Tampa Bay Rays Franchise: A story of borrowing and recycling players

Kent814 · 02-05-2015, 12:57 AM

I will start a Rays franchise on iOOTP 2014. This has long been a franchise that gets stars and trades them when they get too expensive for younger studs-to-be, yet they have, since 2008, built a perennial contender. Their formula has lost them stars, but they can't survive if they overpay for players. I have a couple of those players in mind, in order of likeliness to be traded. David Price, Yunel Escobar, David DeJesus, Grant Balfour, Ben Zobrist, and James Loney. I havent included Longo or Myers because theyre untouchable(to me, at least), and will be mainstays for a long time. Hopefully I can continue their long streak of success.

phillupi · 02-05-2015, 06:16 PM

Are you going to keep the mentioned players or just Longo and Myers? Interested in hearing about your progress.

Kent814 · 02-05-2015, 08:57 PM

No its just a list of the players most likely to be moved based on either age or price or both. It doesn't mean they will be but the guys at the top will be more actively shopped than those at the bottom. Longo and Myers are staying in TB unless injury or better player comes along for cheaper.

Kent814 · 02-06-2015, 03:38 AM

I Top Prospects Breakdown

The Rays have had a good farm system ever since I can remember, but lately, when all that talent graduated (Price, Archer, Moore, Cobb, Jennings, Hellickson), it left a farm system with nothing impactful left. Im going to try and maintain a strong farm throughout the course of this franchise, and keep the run of success going.

#1 Austin Hedges, C
The number 8 prospect in baseball, the former Padre was my first acquisition when I traded Nick Ciuffo, Andrew Toles, and Richie Shaffer in exchange for the top young defensive catcher in the minors. At 21, he is still 1 1/2 to 2 years away, but he projects to be at least an average hitter, and possibly slightly above average, but he could probably make the majors on his glove alone.
MLB Comparison: Yadier Molina

#2 Hak-ju Lee, SS
Once considered a consensus Top 50 prospect, he has lost his shine, and at 23, is running out of time to develop into his ceiling as a .270-.280 hitter, and is more likely to be, at best, a .250-.260 hitter. He is a excellent defender, has top of the line speed, and above average plate discipline, but a backup role is almost unavoidable unless he gives his career a 180*. If he turns it around, he could be a September call-up.
MLB Comparison:Better defensive Everth Cabrera

#3 Ryan Brett, 2B
A 22 year old, he projects to be your prototypical second baseman, with above average contact and eye, but probably not more than 10 homers in a full season. He has great speed and could probably steal 40 bags, and his defense is above average. Probably 1 year away, and possible September call up.
MLB Comp: Scooter Gennett

#4 Taylor Guerrieri, RHP
A 21 year old with a decent fastball and secondary pitches, he has a knee-buckling curveball that offsets the relative lack of stuff in his other pitches. He uses it more than he should which might be why he was shelved with Tommy John surgery last year.September call up, possible MLB regular by start of 2015.
MLB Comp: Doug Fister

#5 Riley Unroe, SS
The second SS on the list, he is only 18 years old, and is extremely raw as a hitter. He still projects to be a above average hitter, and is very fast. Defensively he may be better suited for second base, because despite his speed, he doesn't have that much range. He could also play 3B, LF, and RF because he has a good arm won't kill you with errors. He won't be in the majors for another 3-5 years because he is so raw.
MLB Comp: better defensively, slightly worse offensively Hanley Ramirez

A review of the pitching will be next. If i get one done before i fall asleep, I will, but if not today, then tomorrow.

Also for the draft i will be putting in the 1st round picks of this years draft with ratings according to what is on the MLB.com ratings.

phillupi · 02-06-2015, 10:01 AM

I'm trying to follow along but I don't see some of these guys on the Rays roster in iootp 2014.

Kent814 · 02-06-2015, 06:41 PM

These dudes were just prospects on the minor league roster or the DL

phillupi · 02-06-2015, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kent814

These dudes were just prospects on the minor league roster or the DL

I didn't look at the Disabled list. I'm with you now.

