What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Continuous Rays thread: fun season (2 Viewers)

Ministry of Pain said:
The kid Phillips went to Seminole High which is 3 blocks from where my son grew up and actually is living presently, little sub of St Pete. Last guy on the bench, of all the folks to have that hit in that game in that inning in that situation, the goose bumps are just unreal right now. I was accepting that the Rays might go down quickly but this changes everything for the Final 3 Games. Incredible for the players involved, all of them. You couldn't possibly be anything other than proud of that Baseball Team right now. What a night for the organization and the fan base. 
Click to expand...
Brett Phillips grew up in Pinellas County. His grandma took him to the first ever Devil Rays fan fest. He grew up rooting for the #Rays.

He just hit a walkoff for his hometown team in the World Series.

Every kid in America has had that dream. And he just lived it.

 
Ministry of Pain said:
In complete shock right now, no other way to describe this feeling when a team you know has no earthly business doing what they are doing and after such a disappointment with Morton last game to be able to play a classic tonight and set up a tug of war for Game 5, this is more than most Rays fans could have ever hoped for. My son was almost in tears tonight when the Bottom of the 9th unfolded like it did, again I'm speechless tonight. 
Click to expand...
I’m only bummed my son is 3 and will never remember this sports year. 

 
Booked into the Avalon/Hollander for Games 6 and 7 on Tue/Wed, Ferg's back in rotation, we won there Wed Night, seems to be good luck despite the questionable food. 

 
Capella said:
Brett Phillips grew up in Pinellas County. His grandma took him to the first ever Devil Rays fan fest. He grew up rooting for the #Rays.

He just hit a walkoff for his hometown team in the World Series.

Every kid in America has had that dream. And he just lived it.
Click to expand...
Didn't know ALL this and only makes the story better. I know the National Ratings are down, can't say i blame most folks but true MLB fans really missed a classic tonight if they didn't tune in. Great info Cap, Go Rays!

 
Hope they can pull it off tonight. Oddly feel good about Snell which I wasn’t expecting to say this series. Man, Glasnow really put them in a hole twice. 

 
How Cash pulls Snell, it squarely is Cash fault tonight, I could cry watching him walk a Cy Young Winner and allowed 3 hits in about 11 innings in the WS by my count?

Nick Anderson was amazing late last year and early this year but he has stunk for weeks, any moron knew Betts would hit at least a 2B off Anderson, and then the ball rattles around and gets in the fencing 

I really doubt the Rays would be behind 2-1 right now but who knows. Nick Anderson should go get a bottle of Jack Daniels ready because he is going to need it, absolutely the suck in the WS, sorry. 

 
That was a terrible, terrible decision by Cash but that has to be one of the worst offensive outputs in World Series history. They weren’t winning that game 1-0, guy had to chase the win. I get it even if I hate it. 

 
Congratulations to the Ray's on being ROI champs!  A much bigger feat to make it to the WS with one of the lowest payrolls in the league.  They would have easily won the World Series with a little more money to spend.  Kind of embarrassing for LA to not sweep imo.

 
Rays front office is just amazing, year after year.

Great return for Snell.

Their farm has absolutely ridiculous amounts of depth and their major league roster is rock solid.

Kind of forgotten guy in deal but Mejia is going to end up being a good part time catcher with Ronaldo Hernandez in time. He needs consistent at bats though.

 
I like the trade long-term but feels like a step back in 2021. Guess we’ll see, Snell wasn’t exactly unhittable these past two years so so maybe it won’t be that bad. The pitching staff is sure going to be cobbled together. 

 
Capella said:
I like the trade long-term but feels like a step back in 2021. Guess we’ll see, Snell wasn’t exactly unhittable these past two years so so maybe it won’t be that bad. The pitching staff is sure going to be cobbled together. 
Click to expand...
Always seems cobbled together, and it's almost always good.  They never lose these deals. 

 
Grahamburn said:
Always seems cobbled together, and it's almost always good.  They never lose these deals. 
Click to expand...
They don’t, but it’s hard to come off a World Series and trade your best pitcher and try to tell people you are trying to seriously make it back in 2021. Might/probably will work out after that, but still. 

