The Durham Bulls in 2016: Part 2 - The Pitchers

Thirty-four different players pitched for the Durham Bulls this year. As a group, they were not a particularly impressive crew. Our previous post set out some of the aggregate numbers. This one will take a look at individuals. In Part 3, we discuss the hitters, in Part 4, the Tampa Bay Rays, and in Part 5, the DBAP.

The 34 pitchers included four position players: Dayron Verona (1 appearance, 1 inning), Cameron Seitzer (2 appearances, 1.2 innings), Jaff Decker (2 appearances, 2 innings), and Mayo Acosta (2 appearances, 2 innings).

For the rest, we'll go over them one by one in order of innings pitched, throwing a few charts in along the way.

Austin Pruitt (right-handed starting pitcher) led the team in innings pitched with 162.2 over 28 appearances. Only one Durham Bull starting pitcher had a winning record, and Pruitt was not him. He ended the year at 8-11 with an ERA of 3.76 and a WHIP of 1.19. Among his fellow International League pitchers he ranked 12th in ERA, 4th in WHIP, 4th in innings pitched, and second in strikeouts with 149. At 4.92 pitches per out, he was one of the more efficient pitchers on the team. Pruitt was drafted by the Rays in 2013, is now 26 years old and has been working his way up through the system. He has no major league time. This was his first year at AAA. [stats]

Justin Marks (left-handed starting pitcher) put in 140 innings in 25 appearances (23 starts, 2 in relief). As with his colleagues, he ended up with a losing won-loss record (7-11). His ERA of 3.86 ranked him 13th in the IL. His WHIP of 1.27 was 11th. His 127 strikeouts ranked him 8th. Innings pitched were 12th. Marks came to the Rays system out of the Arizona system. He has one brief appearance in the majors with the Royals in 2014. Notable this year was his no-hitter on July 16th. He was added to the Rays 40-man roster and called up in early September. [stats]

Jamie Schultz (right-handed starting pitcher) put in 130.2 innings over 27 starts and ended with a record of 5-6. His ERA of 3.58 was 7th in the IL; his WHIP of 1.39 was 20th. His 163 K's were the best in the IL just ahead of teammate Austin Pruitt. Also like Pruitt he was drafted by the Rays in 2013 and has been working his was up through the system. This was his first year at AAA. [stats]

Eddie Gamboa (right-handed starting pitcher) had 94 innings with the Bulls this year. He had a couple of weeks on the disabled list in May. He is the only Bulls starter with a positive won-loss record (6-4). But we must be fair and point out that 3 of those wins (and 1 of the losses) came in relief. If he had had a few more innings, he would have come in 2nd place in the IL with his 2.68 ERA. He certainly had the best ERA among the Bulls starting pitchers. His WHIP of 1.11 would have placed him in third place. Eddie Gamboa is in his 8th year as a professional ballplayer, all as a pitcher and all in the Baltimore system. But only recently has he focused on his knuckleball. We were somewhat surprised to figure out that he was the Bulls' best pitcher this year. That's probably because his appearances were often disfigured by watching the catcher chase down passed balls or wild pitches. We were very pleased to see the Rays bring him up at the end of the IL season. [stats]

Adam Wilk (left-handed starting pitcher) had 15 starts before he went on the disabled list in mid-June. Although he wasn't getting much in the way of run support his WHIP was a decent 1.12 and his ERA (3.63) was OK as well. An 8-year professional, Wilk came to the Bulls will AAA experience in the Detroit, Pittsburg, and LA Angels systems, with a few moments of major league time with Detroit and the Angels. In keeping with a well-established Durham Bulls/Tampa Bay Rays tradition, we have no idea why he went on the DL or what's happened to him since then. [stats]

Jacob Faria (RHSP) came up to the Bulls from Montgomery just after the midseason (essentially when Wilk went on the DL). He showed considerable promise in his 13 starts and 67.2 innings with the Bulls (he had 14 starts and 83.1 innings with AA Montgomery). His ERA as a Bull was decent at 3.72 and his WHIP of 1.15 was OK as well. His 4.84 pitches per out were the most efficient of any of the Bulls starting pitchers (and the second best on the team). This was his first experience at AAA but he's the only pitcher on the Rays 40-man who did not get a September call-up. Likely the Rays thought that 151 total innings was enough. [stats]

