Rays Spring Training Update, Day 17: Rays Win 5-2, Outfield Picture Developing

(Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
(Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

Spring Training 2015 represents a symbolic moment of truth in the careers of couple of infield prospects: Tim Beckham and Hak-Ju Lee. The former is coming off a string of lackluster seasons in the Rays minor league system (his 2014 .258 BA/.281 OBP/.290 SLG/.571 OPS/.256 wOBA line speaks to tat), while the latter is coming off a disastrous, recovery season at Triple-A Durham. In short, both need to work their way into the Rays’ plans. And while one Spring Training game may not be enough boost his chances of making the Opening Day roster, Lee made a valiant attempt to leave an indelible mark on manager Kevin Cash, leading the Rays to a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday. Tampa Bay is now 2-0 in the Knutson Classic.

Beginning with two on and one out in the first inning, Lee saved starter Jake Odorizzi from an earned run when he flashed the leather on a play that Cash called, “one of the best plays I’ve ever seen.” Torii Hunter dropped a base hit down the left field line. Lee, running all the way out from his position at short, slid across the foul line to cut off the ball and fielded it cleanly. Lee popped up, and made an outstanding throw to catch Brian Dozier at home as he attempted to score.

Lee had always been considered an up-and-coming shortstop — the heir apparent to Yunel Escobar until he blew out his knee in 2013. The Rays extended Escobar’s contract on the heals of Lee’s injury, and we were left to wait for his fielding to take a shine once more. More over, many have waited for Lee to work out the quirks in his — suffice it to say his 2014 .203 BA/.287 OBP/.276 SLG/.544 OPS/.268 wOBA line left a lot to be desired. Again, one Spring Training game certainly isn’t enough to show growth in Lee, however, imagine the impression he could leave on the Rays brass if he continued to perform at this level?

In the third inning, Lee hit a line drive double over the head of center fielder Jordan Schafer. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, Neither Logan Forsythe nor John Jaso could pounce on the opportunity. That would change for Lee in the seventh inning with the game tied at one apiece. The INF prospect hit a laser shot that barely cleared the wall in right field. If Matt Baker’s  (Tampa Bay Times) tweet was indicative of anything, Lee wasn’t convinced of his Dustin Pedroia like shot:

On the other end of things, Odorizzi took the bump Wednesday afternoon, departing after two strong innings. The righty allowed one run on four hits and two walks, fanning two along the way. Odorizzi told reporters his focus was primarily on his slider/cutter, before shifting that focus to the game situation in order to force a couple of ground ball outs in the second.

Andrew Bellatti, Brad Boxberger, Jeff Beliveau, and Jose Dominguez followed Odorizzi and combined to allow only two base runners to reach in four innings. Boxberger impressively coaxed three groundouts in a perfect fourth, while Beliveau rebounded nicely from his previous 2/3 inning outing, Sunday.

After allowing a seventh inning solo shot and a base hit, Steve Geltz settled down and finish the inning with the Rays’ one run lead intact.

Robert Zarate put together a shutdown, two inning save, scattering a couple of hits while striking out three.

Boog Powell (single) and Richie Shaffer (double) drove in a pair of runs to give Tampa Bay a 5-2 lead they didn’t relinquish. Rays win!

The Rays have been rather quiet at the plate this spring. Don’t think to much into things, as I wrote yesterday Spring Training at-bats can be deceiving if not meaningless. Still it is nice to watch the offense come to life progressively, with the team tagging the Twins for five runs.

The New What Next

Alex Cobb will butt heads with Mark Buehrle in his second start of the spring against the Toronto Blue Jays, Thursday. Alsoslated to see pitch are Ernesto Frieri, Kevin Jepsen, Brandon Gomes, Jordan Norberto, Kirby Yates, and C.J. Riefenhauser.

Rays 3/11/15 Starting Lineup

Jennings LF
DeJesus RF<
Cabrera 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Forsythe DH
Souza Jr. CF
Rivera C
Beckham SS
Cobb RHP

Noteworthiness

The Rays outfield picture is starting to develop. Manager Kevin Cash revealed Wednesday, Kevin Kiermaier will exclusively play centerfield.

I’m very, very excited about that, Kiermaier told the Tampa Bay Times. That’s where I feel like I can help the team out the best.

As it stands, Desmond Jennings will be in left when Kiermaier is in the lineup, but will switch to center when there’s a lefty on the mound.

