Corners Report: Oops! All Rays!

The intention was good. The rankings were being worked on. The notes were made.

Then I realized all the interesting outliers were from the same team! Then we went over 500 words on them and just figured that would be enough.

Jose Caballero is ranked eighth at the moment. He is ranked 36th for the rest of the season. The 28 year old jack of all trades (2B, 3B, SS eligible) has been a steal. Speaking of steals, he has five on the season. Couple this with a .333 batting average and 1.011 OPS and if for some reason you’ve been playing him like I have in TGFBI you’ve benefited. Of course, this won’t hold. A 33% strikeout rate and .256 expected batting average is more like it. Another issue is the three times caught stealing.

After a quick check of the game logs, I can’t recommend a pickup of Caballero except in deep leagues. He’s a patented Rays player, he will sit often enough to be annoying and kill your games played unless you’re really on top of things.

Christopher Morel is ranked tenth, 22nd ROS. I was wondering if the Rays still were able to work their magic on talented but flawed hitters. This certainly applied to Morel last season as he did his best to torpedo the Cubs’ playoff hopes. To this point, he has one home run but is hitting over .300 with an .824 OPS (up from .634 last year). He’s maintained his top-ten percentile bat speed and increased his launch angle from 12 last season to a robust 18 this one. Now, a 36% K rate, 35% whiff rate, and a bottom 28% exit velocity show a complete sellout for power still.

He’s still the same guy he’s always been. I’m not looking to get him really unless it’s for a short term need.

Jonathan Aranda is playing first and DH for the Rays. At this point, he’s in the 95th or higher in all of these categories:

XBA, XSLG, exit velocity, barrels, hard hit%.

That’s elite elite. The slash line matches: .395/.460/.698, two home runs but no stolen bases but I think you’re fine with that. This is the man who hit .337 two seasons ago in AAA Durham and I have a fond spot for the guy since I watched him play live there. The only issue here is that he’s not playing against lefties. That’s a major issue! So if you have the time and/or gumption to check the pitching matchup ahead of time, have at it. I don’t have either of those, so I just watch him against righties and smile. He’s for real as the platoon bat.

Yandy Diaz: Dandy Yandy is a fun own most seasons. He’s really struggling to start against sinkers and sliders. He’s never had this issue before, so he’ll turn that average around. Apparently, that is in his head, because in the early going he’s batting .178 against fastballs. Last season was over 100 points higher, and his expected stats say he’s making the same quality of contact just lagging in results. Don’t adjust any expectations for Yandy. He’ll be back to his high average/high OBP/low HR self soon enough. Someone dropped him in my home league and I scooped the brotha up.

Surprise! Here’s some more. Let’s make it the AL East version! More blurby than statcasty.

Paul Goldschmidt: The elderly fellow is hitting .367 with a .909 OPS. This I did not see coming at all. The metrics have held steady, and there’s really no sign to this point of a decline in skill. Ride the wave while it’s good, the barrels end at some point. By barrels, I mean waves, not bats.

Rafael Devers: Was hard on him last time, but he’s turned it around a bit. The numbers are lagging behind, but the K rate has been cut from an early 67% to 33% overall. His exit velocity is now the highest it’s been in his career. I would buy low on him if someone is still looking at the overall stats.

Jordan Westburg: The plate approach has not improved much. The walk rate is all the way up to 7%, from 5 last season. The defense will keep him in the lineup. In the end, I would expect a mild disappointment and a repeat from last year.

Ryan Mountcastle: Remember that time Khris Davis hit .247 three straight years? Mountcastle is close. He’s been .270-.271 the past three seasons. That’s fun. Also helpful with the average batting average sitting at .244. Still waiting for the power surge (1 HR) and it’s possibly coming? Please? As of now, he’s a useful piece, not a great one.

Someone named Ernie Clement is playing third base for Toronto. You can forget him now.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr: Nothing to say except check Statcast. It’s beautiful. The HR will come.

Thanks for reading!