After he finished the 2012 season at the Rays’ Double-A Montgomery affiliate, the Marlins decided to begin Dietrich back at Double-A with the Jacksonville Suns. Dietrich has proceeded to play very impressively, and not in a way that anyone would have expected. Since the Rays selected Dietrich in the second round of the 2010 MLB Draft, Dietrich developed a penchant for being a middle infield prospect with very good power but little speed and plate discipline. Overall, he managed a .278/.342/.470 line with 28 doubles, 6 triples, and 15 home runs per 500 plate appearances, stealing just 11 of 23 bases and managing only a 284-81 strikeout to walk ratio. He began as a shortstop but sub-par range caused the Rays to move him to second base last season. Dietrich was a prospect with talent, but the major questions were going to be whether he could improve his plate discipline enough to hit and hit for power at high levels, especially at second base, where his offense would be important. This season, though, Dietrich has made major progress. Dietrich has managed a .284/.418/.446 line with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 1 homer, 9 RBI, 2 of 2 stolen bases, and most impressively, a 17-12 strikeout to walk ratio in 91 plate appearances. He hasn’t hit for much power at the beginning of the year, but his uptick in patience has been huge and makes his future look much brighter. There is a catch–he had a 2-8 strikeout to walk ratio in a 5-game stretch and just 15-4 in his other 15–but at the same time, he has definitely made progress and we will have to see whether it persists. In sharp contrast to Escobar, Dietrich is known as a passionate player and vocal leader, and maybe the Marlins told him that he had to be more patient at the plate and he worked immediately to make that happen.

The games that have taken place so far in 2012 are a very small sample size. Just because Escobar has gotten off to a rough start and Dietrich has played well doesn’t mean that he’s going to have a great season. Yunel Escobar has shown in the past that he has the ability to be a well above-average big league shortstop both offensively in defensively while Dietrich has done nothing in the major leagues and is still working to establish him at Double-A. It’s certainly not time to panic yet. But this Escobar trade was a unique one in the annals of Rays history as it’s one of the few we they traded a real, legitimate prospect for a major league player, and it’s up in the air whether it will turn out to be the right move.

Escobar, who just turned 30, saw his value reach an all-time low in 2012 after a poor season with the Blue Jays. He managed a .253/.300/.344 line (75 OPS+) with 22 doubles, 9 homers, 51 RBI, 5 of 6 stolen bases, and 70 strikeouts versus 35 walks in 145 games and 608 plate appearances. In addition to his poor play, Escobar also received a suspension from the Blue Jays for 3 games in September after writing an inappropriate message on his eye black. Escobar has been chastised for his attitude problems, as he loses focus and has too many lapses of judgement. However, he’s a good all-around player who the Rays will able to acquire on the cheap. Escobar posted a .289/.366/.401 line (105 OPS+) with 9 home runs per season an outstanding 295-260 strikeout to walk ratio from 2007 to 2011, which is great offensive production for a shortstop. He’s not a speedster at all, but he flashes above-average power for a shortstop, topping out at 14 home runs back in 2009 for the Atlanta Braves, and he has no platoon split, managing a .741 OPS versus righties in his career and a .749 OPS against lefties. In addition, Escobar is solid defensively, managing a 15.8 UZR (3.4 UZR/150) in 6228.1 MLB innings at shortstop, managing an above-average UZR each season in the major leagues. If Escobar didn’t have trouble focusing in the field, his defense would be even better. Escobar gives the Rays a real chance to have their first above-average all-around shortstop since Jason Bartlett back in 2009, and if Escobar succeeds, he could be around for a while as he’ll make 5 million dollars in 2012 before having team option in 2014 and 2015 also worth 5 million dollars.

One question that has to be addressed is why Escobar struggled so much in 2012. His overall numbers were unimpressive, but the most surprising thing was his strikeout to walk ratio which was a solid 2-to-1 at 70-35 but quite a bit behind his outstanding 1.24 to 1 career mark. Escobar’s 5.8% walk rate was well below the 8.9% career average. What happened? The answer is that Escobar got frustrated between playing for a team that was going nowhere in Toronto and simply bad luck. Escobar’s .273 batting average on balls in play was well below his .309 career average, and he got progressively more impatient as he was hitting the ball hard but everything seemed to be hit right at a fielder. Escobar is a player who hits a lot of groundballs, possessing a 1.25-to-1 career groundball to flyball ratio including a 1.31-to-1 mark in 2012 that was 6th-highest among major league outfielders, but it wasn’t completely his fault that the hits just did not come in 2012. Escobar also has room to grow in the power department as his isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) was just .091 in 2012, 4th-lowest among AL qualifiers after it was as high as .136 in 2009 and .123 in 2011. He has some pop and the Rays will hope to work with him to help bring it out more, but his lack of power also had to do with his struggles all season that led to overaggressiveness at the plate. At the end of the day, Escobar’s problems from 2012 are fixable and the Rays are looking forward to him rebounding in their uniform next season. All the indications are that Escobar should be fine at the plate moving forward, and an average year for Escobar would be a revelation for the Rays after what their shortstop situation has looked like the past few years except for when Ben Zobrist moved over there in the latter part of 2012.

