The Rays Tank: Wil Myers Struggles on First MLB Day, Alex Cobb's Future Uncertain

Tuesday was a momentous day in the history of the Tampa Bay Rays as top prospect Wil Myers made his major league debut. Day One, though, didn't live up to the hype. The Rays lost both ends of their doubleheader to the Boston Red Sox, and Myers went just 1 for 7. The good news: it's all uphill from here.

In his first-at bat, Myers admitted that he was nervous.

"I was a little anxious there, swinging at the first pitch, you usually don't swing at that one," Myers said. "I'm not a guy that takes a lot of pitches, anyway. But I should have got a better pitch to hit right there. I just got out of my approach a little bit, obviously, being the first game."

But as the games went on, Myers just got more and more comfortable. He singled in his first plate appearance of the second game, worked a couple of three-ball counts, and showed power to both left field and right. His ability was evident even as he sputtered a little bit, and Joe Maddon liked what he saw.

"He's going to be fine," Maddon said. "We just have to get him out there and settled down. He's going to be just fine. He's definitely fine here. I don't think he's in awe of anything. ... He was not overwhelmed by the moment."

Rays fans were spoiled the last time a top outfield prospect made his debut. It wasn't his MLB debut, but many Rays fans remember Desmond Jennings' 2011 debut on July 23rd when he absolutely wrecked havoc, going 2 for 3 with a triple, a double, two walks, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored to spur an unbelievable start to his first significant time in the major leagues.

At the end of the day, though, the first game and even the first two games mean very little. Wil Myers is a talented player, and over the coming days and weeks, we will see that. Everyone is waiting for that moment where they can say "wow, that's why we traded James Shields for this guy." It hasn't happened yet, but it's coming.

More concerning news for the Rays is regarding Alex Cobb. Joe Maddon told Marc Topkin that Alex Cobb's return to the major leagues might take quite a while. Maddon said that Cobb has not only a mild concussion but an ear issue as well, and it may be quite a while before he returns to a big league mound. Maddon said that he isn't even sure if Cobb will return this season. Cobb is currently on the 7-Day concussion disabled list, but expect a move to the 15-Day DL and maybe even the 60-Day DL if he does not progress well.

This would mark the second time in three seasons that Cobb's season has ended early by a sudden non-arm injury. It happened at the worst possible time as Cobb has emerged as the most dependable member of the Rays' staff and the Rays will have to figure out what to do without him. The Rays have seemed to have excellent luck in terms of their pitchers staying healthy, with only Cobb's injury in 2011 and a couple different issues for Jeff Niemann coming to mind since Scott Kazmir left town. With Cobb and David Price going down this season, that run of luck is over and the Rays have to find a way to ovecome that.

Here are your links for today:

-Speaking of Price, he told the Rays' official site that he felt great in his bullpen session on Tuesday.

-From Topkin, the Rays set their rotation for their four-game set with the Yankees, going with Matt Moore on Thursday followed by Roberto Hernandez, Alex Colome, and Chris Archer.

-Jeremy Blachman of Fangraphs wrote a 2013 version of Who's on First.

-The city of San Jose sued Major League Baseball for not letting the A's move into town.