Cash compared Kiermaier and Jennings’ defensive ability to a former Rays outfield duo — B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford.

That was a pretty good tandem in the outfield, said Cash. I think there’s probably some comparisons — I don’t know if they’re fair — that that’ll be quite the outfield to have cover a lot of ground out there.

As friend of the blog Danny Russell (DRaysBay) wrote, for the Rays’ part, this was an expected outcome given player preferences and the arm of Kiermaier. If you read the tea leaves, you might have thought KK was headed for a star role even sooner, having been featured in several Rays promotions, including ticket sales advertisements and a bobble head for early purchases, as well as other local advertisements for the YMCA. He certainly has the good face.

Rays to Sign LHP Jonny Venters, Etc

(Photo courtesy of Jim Evearitt)
(Photo courtesy of Jim Evearitt)

According to Jeff Todd (MLB Trade Rumors), the Tampa Bay Rays have signed former Braves LHP reliever Jonny Venters to a two-year minor league contract. Venters is currently recovering from his third Tommy John’s surgery –performed in September 2014, and the Rays will look to provide him with rehabilitation sources and bring him back slowly.

Per Todd,

The Rays have agreed to a two-year, minor league deal with lefty Jonny Venters, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter). Venters had spent all of his professional career with the Braves.

Once one of the game’s most-feared southpaw relievers, Venters has seen his career derailed by elbow troubles in recent years. He underwent his third Tommy John procedure in September, and will now look to accomplish the rare feat of returning to being a productive big leaguer after a trio of UCL replacements.

Soon to turn 30, Venters has not pitched in the big leagues since 2012. After a pair of sub-2.00 ERA, 80+ inning campaigns to start his career, Venters took a slight step back that year (3.22 ERA in 58 2/3 frames) while battling through elbow pain that sent him to the DL. He still seemed poised to continue the excellent start to his career, which included better than ten strikeouts per nine innings and nearly a 70% groundball rate, but went under the knife in March of 2013 and has not yet made it all the way back.

With a two-year minor league pact, Tampa will presumably look to provide Venters with rehab resources and bring him back slowly. It would be an achievement at this point for him to even get back to throwing at full effort, let alone to contribute to a big league pen, but there is at least some precedent in the form of pitchers like Jason Isringhausen.

Rays 3/12/15 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Forsythe 2B
Jaso DH
Butler RF
Brown LF
Wilson C
Casilla 3B
Belnome 1B
Lee SS
Odorizzi RHP

Noteworthiness

Rays Spring Training Update, Day 16: The X-Rays Spex Guide to Spring Training

Allan Dykstra took over for James Loney at first base Tuesday afternoon, in Port Charlotte. (Photo courtesy of Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)
Allan Dykstra took over for James Loney at first base Tuesday afternoon, in Port Charlotte. (Photo courtesy of Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

Sound the alarm! Panic! The Tampa Bay Rays fell to a 1-5-1 record on the after dropping both of their split squad games Tuesday afternoon — 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates and 5-1 to the Boston Red Sox. In actuality though, you should probably think twice before you sound the death knell on the season before it even starts. While Spring Training scores and statistics are mostly meaningless, many place too much emphasis on them — especially early on. Instead of summarizing Tuesday afternoon’s split squad action, I thought it a good idea to step back and discuss what we should and shouldn’t be taking away from Spring Training.