 
Capella said:
They don’t, but it’s hard to come off a World Series and trade your best pitcher and try to tell people you are trying to seriously make it back in 2021. Might/probably will work out after that, but still. 
Click to expand...
Think about it differently. How they’re thinking about it. The organization, manager, philosophy.. wouldn’t let him pitch more than 5 innings in the biggest game of the year. A game he was dominating. If another organization will sell their farm for a player you’ll only use “situationally,” you trade them every single time. 

 
It’s exceptionally early but talent-wise, this does not seem like one of their better teams. Feels like they are going to have to get Wander, McLenachen, Patino and others up quick if they want to compete. 

 
Team is on fire. 
 

Adames seemed like a super great guy but glad he’s gone. Just could not stand watching his at-bats. 

 
10!

went to see them last night in Dunedin. Was 99% Rays fans. Kept cracking up when the PA announcer would say “YOUR Toronto Blue Jays”

 
Turned the game off after the 2-run shot in the 8th, imagine my surprise when I checked espn for the Suns-Lakers score.

Cash has ‘em playing well.

 
Made it to 2 games this week. Saw Yarbs in Dunedin on Monday. I did not have a ticket and was flying solo. I parked and looked around for scalpers. None. Went into Bausers and plugged my phone in as it was almost dead and I would need it if I found a scalper. A gentleman next to me at the bar asked if I was going to the game? If I can find a ticket, I told him.

Well, I have an extra I'll sell you for $25. OKAY! Ended up he was handicapped, his daughter had bought the tickets for him and we had to pick them up at will call. They were in the wheel chair section directly behind home plate. I sat right next to the radar gun! I could yell at the players and they'd acknowledge and laugh. I coerced Teoscar to toss me a foul ball while he was in the on deck circle- he lobbed it up and over the protection screen right to me! Hot as balls in that tiny stadium though, it was cooking but I stayed till the end and saw the 7 scored in the 11th.

Then down to the Trop yesterday to attend the McClanahan Pub experience. Love the AC in the Trop and will never figure out why people complain about it.

First place by one game and the best record in the AL-------GO RAYS!

 
Joe Mammy said:
Made it to 2 games this week. Saw Yarbs in Dunedin on Monday. I did not have a ticket and was flying solo. I parked and looked around for scalpers. None. Went into Bausers and plugged my phone in as it was almost dead and I would need it if I found a scalper. A gentleman next to me at the bar asked if I was going to the game? If I can find a ticket, I told him.

Well, I have an extra I'll sell you for $25. OKAY! Ended up he was handicapped, his daughter had bought the tickets for him and we had to pick them up at will call. They were in the wheel chair section directly behind home plate. I sat right next to the radar gun! I could yell at the players and they'd acknowledge and laugh. I coerced Teoscar to toss me a foul ball while he was in the on deck circle- he lobbed it up and over the protection screen right to me! Hot as balls in that tiny stadium though, it was cooking but I stayed till the end and saw the 7 scored in the 11th.

Then down to the Trop yesterday to attend the McClanahan Pub experience. Love the AC in the Trop and will never figure out why people complain about it.

First place by one game and the best record in the AL-------GO RAYS!
Click to expand...
Wish the Jays stayed in Dunedin. That was very cool I thought. 

 
Let's start with 35-20, best record in MLB going into June 1st. 

Rays have now won 16 of their last 17 games. 

-Sent Blake Snell and Charlie Morton on their merry way in the off season and so far haven't missed a beat. The team has 1-2 bonafide starting pitchers and then piece mails it around that including starts from relief pitchers and then going say 4-5 innings from somebody like Ryan Yarborough or Josh Fleming. 

-The scary part of the Rays pitching staff and in particular their bullpen is there really is not a CLOSER in the traditional sense or maybe they have 2-3 that would take on that role on any other MLB team but it seems to be one of the two. Nick Anderson is still on the 60-Day, Beeks is Cheeks 60-Day, Chaz Roe is 60-Day, Colin Poche 60-Day, Sir Drake 60-Day, Cody Reed 60-Day and so I'm saying the Rays could actually get a lot better in their bullpen and since they acquired some new arms for Willy Adames, how are they going to keep all these guys on the active roster and they can't. 

