Rays Minor League Roundup: Week 21

Dylan Lesko’s trade to Tampa Bay has done little to cure his command

This week’s minor league roundup will only feature the numbers accumulated prior to the start of play on Monday.

We are now 22 weeks into the 2024 minor league campaign campaign and several prospects have certainly continued their ascent up the organizational ladder while others have seen their stock continue to drop.

According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), the overall top hitter in the Rays farm system continues to be outfielder Chandler Simpson. The 23-year old is in a tight race with fellow Biscuit and top prospect Tre’ Morgan for the minor league batting title.

Meanwhile, the top pitcher is still 25-year old southpaw, Ian Seymour, who just received a promotion to Triple-A Durham. Over 17 starts in Double-A, Seymour had a 2.36 ERA | 2.74 FIP with a 28.3 K% and 6.3 BB% over 91 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched. Thus far in Durham, Seymour has made six starts and has a 2.53 ERA | 4.21 FIP with a 27.9 K% & 6.6 BB% over 32 innings pitched.

Before we get to the statistical breakdowns. Here is some news from around the Rays system.

• Something to watch over the final weeks of the minor league season in the race for the minor league batting title between Chandler Simpson and Tre’ Morgan. Entering play on Tuesday, Morgan has surpassed Simpson. Morgan is currently hitting .361, while Simpson is at .357; If Simpson wins, he’ll be the first player in 40 years to have been both a NCAA D-I batting champ and MiLB batting champ.
• Another milestone to watch for with Chandler Simpson is how many stolen bases he’ll finish the season with. Entering the year, Simpson had a goal to reach 100 stolen bases; he is currently at 88 with 18 regular season games remaining in Double-A.
• 26-year old INF Jonathan Aranda made his return to Triple-A Durham after a two month stint on the Injured List. Injuries had relegated Aranda to just 45 games this season between Triple-A and the MLB. Since returning, Aranda has 2 HR and is hitting .308/.286/.769 over 14 plate appearances.
• It appears that the Rays are moving both Dylan Lesko and Mason Montgomery to the bullpen. Montgomery has been very effective since transitioning in early August; Lesko, less so. Over Lesko’s last three outings, he has walked 10 and thrown 5 wild pitches, facing just 29 batters.

Let’s break it down by team; the offensive players must still be at that level and have at least 200 plate appearances; the pitchers must have at least 175 batters faced. The DSL & FCL seasons are over.

Tampa Bay Rays

Top 10 Prospects

• Junior Caminero
  CPX: .235/.409/.824 | 9.1 K% | 22.7 BB% | 3 HR | 0 SB | 199 wRC+ | 22 PA.
  AAA: .276/.331/.498 | 21.2 K% | 6.8 BB% | 13 HR | 1 SB | 111 wRC+ | 236 PA
  MLB: .302/.375/.488 | 18.8 K% | 10.4 BB% | 2 HR | 2 SB | 145 wRC+ | 48 PA

Durham Bulls

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .312, Jake Mangum
OBP: .367, Austin Shenton
SLG: .487, Curtis Mead
HR: 17, Austin Shenton
wRC+: 121, Austin Shenton
SB: 18, Ronny Simon

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 4.08, Jacob Lopez
FIP: 3.71, Michael Gomez
K%: 27.8%, Michael Gomez
BB%: 6.0%, Joe Rock
WHIP: 1.27, Jacob Lopez
AVG: .215, Jacob Lopez
WHIFF%: 14.3%, Mason Montgomery

Montgomery Biscuits

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .353, Chandler Simpson
OBP: .398, Chandler Simpson
SLG: .452, Carson Williams
HR: 15, Carson Williams
wRC+: 143, Chandler Simpson
SB: 57, Chandler Simpson

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.60, Keyshawn Askew
FIP: 3.15, Austin Vernon
K%: 30.1%, Austin Vernon
BB%: 4.7%, Sean Hunley
WHIP: 0.93, Sean Hunley
AVG: .200, Keyshawn Askew
WHIFF%: 19.8%, Austin Vernon