  1. Sample sizes are so small that any meaningful conclusion about a player’s performance isn’t easy to suss out: Everyday starters, and players getting serious roster consideration, will get around 60 at bats during the spring. Why? Among other things, the first statistic to stabilize for hitters is strikeout percentage, and it takes at least 60 plate appearances to do so. Ultimately hitters aren’t worried about looking the perfect pitch to incur damage, they are trying to get their timing down — anything above and beyond is icing on the cake. Take recent acquisition Asdrubal Cabrera for example. Cabrera slashed .357 BA/.438 OBP/.518 SLG/.956 OPS in Spring Training last season, yet he didn’t come close to that line during the regular season. Another example, Pittsburgh Pirates star outfielder Andrew McCutchen — owner of a career .299 BA/.385 OBP/.498 SLG/.883 OPS/.382 wOBA slash line — didn’t get his first Spring Training hit until Monday, a full week into the Grapefruit League season.
  2. Conditions for hitting in south Florida are vastly different from The Trop: Forget not, the Rays play in a dome where there is less resistance on the ball in flight, and the wind is not a factor. Compare that with Charlotte Sports Park where a stiff breeze blowing in can turn a home run into a routine fly ball. Take Luke Maile’s ninth inning double in Monday’s game against New York Yankees for example. The wind resistance was enough to keep the ball in the park. While that game took place in Tampa and not Port Charlotte, you catch my drift.
  3. Pitchers aren’t worried about setting up a hitter to freeze him with a nasty slider, rather they are concerned with staying healthy and building arm strength: Pitchers are focused on getting ready for the season, not getting batters out. It takes many pitchers time to build up their arm strength. Dips in velocity are going to happen, homers are going to happen, and a pitcher might look like crap prior to opening day. Still, a handful of poor performances prior to  Opening Day isn’t indicative of his future performance. After all Corey Kluber, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, posited a 5.60 ERA in Spring Training last season, and he ended the year as the best pitcher in the AL.
  4. Pitchers use Spring Training to work on pitches: It was written elsewhere, “The time for trial and error is now. Spending time during the season experimenting with a two-seam fastball or a circle change is not a good idea. That should be reserved for side sessions and bullpens. During Spring Training, however, there is absolutely no negative impact to trying out some changes that could eventually be beneficial. Sometimes pitchers will go out to the mound only throwing fastballs away in order to work on their command over the outer half of the plate. Sometimes a pitcher will only work inside and give up a couple bombs from missing spots.” ‘Nuff said.
  5. Players are going to make errors, and that’s fine: Cloudless skies turn poppers into doubles. Errors from players playing out of position aren’t going to happen during the regular season. Furthermore, Spring Training is a time for players to prove their worth, many of whom are untested players at the major league level. Instead, watch how a player jumps on the ball. Is he quick? Does he have good range? Does his movements seem fluid or stilted? What about his arm? Pay attention to where a player is stationed.
  6. Take note of who plays where: Manager Kevin Cash is trying to get Desmond Jennings comfortable in left field, and Kevin Kiermaier in center, so he is giving them a good amount of time in those spots during the spring. Also, watch to see who spends more time at short and second; Asdrubal Cabrera or Nick Franklin.
  7. Watch for injuries: One week into the Spring Training game action, and the injury bug has already plagued many teams — Tampa Bay included. Hunter Pence (broken arm), Cliff Lee (sore elbow), Josh Reddick and Brandon Guyer (oblique injury), Michael Saunders (knee injury), Drew Smyly (tendinitis), and Marcus Stroman (torn ACL) are among those who may (or will) miss a significant amount of time going into Opening Day.
  8. The win-loss record at the end of the spring means nothing: Cleveland won the Cactus League last season and Tampa Bay had the best record in the Grapefruit League — Miami was second. A lot of help it did the latter two. Conversely, Kansas City went 12-16, and the Los Angeles Dodgers were 7-11, and both teams went deep into the postseason.

 

 

Rays Spring Training Update, Day 15: Rays Fall to Yankees 4-3; Karns’ Change-up, Injury Update, Colome Returns

Desmond Jennings swiped his first of two bags in the first inning, Monday. (Photo courtesy of Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
Desmond Jennings swiped his first of two bags in the first inning, Monday. (Photo courtesy of Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

Despite the second consecutive game with a late inning rally, Tampa Bay dropped its second straight Grapefruit League game, this time by a 4-3 margin against those bastard Yankees.

Nathan Karns continued his bid for the fifth starter spot with a three inning, 49 pitch outing, relinquishing two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk. Karns told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) was pleased to go three innings and get in work on his change-up; a pitch he wants to improve. His change, though not wholly consistent, was effective enough to get Carlos Beltran to whiff. In an ideal world, the outcome of that at-bat will resonate with Karns as a growth moment.

Karns’ second offering, his knuckle curve, was sharp per usual. He showed several good whiff worthy curve and dropped another in for a called strike.

One thing I noticed, Karns had a rough time commanding pitches down in the zone in the second inning, subsequently spiking a few pitches into the dirt. He followed each errant throw with a shake of his hand as though he felt discomfort, or to signify that he had a hard time gripping the ball.

Adding credence, manager Kevin Cash told Bryan Hoch (MLB.com),

He looked good. I think he had some issues gripping the ball. He kept wiping his hand like it was slipping out of his hand. The first inning he looked really good, then he tried to work on some other pitches. For the most part, I thought he looked good.

