AAAA all-star.

Hey, if he's solid on D, can run a bit, and picks up his hitting a bit, he could settle in as a utility guy. Gotta have a bench.

I don't like him very much, he had 2 chances to make his point, 1st in the trade and he started at short after his call-up for the rest of the season. 2nd chance was when he was named the starter at short fir the beginning of 07. But was so bad that Joe sent him down to Durham and Harris started.

Shouldn't it be clear by now that it is foolish to give up on young players? Zobrist has had 280 major league ABs. His stats are terrible and what is worse, he has looked bad in compiling them. I am not even sure why he is considered a good defensive player as he seems to bobble every ground ball hit to him.

But to assume therefore that he is a lost cause makes little sense. After 265 ABs, A-Rod had hit 8 home runs. After 334 ABs, Upton had hit 5 home runs, 2 more than Zobrist has hit. Emphatically, I am not comparing Zobrist to either. I am only pointing out that 280 ABs is hardly sufficient to determine a player's capacity.

In any case, the hope is that he can fill 7 positions adequately. If he can, and if he can replicate even partially his AAA numbers, he becomes a valuable player. After all, to consider players closer to his skill level, Joey Gathright in his first 638 ABs never had an OBP over .321, but suddenly this year reached .371. And Jason Tyner in his first 688 ABs managed an OBP high of .311 but reached .367 since and his low in the last 4 years was .331.

Or even more apt might be Cesar Tovar whose first 490 ABs were pretty awful but who got MVP votes the next 5 straight years probably for his versatility because his numbers remained poor for his next 1000 ABs. Then they too became pretty good for 4 of the next 5 years.

I think fans should follow the lead of the Rays' management and remain patient with the young players like Zobrist, Navarro, Howell and Jackson. Some, maybe all, will fail, but they are not currently holding anyone else back and all have shown enough that they may develop.

This will be especially important this year because I suspect we are being somewhat over-optimistic about our team. Even assuming no regression on the part of the regulars, many of whom are also inexperienced, I think it reasonable to expect that some if not all the (near) rookies will struggle initially. That means Longoria, Niemann, Garza among others. My own projection is 75-78 wins, which I would consider a successful year.

I'd rather not have a no hit SS as my super utility guy.  His bat is likely too big a problem if he takes anyone's ABs other than Bartlett.  I'd rather have a prototypical 3Ber, decent glove, decent range, decent arm strength, better bat.

But my point is that after 280 ABs you cannot know that he is a no-hit SS. With his impeccable AAA numbers, although it is certainly possible he cannot translate them in the majors, there remains a strong possibility that he will do so given more opportunity.

There is every reason to be skeptical given not just his numbers but how he has looked, but no reason to be convinced yet. He may turn out to be a very good bat, particularly in a reserve role and more so even if he can play many positions adequately. And additionally, a team cannot go into a season without a backup shortstop. Perhaps Cannizaro is a better option, but that is hardly clear yet. And Guzman's performance should not make him any more promising than Zobrist.

Fair point, but my point remains. The numbers there are excellent and continued similar performance at every lower level. He demonstrated the same valuable skills at AAA as he has done at every step of his minor league career. And I do consider 43 walks and just 38 Ks in 222 ABs at AAA an example of impecable numbers, especially for a middle infielder and more so even for someone who may be a "super-sub". And the fact that in that 222 ABs he also had 14 doubles and 7 home runs also indicates he is not just a Punch and Judy hitter, again especially as he is a middle infielder. I certainly do not claim the numbers prove he is a good player, any more than the 280 ABs prove the opposite, only that they continue the pattern of valuable skills he has shown all along.

I am not overestimating Zobrist, nor am I claiming he remains a top prospect. I am simply pointing out that he has performed exceptionally well at every step except for his brief major league trials and so it is perfectly legitimate to continue to give him lots of playing time in spring training to see whether he can translate that performance at the final level. And further that if he can, and additionally can play 7 positions adequately, he will be a valuable bench player for the Rays.

Throwing Zobrist in RF makes about as much sense as putting Nick Green or Tomas Perez out there.  I had hoped that we were past all that.

Nobody is thinking of Zobrist as a right fielder. He is being considered as a utility player who could fill in there if necessary. Should he make the team, he would be primarily a fill-in to rest Bartlett and Iwamura occasionally, and perhaps do the same for whoever is at 3B. But if he can play in the outfield, it would give Maddon the flexibility to use a pinch hitter or to give a tired or injured ballplayer a few innings off now and then.

We are past that. Were Zobrist being relied upon to be a semi-regular or a platoon partner in RF or even the middle infield, it might be a problem. But having someone on board who can fill in everywhere and play adequate defense while not being an automatic out in the lineup is useful. That is what Maddon is trying to assess, and to do that, he has to give Zobrist plenty of ST time.

I actually like Cannizaro and would have no problem should he beat Zobrist out. But he is older and has not been as good in the minors. One way or the other, the Rays must have a backup shortstop, and unless you think Guzman should be it, it will have to be one of those two.

As for comparisons to Perez and Green, the Nick Green analogy has some merit, although his minor league record was far more spotty than Zobrist's. He is now an NRI in the Yankee camp, and apparently has a chance, albeit slight, to make the team. In his first stint with TB he was not really terrible. The Perez analogy though is inapt as when he arrived in TB he had already demonstrated his lack of usefulness over 11 years of play.

I have no big problem of keeping Cannizaro or Zobrist as a middle IF backup.  Just keep them out of any other position unless it is the 9th inning than the lead is > 6.  

Zobrist in particular probably does not have the tools to transfer his MiLB skills to MLB.  One of his greatest strengths in MiLB is his patience v. lower pitchers.  But in MLB, he is still a patient hitter but he does not have enough pop to stop pitchers from challenging him.  That's why is BBs/Ks go in the tank in the show.  I don't see that changing unless he somehow learns to drive the ball or becomes a much better contact hitter than he currently is.

I would also consider keeping 2 of Aybar, Hinske, Ruggiano, Richards, and maybe even Guzman and Perez. That would give Joe an extra live bat off the bench.  A lot depends on Bartlett's and Iwamura's durability, especially whether it is reasonable for them to be out there everyday (barring injury) or whether they would need a blow during a 18 games in 19 days stretch.  If these guys can go out there every day, Aybar/Guzman can be the emergency MIF, and Cannizaro/Zobrist/Brignac/Johnson are all just 24 hours away in the event of injury.