AT THE PLATE - The Tampa Bay Rays Blog

The Tampa Bay Rays

Our Major League Roster - The Pitching Staff:


The Starting Rotation

SP1 Jerry "Zee" Zeigler - A surgeon on the mound, Zeigler has shown amazing control and has solidified his ace ranking in the starting rotation. At only 24, he still shows tremendous potential and opportunity for growth. At an 8-8 record, his 3.42 ERA shows how a lack of run support has been the true cause of his even record. While he seems to have the least endurance among the club's starters, he has still managed to log the second-most number of innings pitched (163). Zeigler is slowly developing into the leader role and is striving towards becoming the face of the club in both the bullpen and in the public eye.

SP2 Rocky Bishop - When Castro took over the team, Bishop was a long-reliever, but the talented coach saw great ability in the hurler and gave him a starting role. Since then, Rocky has shined as a number-two starter with number-one talent. He currently has the best record (9-6) and lowest ERA (2.85) of the team and is by far the most consistent of the rotation. A slight quad injury in the beginning of the year made no impact on his performance since. He is a bastion of reliability and a well-respected member of the pitching staff. There has been some concern from the front office about his future, as contract extension talks have faltered with Bishop declining all offers made thus far.

SP3 Miguel Lora - Extremely inconsistent at first, Lora has since leveled off at this point in the season and has logged the most wins of the rotation (10), but likewise also the most losses (11). Lora is also the unenviable holder of the highest ERA among the team's starters (5.14). Beginning the season as the #4 starter and getting a bump during Jay Pearl's early season injury, there is a good possibility he may be bumped back down in the order or demoted into a long-reliever role. The Rays' farm system is deep in pitching talent and there are a number of potential candidates available for a starting role, from the minor leagues to some capable hurlers in the bullpen. However, whenever someone prepares to count Lora out, he delivers an outstanding performance that leaves you thinking he might deserve just ONE more chance.

SP4 Efrain "Not Eric" Estrada - Another pitcher who began as a long-reliever, Estrada earned his shot at a starting role when Castro arrived and quickly began shipping out past-prime veterans. He impressed with his first few outings and even took a no-hitter into the ninth inning in his sixth start, conceding to a 1-hit shutout (the lone hit came on the opposing team's last at-bat). Though his record (6-8) and his ERA (4.38) may not show it, Estrada has raised many eyebrows and at only 24 years old, still has some development in his future. He may not be ready for a #1 or #2 spot, but he has surely cemented his position as a starter.

SP5 Jay Pearl - Pearl's game performances are worthy of praise, his win-loss record (9-7) is second only to Bishop's and his ERA (3.53) is a notch higher than Zeigler's. However, talk in the league has gained steam lately in regards to his personality and attitude towards the game. Having given himself the nickname of "Ruff", Pearl takes a hardline approach to the game, becoming aggressive towards difficult batters and showing little self-control during escalations. Having attracted the sort of attention you DON'T want from the front office, Pearl hasn't regained his original #3 rotation spot because of his friction with teammates. His position was lost early in the year after two consecutive leg injuries, both occurring during practice, took him out of the rotation. Since his return, he has been in top form, but many wonder if impressive pitching skills outweigh the challenges of a difficult player.


The Bullpen

RP1 Robert Stubbs - The unofficial 'Captain of the Bullpen', Stubbs, at only 30 years old, is one of the veterans of the bullpen having been with the team since 2014. Though his outings and statistics suggest he may be at his peak performance, Stubbs has remained consistent and effective. Even owning the second-highest ERA among the team's relievers (4.75) he continues to be a dominant presence on the mound. The benefit of a strong, enduring arm has added to his value, allowing him to fill-in on long relief appearances.