Blake Snell (LHSP) started the year with the Bulls after coming up from Montgomery for eight games at the end of 2015. In his 12 games and 63 innings with the Bulls he carried a 3.29 ERA, a WHIP of 1.33, and a promising FIP of 2.60. He went up to the Rays for one game in April and went up to stay in mid-June. He won't be back. [stats]

ERAs and FIPs

Sorted by number of innings pitched
Click on chart for larger image

Parker Markel (right-handed reliever) led the relief crew in innings pitched. He had 5 games with the Bulls in 2015, started 2016 with Montgomery, came up in mid-May and didn't go back. He picked up 5 wins in relief over 34 appearances and 60.2 innings. With the notable exception of Dana Eveland, his ERA of 2.52 was the best on the team. He is a product of the Rays' system and he'll likely start with the Bulls or with the Rays next year. [stats]

Dylan Floro (right-handed reliever) was a starter all of 2015. The Rays decided to convert him to a relief pitcher this year and the move seemed to be reasonably successful. With the Bulls,  he got in 50 innings in 32 appearances with an excellent ERA of 2.88, 5 holds, and 7 saves (2 blown saves). He went up to the Rays in early July and came back to the Bulls in late August. He had two appearances and then went on the disabled list. No reasons were given. (See Adam Wilk above). [stats]

Neil Wagner (right-handed relief pitcher) started the year with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Coming off surgery he actually had a pretty good year in some ways. He was the best of the Durham relievers with runners on base. Of the 15 who were on base when he came on, only 3 scored. On the other hand, he only finished 43 innings in 38 appearances, which is pretty short relief. A couple of short, but poor outings, balooned up his ERA and it stuck there most of the year finishing at 4.81. And he had to work awfully hard for his outs, averaged 6.07 pitches per out, one of the worst ratings on the team. At 32 years old he was in direct competition with Dana Eveland as the oldest player on the team. He brought a lot of experience to the Bulls. He's played in the Cleveland, Oakland, San Diego, and Toronto systems. He was out for all of 2015 and 2016 was his testing year. Numbers probably do not describe his worth to the Rays. Hard to guess if he will return. [stats]

Adam Kolarek was that extreme rarity for the Bulls this year, a left-handed reliever. Until late in the year, he was the Bulls' only lefty in the bullpen. He did a decent job with a nice ERA of 3.05 in his 34 appearances and 41.1 innings. Kolarek came over to the Rays system from the Mets in 2015. He started 2016 with Montgomery. He came up to the Bulls in early May, went back in mid-July, came back in early August and stayed. On the year he had 47 appearances. With a WHIP of 1.23, I'd guess he's in good shape for next year. [stats]

WHIP

Tyler Sturdevant (right-handed reliever) is a puzzle to me. He started the year with the Bulls, went up to the Rays in mid-May, came back for three appearances in late June, then returned the the Rays. Came back in July for 14 games, back to the Rays, back to the Bulls in last August for 4 appearances, then called back up at the end of the season. As a Bull, 34 appearances, 39.1 innings, undistinguished ERA of 3.66, WHIP of 1.30. He had 16 appearances with the Rays prior to September. My only real problem was his 5 blown saves. The Bulls could hardly afford that this year. The 30-year-old Sturdevant came up through the Cleveland system and this was his first season in the majors, so maybe the back-and-forth makes sense. [stats]
[Update: Designated for Assignment 9/11/16]

Danny Farquhar (righty reliever) went back a forth a lot. With the Bulls, he had 32 appearances for 38 innings and did just fine with an ERA of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.11. He was also one of the more efficient of the Bulls pitchers with a 5.02 pitches-per-out rating. Farquhar has time with the Toronto, Yankees, Oakland, and Seattle systems and 26 appearances this year (as of 9/10/2016) with the Rays. My guess would be that his return next year depends entirely on his relationship with the Rays. He may decide that he should be a full-time major leaguer. [stats]

Mark Sappington (righty reliever) is a young (25) reliever who started with Angels, played all of 2015 with Montgomery and made his AAA debut with the Bulls this year April. He appeared in 29 games for 37 innings with an ERA of 4.86 and a WHIP of 1.68. Not very good. He was sent to Montgomery in late June, where he finished out his year with 13 more appearances. His ERA there was 7.80 and his WHIP was 2.13. I'm not sure he has a future in professional baseball. But I've been wrong before. [stats]

