MLB Team Preview Series - Tampa Bay Rays
SteemSports Presenter: @bbleehehh9
SteemSports Editor: @theprophet0
The Tampa Bay Rays finished a respectable 80-82 in 2017, third place in the American League East. Expecting them to maintain that level of success heading into 2018 would be misguided. The club is in full rebuild mode and has sold off a large portion of their offensive production and pitching staff from last year.
Impact Additions:
Denard Span, C.J. Cron, Carlos Gomez, Daniel HudsonKey Departures:
Evan Longoria, Jake Odorizzi, Logan Morrison, Steven Souza Jr., Corey Dickerson, Lucas Duda, Alex Cobb,Projected Lineup:
DH - Denard Span
3B - Matt Duffy
CF - Kevin Kiermaier
RF - Carlos Gomez
2B - Brad Miller
C - Wilson Ramos
1B - C.J. Cron
SS - Adeiny Hechavarria
LF - Mallex Smith
Projected Rotation:
Chris Archer
Blake Snell
Jacob Faria
Nathan Eovaldi
Matt Andriese
Projected Closer:
Alex Colome
Daniel Hudson / Sergio Romo
The Rays will have a completely different look on offense in 2018 as Longoria, Morrison, Souza Jr., Dickerson and Duda have moved on. A late-spring addition of Carlos Gomez adds an intriguing blend of power and speed to the middle of the Rays’ lineup, but there’s a chance that he or any of the other bats surrounding him in the lineup could be trade bait at the deadline. Matt Duffy will also return to make his Rays’ debut after missing the entire 2017 due to foot injuries.
On the pitching side of the ledger, Chris Archer is the most likely candidate remaining on the team to be traded as he’s their best pitcher and also under a very team-friendly contract. The departures of Alex Cobb and Jake Odorizzi really hurt the club’s overall chances of fielding a competitive team as the overall rotation depth is shaky at best. Blake Snell could be interesting from a fantasy perspective if he can cut back on the walks and consistently work down in the strike zone.
Fantasy Sleeper - Carlos Gomez - OF
Gomez isn’t really a sleeper in the traditional sense, as he has a 24 HR / 40 SB season already on his resume with the Brewers in 2013. His problem in recent years, aside from a sky-high strikeout rate, has been his inability to stay on the field. As long as he can avoid the disabled list, he’ll see regular run in the middle of the Rays’ lineup which should lead to ample counting stats. His average draft position currently sits at 342 in NFBC leagues, though it’ll surely rise a bit now that he has signed and is slated for everyday at-bats.
Fantasy Bust - Kevin Kiermaier - OF
Kevin Kiermaier is a fine player, but I don’t understand the helium in his current draft stock. He has only played more than 108 games in a season one time. He has never driven in more than 40 runs in a season. He has never scored more than 62 runs. Sure, he’s a solid bet for 10-15 homers and 15-20 stolen bases. That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t justify pick 140, which is in the 10th round of 15-team drafts.
It will be interesting if the old Carlos Gomez shows up or the recent version shows up. He is a talented ball player, just can't seem to get out of his own way sometimes. Will be interesting to see though, now that the pressure is off, will he start to rake again.
I think it's the type of risk that a team like the Rays needs to be taking for sure. If he regains his prior form and has a monster first half, he could be used as a nice trade chip at the deadline.
top tampa baby