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Tampa Bay Rays: 2019 Season Awards and Superlatives

By Austin Reimann
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 07: The Tampa Bay Rays celebrate after defeating the Houston Astros 10-3 in Game Three of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field on October 07, 2019 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 07: The Tampa Bay Rays celebrate after defeating the Houston Astros 10-3 in Game Three of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field on October 07, 2019 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 03: Mike Zunino #10 of the Tampa Bay Rays takes a swing in the seventh inning during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 3, 2019 in Baltimore. Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 03: Mike Zunino #10 of the Tampa Bay Rays takes a swing in the seventh inning during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 3, 2019 in Baltimore. Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

The biggest disappointment of 2019: Mike Zunino

The Florida native suffered through a forgettable 2019 season at the plate.

The Tampa Bay Rays swung an offseason trade with the Seattle Mariners to bring in Mike Zunino in an effort to provide stability behind the dish. Instead, the stability they longed for wouldn’t arrive until May, in the form of Travis d’Arnaud rather than Zunino.

Zunino, who battled injuries early in the season, only appeared in 90 games this season and got lost in the shuffle behind Travis d’Arnaud.

2019 Numbers:

  • 90 G
  • .165/.232/.312 // .544 OPS // 44 OPS+
  • 9 HR // 32 RBI
  • 98 K in 266 ABs
  • .3 fWAR

The Rays never expected Zunino to hit a hefty average, but they did expect him to hit for power. Well, he most certainly did not hit for average, nor did he hit for power. He struck out nearly 35% of the time and never really found his stride at the plate.

Last season he hit .205, but hit 20 bombs. After putting up a .165 average in 2019 and only hitting 9 bombs, Zunino is indeed trending in the wrong direction. What is more disappointing than the lack of production is the fact that Zunino is under team control next season as well and is now shrouded in uncertainty entering 2020.

Mike Zunino’s first season in Tampa Bay was a disappointment, and his second season may now be in doubt.

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