Ex-(Princeton)Rays

One thing about Princeton Rays fans is that their loyalty is not fleeting. They're keenly interested in following the progress of former P-Rays as they work their way up the baseball ladder.

So, from time to time here on Inside The Headset I'll provide updates on how former Princeton Rays players are faring.

With the Tampa Bay Rays poised to add scores of new players via the First Year Draft -- which starts at 6:00 pm EDT today -- now is a good time for the first update.
We'll focus on a group of last year's P-Rays who are now with the Class A Bowling Green (KY) Hot Rods of the South Atlantic League.


The player generating the most interest among baseball fans -- inside and outside of the Rays' organization -- is shortstop Tim Beckham. The 19-year old was the first overall pick of last year's draft and began his professional career in Princeton.

This year, the youngster from Georgia is doing well at Bowling Green. He's played in 51 of the Hot Rods' 57 games so far, the most games of any position player. Beckham leads the team in batting average (.297), at-bats (192), hits (57), and is tied for the lead in RBIs (31).
By comparison, Beckham hit .243 with the P-Rays in 2008.

As he continues to learn in the professional ranks, Beckham finds himself leading the Hot Rods in strikeouts (47), and errors (17). He's also 2-8 in stolen base attempts.

Scouts predicted in the run-up to last year's draft that Beckham's power numbers will rise as he matures physically. Looks like they were right. Beckham is second on the Hot Rods in slugging percentage (.427) and OPS (.788). Last year, he slugged .345 and had a .642 OPS.



Tim Beckham's older brother Jeremy, who also started his professional career with Princeton last year, is also at Bowling Green in 2009.

The elder Beckham is hitting .276 in 24 games with the Hot Rods, with an outstanding .447 on-base percentage. Last year, Jeremy hit .260 for the P-Rays before being called up to Class A Hudson Valley after 18 games in Princeton.



Outfielder Justin Reynolds is having a bit of a rough go with Bowling Green, hitting .218 in 33 games. But the speedy 22-year old from Dallas, Oregon is 5-7 in stolen base attempts.



Four members of Princeton's 2008 pitching staff are now at Bowling Green. The best of that lot, arguably, is Matt Moore.

Moore just missed winning the Applachian League ERA title last year (he was 1/3 of an inning short being eligible for the title), and after a bumpy start at Bowling Green the left-hander has found his groove.

Moore's low point this season came against Savannah May 14, when the Sand Gnats touched him up for four earned runs on four hits and six walks in only 2 2/3 innings.
Moore responded with four straight impressive appearances; in that time, in a combined 18 1/3 innings pitched, Moore has allowed 12 hits and 10 walks, while striking out 28, with an ERA of 1.96.

The high point for Moore came in his last start. June 6, at Asheville, Moore was unhittable -- literally. In seven innings, he gave up no hits, walked only two and struck out 12.

Overall this season, Moore is 3-2 with a 3.30 ERA. He's recovered from a bout of early-season wildness (26 walks in his first 28 innings, a rate of 8.4 walks/9 IP) and is piling up the strikeouts. His 12 K's against Asheville last Saturday raised his season total to a team-high 69, for a stellar rate of 13.4 K/9 IP.
That's good in any league.
So is Moore's opponents' batting average: .175.


One of Tampa Bay's organizational philosophies is to limit their young pitchers to a strict pitch count. So it's a promising sign when someone in the lower minor leagues goes deeper into games, like Joe Cruz is doing at Bowling Green. After averaging about 3 2/3 IP in his first five starts, Cruz has gone five innings or more in his last three.

Overall, the 20 year-old Californian is 1-2 with a 3.03 ERA. In a total of 35 2/3 IP, he's walked only nine while striking out 39. That's a strikeout/walk ratio of 4.3:1, not to mention a rate of 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings.


Jamie Bagley and Mike Jarman gave last year's Princeton squad a lights-out right-lefty bullpen combo. Each is with Bowling Green this season, but their roles have changed.

Bagley is still a reliever, and he leads the Hot Rods with eight saves in 19 appearances. He started the season looking invincible, not allowing a run in his first ten outings, but has cooled down lately. Bagley's been scored upon in each of his last four appearances, with an ERA of 7.56 over that time. Still, he picked up the win last Saturday against Asheville.

Jarman is now a starter, a role he held in his college career. With Bowling Green, he's overcome a stint on the seven-day DL to go 4-4 with a very respectable 2.72 ERA. In 43 IP, Jarman has walked only ten while striking out 31.