Wil Myers is going to be a stud. His first calendar month in the majors featured a .296 batting average and three home runs over 55 plate appearances. There's nothing to worry about.
That said, Myers is not in the line up this evening, for this first time in his 21-game career.
That's easy to understand if you were watching last night's game. One at bat does not make the player, but this was pretty rough: With a man on second, Wil Myers works a full count against Samuel Deduno, who has a 92 MPH fastball that sometimes get's a ton of movement, and sometimes stays very flat.
There's no outs, and it's a green light meatball down the center of the plate.
You ready?
You wanna see that again?
After all that promoting I did for Myers to join the Home Run Derby, the least he could've done was give me some confirmation bias and put that pitch through the Trop's roof.
In the month of July -- or the last eight games, dating back to the Houston series -- Myers has five hits, three walks, and 12 strikeouts in 36 plate appearances.
Myers told reporters this afternoon that a day of rest will give him a chance to catch his breath a little bit, and work on a "small flaw" in his swing, saying his swing was "cut a little long" in regards to inside pitches.
"I've got some really good pitches to hit, some pitches out over the plate," Myers said. "I just haven't been able to connect on them right now. It's just a little flaw in the swing. I'm working on it today, and hopefully I will come out of it soon. ... I feel really close. That's why it's kind of frustrating. I'm just a tick off. It's just one of those things. That's how baseball is."
It's just another product of hitting coach Derek Shelton getting his work in with the sluggers.
"I'm not worried about Wil at all," Maddon told reporters before the game. "It's just a matter of getting everybody involved, keeping everybody fresh. I don't care what their birth certificate says. I was just trying to figure out the best day for him, so I did a little research on it today and decided to go with tonight off."
You have to wonder if Maddon spotted this great piece by Russell A. Carlton on the advantage a day of rest can bring to a hitter, which only emphasized the benefits of flexible roster construction (something Maddon and the Rays have always prized).
The slumping Kelly Johnson will get the start in Myers's stead.
Quotes documented by Fox Sports Florida.