Rays Minor League Roundup: Week 23

Logan Driscoll has made it to the big leagues!

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

We are now 23 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 has been excellent since 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 seven starts and has a 2.37 ERA | 3.96 FIP with a 29.0 K% & 8.0 BB% over 38 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, Simpson regained the lead as Morgan slumped a bit. Simpson is currently hitting .356 while Morgan is at .349; 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 95 with 12 regular season games remaining in Double-A.
• 26-year old C Logan Driscoll has reached the big leagues. The backstop was the 73rd overall selection in the 2019 draft and joined the Rays in the trade that sent Emilio Pagan to the San Diego Padres for Manuel Margot. Driscoll has been one of the best offensive performers for the Bulls this season, hitting .292/.367/.473 with 7 HR and 1 SB over 70 games, registering a 118 wRC+.
• 18-year old OF Theo Gillen, the Rays first selection in the 2024 draft, made his organizational debut. Thus far he is hitting .091/.375/.182 over 16 plate appearances in Single-A Charleston.
• Since his most recent promotion to Triple-A, Heriberto Hernandez is hitting .303/.425/.788 with 4 HR over 40 PA.

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 200 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: .275/.359/.478 | 23.1 K% | 10.3 BB% | 3 HR | 2 SB | 136 wRC+ | 78 PA

Durham Bulls

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .317, Jake Mangum
OBP: .363, Austin Shenton
SLG: .498, Austin Shenton
HR: 20, Austin Shenton
wRC+: 122, Austin Shenton
SB: 28, Kameron Misner

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 4.46, Jacob Lopez
FIP: 3.61, Michael Gomez
K%: 28.6%, Michael Gomez
BB%: 5.8%, Joe Rock
WHIP: 1.31, Jacob Lopez
AVG: .222, Jacob Lopez
WHIFF%: 14.5%, Mason Montgomery

Montgomery Biscuits

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .352, Chandler Simpson
OBP: .399, Chandler Simpson
SLG: .455, Carson Williams
HR: 17, Carson Williams
wRC+: 142, Chandler Simpson
SB: 64, Chandler Simpson

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.52, Keyshawn Askew
FIP: 3.21, Austin Vernon
K%: 29.6%, Antonio Menedez
BB%: 4.1%, Sean Hunley
WHIP: 0.87, Sean Hunley
AVG: .195, Sean Hunley & Keyshawn Askew
WHIFF%: 19.6%, Austin Vernon

Top 10 Prospects

• Carson Williams:
  AA: .253/.350/.455 | 28.5 K% | 11.6 BB% | 17 HR | 31 SB | 138 wRC+ | 466 PA
• Chandler Simpson
  A+: .364/.431/.372 | 10.9 K% | 10.2 BB% | 0 HR | 31 SB | 138 wRC+ | 147 PA
  AA: .352/.399/.414 | 7.1 K% | 7.8 BB% | 1 HR | 64 SB | 142 wRC+ | 322 PA
• Xavier Isaac:
  A+: .287/.381/.535 | 30.1 K% | 12.3 BB% | 15 HR | 14 SB | 156 wRC+ | 302 PA
  AA: .200/.317/.318 | 41.6 K% | 13.9 BB% | 2 HR | 0 SB | 95 wRC+ | 101 PA
• Brayden Taylor:
  A+: .269/.389/.513 | 24.8 K% | 15.9 BB% | 14 HR | 26 SB | 154 wRC+ | 383 PA
  AA: .198/.286/.395 | 38.0 K% | 10.9 BB% | 3 HR | 2 SB | 102 wRC+ | 92 PA
• Tre’ Morgan
  A: .320/.398/.440 | 11.3 K% | 8.7 BB% | 2 HR | 9 SB | 149 wRC+ | 115 PA
  A+: .371/.447/.558 | 7.8 K% | 11.3 BB% | 6 HR | 10 SB | 184 wRC+ | 231 PA
  AA: .314/.405/.486 | 14.0 K% | 14.0 BB% | 1 HR | 0 SB | 161 wRC+ | 43 PA

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .289, Cooper Kinney
OBP: .352, Cooper Kinney
SLG: .494, Cooper Kinney
HR: 17, Brock Jones
wRC+: 137, Cooper Kinney
SB: 34, Colton Ledbetter

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.63, Owen Wild
FIP: 2.96, Drew Sommers
K%: 31.2%, Owen Wild
BB%: 5.7%, T.J Fondtain
WHIP: 0.94, T.J Fondtain
AVG: .199, T.J Fondtain
WHIFF%: 17.8%, Owen Wild

Top 10 Prospects

• Dylan Lesko
  A+: 6.80 ERA | 6.19 FIP | 25.5 K% | 18.0 BB% | .210 AVG | 13.8 WHIFF% | 82 IP

Charleston River Dogs

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .267, Enderson Delgado
OBP: .390, Enderson Delgado
SLG: .411, Enderson Delgado
HR: 10, Jhon Diaz
wRC+: 141, Enderson Delgado
SB: 51, Adrian Santana

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.75, Gary Gill Hill
FIP: 3.24, Gary Gill Hill
K%: 26.9%, Samuel Mejia
BB%: 4.5%, Santiago Saurez
WHIP: 1.05, Gary Gill Hill
AVG: .225, Gary Gill Hill
WHIFF%: 15.8%, Samuel Mejia

Top 10 Prospects

• Gary Gill Hill
  A: 2.75 ERA | 3.24 FIP | 25.4 K% | 5.9 BB% | .225 AVG | 12.7 WHIFF% | 104 ²⁄₃ IP
• Santiago Suarez
  A: 4.23 ERA | 3.60 FIP | 25.6 K% | 4.5 BB% | .244 AVG | 14.6 WHIFF% | 104 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