Rays Season Preview 2014: Player Index and Projections

Welcome to our 2014 season preview. Here you'll find a stats projection for every Rays player, along with links to more in-depth writeups. There are a few places you can see the full roster. I've collected the Rays' major-league salary commitments both for 2014 and the future, and rglass44 has presented the major and minor league depth charts in terms of predicted lineups through 2020.

Starting Position Players

(and the long sides of platoons)

Primary Catcher: Ryan Hanigan (33 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	1580	0.262	0.359	0.343	20	0.312	90
Steamer	351	0.243	0.333	0.309	4	0.291	86
Oliver	600	0.246	0.334	0.300	4	0.286	82
ZiPS	297	0.249	0.342	0.311	2	0.290	85

Further reading:

• Coming soon.
  

Backup Catcher: Jose Molina (39 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	2548	0.238	0.287	0.340	39	0.278	68
Steamer	286	0.227	0.287	0.325	4	0.273	73
Oliver	600	0.209	0.271	0.290	7	0.253	59
ZiPS	274	0.225	0.283	0.317	4	0.268	70

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

First Base: James Loney (30 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	4082	0.285	0.340	0.421	86	0.330	105
Steamer	536	0.268	0.326	0.393	11	0.313	101
Oliver	600	0.283	0.339	0.407	12	0.327	110
ZiPS	569	0.27	0.320	0.382	10	0.306	96

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Second Base: Ben Zobrist (33 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	3824	0.263	0.354	0.435	104	0.345	118
Steamer	658	0.265	0.356	0.421	15	0.342	121
Oliver	600	0.267	0.344	0.393	11	0.326	110
ZiPS	647	0.261	0.350	0.415	15	0.337	117

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Short Stop: Yunel Escobar (31 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	3889	0.278	0.35	0.386	62	0.328	102
Steamer	507	0.254	0.325	0.353	7	0.303	94
Oliver	600	0.258	0.331	0.363	9	0.309	98
ZiPS	576	0.255	0.321	0.348	8	0.300	91

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Third Base: Evan Longoria (28 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	3419	0.275	0.357	0.512	162	0.371	135
Steamer	640	0.263	0.351	0.489	29	0.361	134
Oliver	600	0.260	0.338	0.474	27	0.350	126
ZiPS	588	0.260	0.345	0.477	26	0.354	129

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Left Field: David DeJesus (34 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	5326	0.279	0.353	0.417	88	0.339	106
Steamer	472	0.244	0.324	0.374	8	0.311	99
Oliver	600	0.242	0.322	0.374	10	0.310	99
ZiPS	466	0.241	0.317	0.366	8	0.305	95

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Center Field: Desmond Jennings (27 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	1476	0.250	0.330	.40+	37	0.326	109
Steamer	624	0.244	0.326	0.39	14	0.318	104
Oliver	600	0.256	0.337	0.402	13	0.327	110
ZiPS	633	0.249	0.326	0.43	15	0.322	107

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Right Field: Wil Myers (23 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	373	0.293	0.354	0.478	13	0.357	131
Steamer	625	0.258	0.328	0.442	23	0.335	116
Oliver	600	0.265	0.330	0.452	22	0.338	118
ZiPS	659	0.263	0.326	0.437	23	0.331	113

Further reading:

• Is the regression monster lurking for Wil Myers?

Designated Hitter: Matt Joyce (29 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	2040	0.249	0.340	0.455	79	0.345	120
Steamer	454	0.245	0.341	0.432	16	0.339	118
Oliver	600	0.238	0.332	0.413	20	0.329	112
ZiPS	471	0.246	0.338	0.43	16	0.336	116

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Bench/Short side of platoons

INF: Logan Forsythe (27 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	762	0.241	0.310	0.349	12	0.292	87
Steamer	332	0.244	0.323	0.369	6	0.307	97
Oliver	600	0.252	0.325	0.39	14	0.316	103
ZiPS	380	0.224	0.311	0.337	7	0.292	86

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

OF: Brandon Guyer (28 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	50	0.188	0.204	0.396	3	0.258	62
Steamer	134	0.251	0.308	0.387	3	0.306	96
Oliver	600	0.258	0.319	0.384	10	0.312	100
ZiPS	386	0.253	0.306	0.386	7	0.306	96

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

UTIL: Sean Rodriguez (29 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	1594	0.228	0.304	0.36	33	0.296	86
Steamer	236	0.231	0.305	0.369	5	0.299	91
Oliver	600	0.233	0.309	0.367	13	0.301	92
ZiPS	318	0.233	0.310	0.376	7	0.305	95

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Position Player Depth

If career MLB experience is not relevant, the highest level played will be listed.