Imagine Fairbanks, Diego Castillo, J.P.Feyereisen(just got him), Kittredge and then any number of those guys I mentioned coming off the IL and that would push guys like Springs who is seeing a lot of work right now, there simply will not be room for everyone and I see the Rays as an active trading team all the way to the final bell this season. They have a lot of cards they can play. 

-I've supported Kevin Kiermaier for a long time and looked the other way on his batting average because he brings so much to the field and taking away runs but Brett Phillips, a local kid who looks goofy at the plate but can cover the field almost as good as KK, might be time to offload that $10M he makes, highest paid guy on the team and worth it but perhaps the Rays can find that elusive 1 Bat they always seem to be missing. 

This win streak has slowly wiped the bad taste out of my mouth from the World Series, Game 6 but it still lingers and its hard to get excited about players you know will be gone in a year or less. But maybe they are getting ready for a 2-3 year run or stretch with some of the same core nucleus. 

-Back to the offense, Rays Catchers are like en fuego right now, Mike Zunino leads all Catchers with 12 Home Runs. Ji-Man Choi-1B was a nice pop in the arm for the team when he came of the IL earlier this month. I think the team lacks the big playmaker or hitter at one of the corners be it 3B or 1B...Choi and Joey Wendle are nice stories and a big part of the Rays current success but how long can they mask around like frontline starters? Rays have a solid Outfield and guys coming up, their 2B-SS positions are already full and they still have prospects that need to come up and play like Wander Franco of course. 

-Did I mention this new kid Taylor Walls? I loved Adames and his enthusiasm and what he brought to the dugout/clubhouse, think the Brewers will be delighted with him BUT he wasn't exactly doing well at the plate of late and if memory serves me right he was the last at bat in the World Series and he swung at air pretty much.

-Rays Starting Pitchers right now are kind of a joke. Glasnow is for real but the Rich Hill experiment is hilarious. $2.5M they gave him for this season and 4 games in he had an ERA of 8.82 and the 7 starts he has logged since then, wanna take a guess? 5 Earned Runs over 41 Innings which gives him an unsustainable ERA as we go along thru June and July. Archer is supposed to be coming off the IL in the coming weeks, they also have Honeywell and McKay in the Minors, they have both already pitched in the Majors so they will get a call sooner or later. Shane McClanahan hasn't gotten a lot of the press clippings but the Rays went 5-0 in May when he took the hill. Shane has not been asked to go past the 5th Inning yet. 

My son and I watch, he gets into them in March, takes me a while to usually warm up to Baseball. Yeah, the current winning streak helps and I think I am going to lose the bet I made with my son on wins and losses, I saw the Rays struggling to win 85-90 games and make the Playoffs, they can't keep this up but it's possible they could continue rolling in June. It's a long season and sometimes teams peak early. The Rays however have a lot of guys that have to squeeze on to this roster, not sure where they are going to put everyone. 

 
Ministry of Pain said:
Let's start with 35-20, best record in MLB going into June 1st. 

Rays have now won 16 of their last 17 games. 

-Sent Blake Snell and Charlie Morton on their merry way in the off season and so far haven't missed a beat. The team has 1-2 bonafide starting pitchers and then piece mails it around that including starts from relief pitchers and then going say 4-5 innings from somebody like Ryan Yarborough or Josh Fleming. 

-The scary part of the Rays pitching staff and in particular their bullpen is there really is not a CLOSER in the traditional sense or maybe they have 2-3 that would take on that role on any other MLB team but it seems to be one of the two. Nick Anderson is still on the 60-Day, Beeks is Cheeks 60-Day, Chaz Roe is 60-Day, Colin Poche 60-Day, Sir Drake 60-Day, Cody Reed 60-Day and so I'm saying the Rays could actually get a lot better in their bullpen and since they acquired some new arms for Willy Adames, how are they going to keep all these guys on the active roster and they can't. 

Imagine Fairbanks, Diego Castillo, J.P.Feyereisen(just got him), Kittredge and then any number of those guys I mentioned coming off the IL and that would push guys like Springs who is seeing a lot of work right now, there simply will not be room for everyone and I see the Rays as an active trading team all the way to the final bell this season. They have a lot of cards they can play. 

