Panzram
02-09-2005, 10:57 PM
Spring Training Preview: Devil Rays (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=fanball-springtrainingprevie&prov=fanball&type=lgns)
Spring Training Preview: Devil Rays
by Bo Mitchell - Managing Editor, Fanball.com
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Spring Training Home: Progress Energy Park – St. Petersburg, Florida First Grapefruit League Game: March 3 vs. Reds
If you build it, they will come. If you spend no money and play in a community populated by retirees and in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox…no one will come. And few will care outside of fantasy baseball owners. Even then, it's hard to get too fired up about a team that has traditionally had only a handful of players worthy of roster spots in normal sized fantasy leagues. So what do we make of this year's version of Lou Pinella's troops? The Devil Rays' wallet was not opened this winter to sign any young, up-and-coming players; fittingly, several of the newcomers are closer to baseball retirement than baseball prime. Oh yeah, and their center fielder (an actual homegrown young, up-and-coming player) will probably miss half the season because of a knee injury. While the Rays battle to stay north of last place in the AL East for a second straight season, fantasy owners should concentrate on the franchise's batch of young talent.
Notable offseason transactions Don't strain your eyes searching cheat sheets for any of the guys the Devil Rays brought in during the offseason. The right side of the infield will have a new, yet veteran look with sure-handed Travis Lee at first base and Roberto Alomar at second. This will be Lee's second tour of duty in Tampa and will probably be Alomar's final stop before retirement. Both have had health issues in recent seasons, but barring spring training injury, both will be in the starting lineup on Opening Day and close to the bottom of the fantasy rankings at their respective positions. Lee replaces Tino Martinez at first. Tino left via free agency to do a second tour of duty with the Yankees, which sounds like a better move that the one Lee made.
Across the diamond, third base will be handed to Alex Gonzalez this spring—the Alex Gonzalez who used to be with the Cubs…the shortstop…yeah, that one. Yes, he'll be at third base. What? He's not your prototypical, power-hitting third baseman? Correct, but remember this is the Devil Rays were talking about.
The Devil Rays tapped into free agency to sign outfielder Danny Bautista and designated hitter Josh Phelps, both of whom are expected to be in the Opening Day lineup. Bautista will step into a corner outfield spot to take the place of Jose Cruz Jr., who was traded to the Diamondbacks in exchange for left-handed reliever Casey Fossum earlier this week.
With the end of the rotation still undecided, the team hooked lefty Denny Neagle and right-hander Hideo Nomo to join the competition. The final outfield spot will also be up for grabs and there will be no shortage of boring contenders, including free agent additions Tom Goodwin, Chris Singleton, Dee Brown, Marty Cordova, and Brain Buchanan.
What to watch We'd urge fantasy owners to keep tabs on Lee's shoulder (he missed most of last year with a torn labrum) or Gonzalez's transition to third base if we thought it would seriously impact anyone's draft day preparations. Instead, we should all focus on what Pinella winds up doing with his batting order and rotation. The rotation quagmire will be addressed below. First: a glance at the lineup.
What we know is that fleet-footed outfielder Carl Crawford will be leading off. After that…well, it depends. Alomar might bat second, but again he needs to stay healthy. There has been serious talk of Bautista batting third, but that's only a temporary fix. The big problem is that regular center fielder and probable third hitter Rocco Baldelli is expected to be sidelined the first three months of the season because of December 5 surgery to repair the torn ACL in his left knee. Rocco injured his knee when he landed awkwardly after sidestepping his little brother, Dante, in a game of backyard baseball. Baldelli believes he will begin jogging next week, so be sure to track his progress.
Without Baldelli patrolling center, Crawford slides over from left. With Cruz gone, Bautista will likely begin the year in left field and Aubrey Huff will end up in right field. Huff, who spent most of his time at third base last year, was going to move to first until Lee was signed. No matter where Huff plays in the field, he will be batting in the middle of the lineup, probably fourth. Thus, all we really know is that Crawford will lead off and Huff will bat in the middle. The rest is TBD.
Mega shortstop prospect B.J. Upton will have every chance to nail down the starting job this spring, which would send Julio Lugo back into a reserve role or possibly to the trading block. Upton's second base double-play partner of the future is Jorge Cantu, but he'll be resting the 15 pounds of muscle he added this offseason on the pine awaiting Alomar's demise.
