NEW YORK -- The Rays are making infielder Jake Cronenworth into a two-way player. On Saturday, he opened a game for Triple-A Durham and pitched one scoreless inning. It was the first game he has pitched this season.

This didn’t come as a surprise to Rays manager Kevin Cash, who said Cronenworth, 25, had thrown bullpen sessions and pitched live batting practices in the past few weeks.

Cash said Cronenworth’s stuff graded out pretty well. Entering Sunday’s action, Cronenworth was batting .367 (51-for-139) with two homers and 18 RBIs for Durham. He was selected by the Rays in the seventh round of the 2015 Draft.

“He pitched in college at the University of Michigan,” Cash said. “He had knocked the cover off the ball this year. It would be a nice weapon if it clicks. He was 94 to 96 [mph] with the fastball. It will be interesting to see how that develops.”

Zunino, Duffy represent Rays on Taylor Hooton Advisory Board

The Taylor Hooton Foundation announced recently that its advisory board of active players from Major League Baseball has reached a record 42 members, with at least one representative from each of the 30 MLB teams. Tampa Bay has more than one representative: catcher Mike Zunino and infielder Matt Duffy. Both players are on the injured list.

The Taylor Hooton Foundation is widely acknowledged as the leader in the advocacy against the use of appearance and performance-enhancing substances by the youth of America.