-I've supported Kevin Kiermaier for a long time and looked the other way on his batting average because he brings so much to the field and taking away runs but Brett Phillips, a local kid who looks goofy at the plate but can cover the field almost as good as KK, might be time to offload that $10M he makes, highest paid guy on the team and worth it but perhaps the Rays can find that elusive 1 Bat they always seem to be missing. 

This win streak has slowly wiped the bad taste out of my mouth from the World Series, Game 6 but it still lingers and its hard to get excited about players you know will be gone in a year or less. But maybe they are getting ready for a 2-3 year run or stretch with some of the same core nucleus. 

-Back to the offense, Rays Catchers are like en fuego right now, Mike Zunino leads all Catchers with 12 Home Runs. Ji-Man Choi-1B was a nice pop in the arm for the team when he came of the IL earlier this month. I think the team lacks the big playmaker or hitter at one of the corners be it 3B or 1B...Choi and Joey Wendle are nice stories and a big part of the Rays current success but how long can they mask around like frontline starters? Rays have a solid Outfield and guys coming up, their 2B-SS positions are already full and they still have prospects that need to come up and play like Wander Franco of course. 

-Did I mention this new kid Taylor Walls? I loved Adames and his enthusiasm and what he brought to the dugout/clubhouse, think the Brewers will be delighted with him BUT he wasn't exactly doing well at the plate of late and if memory serves me right he was the last at bat in the World Series and he swung at air pretty much.

-Rays Starting Pitchers right now are kind of a joke. Glasnow is for real but the Rich Hill experiment is hilarious. $2.5M they gave him for this season and 4 games in he had an ERA of 8.82 and the 7 starts he has logged since then, wanna take a guess? 5 Earned Runs over 41 Innings which gives him an unsustainable ERA as we go along thru June and July. Archer is supposed to be coming off the IL in the coming weeks, they also have Honeywell and McKay in the Minors, they have both already pitched in the Majors so they will get a call sooner or later. Shane McClanahan hasn't gotten a lot of the press clippings but the Rays went 5-0 in May when he took the hill. Shane has not been asked to go past the 5th Inning yet. 

My son and I watch, he gets into them in March, takes me a while to usually warm up to Baseball. Yeah, the current winning streak helps and I think I am going to lose the bet I made with my son on wins and losses, I saw the Rays struggling to win 85-90 games and make the Playoffs, they can't keep this up but it's possible they could continue rolling in June. It's a long season and sometimes teams peak early. The Rays however have a lot of guys that have to squeeze on to this roster, not sure where they are going to put everyone. 
Click to expand...
Good post. It’s crazy how they can supplement this team with guys like Franco and Brujan and all the pitching they have in Durham. 
 

With Brujan apparently being as good of a prospect as there is at 2B, I’d consider moving Lowe for even more pitching. Have to assume that’s coming this off-season if not before. 

 
Capella said:
Good post. It’s crazy how they can supplement this team with guys like Franco and Brujan and all the pitching they have in Durham. 
 

With Brujan apparently being as good of a prospect as there is at 2B, I’d consider moving Lowe for even more pitching. Have to assume that’s coming this off-season if not before. 
Click to expand...
Let's talk about Brandon Lowe and I think I have seen almost every game he has played since being called up a couple seasons ago. I think I called him bag o'donuts when he 1st came up, he just looked little like a little sack of powder donuts and I was shocked when he started lifting them routinely out of the yard for Home Runs. He's no 30 HR guy but I thought he could perhaps be a .250+ hitter and 15+ HRs, 100+ games, he's valuable...the reality is Lowe's batting under .200 right now and has the look of someone who seems almost accepting that his role here might be limited or on borrowed time since Adames went was sent to Milwaukee. 

I don't think they have to move Lowe immediately and I would like to see him stay and se other guys go even though they will not fetch large trades but I'm good on Brosseau and Diaz, like Margot but can watch him go play elswhere so we can make room for others in the Minors and get them up here and add some pop to a team that routinely has nights like last night where they struggle to hit the baseball(most of MLB has same issue). 