Steve Geltz (righty reliever) split time between the Rays and the Bulls this year, doing much better as a Bull (ERA-3.03, WHIP-1.32) than as a Ray (ERA-6.65, WHIP-1.39). Geltz started out in the Angels system and came over to the Rays in 2013. He did a terrific job for the Bulls that year and in 2014. He spent all of 2015 with the Rays to decent numbers. I'm not sure that his return to Durham this year was because of performance or because he was a Ray "with  options" that was easy to move back and forth. He was called back up at the end of September. [stats]

Matt Andriese (right-handed starting pitcher). Andriese started his career with the Padres, but he joined the Rays system in  2014 with the Bulls and has made a bunch of appearances in a Bulls uniform (72) as both a starter and reliever in 2014, 2015, and 2016. This year he started 6 games, went up to Tampa Bay, and never came back. He did just fine as a Bull (ERA-3.41, WHIP-1.14), not so good with the Rays. He's still just 26 years old. But the Rays have never seemed to be able to figure out if they want him to be a starting pitcher or a reliever. [stats]

Ryan Garton (right-handed reliever) has only five years as a pro; however, he essentially split his year between Durham and St. Petersberg. He had 32 innings as a Bull and 32 innings as a Ray. His numbers as a Bull were just fine, an ERA of 3.09 and a WHIP of 1.28. He did work harder than most with 5.99 pitches per out. It would seem that he has a fine future with the Rays, but we'll likely keep on seeing him as long as he has options left. [stats]

Dana Eveland (left-handed reliever) is the very definition of "well-traveled veteran." We have to point out, however, that his time with the Bulls was extraordinary: 20 games, 29.2 innings, ERA of 0.30, WHIP of 0.74. Eveland started his career with the Milwaukee system and has been with Arizona, Oakland, Toronto, Pittsburg, the Dodgers, Baltimore, Mets, Boston, and Atlanta. He began 2016 with the Rays and came to the Bulls in late June, back to the Rays, then to the Bulls to stay in mid-July. We liked him a lot. But he probably won't be back. [stats]
[Update 9/12/16: He was added to 40-man and called up to Rays on 9/11/16]

Ryne Stanek (right-handed reliever) had been a starting pitcher all of his very brief career with the Rays, until the middle of this year. He came to the Bulls right after the 4th of July and he simply wasn't very good over his 16 appearances and 24.1 innings. Will he be good? Probably. And it's fun, at first, to watch a guy throw in the high 90's. But an ERA of 5.92 doesn't auger well. He did fine with runners on base — of 9 inherited, none scored. He'll surely be back next spring. [stats]

Pitches Per Out

A home-grown measure of pitching efficiency

Alex Cobb (right-handed starter) joined the Bulls for 4 rehabilitation appearances (15 innings). I'd like to complain about how that punched a hole in the Bulls' rotation and caused other problems. However, by the time he showed up in August the Bulls were already doomed. He spent parts of 2011 and 2012 with the Bulls and we wish him only the best in his continued recovery.

Casey Coleman (righty reliever) only got into 11 games. When he was signed in mid-July I was hoping the at least a bit of the good old days of the Rays being really smart about discovering talent. But then Coleman went on the DL after just 6 appearances. Overall, for his 14 innings, he did OK. And ERA of 3.86 and WHIP of 1.29, but the sample size is a problem. At 28 he's seen time with the Cubs, Royals, and Mariners. A maybe for next year. [stats]

Loose Ends —

• Jhan Marinez, one of our favorites from 2015, made just 6 appearances (8 innings) before being called up to the Rays. When they designated him for assignment, the Brewers grabbed him and he's had a pretty good year in Milwaukee. [stats]
• Kyle McPherson (righty reliever) started with the Bulls, made 5 appearances. His Wikipedia page reports that he was released on 5/24/16. [stats]
• Andrew Bellatti (right-handed reliever) started the season with the Bulls and made 6 appearances for 5.1 innings. He went on the disabled list in May, was DFA'd in June and may be out of baseball now.
• Chih-Wei Hu (right-handed starter) made a spot start for the Bulls on April 23 and went back to Montgomery. He's had a pretty good year with the Biscuits: 2.59 ERA over 142 innings. [stats]
• Brad Schreiber (righty reliever) came up from the Charlotte Stone Crabs to two relief appearances at the end of June. It was his first time at AAA. [stats]
• Greg Harris (right-handed starting pitcher) made his Triple-A debut on September 3, coming up from the Charlotte Stone Crabs. [stats]
• Ryan Webb (right-handed reliever) made three rehab appearances in mid-June, but was then released. [stats]
• Brad Boxberger (right-handed reliever) put in 1.2 innings in two rehab appearances in May.
• Kyle Winkler (right-handed reliever) came up from Montgomery for one appearance on July 9, pitched 1.1 innings, and got a win before going back to Montgomery.

