[DOWN ON THE FARM] Evan Meek Likely Headed Back To Rays’ Organization
Buster Posey, Tim Beckham May 13th. 2008, 7:50amDurham 9, Syracuse 1. Ben Hendrickson improved to 3-2 with 5 shutout innings. He allowed 2 hits and 2 walks and struck out 2…Juan Salas relieved Hendrickson and pitched 2 scoreless innings…Reid Brignac was 3-4 with his 10th double and 2 RBI. He is now hitting .258. He also stole his 2nd base…The Bulls hit 3 home runs, including dingers from Hector Gimenez (2), Elliot Johnson (1), who also had 4 RBI and Jeremy Owens (2).
Mississippi 5, Montgomery 4. Steve Andrade blew a 4-2 lead in the 9th inning, giving up 3 runs after losing his grasp of the strike zone. With 1st and 3rd and 2 outs, Andrade balked home the first run. He then intentionally walked one batter and then hit the next to load the bases. He then walked in the tying and go-ahead runs…James Houser started and had his own control issues. In 5 innings he walked 4 but only allowed 1 run. He gave up 3 hits and struck out 3…Rhyne Hughes was 2-4 with 2 RBI and his first steal of the year.
Vero Beach 1, St. Lucie 0 (13). Neil Walton singled with the bases loaded and no outs to break a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the 13th. He finished 2-6…Brandon Mann had his best start of the season, throwing 7 shutout innings, with only 3 hits and no walks. He struck out 5…Garrett Groce was 0-5 with 4 strike outs…Chase Fontaine added 2 singles in 3 at bats.
Columbus 6, Hickory 4. Alex Cobb picked up his 6th win on the young season, his 4th straight W. He struck out 5 and walked 3, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings on 4 hits…Greg Sexton hit his 2nd home run, a 2-run shot. He now has 24 RBI…Reid Fronk went 3-4, while Maiko Loyola added 2 hits in 3 at bats and his 17th steal…Emeel Salem was 1-4.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Sounds like Rule 5 draftee Evan Meek will be returned to the Rays. The Pirates have been trying to work out a trade with the Rays after removing Meek from their active roster, but the Pirates GM does not sound optimistic about getting a deal done. [MLB]
- One website is tracking several MLB mock drafts. The most common pick for the Rays to date is Tim Beckham, who is the choice for the #1 pick in 5 of the 11 mocks. Buster Posey is the pick in 2 drafts and a total of 5 different players are represnted in the mock drafts. [DC Pro Sports Report]
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What do we know about Ben Hendrickson? I can’t remember reading about him before.
Is Alex Cobb on the way to Vero soon? Sounds like he’s chewing up the low A guys.
Hendrickson is a journeyman as opposed to a prospect he is in durham strictly as insurance. he has actually been in the big leages twice with the brewers making about 12 starts.
if you think about. if somebody went down in the rays rotation, obviously Niemann is the first option, but as we have seen, he is not always 100%. after that, we have no idea if Talbot is ready and is Ryu a starter?
that means Hendrickson is sitting in Durham as a “just in case”.
As for Cobb. not sure. i would think he heads to Vero once the Rays decide to move Hellickson to Montgomery. BUT, Cobb is only 20 and Helly is only 21, so they may be a little more patient with both, giving them each at least a half season where they are…or even more.
Has anyone noticed what Ryan Reid is doing at Vero? He is old for the league (25) but has only been a pro since he was drafted in the 7th round in 2006. As a starter at Hudson Valley he was terrible, but moved to the bullpen at Columbus last year he did quite well and now is closing at Vero.
So far, besides his 5 saves and 1-0 record, his line reads as follows:
14 Games; 20.2 IP (He has some 2 inning outings); 7 hits; 2 BBs; 35 Ks
He has a 2.13 ground ball to flyball ratio and opponents are hitting .104 against him.
His ERA is 0.44
wow. i had not noticed that. good pickup.
it is rare that a relief pitcher in single-A is a prospect, but it seems like the Rays may have struck gold. Have to imagine he will be in Montgomery soon and we will see how he does against competition closer to his age