Down On The Farm: Jeff Niemann And Chris Mason Pick Up League-Leading Victories

Durham 5, Buffalo 4. JK Ryu struck out 7 but allowed 4 runs in 5 innings.

Mississippi 12, Montgomery 2. Jonathon Barratt gave up 6 runs (5 earned) in 3 innings. Two of the runs came as a result of bases loaded balks in the second inning. Fernando Perez was 3-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI. He is hitting .285. Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria were both 1-4 with 2 strikeouts apiece.

Ft. Myers 4, Vero Beach 3. Mike Kamrath struck out 8 in 6.1 innings, allowing 2 runs. Shortstop Aaron Sisk was 1-4 with a solo home run in the second to start the scoring. Sisk now has 6 home runs in the past 6 games and is hitting .292 with 11 home runs on the season.

Columbus 8, Rome 1. Heath Rollins moved to 4-0 in his last 5 starts and 10-3 on the season. He struck out 7 and only allowed 1 run on three hits and 1 walk. Cesar Suarez was 2-4 with a 3-run home run, his 8th. He had 6 RBI on the night. Desmond Jennings was 1-3, scored 3 runs and stole his 40th base of the year.

Hudson Valley 7, Williamsport 1.

Greenville 5, Princeton 4.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Mike Potter has a Q&A session with Jeff Niemann. [Durham Herald-Sun]
• Matt Fields was named the South Atlantic League player of the week. [The Raw Feed]
• Jae Kuk Ryu experienced a very difficult transition coming to America from Korea at the age of 18. [The News and Observer]

Ryu signed at age 18 and came to the United States straight out of high school in Korea, not speaking a word of English. One of three Koreans on Major League Baseball opening-day rosters, his experience was far different than that of Japanese players, who benefit from a well-developed major league system and often are heavily recruited by American big league clubs.

• On Friday night, Mitch Talbot struck out 8 in 5 innings and allowed only one run. Chad Orvella blew a 3-1 lead in the 9th by allowing 3 runs. The Bulls rallied with a run in the bottom of the 9th on a Ben Zobrist sac fly, but lost the game in the 11th when Jeff Ridgway relieved Seth McClung and gave up the go-ahead RBI single. [MiLB]
• On Saturday night, Jeff Niemann picked up his league-leading 10th win despite allowing 5 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings. He did strike out 8. [MiLB]
• On Friday night, Chris Mason picked up his league-leading 11th victory. Reid Brignac was 2-4 with his 12th home run. It was his 4th home run in 6 games. Evan Longoria was 2-4 with 2 RBI. [MiLB]

Down On The Farm: Justin Ruggiano In AAA All-Star Game Tonight

Bristol 10, Princeton 5.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• On Monday night, three Montgomery Biscuits participated in the Southern League All-Star game. Catcher John Jaso had two singles in two at bats but was also charged with 2 passed balls. Pitcher Chris Mason struck out 2 and walked 1 in 1.1 innings. Closer Dale Thayer was charged with 3 unearned runs in the 9th inning. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Jae Seo was named the IL’s pitcher-of-the-week. He is the fourth Bull to win the award this season. [Durham Bulls]
• Chris Mason loves him so Karaoke, ping-pong and changing his hair color when he is pitching poorly. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Tonight is the AAA All-Star game in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Justin Ruggiano will represent the Durham Bulls. [Durham Herald-Sun]
• On June 26, Aaron Walker of the Vero Beach Devil Rays, was struck in the face with a portion of a broken bat. His orbital bone and nose were broken and he required 30 stitches in his cheek. There will be no long-term damage to his eyesight, but Walker’s season is over. [The Review]
• Chris Nowak will miss 4-6 weeks after dislocating his shoulder on Saturday. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• During the July 9 double-header, the Vero Beach Devil Rays held “Silent Night”. We understand fans dressing like a mime or a golfer…but a nun tennis player? [MiLB.com]

Down On The Farm: Jae Seo Remembers He is Jae Seo

Roschester 10, Durham 4. After allowing only 1 hit in his last outing, Jae Seo looked more like the pitcher we have all grown to loathe. Seo was pulled before completing the 4th inning after allowing 9 runs on 12 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 1 and gave up 3 home runs. Justin Ruggiano and Joel Guzman were each 2-5. Bennny Boo Boo Zobrist was 0-5.