RP2 Johnny Underwood - Scouting reports painted Underwood as the next great reliever, a wolf among sheep. Regrettably, the skilled righty (a 2019, 1st round draft pick) hasn't quite lived up to expectations. Bouncing between the majors and minors his first two years, 2021 has been his first full year in the majors but there have been many questions surrounding his ability to bring himself under control and convert his talent into results. Johnny still has 3 years left on his contract, but unless he can show notable progress, his future with the club is in jeopardy.

RP3 Jake McGee - In his 12th year with the Rays, this lefty has proven why he has been an invaluable asset to the team. At 35, he survived Castro's purge by showing that he still has fuel in the tank. The go-to southpaw, McGee has accumulated good numbers and has shown he can still answer the call (1-2) and deliver (2.63 ERA). He's even been called on to close in a pinch (1 SV, 1 BS). In the last year of his contract and with his ability beginning to dwindle it's unclear if McGee may be packing his bags or if one more year could be in his future.

RP4 Riley Watson - Where Watson has shown himself to be a consistent and steady reliever, he has done equally well when asked to fill in as a spot-starter. A 3-1 record and 3.00 ERA has shown that Watson has the ability and the mindset to do whatever is asked of him, and do it well. He's a shoe-in for a #4 or #5 starting position if the opportunity were to arise (such as in the case of a Lora demotion) but for now, the 24-year-old Watson continues to shine coming out of the pen and getting the job done.

RP5 Eugene Patenaude - A former culinary student-turned pitcher, Patenaude has adamantly resisted any food-related nicknames, dismissing teammate suggestions of "Chef", "Cook" and even "Ratatouille". Instead, he has focused on his mound performance, and even with few calls as the second lefty, his (1-1) record and moderate ERA (4.13) are worth notice. However, he may have been a peak-too-sooner and with his better years in the past, and signs of decreasing velocity, the good-natured Patenaude may find himself on the trading block before you know it.

RP6/SU Alonzo Hines - The opening day closer, Hines had one good outing before imploding and never quite recovering. By the time he had 2 Saves and 5 Blown Saves, an injury and short 15-Day stint on the DL removed him from the Closer role and opened the door for other candidates, particularly the setup man, Cho, who excelled at the role. When Cho went down with a serious hamstring injury, Hines was given another shot at the closer role but he failed to impress. He has since been demoted to setup man for the recently acquired (CL) Mickey Gibbs and has been used sparingly because of his poor history. It must be taken into consideration that Hines is only 22 years old, but with the depth of talent in the Rays' farm sometimes you only get one chance (or in Hines' case, two).


The Closer

CL Mickey Gibbs - A mid-season free agent signing, Castro was familiar with the former Marlins closer who notched 112 saves over 6 years in Miami together, 3 of those as the closer, 3 as the setup man. Regrettably, the signing of Gibbs has not brought the relief (no pun intended) desired as the right-hander has struggled with a high ERA (6.94) and dodgy record (0-1, 7 SV, 4 BS). The 1-year deal confirms that the signing was intended more as a short-term fix than a long-term relationship and with Cho soon to return, Gibbs' future is unclear.


Disabled List

CL Curt "The Curt Show" Cho - Originally the setup man to Hines' closing role, when the young prospect faltered then became injured, Cho stepped into the slot and never looked back. Racking up an impressive record (0-2, 2.15 ERA, 19 SV, 2 BS) Cho made the case to become the permanent closer just as he was struck with a serious hamstring injury which sent him to the 60-Day DL. Failed attempts at filling his shoes included Hines' second chance and the free agent signing of former Marlins closer Mickey Gibbs, which didn't pan out either. Castro is eagerly awaiting the return of his shut-down man with firm hope that the injury won't have any lingering performance effects.



Current League Standings to follow.....

If possible can you please share your settings (injuries, rating and anything else that might be helpful). I am looking at getting things set up correctly before I start.

The State of The Season

For The Tampa Bay Rays.


