%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20876%20200%22%20style%3D%22enable-background%3Anew%200%200%20876%20200%3B%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cstyle%20type%3D%22text%2Fcss%22%3E%0A%09.st0%7Bfill%3A%23231F20%3B%7D%0A%09.st1%7Bfill%3A%2300275D%3B%7D%0A%09.st2%7Bfill%3A%23FFFFFF%3B%7D%0A%09.st3%7Bfill%3A%23F5D130%3B%7D%0A%3C%2Fstyle%3E%0A%3Cg%20id%3D%22Template%22%3E%0A%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3Cg%20id%3D%22Layer_2%22%3E%0A%09%3Cg%3E%0A%09%09%3Cpath%20class%3D%22st2%22%20d%3D%22M353.3%2C88.9c6.7-9.1%2C11.6-18.9%2C14.4-29.1c5.5-20.6%2C1.9-40-12.8-51.4C347.5%2C2.9%2C337.4%2C0%2C324.8%2C0H146.5%0A%09%09%09L92.9%2C200h75.4l26.2-97.7l11.4%2C17.2l52.9%2C79.7H326l-63.2-79.7h30C318%2C119.4%2C339.3%2C107.1%2C353.3%2C88.9z%20M291.6%2C64.3%0A%09%09%09c-4.3%2C11.7-18.5%2C21.1-31.1%2C21.1L199%2C85.8L212.9%2C34l61.4%2C0.3C290.2%2C34.3%2C297.7%2C46.9%2C291.6%2C64.3z%22%2F%3E%0A%09%09%3Cpath%20class%3D%22st2%22%20d%3D%22M451.3%2C99.4c12.8-47.7%2C45.4-67.1%2C79.6-66.9L633%2C33.4L642%2C0H498c-36.3%2C0-73.7%2C19.1-99.9%2C49.7%0A%09%09%09C385.1%2C65.1%2C376%2C82%2C371.2%2C100c-9.7%2C36.3%2C0.8%2C68.3%2C26.9%2C86.3c12.8%2C8.9%2C28.4%2C13.4%2C46.4%2C13.4h143.4l8.9-33.1L495.2%2C166%0A%09%09%09C460.7%2C165.7%2C438.4%2C147.7%2C451.3%2C99.4z%22%2F%3E%0A%09%09%3Cpath%20class%3D%22st2%22%20d%3D%22M772.7%2C113.7l-14%2C52.3h-19.4c-34.6%2C0-57-17.7-43.9-66.6c12.8-47.7%2C45.4-67.1%2C79.6-66.9l92.1%2C0.9L876%2C0H742%0A%09%09%09c-36.3%2C0-73.7%2C19.1-99.9%2C49.7C629.1%2C65.1%2C620%2C82%2C615.2%2C100c-9.6%2C35.7%2C0.8%2C68.3%2C26.9%2C86.3c12.8%2C8.9%2C28.4%2C13.4%2C46.4%2C13.4h61.1%0A%09%09%09l-0.1%2C0.3H825l23.1-86.3H772.7z%22%2F%3E%0A%09%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st3%22%20points%3D%2245.1%2C200%2082.9%2C200%20136.4%2C0%2098.7%2C0%20%09%09%22%2F%3E%0A%09%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st3%22%20points%3D%2218.1%2C200%2036.1%2C200%2089.7%2C0%2071.6%2C0%20%09%09%22%2F%3E%0A%09%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st3%22%20points%3D%220%2C200%209%2C200%2062.6%2C0%2053.6%2C0%20%09%09%22%2F%3E%0A%09%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
Tampa Bay Rays: Top 3 MLB Debut Seasons of 2019
The Tampa Bay Rays are full of young, talented players. We take a look at individuals who made their major-league debuts last season for the Rays.
The Tampa Bay Rays have the top farm system in the league, so it’s always interesting to see when a player gets the call to make their major-league debut for this team.
The Rays had nine players make their major-league debuts in 2019.
Debuting Rays in 2019
- Kean Wong – Sep. 5
- Cole Susler – Sep. 6
- Colin Poche – Jun 8
- Brendan McKay – Jun 29
- Nate Lowe – Apr 29
- Ian Gibaut – Jul 12
- Johnny Davis – Sep 11
- Mike Brosseau – Jun 23
- Anthony Bemboom – May 12
Judging by this list, things don’t always play out as you’d expect. Who would have guessed that Brendan McKay would have ended up with a negative rWAR in his debut season? Although, interesting note, McKay finished one inning shy of exceeding his rookie eligibility, so he has a great opportunity to rebound and win the Rookie of the Year Award this season. And by “this season” I mean 2020 or 2021, depending on if we get to play!