Updates 9/12/16: See Eveland (called up) and Sturdevant (DFA'd)

The Durham Bulls at the All Star Break - Part 3 - Pitchers and Hitters

Pitchers

The Bulls have seen 31 different players on the mound this season.  Three were position players. Several have been called up. Some have come back. Others have been released. They have 13 on the roster, but that's a moving target. We charted 12 of the current crew and included Adam Wilk, who is currently on the disabled list. Not included are Ryan Stanek, Casey Coleman, Kyle Winkler, and Dana Eveland because they have very few innings and/or their roster status isn't clear. Also note that Jacob Faria, who is on the chart, only has 15 innings in Triple-A. Overall, as was noted in our previous post, the pitching crew is doing OK.

ERA/FIP

The stats geeks don't like ERA for lots of reasons. So here's a chart with both ERA and FIP (Fielding Independent Percentage). In general, FIP seems better for a short-term look and ERA for a longer term. This chart is sorted by FIP. We have a sample size problem (few innings) with a couple of the guys. Nevertheless, the bottom four pitchers, which include a starter and three relievers, are not having good years, the rest are OK.

click on chart for larger view

WHIP

Walks/Hits per Inning Pitched, interestingly, sorts out with the same four pitchers on the bottom.

Pitches per Out

This is a home-brewed stat that basically highlights just how hard a pitcher has to work to get an out. Again, the same four pitchers— Steve Geltz, Neil Wagner, Mark Sappington, and Justin Marks—are at the bottom.

Hitters

Coming to the plate so far this year we've seen 21 different Durham Bulls. We've charted 14 of them, but admit that it could be a moving target. A catcher, Hank Conger, is on his way from Tampa Bay. Kyle Roller, who was in 50 games this year, has been released. Cameron Seitzer and Mayo Acosta are on and off the roster. Juniel Querecuto is with Montgomery at the moment.

This is not a very impressive crew this year. We pointed out the team stats in a previous post. The individual stats show only 4 with positive wRAAs and one of those, Johnny Field is on the disabled list. It's worth noting that all but two have now gotten above the "Mendoza Line" (.200) in their batting averages. However, when watching a game it's hard to get your hopes up when any of these guys come to the plate.

From a fan's perspective, we have to say that the players who have been the most fun to watch were Jaff Decker, Dayon Varona, and Taylor Motter. We have hopes that Jake Goebbert and J.P. Arencibia will catch some breaks. We think Luke Maile is breaking out, but he or J.P. Arencibia is likely to be called up today or tomorrow. Richie Shaffer is helping the team a lot, the best wRAA of them all. It just seems like he is working so hard, for less return than hoped for.

Name	Age	PA	AVG	OPS	wRAA	wOBA
Jaff Decker	26	264	.233	.733	4.1	.338
Johnny Field	24	116	.250	.751	1.7	.337
Richie Shaffer	25	351	.250	.729	5.0	.336
Dayron Varona	28	304	.235	.718	0.8	.321
Daniel Robertson	22	340	.254	.664	-2.2	.309
Jake Goebbert	28	242	.214	.653	-2.8	.302
Luke Maile	25	214	.242	.650	-2.7	.301
Eury Perez	26	50	.239	.626	-1.1	.288
J.P. Arencibia	30	162	.221	.623	-4.2	.283
Jake Hager	23	111	.245	.609	-3.4	.277
Juniel Querecuto	23	100	.228	.587	-3.8	.267
Taylor Motter	26	179	.202	.585	-7.1	.265
Cameron Seitzer	26	140	.176	.419	-12.3	.201
Mayo Acosta	28	46	.091	.200	-7.7	.094

Fireworks (Not by Bulls) at the DBAP

Game 86, July 4, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham,North Carolina
Syracuse Chiefs (Washington Nationals): 9
Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays): 2
Season: 37-49; Home Stand: 0-1
Wrap, Box, Herald Sun

Stats:
Game Score: Shultz 56; Season Avg 55 (17 starts, 86.1 innings)
Tm OPS: Game .397; Season .651; Diff -.254
Tm wOBA: Game .193; Season .294; Diff -.101
[See note below]

Pretty ugly pitching and hitting, but the weather was fine and a big crowd saw the fireworks ... after the game.

