Down On The Farm: Columbus Takes Opening Game of SALY Finals

Columbus 5, West Virginia 2 (Columbus leads 1-0). Heath Rollins pitched the Catfish to a game 1 victory in the championship series of the South Atlantic League. In 6 innings, he struck out 4 and gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks. The win was Rollins’ second of the post-season to go with 17 regular season wins. Neal Frontz struck out all three batters he faced in the 9th for the save. Jahn Matulia got the scoring started with a 2-run double in the 3rd that gave the Catfish a 2-1 lead. Cesar Suarez had a home run and Quinn Stewart was 3-4 and scored 2 runs.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• D-Rays affiliates are now 9-1 in the playoffs.
• Montgomery will face the Huntsville Stars in the championship series for the second straight year. [Stacy Long’s Riverwalk Talk]
• MiLB has a preview of the IL championship series. [MiLB]

Down On The Farm: Montgomery Makes It Three Affiliates In Championship Series

Montgomery 12, Mississippi 5 (Montgomery wins series 3-1). John Jaso got the Biscuits off to a good start with a 3-run home run in the first inning, and Montgomery broke things open with a 7-run sixth inning, to advance to the Southern League championship series for the second straight season. Mike Prochaska was hittable, allowing 9 hits and 2 walks in 5.2 innings, but only allowed 3 runs. Erold Andrus had a 3-run home run in the 6th inning and went 3-5. Reid Brignac was 3-3 with 2 walks and he drove in 3.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• The Durham Bulls will use he same rotation for the finals that they used in the the first round of the playoffs. JP Howell will go in game 1 on Tuesday, followed by Jeff Niemann and Jae Seo. [Our Sports Central]
• Heath Rollins will start in game 1 tonight for the Columbus Catfish. Will Kline will go in game 2, followed by Jeremy Hellickson. [Ledger-Enquirer]
  

Down On The Farm: Durham And Columbus Open Playoffs With Wins

Durham 11, Toledo 8 (Bulls lead series 1-0). The Bulls got off to a fast start with Jon Weber, Jason Pridie and Justin Ruggiano hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs to start the game and giving Durham an early 3-1 lead. They stretched the lead to 6-2, including Ruggiano’s second home run of the game, before the defense failed JP Howell. Three errors in the top of the 6th led to 5 unearned run giving Toledo a 7-6 lead. The Bulls immediately answered with 5 runs in the next two innings including home runs by Wes Bankston and Elliot Johnson giving the Bulls 6 on the night. Chad Orvella pitched a perfect 7th and 8th, with Shawn Camp throwing the 9th, allowing 1 run on 3 hits.

Columbus 11, Augusta 2 (Columbus leads the series 1-0). The Catfish had an 8-0 lead by the 4th innings to support the strong pitching performance by Heath Rollins. Rollins tossed 7 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks and 1 run, while striking out 3. Matt Fields, Nevin Ashley and Quinn Stewart all homered for Columbus. Maiko Loyola led off and was 3-5.

Hudson Valley 7, Vermont 4.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• There is a new blog in the Devil Rays Universe that has the potential to be very interesting. George is the batboy for the Vero Beach Rays and he has started a blog entitled “Life Inside A Minor League Baseball Team”. Unfortunately the site was started after the regular season ended and the Rays will only be in Dodgertown for one more season, but we will be following along closely. [Life Inside A Minor League Baseball Team]
• Catcher John Jaso of Montgomery was named the Southern League’s player-of-the-month for August. He hit .378 with 20 RBI for the month. [Our Sports Central]
• Heath Rollins was named the SAL pitcher-of-the-week for the 4th time. Rollins led all of minor league baseball with 17 wins. [Basil’s Blog]

Down On The Farm: Three Minor League Affiliates Set To Begin Championship Runs

Durham 2, Charlotte 1. Mitch Talbot finished the regular season by picking up his 13th win. He went 6.2 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 walk and 1 run. Chad Orvella picked up his 20th save. Evan Longoria was 0-3 with a walk and 3 strikeouts. He finished the regular season hitting .269-5-19 in 31 AAA games. JP Howell led the IL with 145 strikeouts, while Mitch Talbot and Jeff Niemann were tied for the second most wins (12).

Montgomery 7, Jacksonville 3 (13 innings). The Biscuits head into the playoffs having won 15 of their final 16 regular season games to finish with the top mark in the SL at 81-59. Fernando Perez went 3-7 in the finale to finish the season with a .309 batting average, a .423 OBP and .908 OPS. John Jaso was second in the SL with a .316 average. Reid Brignac finished 2nd with 81 RBI. The Biscuits had three of the top four OPS marks with Evan Longoria leading the league at .930. Chris Mason led the league with 15 wins and was 4th with 136 strikeouts.

Vero Beach concluded their regular season on Sunday. After finishing 3rd in the division for the first half, the Rays fell to last place with a 25-44 second half record. Rhyne Hughes led the FSL with a .329 average. Sergio Pedroza was 2nd in the FSL with 22 home runs and both players were tied with the second best OPS (.907).

