Baseball America has named their top 20 MLB prospects, just a couple days after the Rays top 10 were announced. Two Rays made this list. Desmond Jennings is the fourth best prospect, according to BA. Only Steven Strasburg, Jason Heyward, and Mike Stanton are in front of him. This could be the last year that DJ appears on this list, as he will most likely join the Rays outfield for good in the not too distant future.

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Desmond Jennings and Alexander Colome each were named player of the year of their respective leagues for the 2009 season. 

Jennings won the award for his performance at the Double-A level with Montgomery where he was among the league leaders in batting average, stolen bases and on-base percentage despite being called up to Durham in early August. 

Colome was honored for his pitching performance for the Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York-Penn League where he had a 1.66 ERA and a league-best .174 batting average against as well as a league high of 94 strikeouts.

Most likely, Jennings will open the 2010 season with Durham while Colome will probably start out with Bowling Green.

Heath Rollins and Nevin Ashley rough starts in Arizona this afternoon.  Rollins pitched an inning of relief , allowing five runs on four hits and a walk while Ashley got the start at catcher and was 1 for 4 with two strikeouts as well as two passed balls defensively.

All was not lost, as reliever Paul Phillips pitched a scoreless inning in relief, allowing just a walk.  The rest of the Rays participants did not see action today.  Their team, the Phoenix Desert Dogs lost to Mesa 10-6.

AAA – The short-handed Durham Bulls edged Rochester 3-2 Monday afternoon.  Starter Carlos Hernandez pitched six innings, allowing two unearned runs on four hits and a walk.  Dewon Day pitched a scoreless seventh and picked up the win and Winston Abreu recorded his sixth save.  The first three hitters in the Bulls’ lineup, Jon Weber, Henry Mateo and Justin Ruggiano each had two hits a piece to pace the offense.  Chris Nowak batted in the winning run with a single in the eights.  The Bulls played this game without injured players Chris Richard and Ray Olmedo as well as recent call-ups Reid Brignac, Dale Thayer and Randy Choate.  Despite the roster turmoil, they have won 10 of their last 12 games.

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AAA – The Durham Bulls won 5-4 in a game that David Price was supposed to start.  Jason Childers got the start on short notice and didn’t fair well.  He lasted only three innings, giving up four runs on seven hits.  But, Julio DePaula was brought in to minimize the damage and he responded by pitching four hitless and scoreless innings, allowing just one walk.  Winston Abreu got credit for the win, pitching the final two innings, recording all strikeouts for the six outs he was responsible for.  At the plate, Chris Richard struck the decisive blow, a two-run homer in the 9th to win it for the Bulls.  The home run was Richard’s 11th of the season.  Earlier, Jon Weber hit a 3-run shot in the 5th. 

AA – The Montgomery Biscuits won 4-1 behind strong pitching by starter Heath Rollins and relievers Chris Mason and Calvin Medlock.  Rollins piched the first six innings, allowing just one run on four hits.  Mason allowed only a walk in two innings and Medlock threw a scoreless 9th to secure the win.  Jason Perry and Fernando Cortez had a couple of hits a piece for the Biscuits and Matt Spring drove in two on a 1-3 night.  Desmond Jennings was just 1-5 and is now 2 for his last 12. 

A – Charlotte lost a low scoring affair with Fort Myers, 2-1.  Starter Jeremy Hall pitched well, allowing two runs over six innings.  But, the offense could only plate one run on an RBI single by Nevin Ashley.  Cody Cipriano went 3-4 and scored the only run for the Stone Crabs. 

A – Bowling Green split a pair with the Savannah Sand Gnats, losing the opener 2-1, but coming back to win the night -cap 9-4.  In the first game, Frank De Los Santos pitched the full six innings, allowing two runs on just one hit and three walks.  C Jake Jefferies went 2-4 and scored the only run on an RBI double by Isaias Velasquez.  In game #2, the Hot Rods banged out 15 hits, led by 1B Michael Sheridan, who went 3-4 with his 4th HR of the season.  Kyeong Kang also had a 3-4 night with a double and Tim Beckham was 2-4.  Starting pitcher Chris Andujar improved his record to 5-2.

AAA – The Durham Bulls had the night off.  They begin a four-game series with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs tonight.

AA – The Montgomery Biscuits doubled up Mississippi 6-3 behind a 13-hit attack by the Biscuits bats.  1B Rhyne Hughes led the way with a 3-4 night including a double and 2 RBI.  Brandon Chaves, Fernando Cortez, Drew Anderson and Cesar Suarez each had two hits a piece as well.  Ryan Morse got the start allowing all three runs over five innings.  Chris Mason, Eduardo Morlan and Calvin Medlock combined for four innings of scoreless relief to secure the win.  Mason got the win and improved to 2-1 on the season.  Medlock notched his 10th save.  

A – Rain finally stopped long enough to allow Charlotte to get a game in.  They beat Palm Beach 2-1 behind 8th inning RBI’s by 1B Matt Fields and DH Cody Cipriano.  Starter Alex Cobb pitched well, giving up just one run and seven hits over seven innings while walking none.  Justin Garcia and Matt Gorgen each pitched perfect innings in relief to secure the win.  For his efforts, Garcia gets credit for the win, improving to 4-0 and Gorgen gets his 6th save.  