02-05-2015, 12:57 AM	#1
Kent814 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 650	Tampa Bay Rays Franchise: A story of borrowing and recycling players I will start a Rays franchise on iOOTP 2014. This has long been a franchise that gets stars and trades them when they get too expensive for younger studs-to-be, yet they have, since 2008, built a perennial contender. Their formula has lost them stars, but they can't survive if they overpay for players. I have a couple of those players in mind, in order of likeliness to be traded. David Price, Yunel Escobar, David DeJesus, Grant Balfour, Ben Zobrist, and James Loney. I havent included Longo or Myers because theyre untouchable(to me, at least), and will be mainstays for a long time. Hopefully I can continue their long streak of success.

02-05-2015, 06:16 PM	#2
phillupi All Star Reserve Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 814	Are you going to keep the mentioned players or just Longo and Myers? Interested in hearing about your progress.

02-05-2015, 08:57 PM	#3
Kent814 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 650	No its just a list of the players most likely to be moved based on either age or price or both. It doesn't mean they will be but the guys at the top will be more actively shopped than those at the bottom. Longo and Myers are staying in TB unless injury or better player comes along for cheaper.

02-06-2015, 03:38 AM	#4
Kent814 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 650	I Top Prospects Breakdown The Rays have had a good farm system ever since I can remember, but lately, when all that talent graduated (Price, Archer, Moore, Cobb, Jennings, Hellickson), it left a farm system with nothing impactful left. Im going to try and maintain a strong farm throughout the course of this franchise, and keep the run of success going. #1 Austin Hedges, C The number 8 prospect in baseball, the former Padre was my first acquisition when I traded Nick Ciuffo, Andrew Toles, and Richie Shaffer in exchange for the top young defensive catcher in the minors. At 21, he is still 1 1/2 to 2 years away, but he projects to be at least an average hitter, and possibly slightly above average, but he could probably make the majors on his glove alone. MLB Comparison: Yadier Molina #2 Hak-ju Lee, SS Once considered a consensus Top 50 prospect, he has lost his shine, and at 23, is running out of time to develop into his ceiling as a .270-.280 hitter, and is more likely to be, at best, a .250-.260 hitter. He is a excellent defender, has top of the line speed, and above average plate discipline, but a backup role is almost unavoidable unless he gives his career a 180. If he turns it around, he could be a September call-up. MLB Comparison:Better defensive Everth Cabrera #3 Ryan Brett, 2B A 22 year old, he projects to be your prototypical second baseman, with above average contact and eye, but probably not more than 10 homers in a full season. He has great speed and could probably steal 40 bags, and his defense is above average. Probably 1 year away, and possible September call up. MLB Comp: Scooter Gennett #4 Taylor Guerrieri, RHP A 21 year old with a decent fastball and secondary pitches, he has a knee-buckling curveball that offsets the relative lack of stuff in his other pitches. He uses it more than he should which might be why he was shelved with Tommy John surgery last year.September call up, possible MLB regular by start of 2015. MLB Comp: Doug Fister #5 Riley Unroe, SS The second SS on the list, he is only 18 years old, and is extremely raw as a hitter. He still projects to be a above average hitter, and is very fast. Defensively he may be better suited for second base, because despite his speed, he doesn't have that much range. He could also play 3B, LF, and RF because he has a good arm won't kill you with errors. He won't be in the majors for another 3-5 years because he is so raw. MLB Comp: better defensively, slightly worse offensively Hanley Ramirez A review of the pitching will be next. If i get one done before i fall asleep, I will, but if not today, then tomorrow. Also for the draft i will be putting in the 1st round picks of this years draft with ratings according to what is on the MLB.com ratings. Last edited by Kent814; 02-06-2015 at 06:45 PM.*

02-06-2015, 10:01 AM	#5
phillupi All Star Reserve Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 814	I'm trying to follow along but I don't see some of these guys on the Rays roster in iootp 2014.

02-06-2015, 06:41 PM	#6
Kent814 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 650	These dudes were just prospects on the minor league roster or the DL