Columbus had their final seven games rained out. They will begin their best-of-3 first round playoff series on Wednesday against Augusta. Ryan Royster finished the regular season hitting .329-30-98 and has firmly established himself as one of the top hitting prospects in the Rays system. He was 4th in the SAL in hitting, tops in home runs, 2nd in RBI and lead the league with a .982 OPS. Desmond Jennings hit .315 with 45 steals in only 99 games, good for 4th in the SAL. Heath Rollinsled the league with 17 wins and was 2nd with 149 strikeouts.

Hudson Valley 10, Aberdeen 3.

Princeton concluded their regular season at 33-35, third in the AL East division. Michael Ross led the league with 36 stolen bases.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Chris Mason was named the top pitcher in the Southern League while Evan Longoria took home the honor as the league’s MVP. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Winning championships at the minor league level does not mean much when the parent club loses 90+ games every season, but the winning attitude must start some place and with the Montgomery Biscuits winning the Southern League championship in 2006, they are joined by Durham and Columbus in the playoffs this season. [TBO]
• The first round of the International League playoffs will begin on Wednesday with the Bulls facing Toledo. These two teams have won the last four IL titles. JP Howell will pitch the opening game, and will be followed by Jeff Niemann and Jae Seo. [Durham Bulls]
• The Devil Rays have announced their fall instructional league roster and it is a who’s who of the system’s top prospects, including David Price, Jake McGee and Ryan Royster. [Rays Digest]
• In their final regular season game, the Durham Bulls set a single-game attendance record (11,071) and broke the team’s single-season attendance mark (520,952). [OurSportsCentral]

Down On The Farm: Heath Rollins Sets Organization Record For Wins

Norfolk 2, Durham 1 (game 1). JP Howell struck out 6 in 5 innings, but picked up the loss. Evan Longoria was 1-3 with a double and Jason Pridie drove in the only run.

Durham 8, Norfolk 3 (game 2). Jeff Niemann struck out 6 in 5.2 innings to win his 12th game. He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits and no walks. Evan Longoria was 0-2, but walked twice, scored 2 runs and drove in a run. Raul Cassanova was 3-4 with 5 RBI.

Daytona 4, Vero Beach 3. Jackson Brennan was 2-3 and hit his 9th home run.

Columbus 5, Savannah 3. After 12 starts with Princeton Jeremy Hall made his first start with Columbus and pitch 6 strong innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits. He did walk 4 batters while striking out 4. Ryan Royster was 2-4 and is now hitting .325 with 28 home runs and 96 RBI.

Hudson Valley 9, Oneonta 6. Cody Cipriano was 3-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI.

Princeton 12, Elizabethton 2. Michael Ross was 0-3, but did walk twice and scored 3 runs. He also stole his 33rd and 34th bases of the season in 55 games.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• The Montgomery Biscuits game versus Carolina was postponed.
  
• Evan Longoria is trying not to let his new found fame get to his head. [The News & Observer]

“I’ve never been highly touted or a big prospect — until now,” said Longoria, who who went to Long Beach State and was the third overall pick in the 2006 draft. “I’ve always had to work to get where I am.

“I didn’t really have a scholarship out of high school. I had to work to get to a Division I school. Those things humbled me and make me work harder every day and try a little harder than the next guy.”

• Kevin Gengler takes a close look at the Durham Bulls and their push for the playoffs. [Tampa Bay’s Tomorrow]
• He does the same with the Montgomery Biscuits. [Tampa Bay’s Tomorrow]
• On Sunday, Jake McGee moved to 3-1 in four AA starts throwing 7 shutout innings, striking out 9 and walking none. [MiLB]
• On Friday, Heath Rollins became the first minor leaguer to record 16 wins. In doing so, we believe he also set a Devil Rays organizational record. [MiLB]

Down On The Farm: Two More Farmhands Take Home Awards

Montgomery 4, Birmingham 3. Wade Davis allowed only one base runner (a walk) and faced the minimum over the first 6 innings, taking a no-hitter into the 7th, before giving up a lead-off single. He struck out 5 and walked 1 in 6.2 innings to pick up his 5th win. He allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and his ERA now sits at 3.16. Reid Brignac was 1-3 with an RBI.

Palm Beach 9, Vero Beach 2 (game 1). In the first game of his most recent rehab assignment, Rocco Baldelli DH’d and went 0-2, flying out to center twice and had a walk. Derek Feldkamp allowed 2 runs in 5 innings, leaving with the score tied at 2-2.

Vero Beach 6, Palm Beach 1. Rocco Baldelli did not play in the second game. Mike Kamrath pitched a complete game, striking out 7 and allowing only 2 hits and 2 walks. He retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced. Sergio Pedroza hit 2 home runs and drove in 3. He has 3 home runs in the last 2 days and 22 on the season.

