Thursday marked the final full-squad workout before the start of the Grapefruit League season. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Thursday marked the final full-squad workout before the Tampa Bay Rays Grapefruit League season opener on Friday. After a long offseason, Rays fans are incredibly excited by the prospect of watching baseball any capacity ― meaningful or otherwise. Yet, even with the excitement that this wonderful time of year brings, the purpose of Spring Training shouldn’t be overlooked. Join us as we (attempt to) clue you in on what to look for over the next month-plus of play.

Sample sizes are so small that any meaningful conclusion about a player’s performance cannot truly be determined

Everyday starters, and players getting serious roster consideration, will get around 60 at bats during the spring. The small sample size isn’t enough to give an accurate depiction of what to expect out of a batter. 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 for the perfect pitch to incur damage upon, they are trying to get their timing down. Anything above and beyond that is icing on the cake.

Conditions for hitting in south Florida are vastly different from The Trop

The Rays play in a dome where there is less air resistance on the ball in flight, and 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.

I distinctly recall a 2015 Grapefruit League game that took place in Tampa between the Rays and Yankees. Catcher Luke Maile hit a ninth inning double that should have left the confines of Steinbrenner Field, however, the wind resistance applied to the ball was enough to keep it in the park. True, that game took place in Tampa, not Port Charlotte, but you catch my drift.

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 time for pitchers to build their arm strength. Dips in velocity are going to happen, homers are going to happen, and a pitcher might look like, well…crap prior to Opening Day. A handful of poor spring performances prior to Opening Day isn’t indicative of a pitchers future performance. A good example of that is Corey Kluber, the 2014 American League Cy Young Award winner. Kluber posited a gaudy 5.60 ERA in Spring Training, yet ended the season as the best pitcher in the AL.

Pitchers use Spring Training to work on pitches

As 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 of bombs from missing spots.

Players are going to make errors, and that’s fine

Cloudless skies turn poppers into doubles, and errors from players playing out of position likely would not happen during the regular season. Spring Training is a time for players, many of whom are untested at the Major League level, to prove their worth. Instead, watch how a player jumps on the ball. Is he quick? Does he have good range? Do his movements seem fluid or stilted? What about his arm? Also, pay attention to where a player is stationed.

Take note of who plays where and for how long

Rays manager Kevin Cash plans to have Ji-Man Choi and Brandon Lowe battle it out for the platoon position at first alongside Yandy Diaz. Diaz can also play third base or in the corner outfield positions.

Meanwhile, Daniel Robertson and Joey Wendle are expected to only play the infield early during the exhibition game schedule, while Matt Duffy and Lowe will bounce back between the infield and outfield.

Watch for injuries

Duffy will not play the first couple of days due to a tight left hamstring that occurred while running the bases earlier this week. Duffy and Cash both said it was very precautionary.

Ian Gibaut, the hard-throwing relief pitcher, saw a specialist yesterday in New York City and was diagnosed with a mild lat strain. Though an exact timetable has not been determined, Gibaut will likely miss much of Spring Training in terms of game action.

The win-loss record at the end of the spring means nothing

Last season the Rays went 14-16 in the Grapefruit League, while the Baltimore Orioles sported a 17-12 record. Their respective Spring Training outcomes were ultimately meaningless though, as Tampa Bay ended the regular season with 90 wins ― and over .500 for the first time in five years ― and the Orioles, well…came nowhere near playoff contention in their regular season campaign. Meanwhile, the Oakland Athletics went 14-16 in the Cactus League and later clinched a Wildcard berth after winning 97 regular season games.

How might the pitch clock effect play?

As Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) wrote:

Cash met on Thursday morning with Joe Torre, Peter Woodfork and Chris Young of Major League Baseball. Game action will include a pitch clock. However, the first week there will be no penalties for throwing a pitch after the clock expires.

Noteworthiness

― Kevin Cash unveiled the Rays lineup plans for Friday, when Spring Training games begin against the Phillies, in Port Charlotte.

Ray Grapefruit League opener lineup card. (Photo Credit: Neil Solondz/Rays Radio)

Austin Pruitt will get the start against the Phillies, while Hunter Wood, Andrew Kittredge, Casey Sadler, Andrew Moore, Luis Santos, Colin Poche, Oliver Drake, and Ryan Merritt are also slated to take the mound.

Ryan Yarbrough will get the start in Saturday’s contest, and Tyler Glasnow will take the mound on Sunday.

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