Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training Half-Time Report Card

Round Up

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo has looked good in his 17 plate appearances. He has hit .357/.471/.643 in his first sample of Major League-Esque pitching.

The backup catcher battle has produced solid results with Chris Herrmann hitting .500 with 4 runs batted in, Kevan Smith is hitting .333 with 4 RBI and 5 runs. The presumptive favorite for the job, Michael Perez is only hitting .167 but he’s walked three times and leads the team in homers with two.

Dylan Cozens was a prolific Minor League home run hitter and so the Rays gave him a shot but he’s struck out nine times in 15 at-bats with a .133 average this spring.

Wander Franco made his spring debut. He’s only had five at-bats and has one hit. His one hit looked good when he took a pitch away to the opposite field with a short, smooth stroke.

Brandon Lowe is off to a hot start in building off his All-Star rookie campaign, hitting .462 with three walks.

A lot of pitchers have looked good thus far, Diego Castillo has six strikeouts in four innings with no earned runs allowed. Pete Fairbanks has four innings, seven strikeouts, and zero earned runs.

On a sour note, Blake Snell pitched one inning and then suffered inflammation in his elbow. It appears to be superficial and away from the tendon, so hopefully, it’s not a long setback for the former Cy Young Award winner. As of now, he is projected to pitch a bullpen session this Friday.