Rays 7/3/14 Starting Lineup
Sizemore DH
Butler RF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Forsythe 2B
DeJesus LF
Cabrera SS
Kiermaier CF
Rivera C
Archer RHP
Noteworthiness
— Grady Sizemore finds himself leading off tonight, while the struggling Steven Souza Jr. is off once again.
— The Tampa Bay Rays have signed a pair of 16-year-old Venezuelan shortstops: Luis Leon (for $125,000) and Jhosmer Vargas ($100,000). Ben Badler (Baseball America), who broke the news, wrote,
The Rays agreed to sign Luis Leon and Jhosmer Vargas, a pair of 16-year-old Venezuelan shortstops, for low six-figure bonuses.
Leon is 6-foot-1, 170 pounds with a good swing from both sides of the plate. His tools are steady, with average speed and a little more strength helping his bat, with more line drives than power, and a chance to stay in the middle of the field. Leon, who signed for $125,000, trains at Carlos Guillen’s academy.
Vargas is another switch-hitter, with a little less size (6 feet, 160 pounds) but a tick better speed and a quick, contact-oriented stroke with skills that started to pop more as July 2 approached. Leon signed for $100,000 and trained with Henderson Alvarez (not the Marlins pitcher).
— Read about the Rays/Yankees series in our preview.
— Don’t forget, our next watch party takes place tonight at Green Bench Brewing Company.