C: Curt Casali (25 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
MiLB (AA)	145	0.383	0.483	0.600	5	0.486	216
Steamer		0.269	0.299	0.357	0	0.291	86
Oliver	600	0.248	0.318	0.397	16	0.315	102
ZiPS	360	0.229	0.295	0.333	6	0.282	79

Further reading:

• Get to Know Curt Casali

OF: Kevin Kiermaier (24 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	0
Steamer	136	0.245	0.299	0.344	1	0.285	82
Oliver	600	0.260	0.314	0.383	7	0.306	96
ZiPS	489	0.244	0.298	0.338	4	0.283	80

Further reading:

• An interview with Kevin Kiermaier.

INF: Hak-Ju Lee (23 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
MiLB (AAA)	57	0.422	0.536	0.600	1	0.508	225
Steamer	85	0.242	0.301	0.327	1	0.281	79
Oliver	600	0.250	0.314	0.344	5	0.294	88
ZiPS	294	0.242	0.301	0.335	3	0.285	81

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

1B/OF: Jerry Sands (27 years old)

Projection	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	wOBA	wRC+
Career	251	0.244	0.325	0.376	4	0.313	100
Steamer		0.216	0.289	0.359	0	0.288	84
Oliver	600	0.198	0.277	0.343	18	0.276	75
ZiPS	523	0.204	0.282	0.342	14	0.278	77

Further reading:

• How Jerry Sands fits into the Rays organization

Starting Pitchers: The Major League Rotation

No. 1 Starter: LHP David Price (28 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	973	22.1%	7.2%	3.19	3.39
Steamer	192	21.5%	6.1%	3.27	3.22
Oliver	200	22.6%	5.6%	2.88	3.10
ZiPS	198			3.09	3.09

Further reading:

• David Price's dominant second half
  

No. 2 Starter: RHP Alex Cobb (26 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	332.1	20.2%	7.7%	3.39	3.53
Steamer	192	20.4%	8.0%	3.41	3.27
Oliver	151	20.4%	7.9%	3.40	3.51
ZiPS	157.7			3.31	3.47

Further reading:

• Is Alex Cobb the Rays' Ace?

No. 3 Starter: LHP Matt Moore (25 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	337	23.1%	11.1%	3.55	3.89
Steamer	173	22.5%	10.5%	3.76	3.99
Oliver	161	23.5%	10.2%	3.57	3.76
ZiPS	171.3			3.42	3.58

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

No. 4 Starter: RHP Chris Archer (25 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	158	21.2%	7.9%	3.47	3.94
Steamer	163	19.6%	10.4%	4.10	4.06
Oliver	160	18.8%	10.6%	4.17	4.44
ZiPS	152.3			3.72	3.99

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Starting Pitchers: The Competition for No. 5

Currently Injured: RHP Jeremy Hellickson (27 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	576.1	17.0%	7.9%	3.70	4.39
Steamer	38	17.1%	7.6%	4.04	4.17
Oliver	176	17.2%	7.2%	3.86	4.31
ZiPS	164			4.12	4.30

Further reading:

• Jeremy Hellickson and Men on Base
• Jeremy Hellickson and the curveball

Veteran Free Agent: LHP Erik Bedard (35 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	1228	22.4%	9.6%	3.94	3.79
Steamer	19	19.2%	10.1%	4.11	4.27
Oliver	140	19.0%	10.3%	4.45	4.32
ZiPS	121			4.24	4.11

Further reading:

• Season Preview: Erik Bedard
• Replacing Hellickson: and early argument for Bedard

Next in line: RHP Jake Odorizzi (24 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	37	16.7%	7.7%	4.14	4.19
Steamer	96	18.2%	9.0%	4.19	4.27
Oliver	146	18.8%	8.4%	4.06	4.44
ZiPS	136			4.57	4.77

Further reading:

