Florida State League notebook

Generally, a player who has never moved past Class A Advanced with a career batting average closer to the Mendoza line than .300 is not afforded a fifth season in a team's organization.

Unless, of course, the player is a bonus baby.

Henry Wrigley is not a bonus baby.

Drafted in the 14th round in 2005, Wrigley hasn't really distinguished himself. He's a career .248 hitter.

Perhaps by surprise or given the parent club's recent success at developing talent, more likely by design, the Tampa Bay Rays brought back Wrigley for another year -- his fifth full season as a professional.

It may be his breakout season.

Playing for the Charlotte Stone Crabs, Wrigley is among the Florida State League's top hitters. Through Monday, he was batting .337 with 30 hits, seven doubles and 17 RBIs in 23 games.

Already, his four homers are nearly half of his previous career high (10).

"It says a lot," Wrigley said of the loyalty and support the Rays have shown him. "It's nice to still get the opportunity to play and prove myself. I really haven't done much the past four or five years. It's exciting for me that I still have the opportunity to keep coming out here and keep playing.

"It's helped me (mentally)."

In his second season of professional baseball at Hudson Valley of the New York-Penn League in 2007, Wrigley hit .301. Since then, his numbers steadily declined until this season.

Wrigley believes his new mental approach at the plate, fostered by Stone Crabs manager Jim Morrison and hitting instructor Joe Szekely, has aided his newfound success.

"I am more mentally focused each day when I come to the park," Wrigley said. "I know what I need to do to get better every day."

Part of that is his plan at each at-bat. No longer is he a free-swinging, too-aggressive hitter trying to pull everything.

Wrigley has learned to coax pitches, waiting for what he wants instead of what the pitcher offers while keeping a compact swing.

"Stay under control and look to hit to the opposite field," Wrigley said. "Now I look to drive the ball to the other side. That has helped me a lot. If the pitch is a curveball or an off-speed pitch, I'll take it the other way.

"[Morrison and Szekely] have told me the same thing: Go into every at-bat with a plan and with a purpose and don't give an at-bat away. I was swinging at too many first pitches and I was out of control on my swings. I was too aggressive. Now I've calmed down and I'm getting a lot of two-strike hits."

Hitting better than he ever has in his professional career, Wrigley isn't too concerned about when or if a promotion to Double-A Montgomery may happen.

"I am not trying to think of that," he said. "The Rays will do what they want to do. I just keep trying to help my team win."

Dynamite debut: Palm Beach RHP Mark Diapoules couldn't script his first start of the season much better. Pitching near his hometown of West Palm Beach in a Cardinals home game against Bradenton, he didn't allow a hit in a 1-0 win at Jupiter. Diapoules struck out four while walking one in a five-inning stint.

Break out the brooms: Clearwater stretched its lead in the North Division with a series sweep of Daytona this past weekend. The Threshers lead Dunedin by a pair of games. Clearwater began a five-game road trip on the east coast on Monday.