Reliable Jamie Schultz did quite well. Mark Sappington and Neil Wagner were awful. After their appearances, the Bulls bullpen was essentially empty, although Parker Markel, Steve Geltz, and first baseman Cameron Seitzer filled in for a couple of innings.

The crew was limited to just three hits.

Outside the game —

• Taylor Motter is back. He's a fun player to watch. Just wish his bat would come back to 2015 levels.
• Starting pitcher Ryne Stanek is coming up from Montgomery. This will be his Triple-A debut, but the exact date hasn't been announced. Stats.
• Tyler Sturdevant has been called back to Tampa Bay.
• Outfielder Johnny Field has gone on the disabled list.

Note on Stats —

• Game Score gives you a sense of how the starting pitcher did in a game. A game score of 50 is a "quality start". In this case, Jamie Schultz had a quality start and is having an above average season.
• The Team OPS for this game was well below the team's season OPS, which is the worst in the International League. Not a good game at all.
• The stats geeks think that wOBA is a much better measure of individual performance than OPS. I like it. But no site I've found tracks wOBA for either  a team or a league, so these are my computations. After 86 games the Bulls are just at .294. An individual player with a wOBA of .300 is considered a "poor" player. A .320 wOBA is considered average.

Geltz Does a Bateman

Game 81, June 30, 2016, BB&T Park
Durham Bulls: 3
Charlotte Knights: 2
10 innings
Season: 36-45; Trip: 2-1
Wrap, Box, Charlotte Observer
Stats:
Game Score: Schultz 63; Season Avg 55 (16 starts, 81.1 innings)
Tm OPS: Game .632; Season .658; Diff -.026
Tm wOBA: Game .289; Season .297; Diff -.008

Joe Bateman was a reliever for the Durham Bulls several years ago (2009-2011, stats). Bulls fans will remember that he was famous for getting into very difficult situations, and then getting out of them. Last night Steve Geltz "did a Bateman."

After Geltz's colleague, Mark Sappington, threw the ball away to allow a tie game in the 8th, the Bulls came back in the top of the 10th on Jake Goebbert's third RBI of the game that drove in Johnney Field (who was running for Mayo Acosta). The Bulls were up 3-2 when Mr. Geltz came in for his Batemanesqe moment(s).

First, he gave up a single to Charlotte's Jacob May. The next batter popped up to Geltz. But May stole second base and then went to third base on a Geltz wild pitch. That put a runner at 3B, one out, and  former Bull Jason Bourgeois at bat. Bourgeois at-bat went on and on and on, reaching 11 pitches before striking out. Two outs. Another former Bull came to the plate, Jerry Sands. He hit a fly ball to Dayron Varona in center field to end the game.

My cardiologist has a mixed opinion regarding pitchers like Steve Geltz (and Joe Bateman). Yes, it's probably a good thing to get your heart rate up from time to time. No, it's probably not a good thing to do it at 10 o'clock at night sitting in front of your computer staring at the MiLB streaming video.

Roster Moves, a Couple of Losses, DJ Still in the Game

Game 36, May 13, BB&T Ballpark, Charlotte, North Carolina
Durham Bulls (Rays): 3
Charlotte Knights (White Sox): 8
Wrap, Box

Game 37, May 14, Charlotte
Bulls: 7
Knights: 4
Wrap, Box

Game 38, May 15, Charlotte
Bulls:4
Knights: 5
12 innings
Season: 16-22; Trip: 1-2
Wrap, Box

After a brief Bulls 1-run lead in the 1st, Blake Snell gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the inning. He seemed OK for the rest of his 5 innings. Then the Bulls uncharacteristically had a comeback moment in the top of the 9th and went ahead 4-3. However, Mark Sappington walked two batters (he did have a K in there) for his part of the 9th. Manager Jared Sandberg wisely(?) replaced him with Tyler Sturdevant who got the second out before walking the next two batters force in the tying run (which was charged to Sappington).