To be sure, Karns pitched better than his line may suggest. Yet he needs to continue making strides with his fastball command and change-up if he is to achieve consistent success in the big leagues.

Brandon Gomes followed Karns and tossed a shutout inning, and Ernesto Frieri — focusing mainly on his fastball and change-up — worked around a hit and a walk to put up a scoreless frame of his own. Kirby Yates gave up another pair of runs in a rough, three hit, two walk seventh inning. Yates was replaced by CJ Riefenhauser who came in to get the final out of the inning.

On the offensive end of things, Desmond Jennings had a pair of hits and a stolen base, Evan Longoria lined a 95 MPH fastball from Nathan Eovaldi down the left field line, and both Eugenio Velez and Jake Elmore delivered RBI singles up the middle. Luke Maile also kept the Rays within reaching distance of a tie in the ninth inning by crushing a 96 MPH Chris Martin fastball to the centerfield wall for a double. Unfortunately for the Rays, pinch-runner Hak-Ju Lee was stranded at second by Boog Powell and Daniel Robertson who both struck out to end the game.

Jennings (mentioned above), Corey Brown, and Taylor Motter each stole a base each which was very encouraging to say the least. Furthermore, Powell ran aggressively to score from second on a botched double play, and Vince Belnome alertly moved up on a ball in the dirt. Much like the 2014 Royals, base running is critical to a team, like the Rays, with a questionable offense.

The New What Next

Right-hander Burch Smith will start against the Pirates split squad Tuesday in Port Charlotte. Fellow right-hander Matt Andriese will start for the other Rays’ split squad against the Red Sox in Ft. Myers.

Rays 3/9/15 Starting Lineup (vs. Pittsburgh)

Jaso LF
Jennings CF
Cabrera SS
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
DeJesus RF
Rivera C
Casilla 2B
Wilson DH
B. Smith P

Rays 3/9/15 Starting Lineup (vs. Boston)

Kiermaier CF
Beckham 2B
Franklin SS
Souza RF
Forsythe 3B
Francisco 1B
Butler DH
Brown LF
Casali V
Andriese P

Noteworthiness

  • Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters LHP Drew Smyly (shoulder tendinitis) “ramped up his exercises” which is “a good sign,” though his still isn’t throwing. Smyly contends he is still planning to start the season on the Opening Day roster and not the DL, “It’s nothing serious, we know that,” Smyly said Sunday. “We’d rather make sure it’s OK so when Opening Day does roll around I’m right there at full strength.”
  • Robbie Knopf (Rays Colored Glasses) questions What Will the Rays Do If Drew Smyly Starts 2015 on DL?
  • DH/OF John Jaso (shin) is expected to return to action Tuesday but will get to make his long-awaited outfield debut by starting in left field against the Pirates. Brandon Guyer (oblique/lat strain) was upgraded and did some rotational work, though he is still receiving treatment, and the team intends to take it slow. “We want to be smart with Brandon,” Cash told Marc Topkin. “That’s an injury you don’t want to get any farther out of hand.”
  • Alex Colome, whose two week-plus visa delay was likely related to his 2014 PEDs suspension, is expected to join the team in Port Charlotte Tuesday. Colome had been throwing regularly at the team complex in the Dominican Republic in the interim. Colome’s tweet (below) seems odd, as he wrote, “The Horse is Back!” According to Topkin, his 50-game suspension last spring was the result of testing positive for boldenone, an anabolic steroid primarily for veterinary use — often with horses.
  • A few Rays-centric tweeted updates (via Marc Topkin)

Rays Spring Training Update, Day 14: Rays Fall to Philly, 5-4; Injury Update

Rays INF prospect Hak-Ju Lee on deck in the 10th inning of a Grapefruit League game against the Pirates, Saturday, March 8, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)
Rays INF prospect Hak-Ju Lee on deck in the 10th inning of a Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, March 8, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

Chris Archer took the mound for the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday afternoon, in what amounted to a sloppy error filled game against the Philadelphia Phillies — sans any base runners until the fifth inning and no scoring until the eighth. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t pretty. Despite everything, there were a few bright spots.

Archer, the presumed number two starter, rung up one batter in two innings of work, relinquishing an earned run on three hits and a walk.

