Rays 6/22/15 Starting Lineup
Kiermaier CF
Butler DH
Longoria 3B
DeJesus LF
Forsythe 2B
Souza RF
Cabrera SS
Elmore 1B
Rivera C
Andriese RHP
Noteworthiness
— Kevin Kiermaier in elite company? Peter Gammons thinks so:
Kevin Kiermaier leads the American League in Def. Runs Saved and Derfensive Wins Above Replacement
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) June 22, 2015
— Forget not, the Rays start the day as one of three teams with 40 wins or more. The other two teams are the St. Louis Cardinals with 45, and the Houston Astros with 41.
— If you haven’t read our Rays/Blue Jays series preview, rectify that right now!
— At noon on Sunday afternoon, a 16-year-old French girl made Major League Baseball history,” writes Lindsay Berra (MLB.com).
“Melissa Mayeux, a shortstop on the French U-18 junior national team, became the first known female baseball player to be added to MLB’s international registration list, which means she will be eligible to be signed by a Major League club on July 2.”
— Michael Metcalfe (Manic Ball blog) questions how players generally perform after having Tommy John surgery. Metcale concludes that the success rate is fairly high (around 80-85% return to their prior level of performance), although that can be a bit misleading, because “the medical community is more concerned about is the subjective report from the athlete and the objective success of the surgery in restoring the normal stability of the joint.”
— Eno Sarris (FanGraphs) wonders if baseball is ready for an openly gay player.