Saturday, January 11, 2014

Pre-Seaon Outlook: Tampa Bay Rays






















Batting Order: The Rays feature lots of speed at the top of the line-up and their offense will depend on Crawford and Glanville to set the table for their big boppers. Zobrist is a sneaky talented player that may lack conventional power, but he'll rack up the doubles. Similar to Chuck for the Yankees, Kevin Stocker will serve as another lead-off man at the bottom of the order. The Rays are one of the teams that will actively use their bench players, with Keppinger sure to get some at-bats at a number of positions and Vaughn will trot out against low control pitching. Overall an over-looked offense that could put up surprisingly large offensive totals, although I'd rate the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays above them.

Rotation: David Price is the ace and doesn't give up a double, giving them an elite pitcher at the top. The rest of the rotation is solid too and the biggest break the Rays get is Juan Guzman. A typical tier 3 pitcher who's nearly a mirror image of 460 point David Cone, he only costs 40 points. Now, as an IP 5, I imagine he's meant to be 400 points, but the card says 40 and sometimes glitches happen. As of now, the Rays will just be pleased to have the least expensive starter in the league without punting a spot in their rotation.

Bullpen: The Rays only have three members in their bullpen, but they're easily the best in the division. Fernando Rodney is a rare tier 1 closer and they back him up with a fantastic Jake McGee (tier 2, no double). If that wasn't enough, Wade Davis is a 2 IP pitcher, giving them a great safety valve if their starter flounders early. Definitely a bunch that will be responsible for several wins.

Overall: I'm very high on the Rays, who seem to be steady all over the board. The starters are decent, the bullpen is sensational, and the batting order's versatility should keep them competitive against any pitcher. They'll come into the season solidly fourth in most people's minds, but I believe they'll hang around all season and be a playoff contender.

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