A three-way review: The 2018 Tampa Bay Rays

by Gary Shelton on June 22, 2018 · 0 comments

in general, Tampa Bay Rays

Friday. 3 a.m.

Triple Plays with the Rays

3 Potential All-Stars

1. Wilson Ramos, catcher: Ramos led the voting in the most recent announcement, which can be hard since Yankees' catcher Gary Sanchez has so many more fans to cast votes for him. But Ramos is hitting almost .100 points higher at .288 (to .197).

2. Blake Snell, pitcher: Snell is in a six-way tie for fourth place, which puts him on the borderline. Ramos' big year could ease his teammate off of the team, but Snell has been a stopper for the Rays all season.

3. Matt Duffy, third baseman: Duffy is 11th in the league with a .317 average. Usually, that might be good enough for selection, but the question is how many players a sub-.500 team is going to get on the squad.

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3 Strange Starters

1. Ryne Stanek.                 6

2. Sergio Romo                 5

3. Yanni Chirinos             5

3 Extra Base Leaders

1. C.J. Cron                       26

2. Matt Duffy.                  19

3. Wilson Ramos             16

3 Strikeout Leaders

1. Blake Snell                   103

2.Chris Archer                   76

3, Ryan Yarbrough           63

3 Gold Glove Candidates

1. Adeiny Hechavarria

2. Daniel Robertson

3. Matt Duffy

3 Base Stealers

1. Mallex Smith              13

2. Joey Wendle                6

3. Matt Duffy                    4

3 Easy Outs

1. Kevin Kiermaier         .135

2. Carlos Gomez              .191

2. Jesus Sucre                  .194

3 Pitchers to Hit HRS off

1. Blake Snell        11

2. Ryan Yarbrough. 10

3. Chris Archer         10

3 Best Rookies

1. Jake Bauers, first base: Bauers got off to a slow start, but he's been a delight to watch since then. He plays a good first base, and he's a smart baserunner. But it's his power that gives you hope.

2. Willy Adames, shortstop: No one is quite sure how high the ceiling is for Adames, but he seems to have the "it" factor. The lineup is definitely more interesting with him in it.

3. Christian Arroyo, infield: Arroyo has hit a promising .264 this year. He's provided a glimpse of the future in the infield. Only the solid year by Duffy has limited his playing time.

Next 3

1. Jesus Sanchez

2. Lucious Fox

3. Wander Franco

3 Minor Leaguers Who Didn't Work Out

1. Richie Shaffer, first baseman: Reached the big leagues with Tampa Bay in 2015 and 2016. Now in AAA for the Cleveland Indians.

2. Mikey Mahtook, outfield: Mahtook is with Detroit now, but still hasn't become an regular.

3. Taylor Guerrieri, pitcher: Before hurting his arm, Guerrieri looked like the real deal. Stuck in AAA for the Blue Jays.

3 Trade Probabilities

1. Wilson Ramos, catcher: His stock has never been higher, and he's in the last year of a contract. That gives the Rays all the incentive to move him and very little to keep him.

2. Adeiny Hechavarria, shortstop: Hechavarria is a solid defensive shortstop, but he's in the way of Adames. He fields very well, so some power team would want to claim him.

3. Chris Archer, pitcher: Archer is only 3-4, and he's on a modest (relatively) contract, so there might be some thought to keeping him on a team that doesn't have enough starting pitchers. But if the Rays can further boost their farm system, it might be time to trade Archer.

3 Pitchers We Like on the Mound

1. Snell, starter: Snell can get wild sometimes, but he doesn't give up a lot of hits. More and more, fans have begun to trust that a good start is coming.

2. Ryne Stanek, reliever Stanek has added to his arsenal, and he's been a solid pitcher out of the bullpen lately.

3. Chaz Roe, reliever: Roe has picked up some key outs out of the bullpen for the Rays.

3 Players the Rays Miss

1. Jake Odorizzi: On a team that lacks starting pitcher, who can figure out why the Rays gave Odorizzi away. He's 3-4 this year with Minnesota with a 4.38 ERA.

2. Corey Dickerson, outfield: Dickerson had a good first half last year, too. He's hitting. 302 for Pittsburgh

3. Ben Zobrist, infield. Yes, he's been gone a long time. Still, the light remains on for Zobrist, who is hitting .280 for the Cubs.

3 Best Wins

1. Carlos Gomez hit a two-run homer off Addison Reed of Minnesota for an 8-6 win on April 22.

2.On June 13, Matt Duffy hit a single to left field to drive in the winning run in a 1-0 win over Toronto off of Ryan Tepera.

3. On Apri 20, Denard Span knocked in a runner from second in an 8-7 win over Minnesota off of Zach Duke. Johnny Field scored the winning run as Duke missed the bag on a tag.

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