His defense was still strong, as was his plate discipline, but he was unable to drive the ball with any authority. Formerly the clear Rays shortstop of the future, Lee missed nearly all of 2013 after knee surgery and was a disaster at the plate in 2014, hitting to just a. The biggest question mark in the entire system right now may be Hak-Ju Lee. The Rays are expecting an average situation at shortstop this season and just maybe more. Tim Beckham could also see some time at shortstop if he makes the team, and Logan Forsythe should play at least a couple of games there.Īssessment: Franklin’s defense (and to a lesser extent, his bat) are no sure things, but the standard is pretty low after Escobar’s poor 2014 and Franklin has the ability to exceed his performance by a wide margin. He is an established subpar defender there–although still better than what we saw from Yunel Escobar last year–and the Rays are hoping that better results are in store for him at second base. If Franklin falters, sits against left-handed pitching, or simply gets a day off, Cabrera will still slide over to the position. Even if he is a better fielder at second base, the Rays need a shortstop more badly now and Franklin can handle the position capably. He still played nearly half of his games at the position in 2014 and is considered a potential average defender there. The Rays do have an alternative in Asdrubal Cabrera, but there is reason to believe that Franklin can be just fine at shortstop. Does that mean that it is a bad idea for the Rays to play him at shortstop? We know about his potential at the plate, specifically his excellent power and solid plate discipline for a middle infielder, but we have been talking about him as a second baseman for awhile now.
#Rays shortstop crack#
It looks like Nick Franklin will get the first crack at the Rays’ starting shortstop job. Good thing we waited because the Tampa Bay Rays’ best shortstop prospect is their newest one. You can find the evaluations of catcher, first base, and second base here, and now we will talk about shortstop.
#Rays shortstop series#
We took a break from this series thanks to all of the trades and arbitration signings, but today, we are getting back on track. However, this coming season will mark the least confident that Rays fans have been about their team’s chances in a long time, making the current status of the Rays’ minor league system even more important.Įspecially if further changes are coming this offseason, do the Rays have the prospects to get their team back on track before long? Over the next couple of weeks, we will go position-by-position in the Rays organization in an attempt to answer that question. The Tampa Bay Rays have certainly not given up on winning in 2015.