A – Bowling Green scored a run in the 12th inning to slip by Savannah 4-3 Thursday night.  1B Michael Sheridan knocked in the winning run on a sacrifice fly after a couple of walks and wild pitches gave the Hot Rods some base runners.  RF Kyeong Kang continues to swing a hot bat, going 2-5 with a double.  He is now 5-9 in the past two games.  Starter Matt Moore lasted only 4 1/3 innings allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks.  Diego Echeverria pitched the final two innings to pick up the win.

AAA - David Price did well in his 4 2/3 innings, but the Durham Bulls ended up losing to the Louisville Bats, 7-6.  Price was removed with two outs in the fifth after giving up two runs on four hits.  He struck out five and issued no walks.  Jason Isringhausen also pitched, giving up just a hit in an inning of work.  The Bats exploded for five runs in the ninth off Dale Thayer to erase a Bulls’ 6-2 lead and win.  Along with making a crucial throwing error in the ninth, 1B Chris Richard went 3-3 at the plate and Chris Nowak and Ray Olmedo hit back-to-back homers in the fifth to lead the Bulls offense.

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AAA – The Durham Bulls got home runs from Justin Ruggiano (7), Matt Joyce (4), and Ray Sadler (3) off Braves prospect Tommy Hansen and Ray Olmedo knocked in Joyce in the 9th to lead the Bulls past Gwinnett, 4-3.  For Ruggiano, this was his fourth HR in two games.  James Houser was the starter, giving up three runs (two earned) in 5 1/3 innings on three hits and three walks.  Randy Choate picks up the win in relief and Dale Thayer pitched a scoreless 9th to get his 5th save.

The Biscuits, Stone Crabs and Hot Rods all had Mother’s Day off. 

News and Notes

Recent signee, 28-year old reliever Joe Bateman has been promoted to Durham.  He has spent time in the Giants and Brewers organizations and is coming off his best season last year in the Brewers minor league system where he finished with a 2.09 ERA and struck out 76 batters in 77 1/3 innings at the AA and AAA levels. Bateman is a right-handed sidearmer who just might be one to watch if the Rays find a need for bullpen depth at some point this season. 

Jeremy Hellickson is expected to return to the Montgomery Biscuits rotation May 23.  Brandon Mann will replace Hellickson in the rotation until he returns. 

Matt Hall has been promoted from Charlotte to Durham to provide depth in the middle infield until new acquisition Joe Dillon arrives in Durham.

AAA – Justin Ruggiano busted out of a season-long slump in a huge way tonight, belting three home runs and driving in six to lead the Durham Bulls past Gwinnett 7-0.  The home runs gives Ruggiano six on the season.  Reid Brignac added a solo shot, his third.  Carlos Hernandez had his best outing of the season as well, throwing six shutout innings while allowing only three hits and a walk.  He struck out five.  This was his first win of the season against two losses.

AA – The Birmingham Barons defeated Montgomery 6-4.  Starter Ryan Morse takes the loss, dropping to 2-4 on the season.  Morse allowed three runs on five hits over six innings of work.  LF JT Hall led the Biscuits’ offensive attack, going 3-4.  SS Jason Bowers went 2-4 and CF Desmond Jennings went 1-3.

A – The Charlotte Stone Crabs lost to Palm Beach 6-5.  Starter Jeremy Hall got tagged for the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.  He struck out eight.  Reid Fronk had  a good day a the plate, going 2-4 and hitting his first home run of the season.  Cody Cipriano added thee RBI’s for the Stone Crabs.

A – Chris Andujar had another fine pitching performance as the Bowling Green Hot Rods beat Augusta 6-2.  Andujar allowed only one run on five hits in five innings.  LF Justin Reynolds went 3-5 with a double and triple and Tim Beckham went 2-4 with a double and RF Henry Wrigley added a couple of doubles for the Hot Rods.

AAA – The Durham Bulls were beaten soundly by the Gwinnett Braves, 7-1.  Wade Davis picked up his first loss of the season, falling to 3-1.  He allowed three runs on four hits and three walks over five innings of work.  Jason Isringhausen pitched the final two innings and had a rough outing as well, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk.  There wasn’t much offense for the Bulls, but Matt Joyce went 1-4, scoring the only run and striking out three times.  John Jaso returned to action behind the plate and went 0-3.

AA – This is what happens when the other team is scoring touchdowns and you’re only scoring field goals.  The Montgomery Biscuits lost to Birmingham 14-9 under the Friday night lights.  On the bright side, Desmond Jennings broke out of a mini-slump by going 5-6 with a double and three runs scored.  LF Rashad Eldridge was 4-6 with two runs and two RBI and Rhyne Hughes added his 10th HR of the season and went 2-6 with four RBI.  But, the Biscuits sent four pitchers to the mound and all four gave up runs.  Unfortunately, 6 of the 14 runs scored by the Barons were unearned, a result of three Biscuits errors.  Jason Cromer was the starter, going 4 2/3 innings allowing six hits, four runs (two earned) and a walk.  Ryan Reid was the loser, as he saw seven runs cross the plate (three earned) in his inning of relief.

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