Rays season in review

Tampa Bay Rays

 2017 Record: 80-82

3rd Place, AL East

Team ERA: 3.97 (8tth)

Team OPS: .739 (25th)

What Went Right

Despite posting a losing record and an ERA over 4, Chris Archer bounced back nicely from his relatively disappointing 2016 campaign. He posted an 11.15 strikeouts-per-nine innings ratio, and his FIP (3.40) told a much more accurate story on how well he pitched in 2017. Alex Colome became the first ever Tampa Bay pitcher to lead the majors in saves (47), and outside of a few hiccups was mostly a well above-average closer. Logan Morrison had easily his best power production of his career, swatting 38 homers and knocking in 85 while posting the highest on-base percentage of his career as well at .353. Stephen Sousa put up similar numbers in terms of homers -- a career-high 30 -- but he also contributed 16 stolen bases. Kevin Kiermaier had his best offensive season, hitting a career high .278 with 16 homers and 16 steals.

What Went Wrong

Evan Longoria had the second-worst season of his career in 2017, posting just a .737 OPS with 20 homers in 156 games. Brad Miller was awful, striking out 110 times in 110 games and hitting a paltry .201 for the Rays. Jake Odorizzi posted a not-reprehensible 4.14 ERA, but he threw just 143 innings in 28 starts, and he needed a 1.03 ERA in September to get said ERA to that level. Wilson Ramos was limited to just 64 games due to his leg injury, and he was only able to post a .290 on-base percentage when he was healthy enough to play. Colby Rasmus was limited to just 37 games, and was placed on the restricted-list in mid-June.

Fantasy Slants

** The biggest fantasy question for the Rays is arguably the biggest question mark for Tampa Bay in “real life:” Is Archer going to be a member of Tampa Bay’s rotation in 2018? The pitching market is extremely weak in terms of free agency, and contending teams will assuredly be pestering the Tampa Bay front-office to see what it would take to get the talented hurler out of Florida.

** Evan Longoria was fantastic in 2016, and average -- at best -- in 2017. Which is the real version? The lifetime Ray just turned 32, so there should be a few more quality seasons in the right-handed hitter’s bat. Having said that, with how much he struggled toward the end of the year, it’s tough to consider him an elite option at the hot-corner in fantasy circles right now.

** The Rays have plenty of talented -- if volatile -- young pitching talent at the big-league level. They also have one of the most talented pitching prospects in Brent Honeywell. This is a right-hander who can miss bats with three pitches, and he throws those pitches for strikes with an ability to locate it as well. Some expected Honeywell to come up in 2017, but there’s no doubt that he’ll be a part of the Tampa Bay rotation in the coming season. He’s a Rookie Of The Year candidate if he gets enough time. The Rays also have one of the best shortstop prospects in the American League in Willy Adames, and he should spend most of his 2018 season with the Rays as well.

 ** How much better can Blake Snell be? There's no question that Snell has the talent to be a successful starter; that's evident in his 119 strikeouts in just over 129 innings. He also has a ton of volatility because of his struggles with command, which is also shown in his 59 walks in that same time frame. If Snell reaches his full potential he's a potential top-of-the-rotation option, and considering he's still just 24-years-old, it's not unreasonable to expect the command to come. We've certainly seen it happen before. It's just awfully risky -- but potentially rewarding -- to trust it in 2018.

** Morrison’s .868 OPS was over a hundred points higher than his career’s (.763), and the 38 homers were 15 higher than his previous high of 23 in 2011. He’s also going to turn 31 in August, so this isn’t a case of a young prospect bursting out for a career season. Long story short, there’s a lot more risk in trusting Morrison to do what he did in 2017 than there is reward. This could be the type of player you look to sell high on if you’re playing in dynasty leagues.

Key Free Agents: Alex Cobb, Lucas Duda, Steve Cishek, Tommy Hunter

Team Needs: It’s unlikely Tampa Bay will spend big this offseason, but the Rays could use another bat in the infield, a couple of relievers to replace the likely departing Cishek and Hunter, and perhaps a starting pitcher if the Rays don’t feel comfortable in giving Honeywell an immediate spot in the rotation, or if they were to move Archer at some point this winter. Tampa also might look for a stop-gap at shortstop until Adames is ready. They'll also be looking for an answer at catcher. Again. Outside of the potential move of Archer, it would be an upset if this team's core looked much different than it did in 2017.