Mississippi 7, Montgomery 2. Jonathon Barratt walked 5 in 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned). Fernando Perez‘s 4th home run, was one of only 5 hits for the Biscuits. Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria were each 0-4.

Tampa 8, Vero Beach 0. Jake McGee got pounded for his 3rd loss of the season. He struck out 7 in 4.1 innings, but gave up 6 runs. His ERA now sits at 3.11 on the season. The Rays were shut out on 3 hits.

Columbus 5, Rome 3 (10 inn.). Ryan Royster was 3-5 and hit his 13th home run, a 2-run walk-off shot in the bottom of the 10th. He also added his 19th double. Woods Fines struck out 5 in 6 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned). Desmond Jennings was 2-4 and Nevin Ashley added 2 hits in 5 at bats.

Hudson Valley 2, Staten Island 1 (5 inn.). Doug Waechter picked up the win in his second rehab start by pitching 5 innings and only allowing 1 unearned run in the rain-shortened game. He struck out 2 and walked none.

Princeton 4, Greeneville 1 (6 inn.).

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Jeff Niemann was named to the AAA all-star team. The IL all-star team will face a team of all-stars from the PCL on July 11. Niemann will also participate in MLB’s futures game.
• Five members of the Montgomery Biscuits were named to the Southern League’s South Division All-Star team. Catcher John Jaso, starting pitcher Chris Mason and closer Dale Thayer will all participate in the game. Evan Longoria and Jason Pridie were each selected but will miss the game. Longoria will be participating in major league baseball’s future’s game, while Pridie was promoted to AAA Durham last week.
• Yet another player of the week award for a Rays prospect. This time it was Columbus first baseman Matt Fields being named the SAL player-of-the-week.
• The city of Durham unveiled a new Bronze Bull, as part of a revitalization project. the Bull is…umm…very anatomically correct.

2007 Devil Rays Trade Value Index

Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus and SI.com recently released his list of the 50 Most Valuable Players in baseball. We took Mr. Silver to task for not including Carl Crawford. Let’s just say we aren’t buying Nate a beer anytime soon.

In light of this glaring omission, we thought it would be a good time to update our Tampa Bay Devil Rays Trade Value Index (TVI).

TRADE VALUE INDEX
The TVI ranks every player on the current 40-man roster and the top prospects in the organization. Our goal is to determine which players in the organization are the most valuable to the team. Ultimately, when looking at the rankings, the question should be, if the Rays could only keep one of two players from the organization, which player would the front office choose to keep.

The rankings consider a number factors in addition to talent and good looks, such as potential, age, contract and depth of position in organization. This last factor comes into effect if one player is stuck behind another player with more ability. For example, Fernando Perez would be a little higher due to his exceptional speed and strong OBP, but loses a little value because he has bad hair, and some more value because the team has Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, Elijah Duke and Delmon Young firmly entrenched on the major league roster and either do, or are capable of playing the outfield. Another factor is team needs. A pitcher may be ranked ahead of a more “talented” fielder because the team has a stronger need for pitching at the major league level. (Please see the original TVI post for further explanation).

Feel free to tell us where we screwed up in the comments.

[Rankings follow the notes]