Brandon is a really good soldier and by that I mean he jumped on a deal the Rays put in front of him that started this season. 6 yrs and $24M guaranteed, the 1st 3 seasons are team friendly IMHO, the last 3 are for a lot more money, almost in the range of KK-CF. But we're talking $2.5 /21, $4m-'22, $5.5M-'23...for those number I would prefer they keep him and let him be the utility INFielder that is currently being taken by Brosseau or Diaa. Brujan can even platoon in the OF or DH until they can get their outfield situated. 

Don't forget Josh Lowe, he's not related to Brandon, however he was Nate's brother who was decent and the Rays traded him, maybe to the Rangers? Josh plays in the OF and he's pretty good, can hit some Home Runs, could be a potential 30 HR a year guy, we need someone like that to add into the line up. 

Brandon Lowe did what the Rays wanted him to do and I think they will do right by him and not just jettison him to another club right away. He doesn't say bad things about anything the Rays do, how they handle their business, he's a company guy like Kiermier and much like Longoria was. The rays like to have a couple players on the team they can market to the fans like they are career guys and it's possible Lowe is going to follow in those footsteps. He is small but he plays a lot bigger at times, kids seem to gravitate towards him or identify with his underdog style. Just my take from games I've been at when he is at the plate or makes a play. 

Maybe Lowe would be good trade bait since he is under a contract most teams would like. 

 
1-Arozarena-OF

2-Wander Franco-SS...he's coming up soon

3-Ji-Man Choi-1B...we need an upgrade here eventually but he's fine in the 3-hole with the guys in front and behind him

4-Austin Meadows-DH...just let him swing the bat

5-Vidal Brujan-2B

6-Taylor Walls-3B...Joey Wendle can keep pushing for time and float in and out for whoever needs a night off or struggles.

7-Kevin Kiermeier-CF

8-Mike Zunino-C

9-Brandon Lowe-OF...he has played in the outfield before. 

This is what i anticipate the line up to look like eventually where some of the guys batting in the top are batting last or not at all. 

 
Ministry of Pain said:
1-Arozarena-OF

2-Wander Franco-SS...he's coming up soon

3-Ji-Man Choi-1B...we need an upgrade here eventually but he's fine in the 3-hole with the guys in front and behind him

4-Austin Meadows-DH...just let him swing the bat

5-Vidal Brujan-2B

6-Taylor Walls-3B...Joey Wendle can keep pushing for time and float in and out for whoever needs a night off or struggles.

7-Kevin Kiermeier-CF

8-Mike Zunino-C

9-Brandon Lowe-OF...he has played in the outfield before. 

This is what i anticipate the line up to look like eventually where some of the guys batting in the top are batting last or not at all. 
Click to expand...
I think Wander will end up at third. Apparently he’s not very good at SS and Walls is a wizard. 
 

They have another Lowe in AAA - Josh. Stud prospect. He already has 8 homers in only 95 AAA at-bats. He’s ready now. I think he’s the CF next year and they move Kiermaier out. I also think Brandon gets traded and Brujan is the next 2B. 
 

I don’t think they make many big changes this year but Choi-Brujan-Walls-Wander is what I expect the infield to look like next year with Margot-Josh Lowe-Randy in the OF with Meadows at DH. 
 

They have so much pitching now, in the minors and coming off the DL I can’t even list it all. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Glasnow going down is a total bummer but this has been his career for the most part and I understand the 2020 numbers are kind of screwy but this dude has never started more than about 12-13 games in any season ever. He was right at that spot already in June and like magic he's injured. Rays will be lucky if he can even pitch again this year, i don't see it happening. 

13-11-12-11-14...this guy will never give you 150 innings in a season. 

 
June 26th we play the Angels of Anaheim and my son surprised me and bought 2 tickets that I would have never spent the money on but we got lucky on DOGE earlier this year and I guess he felt this was a good idea. 

We'll be sitting behind home plate a little right of center looking out to the field. Guess I'm buying the beers.  

 
Ministry of Pain said:
June 26th we play the Angels of Anaheim and my son surprised me and bought 2 tickets that I would have never spent the money on but we got lucky on DOGE earlier this year and I guess he felt this was a good idea. 