It's early in my contract. Thankfully. It's become painfully obvious too that this will be, by far, my most challenging team to turn around. We've been playing leapfrog with the Boston Red Sox since the beginning of the season. While we both have maintained an overall losing record, we've been in stiff competition over who has lost the least, and thus- who deserves second place. With only a paltry 46 games left to play and the dominant New York Yankees ahead by 20 games, things don't look promising for us. Granted, Boston is only 3 games ahead of us, so at least THEY'RE within reach. There's already some disparity in the locker room with Pearl grumbling and moping about, outwardly commenting on his displeasure with the team's standings. Of course, he has failed to realize the fact that last year the team ended (this is not a misprint) 41 games behind and so far we've cut that by more than half. The coaching staff and I are quickly tiring of his rants and were it not for the fact that we missed the trade deadline by 10 days I'd have sent him packing by now. I guess I put the team's potential in front of my own interests and now I'm beginning to regret it.

Having lead Miami to a World Series win my first year there then giving Texas a winning record in that first year, I suppose expectations are high. Granted, Miami was already in good form when I arrived and Texas was bad, but not Tampa Bay bad. Still, while the situation looks dim, my staff and I are working diligently to get things back on track and I'm confident we'll be able to end the season over .500.

Looking at the team, I see a few interesting developments. While I shared a summary assessment of the players in previous posts, I wanted to offer a little more insight on how I see things and what my brain is thinking. So let's begin with pitching.

Our rotation, considering its overall youth and inexperience, isn't doing all that badly. Two starters have winning records (Bishop's 9-6 and Pearl's 9-7) while a third is evened up (Zeigler at 8-8). Between those three, they boast an average ERA of 3.27, which is pretty good- highlighted by Bishop's 2.85, lowest among our starters... and fifth lowest in the league, by the way (NYA's Harry Osgood leads with 2.65). Our bottom two starters are bad, but not horrible- their combined record is 16-19 and their average ERA is 4.76, which is higher than I would like, but then I've seen worse. The whole situation reminds me of watching a toddler trying to walk- you WANT to go in and help him out, but then you want to see if he can figure it out on his own. That's where I stand with the pitching staff, a part of me wants to move things around, but at the same time, another part of me reminds me that of my 5 starters, only 3 of them have been starters before (Bishop, Estrada and Pearl), and of those 3, only 1 (Bishop) has been a starter for more than 1 year (it's been 2). I need them to figure out how to walk on their own- if I jump in each time they wobble, they'll never learn to stand on their own. These are the formative years and I need to be sure they can get their own acts together.

Then there's the bullpen... ugh. That's a completely different problem. Underwood, whom I had great hopes for, is sitting at 2-7 with a reputation as a choker. Our reliever Stubbs, and our spot starter Watson are enjoying decent records at 3-2 and 3-1, respectively. McGee, the elder veteran, owns a 1-2 mark but also owns a basement-low 2.63 ERA; it's sad when the granddaddy of the bullpen is boasting the lowest ERA. The aforementioned Stubbs and Underwood, plus Eugene "it's probably time to put him down, Carol" Patenaude, are all hovering above a 4.00 ERA (4.75, 4.17 and 4.13, respectively). I know they're very young, but if you have talent, USE IT! I don't even want to LOOK at the Closer situation. I'm sure that you are all familiar with the term "Closer-By-Committee"? I think we're currently at "Closer-By-Desperation". I confess that we're still using Mickey Gibbs but only beacause he's LESS OF A DISASTER than Hines, not because he's great on his own. Honestly, I can't wait until Cho gets healthy which should be in the next two more weeks. That's cutting it close to the end of the season but what choice do I have?