A couple of notes on the rankings…

• The biggest addition to the list is obviously David Price. Even though he has yet to sign a contract, we don’t foresee that being a problem. When trying to determine where to include Price in the rankings we asked ourselves, “If the Rays did not have the top pick and were allowed to deal draft picks, would the Rays have traded Player X, for the top pick in the draft and a chance to select Price?” The answer was ‘NO’ for BJ Upton, but was a ‘YES’ for Evan Longoria, although we definitely debated the second one. You could probably exchange Longoria and Price and you wouldn’t get much of an argument from us. There is never a sure-thing in the minors, but Longoria is as close as it comes.
• Speaking of BJ Upton…He jumps up into the top 5 for the first time. We tried to temper our excitement for his hot start, knowing that he was not going to finish the season hitting .350. His strike out totals indicated that he would fall back…a lot. However, despite the recent drop in batting average, he has actually cut down on his strikeouts, recently going 12 straight games without a K. And despite his size, he generates tremendous bat speed. Everything he hits just explodes off his bat, which will equate to more hits. Upton is the real-deal. We just need to prepare ourselves for the re-birth of “BJ Upton, major league shortstop”, because it is coming. Akinori Iwamura is going to need a new home as early as next season when Evan Longoria busts down the door that is holding him back.
• Jeff Niemann’s ho-hum start to his season at AAA, as well as the emergence of James Shields and the selection of David Price drops his value from #5 to #8. If he doesn’t start to turn it on soon, he will drop out of the top 10.
• Looking back we were surprised that we had James Shields as highly valued as his #11 spring training ranking. Just goes to show you how scary the pitching situation was before the season began. He had a good start to his major league career, winning his first four starts, but there was no indication that he was going to be as good as he has been this year. The only thing keeping him from overtaking Scott Kazmir for the #1 spot is that Kid K is a lefty and he is two years younger than Shields.
• Rocco Baldelli takes a big hit, dropping from #4 to #9. If this was the Devil Rays Most Fragile Index, he would be the unanimous #1. Until he can show that he can stay healthy for an extended period of time, he won’t be moving up this chart.
• Much has been made about the Rays drafting a big power-lefty in the form of David Price. Of course the Rays already have a power-lefty in the majors (Scott Kazmir). Well the Rays have another big power-lefty in the system. Jacob McGee makes his first appearance in the top 10. When he finally receives a (well-deserved) promotion and if he has a strong start at AA, he could jump into the top 5.
• You would think that Jacob McGee and Wade Davis have been best friends since potty-training. They are always together and mentioned together even more often. Davis obviously does not have quite the same value as McGee as right-hander. Still, #20 is a strong ranking for a single-A right-handed pitcher and a testament to what scouts think about Davis. He might drop a few spots initially, but a switch to “closer-in-training” could bump his value in the long run.
• Edwin Jackson is holding on to his #12 spot…barely…on talent alone.
• Elijah Dukes drops from #10 to #15. It would have been farther, but some teams around the league have expressed some interest in Dukes, so he is sti
  ll considered a valuable commodity.
• Reid Brignac takes one of the biggest falls, dropping from #9 to #16. His batting average is down in the .250s and he is not hitting home runs. On top of that, after a solid defensive showing in 2006, he is back to his best BJ Upton impersonation at shortstop this season. Remember, Brignac’s strong numbers last year came in the very hitter-friendly California League. Yet another reason to brace ourselves for BJ Upton the shortstop.
• Chris Mason has made the biggest leap in 2007, from #48 to #24. It is very difficult to gauge players at single-A. We start to get a sense of talent-levels once they hit AA. Mason has dominated at AA this season and looks to be on the fast-track.
• Josh Butler (#28), Lewis Rollins (#48) and Jeremy Hellickson (#29) are good examples at low-A Columbus. We just don’t know what they are yet. They are dominating low-A, but it is too early to tell how that will translate to higher levels. Rollins is having the best season of the three, but was the lowest draft pick. That indicates to us that the other two have more natural ability. If Rollins can keep it up in Vero Beach and beyond, he will move up the chart quickly.

Down On The Farm: Mason And Longoria Receive Honors

Montgomery 3, Carolina 2. Jonathon Barratt struck out 7 and only allowed 1 run in 6 innings. Dale Thayer gave up a solo home run in the 9th, but settled down to pick up his 13th save. Evan Longoria hit his 13th home run and Reid Brignac went 0-4.

Sarasota 7, Vero Beach 2. Jacob McGee was pounded for his second loss of the season. He gave up 6 runs in 5.2 innings. He allowed 8 hits including 3 home runs.

Columbus 1, Rome 0. Another strong performance from Jeremy Hellickson. He tossed 7 shutout innings to pick up his 3rd win of the year. Desmond Jennings stole his 23rd base of the season, good for 5th in the SAL.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• We have heard of games being cancelled for lots of reasons. There was even a game once at the Astrodome that was rained out (nobody could get to the game because of flooding). But this the first time we ever heard of a game being postponed because the tea flight was cancelled, as the Bulls were last night. Since when do minor leaguers fly? Vince Naimoli would have never let that happen.
• Evan Longoria was named the Southern League player of the month for May. In 28 games he hist .317 with 7 home runs and 25 RBI.
• Chris Mason was named Southern League pitcher of the week for the second time.

