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.