Now let's turn to hitting. Power seems to be split quite evenly across the entire lineup; eight-of-nine players have double-digit home run totals but still no one is really running away with the crown. The average longball total is 13.2, including Copeland's 8. The leader is presently Turner and his 17 dingers with the above-mentioned Copeland at the bottom end with 8. This even but relatively low power total (116 HRs) places us near the bottom of the team HR totals; tied for 24th lowest alongside San Diego. The pop-less Athletics trail the association with a mere 87. I confess that I really don't NEED a power bat, so long as everyone can hit. My policy is that "Home Runs don't win games, RUNS do". I would rather get 0 HRs and 2 RBI in a game and win, than hit 6 HRs and lose. Flash doesn't impress me, runs do- results do. As long as my guys can hit and drive in runs, I don't care that they're not launching balls into the parking lot. Honest.

While that's nice in theory, my problem is that they're not hitting either! Our team batting average of .238 is not only embarrassing but at 27th place, it's only 12 points better than the last place Dodgers and their abysmal hitting. Only three players are hitting over .250 (Winslow, Turner, and Aldredge, my 2-3-4), which- all things considered- if SOMEONE'S gonna be hitting well, it SHOULD BE these three... though it would be nice if my leadoff man could get involved in the hit parade. While the top of the order is hitting 'well', the bottom of the order is just... atrocious. Our 6-7-8-9 hitters are only averaging .219; this includes power batters such as Marshall (16 HR, 55 RBI) and Muraoka (12 HR, 46 RBI) from whom you would expect at least a little better contact. These RBI totals are decent until you remember we're 116 games into the season... at this point, 55 RBI ranks you around 127th in the league. If we were at the All-Star break, I'd be dancing with these numbers right now.

Looking to the future, I have a few concerns: Rexford and Turner, who are each in the last year of their contracts. While Rexford has performed below expectation, I see a spark in his eye and I think he's one good streak away from exploding out of his cocoon and evolving into a serious power player. It would have been nice if this had happened sooner than in the last third of the season, but... better late than never. I want to retain him but the front office is hesitant to commit big dollars on him, especially with his underperforming track record. I'm citing the massive contract allotments that I've freed up by having let go of some overpriced, overhyped veteran talent (I freed up 40% of our salary cap) but they still want to fight me, limiting how much I could offer [Rexford] which is undoubtedly spawning thoughts of Free Agency in the kid. Still, I think this first is worth it. On the matter of Turner, the concerns are different. Where I know deep in my heart that Rexford WILL explode, Turner... might have already exploded. This could be it. The bang might have happened this year, and there's nothing that awaits him other than ash and ruin. Then again, I could be completely wrong and this could just be the first year of a monstrous stretch. At 28, he's either at - or near - peak, so the odds are against him, but stranger things have happened...

Andrew Lewis, our backup outfielder, is capable of a starting role, but his biggest obstacle is that he's blocked by my three starting outfielders (Winslow, Aldredge, and Quinlan) who are quite solid, even if Quinlan is the least solid of the bunch. This means that if I can't retain Rexford in the offseason and Lewis can handle a shift to first base, it might be his 'in' for a starting role. Only time will tell, I suppose.

Lastly, I want to address one glimmering light of hope in our otherwise dour season, and this faint spark goes by the name of Nate Spencer. This young phenom is impressive and skilled beyond his years. At just 19, the scouts have already recorded him with a 51/44/51 Contact/Power/Eye split, an atmospheric 83 POT and a 48/61/66 Hands/Range/Arm spread, topped off by a zippy 74 Speed. Our Head Scout, Brooks Webb, is really impressed with the young man and in his words, "I haven't seen a talent like that since Miguel Cabrera". As you could imagine, this has us very excited! However, he's 19. Too soon?

