Rays set rosters for Minor League affiliates
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ST. PETERSBURG -- With the Minor League season set to get started Thursday, the Rays announced their Minor League rosters on Monday.
Here’s how the rosters shape up:
Triple-A Durham
The Bulls' roster is highlighted by pitchers who could appear with the big league club. Oliver Drake, Jacob Faria, Andrew Kittredge, Ryan Merritt, Hoby Milner, Andrew Moore, Emilio Pagan, Austin Pruitt, Casey Sadler, Luis Santos, Aaron Slegers, Cole Sulser and Hunter Wood all have Major League experience.
Other notable players are the team’s No. 8 prospect Nate Lowe, No. 12 Nick Solak, Nick Ciuffo, Andrew Velazquez, Kean Wong and Michael Brosseau. Ian Gibaut, Joe McCarthy and Brent Honeywell, the Rays' No. 2 prospect and No. 28 in baseball, will start the season on the injured list.
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Double-A Montgomery
Two-way player Brendan McKay, the Rays' No. 3 prospect and No. 29 in baseball, highlights the Biscuits’ roster. McKay, who will pitch and be in the lineup strictly as a designated hitter this year, will get his first taste of Double-A after spending most of the 2018 season at Class A Charlotte. McKay struck out four over two innings in his lone outing with the big league club this spring.
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Rays' No. 4 prospect and No. 38 overall Jesus Sanchez, who is on the 40-man roster, will begin the year in Double-A. Last season, Sanchez had a .301/.331/.462 slash line in Charlotte before finishing the year in Montgomery, where he slashed .214/.300/.327 in 27 games.
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Other notable names: Rays' No. 10 Lucius Fox, No. 15 Josh Lowe and No. 28 Tristan Gray.
Class A Charlotte
After spending last season in Class A Bowling Green, the team’s No. 6 prospect and baseball's No. 82 Ronaldo Hernandez and Rays' No. 13 Moises Gomez will begin the year with the Stone Crabs.
Gomez is coming off a campaign in which he had 19 home runs and 82 RBIs, while Hernandez continued to show his power from the catching position, hitting 21 home runs at Bowling Green.
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Other notables names: Rays' No. 7 and No. 99 overall Vidal Brujan, Rays' No. 18 two-way player Tanner Dodson, No. 20 Resly Linares and No. 27 Garrett Whitley.
Class A Bowling Green
As expected, Wander Franco, the team’s No. 1 prospect and No. 13 in baseball, will begin the season with the Hot Rods after putting up one of last year's most impressive Minor League seasons in Rookie ball.
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In 61 games in the Appalachian League, the now 19-year-old Franco finished with a .351/.418/.587 slash line. The switch-hitting shortstop also hit 11 home runs and collected 57 RBIs.
If Franco continues to hit at that pace, there’s a chance he could move up quickly through the Minor League system.
Shane McClanahan, last year’s second first-round pick, highlights the pitching. McClanahan, the Rays' No. 11 prospect, recorded 13 strikeouts in seven innings in Rookie ball.