Defensively, Escobar will man shortstop for the Rays and suddenly their defensive alignment for 2013 is set. Their infield will be Evan Longoria, Escobar, Ryan Roberts, and James Loney from third to first and their outfield will be Matt Joyce, Desmond Jennings, and Zobrist from left to right. Who will receiving the starts at catcher other than Jose Molina is still a very good question and the Rays have absolutely nothing going on at DH right now, but it’s nice to know that they have no filled two major needs with Loney at first base and now Escobar at shortstop and Rays fans are starting to get a good picture of what their team will look like in 2013.

To acquire Escobar, the Rays gave the Marlins middle infield prospect Derek Dietrich. Dietrich, 23, posted a .279/.338/.457 line with 28 doubles, 10 triples, 14 homers, and 75 RBI in 132 games and 563 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A. Dietrich, who was the Rays’ second round draft pick in 2010, is an interesting player because of his power as a middle infielder, but he didn’t have the range or actions to stick at shortstop and has a major issue with his offensive game: a lack of patience. Dietrich managed just a 114-32 strikeout to walk ratio in 2012 including 36-7 in 146 plate appearances at Double-A. That characteristic of Dietrich reminds me a lot of Reid Brignac (who actually was a big home run hitter at High-A and Double-A back in the day), and if Dietrich’s patience never comes along, he lacks Brignac’s defensive talents and will be hard-pressed for a big league role. However, if Dietrich does improve in that regard, he has the ability to be an above-average offensive second baseman in the majors. Dietrich is a nice player, and in sharp contrast to Escobar, he’s a leader and a great clubhouse presence, but at the same time he has risk surrounding him and is at least a year away from making the big leagues even in the best-case scenario. Dietrich will be missed in the organization, but the Rays were happy to be able to use him to land a proven big league shortstop they believe is primed to be a big part of their team next season.

Dietrich hasn't had as easy of a time in Montgomery as he did in previous minor league stops, but he had a great game Tuesday and hopefully he can play well to end the season. (Credit: Flickr user BeGreen90)

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 7, Jacksonville Suns (MIA) 4

Jake Thompson barely made it through a tough 4th as his season of struggles continued. Thompson had to wonder whether he would fall to 0-5 in his last 7 starts and keep his ERA rising higher and higher. But the Biscuits turned the game around between great offense and bullpen work as Thompson got to breathe a sigh of relief. Thompson walked on pins and needles over the first 3 innings but managed to keep the Suns at bay by stranding 5 baserunners. He even had a 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded HBP by Derek Dietrich. But his fortune turned around in the 4th. His control eluded him as he walked 2 batters and threw 2 wild pitches, and an error simply made things worse as the Suns scored 4 runs in the inning to take a 4-1 lead. But the Biscuits tied the game in the bottom of the 5th, scoring 3 on a Mikie Mahtook groundout and a 2-run single by Dietrich to tie the game at 4. Thompson went 5 innings allowing 4 runs, 3 earned, on 8 hits, striking out 3 and walking 3 as well although he did post 7-2 groundout to flyout ratio. His ERA stayed right where it was, at 5.48. In relief of Thompson, the Biscuits got great performances, with Neil Schenk tossing a 1-hit 6th before Marquis Fleming went 2 innings allowing just a walk, striking out 3. And Fleming got the win in the game for his efforts as the Biscuits rallied for 3 in the 7th on a 2-run double by Mark Thomas and an RBI single by Kyeong Kang to take a 7-4 lead. Matt Nevarez struck out 2 in a perfect 9th for the save as the Biscuits won 7-4. Dietrich went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and a run scored, Thomas went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, and 2 RBI, Omar Luna went 3 for 5 with his 19th stolen base and 2 runs scored, and Shawn O’Malley went 2 for 4 with a steal and 2 runs scored as well.

