19-year old righty swinging SS Tim Beckham was the Rays’ #2 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America and he showed why this year. He played in 125 games in A-ball this season and he was 136 for 491 (.277 avg, .721 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 5 homers, 63 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He does have some work to do on his plate discipline as he walked 34 times while whiffing 116 times this year. But he has time as the Rays have Jason Bartlett, Ben Zobrist and Reid Brignac ahead of him on the organizational depth chart.

22-year old righty swinging outfielder Desmond Jennings was the Rays’ #5 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America and he’s showing why. Jennings has played in 101 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 123 for 387 (.318 avg, .882 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 8 homers, 45 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. The sky is the limit for Jennings who might be in Tampa before anyone thinks he will.

23-year old righty starting pitcher Wade Davis is making a push this season towards Tampa Bay. Davis was the #3 prospect in the Rays’ minor league system heading into this season and he’s showing why. Davis has pitched in 17 games (all starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 8-4 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Davis has only allowed 86 hits in 95 innings this season but he has had some control issues walking 37 batters. It will be interesting to see who the Rays call up if they need a starting pitcher….Davis or Sonnanstine?

The Rays have sent righty starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine to AAA to make room on the active roster for Scott Kazmir. Sonnanstine has pitched in 15 games (all starts) for the Rays this season and he is 6-7 with a 6.61 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Sonny has allowed 103 hits in only 81 2/3 innings for the Rays this season and 15 of them are homers. In parts of three seasons with the Rays, Sonnanstine has pitched in 69 games (all starts) in which he is 25-26 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Maybe the Rays will use Sonnanstine as trade bait if they feel they have a need before the trade deadline.

The Rays have likely lost 25-year old righty pitcher Wade Townsend for the 2009 season due to surgery on his right shoulder. Townsend pitched in 28 games (9 starts) in A+AA ball last season and he was 1-6 with a 6.07 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Townsend has been a huge disappointment for the Rays who expected him to be a legit prospect but he hasn’t shown much yet.