2010 Predictions: Tampa Bay Rays

Written by Jack Jones

The Tampa Bay Rays went 84-78 last year for their second straight winning season, and in year’s past that would have been a successful campaign. But after winning 97 games in 2008 and going to the World Series, it was actually considered a bit of a disappointment. Nevertheless, this team is finally competitive after so many years in the dumps of the AL East. Their 84 wins last year were the second-most in franchise history, and the Rays sent five players to the All-Star game. Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena are each in the final year of their contracts, so if the Rays are going to make another run at a title, it needs to come this season. MLB lines show the Rays projected win total at 89.5.

Pitching:

Rookies made 59 starts for the Tampa Bay Rays last season. David Price, Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis were spectacular, going 25-15 combined with a 4.09 ERA. James Shields and Matt Garza are their No. 1 and No. 2 guys, respectively, and both will need to improve this season if the Rays are going to give the Yankees and Red Sox a run for their money. Shields went 11-12 with a 4.14 ERA, and Garza went 8-12 with a 3.95 ERA, so he was better than his record would indicate. Niemann was the most steady of them all, going 13-6 with a 3.94 ERA. Price managed a 10-7 record despite a 4.42 ERA. And Davis could be poised for a breakout season in his sophomore campaign, one of the top pitching prospects in the league. The team brought in Rafael Soriano to close games after a season in which he recorded a 2.97 ERA and 27 saves with Atlanta, striking out better than 12 batters/9 innings. J.P. Howell is a solid set-up guy, going 6-1 with a 2.22 ERA in 2008 and 7-5 with a 2.84 ERA in ‘09. Grant Balfour posted a 6-2 mark with a 1.54 ERA in ‘08, but he fell off last season with a 4.81 ERA. By the looks of it, this is one of the better bullpens in the league.

Hitting:

Tampa brought in C Kelly Shoppach from the Indians to give Dioner Navarro some competition. After hitting .295 in 2008, Navarro hit just .218 in ‘09 in a very disappointing season. Shoppach has a ton of power, and he’ll be given every chance to win the job. 1B Carlos Pena is a home run machine, hitting at least 31 bombs for three straight seasons with Tampa, and topping the 100 RBI mark all 3 years as well. 2B Ben Zobrist came out of nowhere to hit .297 with 27 HR’s, 91 RBI’s and 91 Runs in an All-Star season in 2009. You can also throw SS Jason Bartlett in that come-out-of-nowhere category, hitting .320 with 14 HR’s, 90 Runs and 30 SB’s last season. Evan Longoria is one of the best 3B in the league, hitting .281 with 33 HR’s, 113 RBI’s and 100 Runs scored in 2009. This infield is one of the best in the league, especially in the power category. The outfield features Carl Crawford in left, B.J. Upton in center and Matt Joyce in right. Crawford is primed for a big season in a contract year, hitting .305 with 60 SB’s and 96 Runs scored last season. Upton was a big disappointment last year, hitting .241 with 11 HR’s and just 55 RBI’s, though he’s still a threat on the bases, stealing 86 bags the last two seasons combined. Joyce gets his shot in right and could have a breakout 2010 in his third season in the majors. DH Pat Burrell didn’t live up to the contract he got last offseason, hitting .221 with 14 HR’s and 64 RBI’s. The Rays desperately need Burrell to rebound this season.

Jack’s Prediction: 3rd in the AL East and UNDER 89.5 Wins – Though the Rays have the talent to compete with the Red Sox and Yankees, I cannot see them keeping up. They were very fortunate to get excellent years from their three rookie starters in Price, Niemann and Davis, but I don’t expect these three to hold up as well as they did a year ago, especially Niemann. Sure, their line-up is filled with bombers who can go yard any time they step up to the dish, but there isn’t much plate discipline on this team as a whole. They are counting on too many bounce-back seasons from the likes of Upton, Navarro, Burrell and Joyce, and they cannot expect Zobrist and Bartlett to put up the numbers they did a year ago. Asking this team to win 90 games is a lot to ask in the toughest division in baseball, so I’ll go with the UNDER here.

Archived Season Previews:

2009
2008

Individual MLB Team Previews:

American League
AL West	AL Central	AL East
Rangers Predictions	Tigers Predictions	Red Sox Predictions
A’s Predictions	White Sox Predictions	Yankees Predictions
Angels Predictions	Twins Predictions	Rays Predictions
Mariners Predictions	Royals Predictions	Blue Jays Predictions
	Indians Predictions	Orioles Predictions
National League
NL West	NL Central	NL East
Giants Predictions	Brewers Predictions	Phillies Predictions
Rockies Predictions	Cardinals Predictions	Braves Predictions
Dodgers Predictions	Reds Predictions	Marlins Predictions
Padres Predictions	Cubs Predictions	Mets Predictions
Diamondbacks Predictions	Pirates Predictions	Nationals Predictions
	Astros Predictions

Comments

Got something to say?