Down On The Farm: Jeremy Hellickson Trumps Jacob McGee And James Houser

Pawtucket 15, Durham 6. Mitch Talbot is now 0-5 in his last 7 starts after giving up 7 hits, 4 walks and 5 runs (2 earned) in 3 innings. His ERA is now 8.47 on the season, and any hopes of seeing Talbot in the big leagues this season are fading fast. Wes Bankston homered for the Bulls and Jeremy Owens connected on 2 round-trippers. Ben Zobrist was 0-5 and is now 2-14 since his demotion. He might have been hitting better for the Rays.

Montgomery 4, West Tenn 0. Big night for James Houser in his return from the DL. He gave up only 2 hits and 1 walk in 6.1 scoreless innings. He struck out 7. Chris Nowak was 2-3 and drove in 3 runs, while John Jaso was 3-3 to raise his average to .337. Unfortunately Evan Longoria was hit in the elbow in his second at bat and needed to be removed from the game after it began to swell. Longoria has now reached base in 33 consecutive games.

Vero Beach 2, Daytona 0. Not to be outdone by Houser, Jacob McGee pitched 7 scoreless innings with 5 hits and no walks. He struck out 6 to lower his ERA to 1.51.

Rome 4, Columbus 3. Oh, but the Catfish sees your McGee and raises you a Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson struck out 10 in 5 scoreless innings. He allowed only 1 hit and 2 walks. He struck out 7 of the first 9 batters he faced and did not allow a hit until the 5th inning.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• The Hardball Times has a story on “Ten Pitching Prospects Worth Knowing About.” Both Chris Mason of AA Montgomery and Andy Sonnanstine of AAA Durham make the list.

On Chris Mason: Mason’s strong start in 2006 was overshadowed when his strikeout rate dipped, his control faltered, and he started leaving the ball up in the zone and surrendering too many fly balls during the final two months of his first full professional season. He appears well-rested and has bounced back with another great start this year

On Andy Sonnanstine: The durable innings-eater continues to get batters to swing and miss by changing arm angles and effectively locating his secondary pitches and underwhelming fastball.

• Baseball America’s weekly “Hot Sheet” has Evan Longoria as the hottest prospect in baseball. In doing so, they take a little shot at the player blocking Longoria from playing third base at AAA.

Just about every night, we take a walk down the street to see the Durham Bulls. And every night as we walk back to the parking deck located next to our offices, we wonder why we didn’t just see Evan Longoria playing third base in Triple-A.

Longoria is wreaking havoc in the Southern League, batting .366 with four bombs and 11 RBIs last week alone. In all, the third overall pick last year is hitting .333/.451/.621 with 18 extra-base hits and nearly as many walks (25) as strikeouts (27).

Enough of Joel Guzman’s tired act already. Guzman looks lethargic; like he’s just not having fun. Guess a .240 on-base will do that to a guy. One thing’s for sure, you know Longoria will bring the same energy to the park every day.

Down On The Farm: Big Afternoon For Top Pitching Prospects

Durham 2, Charlotte 1. After Chris Richard tied the game with a 1-out single in the bottom of the 9th, Shawn Riggans knocked in the winner with a 2-out single. Mitch Talbot got back on track after 3 straight bad starts. He gave 1 run in 7 innings and did not walk a batter. He struck out 4.

Montgomery 7, Jacksonville 2. This is becoming an old story…Another great start for Chris Mason. This time he went 5.1 innings and gave up only 1 unearned run. He struck out 6 and only walked 1. He is now 3-0 with an ERA of 1.26 in 28.2 innings spanning 5 starts. Reid Brignac hit his 4th home run and drove in 3.

Vero Beach 4, Brevard County 0. Wade Davis struck out 9 in 7 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks. He lowered his ERA to 2.15 in 29.1 innings. Rhyne Hughes hit his first home run of the year. He is hitting .324.

