Blog Update

Durham Bulls Farm Team Roster And Schedule 2023

By Aditya update Bhattarai / 15 August 2023 06:38 AM

Bulls Mascot showing off the ring as they won the League Championship in 2022.
Source : twitter

Durham Bulls farm team is a Minor League franchise of the MLB club Tampa Bay Rays. It is a Tripple A affiliate of the Rays in the International League of MiLB.

The Bulls joined the Rays in 1998 after moving around nine other MLB teams since their establishment in 1902. They remained unaffiliated with a Major League Club for 18 seasons in total while moving from one team to another.

After joining the Rays in 1998, they have been satisfied as an affiliated minor league club for more than 25 years. The Bulls have won a total of 17 League titles and four Class titles over their long history in MiLB.

They also boast a record of becoming divisional champions 23 times with 16 of them obtained after becoming a part of the Rays in 1998. Being a farm team for an MLB franchise, players with the best potential and performance are often promoted to the 40-man Roster for MLB games.

There are seven MiLB affiliates of the Major League team Tampa Bay Rays that belong to their farm system. Four of those teams are owned independently while the other three are owned by the Rays.

Durham Bulls have been the longest-running affiliate that is not owned by the Rays and operates independently as a farm team.

Durham Bulls Roster 2023

Durham Bulls Minor League roster 2023 includes Taj Bradley, Coopper Criswell, and Rene Pinto. Hitter Tristan Gray and Vida Brujan are also on the active list.

The Rays farm system contains 31 active players on the Bulls roster that are eligible to get promoted to an MLB game. They usually select the top performers as per their requirements on the team.

Bulls second baseman Aranda scored an batting average of .636 in the five games played in June 2023.
Source : twitter

Alex Jackson, Jonathan Aranda, and Vidal Brujan are some starting players in the Bulls team for 2023. Similarly, 13 players on the current roster including Rene Pinto, Ford Proctor, Aranda, and Josh Lowe are listed on the 40-man roster for the Major League club.

The Durham Bulls affiliate team of Rays is a team led by Manager Michael Johns. Hitting coach Kenny Hook, pitching coach Brain Reith, and bench coach Reinaldo Ruiz also help in training the players for improving their performance. They have been managing this Tripple A class team to compete in the International League of MiLB.

Here is the list of active players on the Durham Bulls Roster along with their playing position.

Durham Bulls Roster 2023Playing Position
1. Taj BradleyPitcher
2. Jalen BeeksPitcher
3. Trevor BrigdenPitcher
4. Victor CastanadaPitcher
5. Cooper CriswellPitcher
6. Calvin FaucherPitcher
7. Josh FlemingPitcher
8. Carlos GarciaPitcher
9. Javy GuerraPitcher
10. Trevor KellyPitcher
11. Jacob LopezPitcher
12. Emmanuel MejiaPitcher
13. Michael MercadoPitcher
14. Anthony MolinaPitcher
15. Hector PerezPitcher
16. Manuel RodriguezPitcher
17. Cole SulserPitcher
18. Nathan WilesPitcher
19. Roberto AlvarezCatcher
20. Nick DiniCatcher
21. Alex JacksonCatcher
22. Jonathan ArandaInfielder
23. Tristan GrayInfielder
24. Greg JonesInfielder
25. Austin ShentonInfielder
26. Vidal BrujanOutfielder
27. Ruben CardenasOutfielder
28. Niko HulsizerOutfielder
29. Diego InfanteOutfielder
30. Kameron MisnerOutfielder
31. Raimel TapiaOutfielder

Bradley and Aranda were among the 100 best prospects in baseball entering the 2023 season with Durham. They were part of the 2022 Triple-A National Championship season of the Bulls.

Aranda also got the award for International League Most Valuable Player last year. Other pitching players contain returnees from the 2022 team such as Trevor Brigden, Cooper Criswell, and Nathan Wiles. Criswell is a  former UNC graduate from Chapel Hill Standouts.

Kelley got his first MLB win in 2022 after joining the Bulls.
Source : twitter

On the other hand, Trevor Kelley is a Wilmington alum with Hector Perez. The two-time Triple-A National champion catcher Rene Pinto is accompanied by Nick Dini for the same position behind the home plate.

Dini is also a Triple-A player with former experience with Syracuse of the Kansas City Royals. Hitter Tristan Gray is the fifth most home run hitter of the franchise as he made 33 HR in 2022. Moreover, Vidal Brujan is also returning to the roster for the Rays Triple-A team.

Ruben Cardenas and Niko Hulsizer are also returning on the Bulls' depth chart as outfielder champions from last year's squad.

Apart from the active player mentioned above, here are some of the talented players that are currently in rehab or placed on the injured list in 2023.

  • Ryan Burr - Pitcher (7 Day Injured List)
  • Andrew Kittredge - Pitcher (Rehab Assignment)
  • Brendan McKay - Pitcher (60 Day Injured List)
  • Justin Sterner - Pithcer (7 Day Injured List)
  • Ryan Thompson - Pitcher ( 7 Day Injured List)
  • Blake Hunt - Catcher (7 Day Injured List)
  • Francisco Mejia - Catcher ( Rehab Assignment)

Schedule 2023

Durham Bulls schedule 2023 indicates the next game with Gwinnett Stripers from 15 to 20 August 2023. All home games will be held at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

After playing five games with the Stripers, the Bull will be competing against the Norfolk Tides. They will be playing it from 22 to 28 August at Harbor Park in Norfolk Virginia.

The team has recently won 4 by six games against the Memphis Redbirds at AutoZone Park as an away team. Before that, they also won four by six games against the Nashville Sounds at their own home ground, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Bulls schedule planned for the third week of August in 2023 season.
Source : twitter

Here are the upcoming schedules for the Bulls games in the upcoming weeks of 2023.

  • Bulls Vs Gwinnett Stripers from August 15 to August 20 2023 - Home Game
  • Bulls Vs Norfolk Tides from August 22 to August 28 2023 - Away Game at Harbor Park
  • Bulls Vs Nashville Sounds from August 20 to September 3 2023 - Home Game
  • Bulls Vs Charlotte Knights from September 5 to September 10 2023 - Away Game at Truist Field
  • Bulls Vs Louisville Bats from September 12 to September 17 2023 - Home game
  • Bulls Vs Gwinett Stripers from September 19 to September 24 2023 - Away game at Coolray Field

The Bulls will be hosting all their home games against their opponents at the Durham Bulls Athletics Park. Likewise, they would be playing the away games at the respective stadium or ballpark of the hosting team.

They have been competing with five teams in the last two months from Gwinett, Norfolk, Nashville, Charlotte, and Louisville in the last two months.

Other teams such as Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Rochester Red Wings, Syracuse Mets, and St. Paul Saint have also competed in the previous months. 

Tampa Bay Minor League Teams

Durham Bulls MLB team is Tampa Bay Rays since 1998. The Rays have 7 minor league teams affiliated with them including the Bulls.

Each minor league team is either associated with the Major League Club or operates independently. They belong to different levels of Classes that are regulated under the 2022 rule of MLB.

Each Major League team has a minor league team under Triple A, Double A, High A, Single A, Foreign League, and Rookie League. The club can also manage more than one team in each class.

Here are the minor League Teams of the Tampa Bay Rays according to their classes.

  1. Triple A - Durham Bulls since 1998
  2. Double A -  Montgomery Biscuits since 1999
  3. High A - Bowling Green Hot Rods since 2009
  4. Single A - Charleston Riverdogs since 2020
  5. Foreign League - DSL Rays 1 and DSL Rays 2 since 2008
  6. Rookie League - Florida Complex League Rays since 2022

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