately, Eduardo Morlan couldn't hang onto the 2-1 lead Rollins departed with, and the Biscuits fell 3-2.

Vero Beach Devil Rays: Ryan Royster hit his 9th home run, but the VB Rays lost in extra innings for the second straight night, falling 7-5.

Columbus Catfish: Columbus looked flat, losing both ends of a doubleheader, scoring just two runs in the process. Brian Flores and Justin Garcia took the losses.

Hudson Valley Renegades: K.D. Kang and Mark Thomas had two hits apiece to lead the 'Gades over Jamestown, 5-4. Diego Echeverria started, but it was Matt Long who picked up the win in relief.

Princeton Devil Rays: 4th round pick Ty Morrison made his pro debut, singling once in three at-bats. Tim Beckham also singled and walked, but Princeton collected just four hits as a team, getting blanked 3-0.

Tuesday wrap-up

Durham Bulls: Off. The Bulls open up a 2-game series with Norfolk today, and David Price is scheduled to make his AAA debut. However, the forecast calls for rain, so we'll see if they get it in.

Montgomery Biscuits: Five players had two hits apiece to lead the Biscuits over the Jacksonville Suns, 9-6. Jason Cromer got the win, Neal Frontz the save. The only real blemish on the pitching was Ryan Reid, who allowed 4 earned runs while recording only one out. Montgomery now trails 1st-place Mississippi by 1 game.

Vero Beach Devil Rays: The VB Rays blinked first, allowing a 3-run walkoff HR in the bottom of the 13th inning to fall 6-3 to Brevard County. Wade Townsend started and went 6 innings, allowing just one run.

Columbus Catfish: Rained out. Doubleheader scheduled today against Lake County.

Hudson Valley Renegades: Marquis Fleming got the win in relief, striking out 5 in 3 shutout innings. Anthony Scelfo led the offense with 3 hits as the 'Gades won 5-2.

Princeton Devil Rays: Tim Beckham hit his first career home run, and Alexander Colome, Angel Chapa, and Michael Jarman combined on a 2-hit shutout as Princeton won 3-0.

Tim Beckham hits first career pro HR

Full wrap-up on all the action tomorrow, but a special moment in Princeton tonight, where #1 pick Tim Beckham hit his first career pro homerun in the first inning. Beckham went 2-4 and is now hitting .238 on the season.