Princeton 3, Kingsport 1 (11 innings). Chris Andujar gave up 1 run in 5 innings. Omar Luna broke the 1-1 tie with an RBI double in the 11th.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• The Durham Bulls and Columbus Catfish had a scheduled night off, while Hudson Valley was postponed due to rain.
• The say many pitchers don’t learn how to pitch until they have had their first major surgery. That may be the case for Doug Waechter as he continues on his comeback trail down in A-ball. [MiLB]

“My fastball is getting back to where it was pre-surgery and I’ve started throwing a cut fastball, which is not only helping me stay consistent with my delivery, but it’s also allowing me to get quicker outs.”

While quicker outs ultimately will lead to more favorable results, Waechter has his eyes set on a much bigger prize.

“My goal is to get back to the Major Leagues as soon as possible. If this is the year, so be it, but I’m just going to continue to go out there, show that I’m healthy and just leave the rest up to the team to decide,” he said.

• Jake McGee was named the Southern League’s pitcher of the week. [Stacy Long’s Riverwalk Talk]
  
• Heath Rollins was named the SAL pitcher of the week for the third time this season. He is 15-4 with a 2.57 ERA. [Basil’s Blog]

Down On The Farm: We Better Start Remembering The Name Ryan Royster

Durham 4, Charlotte 0. Mitch Talbot moved to 11-8 with 7 shutout innings. He is 5-1 in his last 6 starts and now tied with teammate Jeff Niemann for the IL lead in victories. Wes Bankston hit his 11th home run. Evan Longoria was given the night off.

Columbus 5, Hickory 2. Ryan Royster hit his 9th home run in the last 10 games. In those 10 games, he is 16-40 (.400) with 21 RBI and 15 runs scored. On the season he is 5th in the league with a .323 average and a league-leading 25 home runs. He has 87 RBI with a .951 OPS. Heath Rollins picked up his 14th win, allowing 2 unearned runs in 5 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 6.

Bristol 4, Princeton 1.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Montgomery, Vero Beach and Hudson Valley all had the night off.
• Devil Rays farmhands have the most wins in the International League (Jeff Niemann/Mitch Talbot, 11), the Southern League (Chris Mason, 13) and the third most in the South Atlantic League (Heath Rollins, 13).

Down On The Farm: No Help On Horizon In Durham Bullpen

Scranton 7, Durham 5. Tony Peguero made his 3rd start of the season and gave up just 2 runs in 5 innings. Peguero did struggle with his control, walking 4. Taking a cue from their major league counterparts, the bullpen blew a 5-2 lead in the 7th. Steve Andrade was unable to retire a batter and Jeff Ridgway gave up a grand slam. Rocco Baldelli was 0-5 in the second game of his rehab assignment. Baldelli did feel well enough to play center field. Joel Guzman hit his 9th home run.

[update: Rocco Baldelli may have reinjured his hamstring while batting. He is to be re-evaluated today]

Brevard County 7, Vero Beach 1. Mike Wlodarczyk struck out 7 in 5 innings. He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks. Offensively, the Rays managed only 3 hits. Rhyne Hughes was 1-4 with a double. He is hitting .338.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Heath Rollins experienced an up-and-down first half, but his manager, Jim Morrison, says that with command of four different pitches , Rollins has the stuff to be good at any level.
• The Montgomery Biscuits were rained out on Monday and will play a double-header Today.

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: A Dirtbag Among Boys

Durham 2, Ottawa 0 (gm 1). Joel Guzman hit a 2-run home run to break a scoreless tie in the 7th inning. It was his 8th of the season. Mitch Talbot pitched a 7 inning shutout, striking out 3 to even his record at 5-5.

Durham 4, Ottawa 3 (gm 2, 10 inn). You can’t stop Justin Ruggiano you can only hope to contain him. Ruggiano broke a 3-3 tie with his 10th home run and 6th in his last 10 games. Ben Zobrist led off the game with his 4th home since being demoted. Jae Kuk Ryu made his first start since being sent down and being converted back to a starter. He lasted only 3 innings and gave up 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks.

Montgomery 12, Carolina 6. *Yawn* Evan Longoria went 3-4 and hit his 14th home run as well as his 13th double. We should just make that sentence part of the template. Don’t be surprised to see the Dirtbag in Durham soon. John Jaso added 2 hits and drove in 3 to raise his average to .337.

Ft. Myers 3, Vero Beach 2. Wade Davis was spectacular, striking out 8 in 7 innings. He gave up only 2 hits and 1 run on a solo home run in the 4th inning.

Charleston 15, Columbus 6. Stop the Presses! Heath Rollins is human! Rollins allowed 8 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings on 9 hits. He struck out 6 and walked none. It was his first loss of the season. For comparison, Rollins had allowed only 11 runs (8 earned) in his 11 previous starts…Ryan Royster went 3-4 with his 9th home run.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• The Columbus Catfish had four players named to the SAL All-Star team, including Heath Rollins, Nevin Ashley, Ryan Royster and Desmond Jennings.