Columbus 7, Charleston 1. Joshua Butler gave only 1 unearned run in 6 innings to lower his ERA to 1.61. He struck out 5. Ryan Royster and Matt Spring both homered for the Rays.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Yesterday’s Biscuits game featured two bench-clearing incidents although it appears as if no punches were thrown. Evan Longoria was hit after Reid Brignac homered. In the following inning Chris Mason threw at least one pitch that was a little too close. In all, three players and coaches were ejected.
• We have been singing the praises of Jason Hammel and now others are starting to take notice. Hammel is back to throwing a slider and his confidence has never been higher…Quite often these decisions are based on a player’s turn in the rotation, but if that were not a factor, Hammel would be the first starting pitcher called up from Durham.
• Wade Townsend is off to a hot start at low-A Columbus, in his return from Tommy John surgery, and he was just recognized for his performance. The South-Atlantic League named Townsend their pitcher of the week. Both of his starts (prior to his last outing) were wins in which he gave upa combined 2 runs in 11 innings. He is now second in the SAL with 32 strikeouts (8 walks), and has an ERA of 2.25. Very impressive considering he is on a tight leash right now.
• James Houser was placed on the DL after having his wisdom teeth pulled. That’s a new one. Evan Meek, who went on the DL after being hit in the head with by a line-drive from his own teammate, replaces Houser on the roster.

Down On The Farm: Jeremy Hellickson Strong In 2007 Debut

Columbus 12, Durham 6. Mitch Talbot got knocked around yesterday, giving up 8 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks in 4 innings. It was his third straight shaky outing since pitching 6 hitless innings on April 9. Wes Bankston, Shawn Riggans and Justin Ruggiano had 2 hits apiece. Catcher Josh Johnson pitched a scoreless 9th. Best we can tell, it was his first appearance as a pitcher since 2002 when he gave up 4 runs in one-third of an inning, in the Twins organization.

Montgomery 13, Huntsville 6. Fernando Perez was 2-2 with his first home run, his 7th stolen base and 3 walks. Jason Pridie was 2-5 with his first home run. Reid Brignac was 0-5 and Evan Longoria was 1-4 with 2 runs scored. Longoria is hitting .303. Chris Mason continues to dominate the Southern League. In 6 innings, he gave up only 1 unearned run and struck out 7 with no walks. The first 18 pitches he threw were strikes and he struck out the side in the 2nd inning on 9 pitches. On the season he has a 1.54 ERA and a 20:3 strike out to walk ratio.

Brevard County 4, Vero Beach 3. Wade Davis was overpowering, striking out 8 in 7 innings with no walks. He gave up 3 hits and no runs. Greg Dupas gave up a game-tying home run in the 9th and the Rays lost in 11 after taking a 3-2 lead in the top half of the inning.

Columbus 6, Rome 2. Jeremy Hellickson made his 2007 debut and it was a good one. In 6 innings he gave up only 1 hit and 1 unearned run. He struck out 6 and walked 2.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Short stop Neil Walton of the Vero Beach Devil Rays was named Florida State League offensive player of the week. Walton batted .474 (9-19) with 7 RBI and 1 stolen base, hitting safely in all 6 games.

Down On The Farm: Chris Mason Proving Worthy Of 2nd Round Pick

Toledo 6, Durham 4 After pitching 6 hitless innings in his AAA debut, Mitch Talbot came back to earth a bit, giving up 6 hits and 4 runs before being pulled in the 4th inning. Steve Andrade and Chad Orvella combined for 3 hitless innings of relief. Jorge Cantu and Wes Bankston each went 3-4 and combined for 3 doubles. Cantu is now hitting .278.

Chatanooga 4, Montgomery 3. Evan Longoria went 1-2 with 2 walks and his second home run, a solo shot. Chris Mason gave up 2 runs and struck out 5 in 5.2 innings. Nick DeBarr blew a 3-2 lead in the 8th by giving up consecutive run-scoring doubles.

Palm Beach 10, Vero Beach 2. Matt Walker gave up 5 runs in 4 innings. Jackson Brennan went 3-3 from the lead off spot and scored both runs.

Asheville 5, Columbus 4. Catching prospect Nevin Ashley went 1-4 and is now hitting .375.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Chris Mason, the Rays 2005 2nd round pick, still has some cockiness in him, but the minors appear to have humbled him a bit. Despite a 5.02 ERA for Visalia in 2006, the organization saw enough to move him up to AA this season. So far he has been solid with a 2.53 ERA in his first two starts.