A possible wildcard to watch for: the Devil Rays are rumored to be in the mix to acquire catcher Charles Johnson from the Rockies. Johnson's agent Scott Boras has reportedly told the Devil Rays that his agent would approve a trade without a contract extension, thereby avoiding a hit to Tampa's tight budget. It's not clear how much Johnson would impact Toby Hall's playing time, but one would assume a deal wouldn't help either player's fantasy value.
Position battles The Devil Rays used 14 different starting pitchers in 2004 and there may be just as many seriously attempting to secure a place in the rotation this March. You can probably write in Dewon Brazelton for one spot, possibly at the top of the rotation. Keep a close eye on Scott Kazmir this spring. The 21-year-old southpaw is considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball and if he pitches up to his potential in March, he might find himself starting on Opening Day. Then again, he's only 21 so a Grapefruit League meltdown is also possible.
That's two. The other three will come from a list that includes Rob Bell, Doug Waechter, Mark Hendrickson, Seth McClung, Jimmy Haynes, and the aforementioned Neagle and Nomo.
Another young arm to keep an eye belongs to 2004 first round draft pick Jeff Neiman, who is a long shot to make the team out of spring training, but could be in the rotation by the end of the season. Neiman will be in St. Petersburg doing his best to impress the coaching staff, but is likely headed to Double-A Montgomery to start the season.
Huff, Crawford, and Bautista are set in the outfield, and Baldelli will reclaim center upon his return. Until then, the D-Rays need to settle on two more outfielders. The Motley Crue that arrived via agency (Goodwin, Cordova, Singleton, Brown, and Buchanan) will be joined in the hunt by several youngsters. The most intriguing of the bunch from an immediate fantasy perspective is Joey Gathright, who has Willie Wilson type speed and has been known to steal bases without needing to slide. Matt Diaz and Jonny Gomes will also get a look. Sorry, no Josh Hamilton or Toe Nash.
One more name to throw in the outfield mix: Delmon Young, the first player taken in the 2003 draft and the younger brother of Dmitri Young, is thisclose to being ready for the Show. "The next Albert Belle" as he has been called could be manning right field by the second half of the season.
Spring Training Preview: Devil Rays
by Bo Mitchell - Managing Editor, Fanball.com
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Spring Training Home: Progress Energy Park – St. Petersburg, Florida First Grapefruit League Game: March 3 vs. Reds
If you build it, they will come. If you spend no money and play in a community populated by retirees and in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox…no one will come. And few will care outside of fantasy baseball owners. Even then, it's hard to get too fired up about a team that has traditionally had only a handful of players worthy of roster spots in normal sized fantasy leagues. So what do we make of this year's version of Lou Pinella's troops? The Devil Rays' wallet was not opened this winter to sign any young, up-and-coming players; fittingly, several of the newcomers are closer to baseball retirement than baseball prime. Oh yeah, and their center fielder (an actual homegrown young, up-and-coming player) will probably miss half the season because of a knee injury. While the Rays battle to stay north of last place in the AL East for a second straight season, fantasy owners should concentrate on the franchise's batch of young talent.
Notable offseason transactions Don't strain your eyes searching cheat sheets for any of the guys the Devil Rays brought in during the offseason. The right side of the infield will have a new, yet veteran look with sure-handed Travis Lee at first base and Roberto Alomar at second. This will be Lee's second tour of duty in Tampa and will probably be Alomar's final stop before retirement. Both have had health issues in recent seasons, but barring spring training injury, both will be in the starting lineup on Opening Day and close to the bottom of the fantasy rankings at their respective positions. Lee replaces Tino Martinez at first. Tino left via free agency to do a second tour of duty with the Yankees, which sounds like a better move that the one Lee made.
Across the diamond, third base will be handed to Alex Gonzalez this spring—the Alex Gonzalez who used to be with the Cubs…the shortstop…yeah, that one. Yes, he'll be at third base. What? He's not your prototypical, power-hitting third baseman? Correct, but remember this is the Devil Rays were talking about.
The Devil Rays tapped into free agency to sign outfielder Danny Bautista and designated hitter Josh Phelps, both of whom are expected to be in the Opening Day lineup. Bautista will step into a corner outfield spot to take the place of Jose Cruz Jr., who was traded to the Diamondbacks in exchange for left-handed reliever Casey Fossum earlier this week.