High-A Florida State League: Game 1: Palm Beach Cardinals 5, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2 (7 innings)

In Game 1 of the doubleheader, Albert Suarez struggled and the Stone Crabs managed just 4 hits. Suarez went 4 innings allowing 4 runs on 6 hits, striking out 3 while walking none but posting just a 3-4 groundout to flyout ratio. Chris Andujar went the other 3 innings for Charlotte, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 1 and posting a 5-1 groundout to flyout ratio. On offense, Todd Glaesmann had a 2-run homer and that was basically it.

Game 2: Palm Beach Cardinals 3, Charlotte Stone Crabs 0 (7 innings)

This one was even worse. Ryan Sheriff tossed a (7-inning) complete game 4-hitter (they got 4-hit twice in one day!) as the Stone Crabs got next to nothing against him. Jim Patterson started for Charlotte and was great, tossing 5 innings of 2-hit ball, striking out 2 while walking 1, but Alex Koronis fell apart in relief, allowing a Chris Edmondson 3-run homer for the Cardinals’ winning margin. Robi Estrada did go 2 for 3 for Charlotte. If there’s any Rays affiliate playing like the Rays are right now, it’s probably the Stone Crabs.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 6, South Bend Silver Hawks 4

The Hot Rods got clutch hitting and took advantage of a couple of key South Bend errors on their way to a win. Roberto Gomez started for the Hot Rods and managed to toss shutout ball for 3 frames, although he allowed 2 hits, struck out just 1, and posting a bad 3-4 groundout to flyout ratio. Felipe Rivero tossed the next 3 innings but allowed 3 runs on 5 hits, striking out 3 while walking 2 although his groundout to flyout ratio was 6-0. Andrew Bellatti followed with two 1-hit innings, but he allowed an unearned run while striking out 2, while Austin Hubbard struck out 2 in a 1-hit 9th to close out the game. Backtracking, let’s talk about the offense. The Hot Rods scored 3 in the 3rd on 3 walks, a wild pitch along with an error to score 2 runs, and a Jake Hager RBI double. Then in the 5th, Kes Carter walked, stole second base, and scored on another error to make it a 4-3 game. And in the 8th, Matt Rice provided the winning margin with a 2-run single. Rice went 1 for 2 with 2 walks and 2 RBI in this one for Bowling Green.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Staten Island Yankees 7, Hudson Valley Renegades 5

Renegades pitchers struggled and a late comeback fell short as the Renegades lost their 2nd straight after a 9-game winning streak. The Yankees started the game with 3 hits and an error to plate 3 runs before Jeff Ames could record an out. Ames lasted just 3 innings allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, on 4 hits, striking out 6 while walking 1 but posting just a 0-2 groundout to flyout ratio. Ian Kendall followed and also got hit hard, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 3 innings, striking out 3 while walking 1 but posting a 2-4 groundout to flyout ratio as the Renegades trailed 6-1. They finally mounted a come back in the 6th, scoring 4 runs on an error, a Joel Caminero groundout, and a Marty Gantt 2-run single, but 6-5 was as close as they would get in the game. Marcus Jensen tossed 2 innings but allowed an unearned run to make it 7-5 even as he allowed just 1 hit and struck out 5 (the other out was on batter’s interference), and Jose Alberto Molina‘s perfect 9th was meaningless as the Renegades lost 7-5. Jake DePew went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Richie Shaffer went 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, and 2 runs scored.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Elizabethton Twins 6, Princeton Rays 4

The P-Rays bullpen had a tough night to let this one get away. Jorge Rodriguez started for Princeton and was pretty good, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits in 4.1 innings, striking out 3 while walking 1 and posting a 5-3 groundout to flyout ratio. Alex Keudell closed out the 5th without incident, striking out 1. Princeton jumped out to a 4-2 lead on a wild pitch, an Oscar Hernandez solo shot, a Daryl George RBI double, and a Daniel Duran bases-loaded walk. But then the bullpen fell apart. Willie Gabay and Zach Butler allowed a run each in the 6th and 7th to tie the game, and then Chris Kirsch allowed 2 more runs in the 8th, with Max Kepler singling home a run and 2012 second overall pick Byron Buxton stealing home as part of a double steal for the 6th run as the Twins won 6-4. Hernandez went 1 for 3 with his solo homer and a walk, George went 3 for 5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, Andrew Toles went 2 for 5 with a double, Ariel Soriano stole his 19th base, and Willie Argo went 1 for 1 before leaving the game (could he be heading to Bowling Green to replace to suspended Josh Sale?)