The Tampa Bay Rays have called up 22-year old lefty starting pitcher Matt Moore. Moore came into this season as the Rays’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. Moore pitched in 27 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year and he was 12-3 with a 1.92 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He only gave up 101 hits in 155 innings in the minors this year while whiffing 210 batters and only walking 46 of them…..those are eye popping numbers. Moore has now pitched in 99 games (94 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 28-21 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. The Rays are likely going to use Moore the same way that they used David Price when he first came up……out of the bullpen.

The Rays have released 30-year old righty starter/reliever Dirk Hayhurst. Hayhurst pitched in 11 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Rays this year and he was 4-2 with a 4.12 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. The Rays weren’t going to call up Hayhurst in September anyways, so it didn’t make sense to keep him around. He might be able to hook up with another team before this year is over.

20-year old lefty swinging shortstop Hak-Ju Lee came into this season as the Cubs’ #4 prospect before he was dealt to the Rays as part of the return for Matt Garza. Lee has played in 97 games in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 127 for 402 (.316 avg, .827 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 4 homers, 23 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. He has now played in 287 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 351 for 1,151 (.305 avg, .774 OPS) with 222 runs scored, 7 homers, 96 RBIs and 85 stolen bases. It appears as if the Rays might put Lee on the fast track to the show as he has no one really blocking him in the organization unless Tim Beckham starts to pick up the pace.

The Tampa Bay Rays appear to be ready to move B.J. Upton before next weekend’s trade deadline. The 26-year old CF is leading the Rays in homers (15), RBIs (52) and stolen bases (23) so they aren’t going to sell him cheap. The Braves, Nationals, Rangers and Phillies are the likely teams to be hot after Upton. The Braves don’t really have the kind of package that I think would entice the Rays because their best prospects are pitchers. The Rangers could offer up catcher Taylor Teagarden and 1B/OF Chris Davis plus prospects, and that would be an interesting offer as those two players are major league ready right now. If the Rays go the prospect route, the Phillies could offer them 1B/OF Jonathan Singleton and catcher Sebastian Valle plus another prospect or two. That would also make the Rays think about it. The Nationals have been scouting Upton for a while now and they really want him. The Rays would likely be able to get reliever Tyler Clippard, catcher Derek Norris and either outfielder Roger Bernadina or 1B Chris Marrero for Upton. If those are the kind of offers the Rays would get, I would lean towards dealing with the Nationals but I would seriously consider the Rangers’ offer because they need hitters now.

The Tampa Bay Rays have promoted 24-year old righty swinging outfielder Desmond Jennings. He will be the Rays’ new leadoff hitter and starting LF. Jennings came into this season as the Rays’ #3 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Jennings played in 89 games in AAA-ball for the Rays this year and he was 94 for 338 (.278 avg, .836 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 12 homers, 39 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Jennings came up at the end of the 2010 season with the Rays. He played in 17 games for the Rays last year and he was 4 for 21 (.190 avg, .625 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Bringing Jennings up right now could be foreshadowing of a B.J. Upton deal, as he can handle CF.