Before you answer that, consider this- back at the end of April, on the 30th if I recall correctly, Marcel Winslow, our star center fielder, injured his shoulder on a slide into second. It was a minor injury but it was enough to send him to the 15-Day DL. We didn't have Lewis at the time (we traded for him on 5/5) so I took a chance and gave the kid [Spencer] a call-up. It was the big show and I think his eyes were bigger than his optimism. He asked for 30 tickets to have friends and family show up for his first game, but it was late and they couldn't make it. In that first game, he went 0-2 with 2 walks and a run scored. For his second game, we managed to score the tickets and he had everyone cheering him on- and it did the trick; Spencer went 2-4 with 4 RBI, 1 HR (his first in the majors) and 1 Run scored. All in all, during his 13-game major league stint, the tyke went 14-for-48 (.292 average) with 7 RBI and 8 Runs scored. We were impressed. By then, Winslow was fine and Lewis was available so Spencer was sent back down. It was a brief but rewarding run.

If this is the team's future, things are looking really, really good for us.

Hook, Line, and Sinker

August 09, 2021

It was a warm summer day in Camden Yards, when the Rays and Orioles took to the field. The game started off with a quick first inning before the Rays jumped on the board when after singling his way on two outs prior, Damian Rexford came home on a Muraoka RBI single. The lead would not last however, as Baltimore got an unearned run when a Daniel Hall routine grounder popped out of Ron Turner's glove, allowing the Baltimore left-fielder to reach base. This would come back to hurt us when Andrew Padilla, the very next batter, grounded out on a fielder's choice leading Dave Wilson (who had reached on a single at the top of the inning) to cross home plate safely and tie up the game. The Rays' woes continued with Baltimore adding two more runs in the bottom of the seventh off Pearl, who would couldn't come through in the clutch situations. Wilson (.376, 38 HR, 90 RBI) continued his scorching run getting on base with another single before being driven home on a triple by Hall, who in turn came home on Padilla's RBI double immediately afterward. The Rays managed to add a run in the top of the 9th when Rexford's single set up the first baseman to score on an Albert Marshall (.221, 16 HR, 56 RBI) double, but it was too little too late and the game was in the bag. 

W: BAILEY (6-5)
L: PEARL (9-8)


TAMPA BAY RAYS                        ( 54 - 63 )


BALTIMORE ORIOLES                  ( 51 - 65 )

Gibbs Sent Down, Wayne Called Up

August 11th, 2021

The Rays announced today that they have designated closer Mickey Gibbs for assignment in order to make room for the call-up of highly touted pitching prospect Deman Wayne. Gibbs had only recently been picked up as a mid-season free agent signing on May 27th, three days after having been released by Miami. Though he and Rays coach Roger Castro shared several years together with the Marlins, this second run will amount to a period of just under two-and-a-half months. 

Gibbs started off well logging 1 Hold (called in to set up) and 4 Saves in his first five outings but then crashed sharply during his first blown save on July 21st. Never really recovering, he logged 3 saves and 4 blown saves after that and saw his ERA swell from a low of 1.80 to an upper-atmosphere scraping 7.11. While his performance in Tampa Bay was well below expectation, news has it that he may be drawing the interest from a handful of teams and the closer may get picked up on waivers. Otherwise, he's headed down to AAA St. Petersberg.

Wayne is a 2019 3rd round draft pick out of Arizona State. He was called up previously back on June 6th for a short stint to support a struggling bullpen before being returned to AAA on July 1st. During that brief term, he earned a 1-2 record with a 2.38 ERA over 34 innings pitched. His 29 Ks come out to an impressive 7.7 Ks-per-inning, which caught management's attention and kept his name at the top of the list. Wayne has a decent fastball in the low-90s but his strength is in his refined curveball and sharp slider. He has a much-improved sinker but he doesn't rely on it very often. It hasn't yet been determined if he will take up the closer role or if the club is looking at other options.

Thank you! I enjoy writing it and I enjoy it even more when I know that other lovers of the game are enjoying it as well! 

You make a very good point- fictional players are so very unpredictable. You don't have historical facts to base any expectations on; there's no Bonds that you know will hit long-balls or Boggs that you know will hit everything. Everything is in a cross-your-fingers-and-hope situation while you begin to learn and understand the players. It's everything you love from real MLB with the mystery, risk and suspense of enjoying it with unique players.