With the end of the rotation still undecided, the team hooked lefty Denny Neagle and right-hander Hideo Nomo to join the competition. The final outfield spot will also be up for grabs and there will be no shortage of boring contenders, including free agent additions Tom Goodwin, Chris Singleton, Dee Brown, Marty Cordova, and Brain Buchanan.
What to watch We'd urge fantasy owners to keep tabs on Lee's shoulder (he missed most of last year with a torn labrum) or Gonzalez's transition to third base if we thought it would seriously impact anyone's draft day preparations. Instead, we should all focus on what Pinella winds up doing with his batting order and rotation. The rotation quagmire will be addressed below. First: a glance at the lineup.
What we know is that fleet-footed outfielder Carl Crawford will be leading off. After that…well, it depends. Alomar might bat second, but again he needs to stay healthy. There has been serious talk of Bautista batting third, but that's only a temporary fix. The big problem is that regular center fielder and probable third hitter Rocco Baldelli is expected to be sidelined the first three months of the season because of December 5 surgery to repair the torn ACL in his left knee. Rocco injured his knee when he landed awkwardly after sidestepping his little brother, Dante, in a game of backyard baseball. Baldelli believes he will begin jogging next week, so be sure to track his progress.
Without Baldelli patrolling center, Crawford slides over from left. With Cruz gone, Bautista will likely begin the year in left field and Aubrey Huff will end up in right field. Huff, who spent most of his time at third base last year, was going to move to first until Lee was signed. No matter where Huff plays in the field, he will be batting in the middle of the lineup, probably fourth. Thus, all we really know is that Crawford will lead off and Huff will bat in the middle. The rest is TBD.
Mega shortstop prospect B.J. Upton will have every chance to nail down the starting job this spring, which would send Julio Lugo back into a reserve role or possibly to the trading block. Upton's second base double-play partner of the future is Jorge Cantu, but he'll be resting the 15 pounds of muscle he added this offseason on the pine awaiting Alomar's demise.
A possible wildcard to watch for: the Devil Rays are rumored to be in the mix to acquire catcher Charles Johnson from the Rockies. Johnson's agent Scott Boras has reportedly told the Devil Rays that his agent would approve a trade without a contract extension, thereby avoiding a hit to Tampa's tight budget. It's not clear how much Johnson would impact Toby Hall's playing time, but one would assume a deal wouldn't help either player's fantasy value.
Position battles The Devil Rays used 14 different starting pitchers in 2004 and there may be just as many seriously attempting to secure a place in the rotation this March. You can probably write in Dewon Brazelton for one spot, possibly at the top of the rotation. Keep a close eye on Scott Kazmir this spring. The 21-year-old southpaw is considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball and if he pitches up to his potential in March, he might find himself starting on Opening Day. Then again, he's only 21 so a Grapefruit League meltdown is also possible.
That's two. The other three will come from a list that includes Rob Bell, Doug Waechter, Mark Hendrickson, Seth McClung, Jimmy Haynes, and the aforementioned Neagle and Nomo.
Another young arm to keep an eye belongs to 2004 first round draft pick Jeff Neiman, who is a long shot to make the team out of spring training, but could be in the rotation by the end of the season. Neiman will be in St. Petersburg doing his best to impress the coaching staff, but is likely headed to Double-A Montgomery to start the season.
Huff, Crawford, and Bautista are set in the outfield, and Baldelli will reclaim center upon his return. Until then, the D-Rays need to settle on two more outfielders. The Motley Crue that arrived via agency (Goodwin, Cordova, Singleton, Brown, and Buchanan) will be joined in the hunt by several youngsters. The most intriguing of the bunch from an immediate fantasy perspective is Joey Gathright, who has Willie Wilson type speed and has been known to steal bases without needing to slide. Matt Diaz and Jonny Gomes will also get a look. Sorry, no Josh Hamilton or Toe Nash.
One more name to throw in the outfield mix: Delmon Young, the first player taken in the 2003 draft and the younger brother of Dmitri Young, is thisclose to being ready for the Show. "The next Albert Belle" as he has been called could be manning right field by the second half of the season.