Bull Durham

The Bisons travel to Durham, NC to take on the Bulls starting Monday night. The Bulls are the affiliate for the Rays of Tampa Bay, so it's kind of a AL East showcase.

I'm not sure if it is actually real, but my prediction is that Luis Jimenez is swinging for the Bull over the RF fence so he can win a free steak.

Onto the preview. 

Game 1 starter will be Alex Torres. Torres is 25 year old lefty with 2 stints in the Bigs. He is 2-2 with a 2.81 ERA this season. Torres was acquired in 2009 in the Scott Kazmir trade with the Angels. 

Game 2 starter will be Mike Montgomery. The big, 23 year old lefty was acquired in the James Shields trade from the Royals in the offseason. He is a former top prospect (no. 31 heading into 2012 according to MLB.com) who is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in 2 triple A starts this season. 

Game 3 will be Alex Colome, a recent International League pitcher of the week. He is the nephew of Jesus Colome, former MLB pitcher. Alex is 4-5 with a 2.60 ERA in 10 starts this season. 

The finale should be J.D. Martin, the triple A veteran with 2 stints in the Majors for the Nationals. He's in his 4th organization  now and has 7 different season with triple A time. He's gone 26-23 with a 4.23 ERA in 97 games including 69 starts. He's 6-2 this season with a 3.65 ERA. 

The offense is led by top prospect Wil Myers, who is hitting .259/.343/.420 with 6 HR and 31 RBI. 

Their best hitter this season has been 2B Vince Belnome. His .336/.439/.530 slash is one of the best in the league. 

Other notable names include former number 1 overall pick Tim Beckham, who is the SS for the Bulls. 

The other dangerous hitter appears to be Cuban defect Leslie Anderson, a 1B, who has 6 HR and 11 2B. 

Other hitters with MLB experience are Brandon Guyer, Shelley Duncan, Jason Bourgois, Chris Gimenez, Mike Fontenot, and Rich Thompson. 

Their top relievers are former top prospect Will Inman (5.54 ERA), Kirby Yates (1.69 ERA, 2 saves), Steve Geltz (2.77 ERA, 1 save), and LOOGY Jeff Beliveau (3.38 ERA, 1 save). They don't seem to have a capital C closer since rapist Josh Lueke was summoned to the Majors.

That's the preview. I'll be back to review unless something special happens during the series.