Of those nine, the top three player in rWAR are as follows:
3. Tampa Bay Rays Debut 2019 – Cole Susler
Cole Susler appeared in just seven games pitching 7.1 innings for the Rays. He came up for the September cup of coffee, but he made an impact in his limited playing time. Susler struck out nine batters and didn’t allow a single run. This was good for a 0.3 rWAR which was the third-best on the team for debuting players last season.
2. Tampa Bay Rays Debut 2019 – Nate Lowe
The big slugger was coming off of a spectacular 2018 in the minor leagues, in which he blasted 27 homers (20 more than the previous season) and 102 RBI between three different levels. At the age of 22, Nate Lowe started the season A-Charlotte and ended the season in AAA-Durham.
Prior to 2019, Lowe had broken through Baseball America’s Top100 Prospects list.
Lowe earned a call-up at the end of April and made a brief run with the team. He was called up again when All-Star rookie Brandon Lowe was sidelined with an injury. Nate blasted five homers in his first seven games after the callup.
He found himself back with the big-league club in September, during the chase for the postseason. Who can forget the Sep 21 walk-off homer against the Boston Red Sox in the 11th inning? The two-run shot gave the Rays a one-game lead for the second wild-card position as the season came down to the final week of play.
If you don’t want to re-watch the entire condensed game below, skip to about 6:30 into the video. Travis d’Arnaud lined a laser to the wall in left-center past a diving Jackie Bradley Jr. (Kevin Kiermaier probably would have had that one) for a double.
Nate Lowe steps in and blasts an opposite-field drive down the left-field line. It was all man, it wasn’t an overswing, he was just trying to make solid contact…which is all you need when you are Nate Lowe.
Lowe finished the season with seven homers in 152 at-bats while driving in 19 runs. His final slash line sat at .263/.325/.454. His 0.4 rWAR was still good enough for the second-best debut season for the Rays in 2019.
He spent 93 games in Triple-A last season, blasting another 16 homers and 63 RBI. Thus far in his Triple-A career, he is slashing .282/.401/.497 with 30 2B, 20 HR, 79 RBI, and 80 walks in just 121 games. It doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot more he can do in the minors. I hope he gets an opportunity to shine for the big-league club soon.
1. Tampa Bay Rays Debut 2019 – Mike Brosseau
Mike Brosseau finished with the top rWAR among debuting Rays last season with a 0.6 in just 132 at-bats. In 73 Triple-A games, Brosseau is slashing .304/.394/.567. He brought his power to the big leagues last season hitting six homers and seven doubles in his limited playing time.
Like Nate Lowe, Brosseau showed a flair for the dramatics on Aug 17 against the Tigers. The game was a really fun one. The Rays pitching staff shut the Tigers out over 13 innings, setting a club record with 24 total strikeouts.
On the offensive side, the Rays couldn’t buy a run either. Finally, in the bottom of the 13th, Eric Sogard blasted a double 378 feet into rightfield. The Tigers elected to intentionally walk Tommy Pham in favor of facing the rookie pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau. The result was a blast that landed about ten feet short of Sogard’s double earlier, with Sogard scoring the winning run.
Next. Rays beat Yankees 2-0 in Simulation. dark
Notables
Brendan McKay made his debut last season but posted a -0.1 rWAR.
Susler’s name breaking the top three was certainly a surprise considering he pitched in just 7.1 innings. He made the most of his opportunity.
Nick Anderson would have been the clear number one on this list but he debuted for the Marlins before being traded to the Rays mid-season, so technically his debut is listed as a Miami Marlin. He finished with a total 1.4 rWAR on the season.
During his time with the Rays, Anderson pitched in 21.1 innings while striking out an incredible 41 batters and walking only two. He allowed five earned runs with a 3-0 record and a 2.11 ERA. He enters 2020 as the most likely candidate to be the closer for the team. Thus far in OOTP’s simulation of the 2020 season, Anderson is leading the American League with 11 saves.