• Jake Odorizzi Speaks: An annotated interview from David Laurila
• Stepping up: Jake Odorizzi, Alex Colome, and Enny Romero

Starting Pitchers: Additional Depth

RHP Alex Colome (25 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	16	16.9%	12.7%	2.25	5.05
Steamer	49	19.9%	11.0%	4.03	4.18
Oliver	102	16.7%	11.8%	4.60	4.85
ZiPS	96.7			5.03	5.28

Further reading:

• Stepping up: Jake Odorizzi, Alex Colome, and Enny Romero

LHP Enny Romero (23 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	4.2	0.0%	22.2%	0	5.62
Steamer	44	17.2%	13.8%	4.66	4.76
Oliver	130	15.3%	14.4%	4.76	5.31
ZiPS	119.7			5.26	5.41

Further reading:

• Stepping up: Jake Odorizzi, Alex Colome, and Enny Romero

RHP Matt Andriese (27 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
MiLB	134.2	21.0%	5.8%	3.18	2.86
Steamer		16.7%	7.9%	4.45	4.15
Oliver	131	15.4%	6.6%	3.90	3.76
ZiPS	132			4.09	4.08

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

RHP Nate Karns (26 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	12	18.0%	9.8%	7.50	8.38
Steamer	38	20.7%	11.2%	4.17	4.18
Oliver	109	19.6%	11.4%	4.28	4.63
ZiPS	126.3			3.99	4.26

Further reading:

• Who is Nate Karns?
• A Nate Karns scouting report

Relief Pitchers

Grant Balfour (36 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	473	26.4%	10.6%	3.27	3.44
Steamer	65	24.1%	9.5%	3.15	3.64
Oliver	62	24.1%	9.6%	3.17	3.74
ZiPS	57.3			2.98	3.33

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Joel Peralta (38 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	528.1	22.4%	7.2%	3.87	3.97
Steamer	55	23.4%	9.0%	3.34	4.03
Oliver	66	24.1%	9.4%	3.40	3.82
ZiPS	59.3			3.19	3.46

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Jake McGee (27 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	151	29.4%	7.8%	3.28	3.04
Steamer	65	28.7%	8.9%	2.64	3.03
Oliver	58	27.0%	7.5%	3.09	3.19
ZiPS	61			3.10	3.11

Further reading:

• Jake McGee and the curveball

Heath Bell (36 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	611.1	24.5%	8.1%	3.39	3.13
Steamer	55	20.9%	8.1%	3.37	3.70
Oliver	64	21.2%	7.7%	3.96	3.99
ZiPS	59			3.81	3.76

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Juan Carlos Oviedo (30 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	357	18.9%	7.7%	4.34	4.29
Steamer	45	21.1%	9.1%	3.58	4.06
Oliver	31	17.8%	8.1%	4.33	4.33
ZiPS	16.7			4.31	4.01

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Brandon Gomes (29 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	74	23.3%	1.7%	4.38	4.12
Steamer	30	23.3%	8.6%	3.13	3.83
Oliver	52	23.3%	7.6%	3.98	4.20
ZiPS	52.3			4.13	4.08

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Cesar Ramos (30 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	164	18.6%	9.2%	4.01	3.79
Steamer	40	18.6%	8.6%	3.69	3.93
Oliver	69	17.2%	8.1%	3.77	4.20
ZiPS	65.3			4.41	4.44

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Josh Lueke (29 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	57.1	21.4%	10.7%	6.44	3.74
Steamer	35	22.8%	9.0%	3.35	3.78
Oliver	73	21.1%	7.9%	3.83	3.43
ZiPS	72			4.00	3.81

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Brad Boxberger (26 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	49.2	26.6%	14.5%	2.72	4.34
Steamer	10	25.9%	11.1%	3.26	3.63
Oliver	72	29.4%	11.0%	3.65	3.29
ZiPS	72			3.25	3.59

Further reading:

• Coming soon.

Mark Lowe (31 years old)

Projection	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP
Career	274.1	19.6%	10.3%	4.17	4.17
Steamer	1	21.6%	10.4%	3.89	4.02
Oliver	46	19.7%	9.4%	4.30	4.31
ZiPS	45.7			4.33	4.40

Further reading:

• Rays sign Mark Lower to minor league contract

Statistics and projections are from FanGraphs. Errors are almost surely my own.