Tampa Bay Rays Hitters: 2015 Team Preview
Sep 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (2) talks with Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (3) while on third base during the sixth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
[table id=1308 /]
This table was made before the recent trade that sent Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar to the Oakland A’s. As a result, David DeJesus and Nick Franklin seem to be the most likely benefactors who would jump into the starting lineup of the Rays.
The obvious fantasy star of the Tampa Bay Rays has been the face of the franchise for a while now. Evan Longoria is in his prime at 29 years old, but I will not be drafting him on any team on mine. I have almost no doubt that Longoria will have another strong season, but I want elite numbers if I am drafting a high-end 3B. Evan Longoria is one of the many fantasy baseball whose ADP is too high because of their real-life popularity (Dustin Pedroia, David Wright, etc.).
Desmond Jennings is a post-post-post hype player who is just not going to amount to what some fantasy owners hoped. There is no doubt that he is an above average ballplayer, but he has yet to hit .260 or 15 homers. Desmond Jennings is now 28, and there is no reason to expect him to be more than one of your lower-end outfielders.
The Steven Souza projection certainly caught my eye. A 14-20 projection seems right up the Desmond Jennings alley, except for the fact that Souza’s ceiling is not capped at his 2015 projection. Steven Souza is a product of the Washington Nationals and will play his rookie season for the Tampa Bay Rays at 26.
Even though Souza has never hit more 23 homers in a Minor League season, his game power apparently projects well at the next level. Additionally, Steven Souza has above average future values in all aspects of his prospect grade. Since he currently grades out as not really having any weaknesses, he may be the next Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays. It will be interesting to track the Rays rookie this year, and I recommend putting him on your list of potential sleepers.
Tanner Bell of Smart Fantasy Baseball has created all of the projections seen in this post. You can read about how he develops his projections here. His projections are invaluable to this site. You can also visit his site at www.smartfantasybaseball.com.