Top 10 Prospects

• Carson Williams:
  AA: .254/.354/.452 | 28.2 K% | 12.0 BB% | 15 HR | 30 SB | 138 wRC+ | 443 PA
• Chandler Simpson
  A+: .364/.431/.372 | 10.9 K% | 10.2 BB% | 0 HR | 31 SB | 138 wRC+ | 147 PA
  AA: .353/.398/.420 | 7.7 K% | 7.4 BB% | 1 HR | 57 SB | 143 wRC+ | 298 PA
• Xavier Isaac:
  A+: .287/.381/.535 | 30.1 K% | 12.3 BB% | 15 HR | 14 SB | 156 wRC+ | 302 PA
  AA: .212/.321/.364 | 41.0 K% | 12.8 BB% | 2 HR | 0 SB | 106 wRC+ | 78 PA
• Brayden Taylor:
  A+: .271/.391/.516 | 24.4 K% | 16.0 BB% | 14 HR | 26 SB | 153 wRC+ | 381 PA
  AA: .194/.280/.373 | 35.5 K% | 10.5 BB% | 2 HR | 1 SB | 94 wRC+ | 76 PA
• Tre’ Morgan
  A: .320/.398/.440 | 11.3 K% | 8.7 BB% | 2 HR | 9 SB | 148 wRC+ | 115 PA
  A+: .371/.447/.558 | 7.8 K% | 11.3 BB% | 6 HR | 10 SB | 183 wRC+ | 231 PA
  AA: .500/.526/.875 | 10.0 K% | 10.0 BB% | 1 HR | 0 SB | 289 wRC+ | 20 PA

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .295, Cooper Kinney
OBP: .360, Cooper Kinney
SLG: .505, Cooper Kinney
HR: 17, Brock Jones
wRC+: 142, Cooper Kinney
SB: 33, Colton Ledbetter

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.84, Owen Wild
FIP: 3.05, Owen Wild
K%: 31.1%, Owen Wild
BB%: 5.2%, T.J Fondtain
WHIP: 0.99, T.J Fondtain
AVG: .191, Jake Christianson
WHIFF%: 18.5%, Owen Wild

Top 10 Prospects

• Dylan Lesko
  A+: 6.80 ERA | 6.18 FIP | 25.5 K% | 21.0 BB% | .210 AVG | 13.8 WHIFF% | 82 IP

Charleston River Dogs

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .279, Enderson Delgado
OBP: .406, Enderson Delgado
SLG: .436, Enderson Delgado
HR: 9, Jhon Diaz
wRC+: 151, Enderson Delgado
SB: 49, Adrian Santana

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.03, Chris Villaman
FIP: 2.26, Chris Villaman
K%: 31.7%, Chris Villaman
BB%: 3.9%, Chris Villaman
WHIP: 0.84, Chris Villaman
AVG: .195, Dalton Fowler
WHIFF%: 15.9%, Samuel Mejia

Top 10 Prospects

• Gary Gill Hill
  A: 2.70 ERA | 3.16 FIP | 26.0 K% | 5.4 BB% | .223 AVG | 13.1 WHIFF% | 100 IP
• Santiago Suarez
  A: 4.30 ERA | 3.54 FIP | 25.4 K% | 4.3 BB% | .247 AVG | 14.7 WHIFF% | 98 ¹⁄₃ IP

FCL Rays

Team Offensive Leaders (min. 100 PA):
AVG: .330, Brailer Guerrero (out since 6/22)
OBP: .452, Brailer Guerrero (out since 6/22)
SLG: .466, Brailer Guerrero (out since 6/22)
HR: 2, Brailer Guerrero, Jose Perez, & Jose Contreras
wRC+: 155, Brailer Guerrero (out since 6/22)
SB: 14, Miguel Tamares

Team Pitching Leaders (min. 100 TBF):
ERA: 1.48, Maikel Hernandez
FIP: 3.01, Michael Saturria
K%: 30.7%, Jeremy Pilon
BB%: 6.7%, Maikel Hernandez
WHIP: 0.89, Maikel Hernandez
AVG: .174, Maikel Hernandez
WHIFF%: 19.6%, Michael Saturria

DSL Rays

Team Offensive Leaders (min. 100 PA):
AVG: .302, Alfonzo Martinez
OBP: .434, Domingo Batista
SLG: .482, Alfonzo Martinez
HR: 5, Alfonzo Martinez
wRC+: 143, Xavier Guillen
SB: 39, Israfell Bautista

Team Pitching Leaders (min. 100 TBF):
ERA: 2.50, Yereny Teus
FIP: 3.12, Yereny Teus
K%: 34.3%, Yereny Teus
BB%: 3.6%, Alexander Campos
WHIP: 0.96, Yereny Teus
AVG: .186, Yereny Teus
WHIFF%: 44.4%, Yereny Teus