We'll be sitting behind home plate a little right of center looking out to the field. Guess I'm buying the beers.  
Click to expand...
That’s awesome 

 
Wander Franco being called up, Brujan will be following him up soon as well, anticipate Lowe seeing action at some point. 

Diaz is on borrowed time, Brosseu will be in Durham soon. 

1B-Choi and Ford, some of you don't remember him but he was pretty good a couple seasons ago and hit 12 HRs in 143 AB. In 2019, AAA for the Yankees he hit 23 HRs in 294 AB and I think Choi and Ford will rotate, Ford isn't a free agent or eligible until 2026, Rays have time to develop him. 

2B-Brandon Lowe

SS-Taylor Walls

3B-Wander Franco/Joey Wendle and obviously Joey is going to see a lot less time but he's valuable as a utility or back up. 

 
Ministry of Pain said:
Wander Franco being called up, Brujan will be following him up soon as well, anticipate Lowe seeing action at some point. 

Diaz is on borrowed time, Brosseu will be in Durham soon. 

1B-Choi and Ford, some of you don't remember him but he was pretty good a couple seasons ago and hit 12 HRs in 143 AB. In 2019, AAA for the Yankees he hit 23 HRs in 294 AB and I think Choi and Ford will rotate, Ford isn't a free agent or eligible until 2026, Rays have time to develop him. 

2B-Brandon Lowe

SS-Taylor Walls

3B-Wander Franco/Joey Wendle and obviously Joey is going to see a lot less time but he's valuable as a utility or back up. 
Click to expand...
Not sure Ford is a prospect but there will be some other options at first. I love Choi and he’s a good player but as the main option at first, not really sure he has the power for that. 
 

Wendle is a really good player - a contact hitter in a league where nobody makes contact. I think there is a chance Margot loses out on the most at-bats here. He’s just not very good. Could see a lot of Brandon in RF or LF coming up 

DH - Meadows 

RF - Brandon 

CF - Kiermaier

LF - Randy

Phillips and Margot mixed in, especially on D. 

Choi/Wendle/Walls/Franco in some variety first to third. Of course they never use the same lineup twice so who knows really.  

 
Capella said:
Not sure Ford is a prospect but there will be some other options at first. I love Choi and he’s a good player but as the main option at first, not really sure he has the power for that. 
 

Wendle is a really good player - a contact hitter in a league where nobody makes contact. I think there is a chance Margot loses out on the most at-bats here. He’s just not very good. Could see a lot of Brandon in RF or LF coming up 

DH - Meadows 

RF - Brandon 

CF - Kiermaier

LF - Randy

Phillips and Margot mixed in, especially on D. 

Choi/Wendle/Walls/Franco in some variety first to third. Of course they never use the same lineup twice so who knows really.  
Click to expand...
Good points, i would add that Franco has an arm so that won't likely put him at 2B very often and Taylor Walls is a pretty darn good defensively and seems like SS is his spot for now. I see Franco going to 3B and being there a lot. I like your points about Joey Wendle and he makes contact and has been a clutch guy this year. 

The Ford move they made with the Yankees, they got him for almost nothing and it has the same feel when they brought in Choi 3 years ago, I believe Ford could have more upside. Rays started him in Durham but he won't be there long IMHO. 

They gotta trade Kiermaier for a decent starting pitcher at this point, I keep saying that but then it seems out of character for the Rays to make a move that way. Where is McKay and Honeywell? I know they want to work Patino thru their Minors to get him into the Rays way of things but my goodness, has anyone checked out his numbers in the minors to this point? That kid is 21 yrs old, he has 52 career starts in the minors and holds a 2.38 ERA, good gawd what are they even waiting for? Pretty sure he was the return or a major piece of it for Blake Snell, no time to waste. 4 starts in Durham, 2.93 ERA, send him back up. 

I hope they tear Boston a new one the next 3 nights and snap out of this funk they're in. 

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
Looking for 2 new owners for long-term Dynasty Baseball League
Replies
6
Views
678
JohnnyU
JohnnyU
N
***Official Jays Thread*** They spent $234 Million on this?
41 42 43
Replies
2K
Views
89K
Northern Voice
N
T
My final 2022 mock draft, 3 rounds
2
Replies
56
Views
4K
travdogg
T

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)
Top