I'm a Rays fan, so here's the deal for anyone who cares. We have basically run back the clock to 2007. The Rays are built and compete on pitching and defense, both have been notably absent this year. The starters should have been a very good rotation, for whatever reason they all came up short. Archer has had a bad inning or two to begin almost every game and is in denial. This has resulted in short outings. Smyly is a disaster. Odorizzi has been inconsistent and has suffered from some bad defense and some bullpen meltdowns. Matt Moore started off as badly as the rest but it seems like he is regaining his form from before his Tommy John surgery in 2014. He's had some solid outings of late and has gone seven innings the last couple. Expect him to be traded and watch where he goes, he'll be a good addition if he keeps improving. Blake Snell is the rookie. Once he learns to control his pitches and attack the strike zone he will be deadly. Right now he has some high pitch count innings due lack of control meaning he comes out early. Andriese was moved to the bullpen out of necessity and is doing well there, he was doing alright as a started. The short outing from the starters burned out the bullpen early. They were good in April and May, then they burned out. That resulted in callups from AAA and the bullpen ERA was over 10.00 during the losing streak. As of Monday I think they had allowed 53 runs in 51 innings. Brad Boxberger, the closer, has been on the DL since spring training. Alex Colome filled in well going 19-19 in saves but wasn't used during the recent skid, then went on the DL himself. He is back now and looked good in one inning pitched Tuesday night.
The defense isn't what it was. Miller at short stop makes his fair share of errors. Morrison at first base is OK, but he isn't James Loney. As they say, there is room for error. The Rays platoon a lot, and use matchups. If you see Tim Beckham in the lineup, read hitting under .200 and an infield error waiting to happen. No matter where he plays. Neither catcher is hitting over .200, and Conger couldn't throw out a granny trying to steal a base. Casali might throw out the Granny, but not her daughter. Teams steal at will on the Rays. And the Rays don't steal bases or play small ball anymore.
Injuries. The entire starting outfield was out at one time. Desmond Jennings, who lost the starting job in CF to Kiermaier last was headed to AAA. He got a reprieve when Kiermaier went down, but now Jennings is on the DL. So defense is suspect out there as well. The Rays acquired Oswaldo Arcia from the twins. He swung a hot bat the first few games but nothing since. I watched him break his bat over his knee in Sunday's game after he struck out. His defense is horrendous. He's not used to fielding against the dome and he looks like a blooper reel. Also our best hitter Pearce to the DL with a hamstring.
Offense. The Rays being the Rays, sometimes they hit, sometimes they don't. Better than years past, but matchups and platooning often result in sub .200 hitters in the lineup.
Takeaways: Smyly is a run machine. I don't know if he will square himself away over the break, but he's a good fade. He'll turn it over to the bullpen early for some more runs. I think he's shell shocked at this point. Until Archer squares himself away, he's gonna have a high pitch count and allow some runs early on. Then he usually settles down. He'll usually turn it over to the bullpen early though, they of the 10 plus whatever ERA in June. A decent fade against a team that can hit. Matt Moore is on the rise. A good bet especially when the Rays are dogs and against a good team. Snell is holding his own, worth betting when the Rays are dogs for sure or small favourites. When Odorizzi gets the bullpen and defense behind him he'll win, just no way to tell how his game is gonna go.
Watch for Kevin Kiermaier and Steve Pearce to come back after the all star break and add some pop to the offense. Brad Boxberger should come back, Colome is back, and Alex Cobb (Tommy John last May) should be back. I'd expect Matt Moore to go via trade. But there may be some good value betting the Rays in a month or so when all the pieces are back in place. Or they may be fade material until the end of the year, being the Rays and all.
The defense isn't what it was. Miller at short stop makes his fair share of errors. Morrison at first base is OK, but he isn't James Loney. As they say, there is room for error. The Rays platoon a lot, and use matchups. If you see Tim Beckham in the lineup, read hitting under .200 and an infield error waiting to happen. No matter where he plays. Neither catcher is hitting over .200, and Conger couldn't throw out a granny trying to steal a base. Casali might throw out the Granny, but not her daughter. Teams steal at will on the Rays. And the Rays don't steal bases or play small ball anymore.
Injuries. The entire starting outfield was out at one time. Desmond Jennings, who lost the starting job in CF to Kiermaier last was headed to AAA. He got a reprieve when Kiermaier went down, but now Jennings is on the DL. So defense is suspect out there as well. The Rays acquired Oswaldo Arcia from the twins. He swung a hot bat the first few games but nothing since. I watched him break his bat over his knee in Sunday's game after he struck out. His defense is horrendous. He's not used to fielding against the dome and he looks like a blooper reel. Also our best hitter Pearce to the DL with a hamstring.
Offense. The Rays being the Rays, sometimes they hit, sometimes they don't. Better than years past, but matchups and platooning often result in sub .200 hitters in the lineup.
Takeaways: Smyly is a run machine. I don't know if he will square himself away over the break, but he's a good fade. He'll turn it over to the bullpen early for some more runs. I think he's shell shocked at this point. Until Archer squares himself away, he's gonna have a high pitch count and allow some runs early on. Then he usually settles down. He'll usually turn it over to the bullpen early though, they of the 10 plus whatever ERA in June. A decent fade against a team that can hit. Matt Moore is on the rise. A good bet especially when the Rays are dogs and against a good team. Snell is holding his own, worth betting when the Rays are dogs for sure or small favourites. When Odorizzi gets the bullpen and defense behind him he'll win, just no way to tell how his game is gonna go.
Watch for Kevin Kiermaier and Steve Pearce to come back after the all star break and add some pop to the offense. Brad Boxberger should come back, Colome is back, and Alex Cobb (Tommy John last May) should be back. I'd expect Matt Moore to go via trade. But there may be some good value betting the Rays in a month or so when all the pieces are back in place. Or they may be fade material until the end of the year, being the Rays and all.
HEAVYEIGHT, the above is EXCELLENT analysis on the current state of the Tampa Bay Rays!
k:I wanted to personally THANK YOU for taking time to write this up. This is what makes the Rx GREAT! We
have members from all over the globe who are "in tune" with their local professional teams. Sharing valuable
insights like you have on the Tampa Bay Rays is extremely beneficial for the entire membership!
MANY THANKS!
Jennings lost his starting job to Kevin Keirmaier and wasn't doing well when he did play earlier in the year. There was talk of him being sent down to Durham. After Keirmaier got hurt, Jennings was starting in CF and started to bring his average up. He's still good on defense. He's out on the 15 day DL with a left hamstring issue.
