Again in October, simply after the Rays had been bounced from the postseason, president of baseball operations Erik Neander gave a press convention and outlined some objectives for the offseason. One space focused for enchancment was the membership’s efficiency towards right-handed pitching. As an entire, the staff hit .234/.305/.373 towards righties, resulting in a 99 wRC+ that signifies they had been only a hair under common.
“I don’t assume it’s in us to simply stand pat and assume issues will get higher,” Neander stated at the moment.Â
Reduce to April and the membership apparently determined that the standing pat factor wasn’t such a foul concept in any case. The Rays made no strikes this offseason so as to add to their lineup. In reality, they subtracted from it, as gamers like Kevin Kiermaier, Ji Man Choi and Miles Mastrobuoni are actually on completely different groups. Except for signing Zach Eflin, all of the membership’s offseason additions had been minor leaguers, with most of these pitchers.
The MLB offseason was typically thought of to be on the strong aspect, with many contracts going nicely past predictions, particularly for the highest free brokers. It’s attainable that the low-spending Rays merely bought priced out of no matter plans they initially drew up for the winter. Regardless of the causes, the membership didn’t herald anybody from outdoors the group and is counting on inside choices, no less than for now. The season remains to be younger, however the early outcomes are encouraging. The membership is 14-2 and hitting a collective .276/.364/.544 towards righties for a 155 wRC+ up to now. Let’s dig in on the gamers individually.
Brandon Lowe
Within the first few years of his profession, Lowe established himself as one of many key members of the Tampa lineup. He hit 14 dwelling runs within the shortened 2020 season and added 39 extra the following 12 months. Over these two seasons mixed, he hit .253/.346/.532 for a wRC+ of 141.
Sadly, he was hobbled within the well being division final 12 months. He made journeys to the injured checklist as a consequence of decrease again points and a triceps contusion. He solely bought into 65 video games and produced a diminished .221/.308/.383 slash line when on the sphere for a 104 wRC+. Early indications recommend that Lowe has put these accidents behind him, as he’s off to a fantastic begin. He has 5 dwelling runs in his first 14 video games and is at the moment batting .310/.442/.690 for a 215 wRC+.
Wander Franco
Franco’s arc is pretty much like Lowe’s. His monitor document within the majors isn’t as lengthy, however he was thought of the highest prospect within the sport for fairly some time after which carried out nicely in 2021 whereas solely 20 years outdated. Nonetheless, the switch-hitter was additionally snakebitten in 2022, making journeys to the IL as a consequence of a quad pressure and wrist discomfort. He solely bought into 83 video games and hit .277/.328/.417 for a wRC+ of 116, nonetheless above common however not elite. Like Lowe, he appears to be wholesome and in an excellent groove right here this 12 months. He already has 4 lengthy balls and is batting .318/.366/.621 for a wRC+ of 176.
Taylor Partitions
The switch-hitting Partitions has at all times hit nicely within the minors however hasn’t been capable of translate it to the majors. Coming into this 12 months, his profession batting line was .182/.281/.288. He’s off to a robust begin right here in 2023 although, batting .281/.378/.469 via 37 plate appearances for a wRC+ of 144.
Francisco MejĂa
MejĂa isn’t off to the identical blazing begin as a few of his teammates. The switch-hitting catcher is batting simply .167/.276/.208 via his first 29 plate appearances. He and Christian Bethancourt have been splitting the catching duties pretty evenly up to now, however the right-handed-hitting Bethancourt is performing a lot better on the plate and will improve his share because the season goes alongside.
Luke Raley
Acquired from the Dodgers in a commerce simply previous to the 2022 season, Raley bought into 22 video games with the Rays final 12 months however hit simply .197/.306/.279. He’s nonetheless hanging out at a 31% clip in 2023 however has hit three homers in simply 13 video games, resulting in a .222/.310/.528 slash line and 131 wRC+.
Josh Lowe
Lowe has lengthy been one of many membership’s extremely touted prospects, chosen thirteenth total in 2016 and performing nicely within the minors. He bought a two-game cameo within the massive leagues in 2021 however struggled in his first significant style of the majors. He hit .221/.284/.343 final 12 months and struck out in 33.3% of his journeys to the plate. He’s been far superior this season, chopping that strikeout charge in half to 16.7% and hitting three dwelling runs in simply 12 video games. His present batting line of .359/.405/.718 quantities to a wRC+ 213.
Vidal Bruján
Lengthy one of many membership’s most important prospects, Bruján has struggled badly towards main league pitching. He had a batting line of .150/.207/.231 over 62 video games coming into this 12 months. The membership was granted a fourth possibility for him, permitting the Rays to ship him to the minors on Opening Day, however he was known as up when Jose Siri landed on the injured checklist. Bruján is hitting .333/.333/.333 via 15 plate appearances however has six strikeouts (a 40% charge) in that tiny pattern.
Jonathan Aranda
Aranda bought to make his MLB debut final 12 months however didn’t crack the Opening Day roster right here in 2023. He’s off to a pleasant begin in Triple-A, hitting a few dwelling runs for the Durham Bulls and drawing walks in a large 24% of his 50 plate appearances. His present batting line is .250/.440/.444 for a 136 wRC+.
Kyle Manzardo
Manzardo isn’t but on the 40-man roster however is without doubt one of the membership’s high prospects and is enjoying in Triple-A, that means a debut sooner or later this 12 months is on the desk. He has three dwelling runs and a ten.4% stroll charge for the Bulls up to now this 12 months, resulting in a .262/.333/.548 batting line and 115 wRC+ via 12 video games.
Greg Jones
Jones is on the 40-man roster, however he’s in Double-A and subsequently not prone to be on the entrance of the road for a call-up. He’s additionally not forcing the problem proper now, hitting .167/.189/.417 via eight video games for the Montgomery Biscuits.
All of those numbers include small pattern warnings, because the Rays have solely performed 16 video games to this point. Additionally, the power of their competitors has been pretty weak, as their 13-game profitable streak to start out the season got here towards the Tigers, Nationals, Athletics and Pink Sox. After they lastly confronted a staff that’s typically thought of to be a contender by squaring off towards the Blue Jays this previous weekend, they went 1-2.
The truth that they demolished the pitching of rebuilding golf equipment just like the Nats and A’s doesn’t imply that we will declare the state of affairs resolved, nevertheless it’s encouraging nonetheless. Franco and Brandon Lowe aren’t prone to maintain these torrid streaks, nevertheless it’s an excellent signal that they’re wholesome and making the 2022 struggles appear to be non permanent damage setbacks. Partitions can’t out of the blue be declared a celebrity, however he’s thought of a robust defender and any offense he can present is a pleasant bonus. We can also’t say that Raley and Josh Lowe have cemented themselves as profitable massive league hitters, however they’ve proven large promise within the minors and might be getting acclimated to massive league pitching. Josh Lowe’s much-improved strikeout charge is particularly optimistic.
Because the season goes alongside and the Rays face stronger competitors, it’s fully attainable that this image seems to be much less glowing. Nonetheless, the video games all depend the identical, and so they have already got 14 wins within the financial institution, which makes it extremely seemingly they keep in rivalry up till the commerce deadline. If they should improve on any of the hitters on this group, they’ve a really sturdy farm system and will be capable to bolster their left-handed choices by making a deal or two. But when even one or two of those early developments begin to appear extra actual, their urgency to take action shall be lessened.