Bill Chastain (MLB.com) interviewed the Rays righty following his outing, with Archer saying,

Honestly, I gave up a run, but I’m happy overall. For outing No. 1, I threw too many pitches (37 total, 27 strikes), but I’m not going to beat myself up over a few extra pitches when there were so many executed. Even if they were balls. Quality pitches down in the zone.

Archer also mentioned that he was “really happy with (his) progress” on several fronts, including the use of the change-up and his quicker delivery to plate. The righty threw his number three pitch about 10 times and got several whiffs, noting its downward movement — similar to his slider.

I was happy with every single one of them, Archer told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times). It was hard to decipher which one it was, which for me is huge.

While Alex Cobb and Nathan Karns were more efficient in their previous starts, and Archer’s 37 pitches seemed to be a bit much, his 73% K/BB — including quality pitches down in the zone — speaks for itself.

Kevin Jepsen and Brad Boxberger both threw scoreless innings, with the latter striking out Ben Revere (swinging) on three pitches. Recent acquisition Jose Dominguez was also impressive in his inning of work. Dominguez struck out two batters (swinging) on six total pitches, while coaxing a grounder out of Grady Sizemore.

Yet there were more than a few unsavory moments from Sunday afternoon’s game. For example, the Phillies stymied the Rays until the fifth, holding on to a combined perfect game almost halfway through regulation. Adding insult to injury, the Rays’ regulars — Kevin Kiermaier, David DeJesus, and Logan Forsythe — went a combined 0-8. Furthermore, the typically reliable Jeff Beliveau allowed three runs to cross the plate on three hits, a walk and an error, in only two-thirds of an inning. And as if all of this isn’t enough, Tampa Bay erred three times throughout the course of the game, and they could not push across a run of their own until the eighth. That they came within a run of Philadelphia seems like a minor miracle.

Ouch. Water under the bridge — it’s only Spring Training.

The New What Next

Nathan Karns will make his second start of the spring Monday against the Yankees, in Tampa. Also scheduled to see action are righties Ernesto Frieri, Brandon Gomes, and Kirby Yates, and lefties Jordan Norberto and CJ Riefenhauser. I’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.

Rays 3/9/15 Starting Lineup

Franklin SS
Jennings LF
Loney 1B
Longoria 3B
Souza RF
Kiermaier DH
Casilla 2B
Wilson C
Mahtook CF
Karns P

Noteworthiness

  • Topkin wrote about the Rays latest bout with the injury bug,

OF Brandon Guyer said his mild oblique/lat strain “felt better” and he still didn’t consider it serious, but he also is still receiving treatment and unsure when he will get back on the field. DH/OF John Jaso said his right shin, bruised and swollen after being hit by a pitch Saturday from A.J. Burnett, felt better, but he was scratched from today’s lineup, replaced by Kevin Kiermaier. Jaso said he hoped to return Tuesday, figuring with the Rays playing two games he had a good chance to make his eagerly awaited outfield debut. “It’s my time to shine,” he said. “I love split squad games now.” INF Nick Franklin said he went through a full workout Sunday with no issues from the mild hip strain that forced him from Saturday’s game. He is scheduled to leadoff and play shortstop Monday.

  • The Rays utilized the shift several times Sunday and Cash said they will be “very aggressive shifting, with reason behind it obviously.”
  • Topkin shed more light, with the slightest hint of doom and gloom, in his piece on the Drew Smyly injury situation, Monday, “Having No. 3 starter Drew Smyly sidelined indefinitely, with his availability to start the season in question due to shoulder tendinitis, is bad enough news for the Rays.” He continued,

In the best case, the Rays were looking at some sort of compromised solution, picking between Alex Colome or Nathan Karns — who between them have 11 big-league starts and four wins — or maybe newcomer Burch Smith (seven big-league starts, one win) to take the fifth until Matt Moore makes a “Juneish” return from elbow surgery that may drag into July.

And now, with opening day four weeks from today, it is looking worse.

Colome is expected to finally arrive in camp today, having been stuck more than two weeks in the Dominican Republic due to visa delays presumably related to his past PEDs suspension. He is supposedly on schedule in workouts but certainly not up to game speed.

And Smyly won’t even throw a ball for at least a couple of days, maybe more, waiting for his shoulder to feel better before he starts again working toward game form. He mentioned tightness, “lots of knots” and inflammation but insists it’s “nothing serious.” That’s probably better listed as still to be determined.