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Art Deco · 04-29-2023, 12:32 PM

Time to check back in on this one.

Record: 59-43
First place AL East, 3 1/2 up on the Yankees.

A lot has happened in two months with the Rays continuing to play pretty good baseball and staying atop the AL East. We've been injury-free, a rare thing in this day and age and we made some trades to beef up the squad.

The first one was the biggest:

At the all-star break we sent a package of prospects led by Mason Auer to the Cubs for Wheeler, one of the better starters in MLB. Pitching wasn't exactly a weakness but you can never be too rich or too thin or something like that, and Wheeler was doing his typical thing with Chicago in the final year of his contract: 7-5, 3.33, 2.8 WAR in 18 starts. He'll take Jeffrey Springs' spot in the rotation as the lefty was our one struggler among the starters this year with an ERA of around 5. It hurt a bit to give up Auer (the other two not so much) as the 2021 5th-round pick had blossomed into a fine OF with 75 speed, 70 corner OF defense and 50/55 potential at the plate, but we're deep in prospects. Wheeler struggled in his Rays debut at home against Miami (2.1 10 6 6 1 4) but bounced back to go 13 10 2 2 3 13 combined in his next two.

The next trade came about when I was doing some shopping of prospects and saw Detroit was making this young guy available:

Jung was a first-round pick of the Tigers in 2022, had a great season in AA in 2023 and made the club this year, hitting a respectable 274/343/419 as a rookie with 11 HR and 40 RBI. And his ratings are excellent:

Those are my scout's - OSA has his about 5 lower across the board for hitting. But still, a special bat and it only took a couple of mid-level prospects to make the deal. Right now with Yandy and Paredes manning the corners (and Miguel Vargas at DH) there's no room for Jung so he was sent to Durham where he homered in each of his first three games with the Bulls. We'll find a way to work him into the lineup next year, that's for sure.

Finally we made one last good-sized deal before the deadline:

I really think our Durham roster could win 65-70 games at the MLB level and one reason why was Mead, a top-75 prospect who's been stuck there for the better part of two seasons. And we also have Kyle Manzardo, another top-100 prospect who is ready for MLB but is blocked at 1B/DH like Mead. So it was time to deal from the glut for some immediate help so Mead was shipped to the Giants for their closer Camilo Doval, as I wasn't thrilled with our RH bullpen options after Jason Adam and Pete Fairbanks. And we also acquired Bailey in the deal as we'll need a catcher next year with Francisco Mejia going free agent and Christian Bethancourt ready to command $7M+ in arbitration. Bailey rates 45/50 contact, 50/55 HR power, 60 eye and 55/60 defensively making him a well-rounded package at catcher. My AGM actually liked the deal until I threw in the 26-year-old Brecht, a journeyman pitcher who was needed to make the deal work.

We also made an interesting waiver claim, getting Cade Doughty off the Blue Jays:

Doughty was Toronto's 2nd round pick in 2022 and has the potential to be a starting infielder. He's currently injured and will make Durham even stronger when he returns.

Stat time:

Pretty decent all around - we did struggle in June as you can see but turned it around in July. The offense could be a little better and I'll get into that in a minute while the pitching has been solid. The defense is a bit weird since we're 2nd in ZR but middle of the pack in DE/BABIP.

Paredes has really carried the team, seemingly always coming up the big hit or homer at the right time. Wander has been good but he's suffered a major power drop-off from last year and I'm still hoping that returns for the stretch run. Arozarena has also been a disappointment. And the catchers, who were so good at the plate last year, have been pretty brutal. I'd have to DFA one of them to get Bailey up so we'll ride with the duo but you can see now why I made the deal to get him.

The starters have been solid, and you can see how Springs has struggled (and hasn't pitched that much better out of the pen). Yonny Chirinos was DFA'd to make room for Doval and was released after he cleared waivers and refused demotion to Durham.

The draft:

Paino is a high-school kid from New York state with 80/65/70 contact/power/eye potential but looks to be an average IF at best.

Nesta is a North Carolina prep pitcher with 70/55/50 potential.

Musci is another HS pitcher from Georgia with 65/45/65 potential, a little more of a finesse guy.

Murray is high-schooler from Georgia with 65/60/60 hitting potential and potential to be a 50 SS defensively.

Allen, an Alabaman high-schooler, has 65/60/60 hitting potential as well but is progged to be a lousy defensive 3B.

Carson Williams is having a big year at high-A ball and could be a big riser and Nesta is the one draftee OSA seems to like.

