Grapefruit League Preview (GM #2): Rays @ Red Sox

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The Rays will be traveling just a few miles down the road this afternoon as the team looks towards their first game against a divisional foe this spring.

Although exhibitions, the Rays will be looking for their first win of the Grapefruit League season after falling to Minnesota 8-4 yesterday, which featured some solid pitching from some of the team's younger arms in the rotation, and today we will see one of the more anticipated ones.

With that being said, let's take a look at the "Three Keys to Watch" for the February 26th showdown in the Grapefruit League between the Red Sox and the Rays at Fenway South.

1. THE "TAJ" MAHAL

This afternoon, the Rays will get their first look at the highly anticipated pitching prospect in the system, the club's top prospect, Taj Bradley, and this will be not only a great opportunity for Bradley to possibly work on major league bats, but also to show some of the skill set that could make him rebound in Durham this year (if he starts in Triple A).

Bradley, who comes off a 2.57 ERA season in 2022 while splitting time between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, will be making his first start in Spring Training, similar to what his teammate Cooper Criswell had happen yesterday against the Twins.

Expect to see Bradley take his outing longer than Criswell, especially if the Red Sox trot out the big guns such as Devers and Verdugo for their home Grapefruit League opener this afternoon, as Bradley could easily go at least two innings of work on the day, and with him being a top prospect, the Rays may want to see a larger sample size at Fenway South.

2. RACE AGAINST THE TIME

We've talked a lot about the pitch clock early on this spring, and with one game under everyone's belts, some of the Rays players who will see a back-to-back start this afternoon may have a better understanding of the timing coming into today's contest.

No, we don't expect the Rays to be clock managers right off the gecko, as players will still be working with the clock, "especially hitters," Mejia stated according to Marc Topkin.

It will be interesting to see how these second-day guys fare with the pitch clock now that they have at least the timing down and should be able to create at least an AB or two of more consistent instincts for the clock at the plate.

3. ROCK THE SOX

In yesterday's Rays-Twins game, what was lacking were some of the prospects getting big hits during the game.

Although the top of the order produced, there generally wasn't any big extra-base hit that got a rally started, especially from some of the Rays' younger talents, which is something that fans should look for this afternoon.

Many of the regulars won't see the field till Monday in Sarasota, giving players such as Mandrazo and Qsar opportunities in the field, especially early in the ballgame.

Fans would crave to see a Mandrazo home run tomorrow or even a Qsar home run, someone who is underrated as a power bat in the system.

We got to see the 1B-pitcher combo of Mandrazo and Montgomery yesterday, and seeing the team's future on display is exciting, but being able to see production, especially in big league camp, is even more so.

Game Information

Tampa Bay Rays (0-1-0) @ Boston Red Sox (1-0-1)

Game Time: 1:05pm EST

Location: Fort Myers, Florida (JetBlue Park)

Prob Pitchers

TB: RHP Taj Bradley (0-0) vs. BOS: RHP Josh Winckowski (0-0)

GAME NOTES:

The Rays were 1-3 last season versus the Red Sox in Grapefruit League games.

First of 4 Matchups on the 2023 Grapefruit League schedule between BOS-TB (2 Road, 2 Home)

Bradley will make his first ever major league Spring Training apperance in his career.

Bradley was the 2022 Double-A Southern League Pitcher of the Year and MLB Top Prospect. He was also named as a League end of season All Star.

Winckowski has one start versus the Rays (regular season) were he pitched 6.0 innings and had a 4.50 ERA.

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