We had to wait until the bottom of 12th inning for the game to be over, although there was a high /low point in the top of the 11th when pinch-runner Patrick Leonard got picked off first base. Nevertheless, in the 12th a single, sac bunt, stolen 3rd base, and wild pitch by Parker Markel ended it all.

Bulls are now in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where they will play the Gwinnett Braves tonight.

Outside the game (playing a little catchup) —

• Jhan Mariñez won’t be coming back. After being DFA’d by the Rays, the Brewers picked him up. Bad news for the Bulls. He had a stellar 2015 for the team with an astonishing ERA of 1.92 in 61 innings, over 45 games. Good luck with Milwaukee!
• Mikie Mahtook is off the disabled list (3 for 11 in last 3 games) and Jake Goebbert went on the disabled list.
• Danny Farquar got called up, but was then Designated for Assignment (don’t ask me how that works).
• RHP Neil Wagner, who started the season on the DL, got called up to Bulls after a few innings at Port Charlotte. 32 years old. Has not pitched regularly since 2013 (injured in 2014). Stats. He pitched 1⅓ innings on Saturday.
• Taylor Motter was called up to the Rays on Saturday. Good luck!
• Remember Dan Johnson? Well, he’s still playing baseball—a little bit of 1st base and he’s still working on his knuckleball — in an indy league. Good story about the impact of a torn fingernail on prowess of a knuckleballer. [Tnks to DRaysBay for pointing out the link.]
• Blake Snell is the only healthy pitcher with the Bulls who is on the Rays 40-man.

A Little Luck and a Win

Game 3, 9 April, Durham Bulls Athletic Park

Charlotte Knights: 2

Durham Bulls: 3

Season: 2-1; Home Stand: 2-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun (paywall)

Consider Saturday night’s win a gift from the Charlotte Knight’s battery of catcher Hector Sanchez and reliever Phillipe Aumont. Hats off to broadcaster Patrick Kinas who called out the shaky teamwork of the two from the beginning of the 8th inning. A single by Richie Shaffer was followed by two wild pitches that got him to 3B (and a walk that got Kyle Roller on base). A double by Daniel Robertson tied the game. Another wild pitch scored pinch-runner Nick Franklin, and that was enough to win the game.

The Lineup

(just the players we are seeing for the first time)

DH Jake Goebbert: 0 for 3, 1 BB
Goebbert is a left-hand hitting first baseman who was very recently claimed from the Pirates system. He played all last year at AAA  El Paso (Padres) and carried a very nice .844 OPS. He could end up be a real asset to the Bulls. Stats.
RF Dayron Varona: 1 for 4
Varona has had his 15 minutes of fame this year when he accompanied the Tampa Bay Rays to Cuba to play the Cuban National Team. He was the only Cuban on the Rays and got a bit of returning hero treatment. He had a decent 2015 at A and AA last year and 40 games in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Stats.
C Carlos Corporan: 0 for 2, 2 BB
Well-traveled, 32 year-old Corporan played in the Rangers system last year, but went to spring training with the Yankees. The Rays got him from there. He adds some depth and experience to a roster that’s unusually young (average age of hitters is 25.4). Stats.

The Pitchers

RHP Jamie Schultz: 4⅓ innings, 5 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K’s, 2 HR, Game Score - 41
Schultz made his AAA debut and, with the notable exception of the two solo home runs, did just fine. He spent all of last year in Montgomery, starting 27 games and pitching 135 innings with 168 K’s. Think he’s going to be fun to watch. Stats.
RHP Eddie Gamboa: 3⅔ innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 BB, 3 K’s
For the last three years knuckleballer Gamboa bedeviled Durham Bulls hitters as a reliever for the Norfolk Tides. Very happy to see him wearing a Bulls uniform. He’s going to be fun to watch. Stats. Interesting conversation with Neil Solondz about his knuckleball and joining the Rays here.
RHP Mark Sappington: 1 inning, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 BB, 2 K’s.
Sappington came to the Rays out of the Angels system and spent last year in Montgomery. This was his AAA debut. He had a good year last year and has some interesting comments in his Solondz interview. Stats.