04-29-2023, 12:32 PM	#11
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,848	June/July 2024 Time to check back in on this one. Record: 59-43 First place AL East, 3 1/2 up on the Yankees. A lot has happened in two months with the Rays continuing to play pretty good baseball and staying atop the AL East. We've been injury-free, a rare thing in this day and age and we made some trades to beef up the squad. The first one was the biggest: At the all-star break we sent a package of prospects led by Mason Auer to the Cubs for Wheeler, one of the better starters in MLB. Pitching wasn't exactly a weakness but you can never be too rich or too thin or something like that, and Wheeler was doing his typical thing with Chicago in the final year of his contract: 7-5, 3.33, 2.8 WAR in 18 starts. He'll take Jeffrey Springs' spot in the rotation as the lefty was our one struggler among the starters this year with an ERA of around 5. It hurt a bit to give up Auer (the other two not so much) as the 2021 5th-round pick had blossomed into a fine OF with 75 speed, 70 corner OF defense and 50/55 potential at the plate, but we're deep in prospects. Wheeler struggled in his Rays debut at home against Miami (2.1 10 6 6 1 4) but bounced back to go 13 10 2 2 3 13 combined in his next two. The next trade came about when I was doing some shopping of prospects and saw Detroit was making this young guy available: Jung was a first-round pick of the Tigers in 2022, had a great season in AA in 2023 and made the club this year, hitting a respectable 274/343/419 as a rookie with 11 HR and 40 RBI. And his ratings are excellent: Those are my scout's - OSA has his about 5 lower across the board for hitting. But still, a special bat and it only took a couple of mid-level prospects to make the deal. Right now with Yandy and Paredes manning the corners (and Miguel Vargas at DH) there's no room for Jung so he was sent to Durham where he homered in each of his first three games with the Bulls. We'll find a way to work him into the lineup next year, that's for sure. Finally we made one last good-sized deal before the deadline: I really think our Durham roster could win 65-70 games at the MLB level and one reason why was Mead, a top-75 prospect who's been stuck there for the better part of two seasons. And we also have Kyle Manzardo, another top-100 prospect who is ready for MLB but is blocked at 1B/DH like Mead. So it was time to deal from the glut for some immediate help so Mead was shipped to the Giants for their closer Camilo Doval, as I wasn't thrilled with our RH bullpen options after Jason Adam and Pete Fairbanks. And we also acquired Bailey in the deal as we'll need a catcher next year with Francisco Mejia going free agent and Christian Bethancourt ready to command $7M+ in arbitration. Bailey rates 45/50 contact, 50/55 HR power, 60 eye and 55/60 defensively making him a well-rounded package at catcher. My AGM actually liked the deal until I threw in the 26-year-old Brecht, a journeyman pitcher who was needed to make the deal work. We also made an interesting waiver claim, getting Cade Doughty off the Blue Jays: Doughty was Toronto's 2nd round pick in 2022 and has the potential to be a starting infielder. He's currently injured and will make Durham even stronger when he returns. Stat time: Pretty decent all around - we did struggle in June as you can see but turned it around in July. The offense could be a little better and I'll get into that in a minute while the pitching has been solid. The defense is a bit weird since we're 2nd in ZR but middle of the pack in DE/BABIP. Paredes has really carried the team, seemingly always coming up the big hit or homer at the right time. Wander has been good but he's suffered a major power drop-off from last year and I'm still hoping that returns for the stretch run. Arozarena has also been a disappointment. And the catchers, who were so good at the plate last year, have been pretty brutal. I'd have to DFA one of them to get Bailey up so we'll ride with the duo but you can see now why I made the deal to get him. The starters have been solid, and you can see how Springs has struggled (and hasn't pitched that much better out of the pen). Yonny Chirinos was DFA'd to make room for Doval and was released after he cleared waivers and refused demotion to Durham. The draft: Paino is a high-school kid from New York state with 80/65/70 contact/power/eye potential but looks to be an average IF at best. Nesta is a North Carolina prep pitcher with 70/55/50 potential. Musci is another HS pitcher from Georgia with 65/45/65 potential, a little more of a finesse guy. Murray is high-schooler from Georgia with 65/60/60 hitting potential and potential to be a 50 SS defensively. Allen, an Alabaman high-schooler, has 65/60/60 hitting potential as well but is progged to be a lousy defensive 3B. Carson Williams is having a big year at high-A ball and could be a big riser and Nesta is the one draftee OSA seems to like.