MLB Week 1 Watch List: Joey Rickard

Joey Rickard entered spring training as one of the Baltimore Orioles vast options in the outfield. Now guaranteed a spot on the roster, Rickard’s speed earns him a nod of being a player to watch during the first week of the season.

Who says spring training doesn’t matter?

One of the highlights of every spring is to watch how relative no name prospects or Rule 5 players, emerge and absolutely have tremendous spring performances. While most of the time these players are blocked from making the club, there are some cases where a player can snatch away a starting gig because of their success. That is exactly what Joey Rickard was able to do with the Orioles.

Rickard is a 24-year-old prospect originally from the Rays organization, who was taken in the 9^th round of the 2012 draft out of the University of Arizona. Rickard was never a top billed prospect in the Rays system, but proved to a scrappy outfielder who could run well and play solid defense.

Joey Rickard’s first full season in the minors was in 2013 for the Rays A-ball affiliate. He had a solid season producing a, .270/8 HR/63 RBI/30 SB, line. After his success in 2013, he was sent to AA and struggled mightily, eventually causing him to be demoted all the way down to A+ ball to start the 2015 season.

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But, he did not let his struggles in 2014 stop him, as he went on to post a, .321/2 HR/32 RBI/23 SB/.874 OPS, across every level of the minors. The Rays never did call him up for a cup of coffee last season, but it was clear that his bounce back in 2015 got the attention of the other 29 teams in baseball.

The Rays chose to not add him to their 40 man roster, thus allowing him to be susceptible to being claimed by another organization. Enter in the Orioles, and their need to find someone able to hold down a corner outfield spot.

The Orioles started their offseason by signing KBO sensation, Hyun Soo Kim, to man left field. They flirted with Yoenis Cespedes, but eventually acquired Mark Trumbo and Pedro Alvarez, so it looked as though they were set as long as Kim could acclimate decently. Unfortunately for Kim, this spring has been tough sledding as he has looked overmatched in nearly every at bat. But, another man’s loss is another man’s gain, and Rickard forced the O’s to change course.

It now looks as though Kim may not even make the club and it is clear that the team saw enough in Rickard to trust him with the lion share of duties in left field to start the season. Rickard does not bring any power to the table as he is purely more or a gap to gap or spray hitter, but Camden could do him some favors and he could flirt with a handful of homers. He fantasy value though, lies with his speed.

Speed was down last season across MLB, thus making the pool of fantasy stolen base threats that much thinner. Rickard has quality speed and should have no issue swiping 20+ SB with a starting gig for a majority of the season. Another added benefit is that Rickard is the closest thing they have to a leadoff hitter, making his counting stats upside enticing.

Owners should monitor Joey Rickard the first week of the season to see a few things before making him a waiver wire pickup. The first thing to watch for will be if he looks overmatched at the plate thanks to barely playing at AAA last season and having no time at the major league level either. He has always been a plus OBP player, but MLB caliber pitchers will challenge him early and often. The other thing to watch for will be when Rickard reaches base, is he being given the green light in front of the likes of Manny Machado and Chris Davis hitting behind him.

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Joey Rickard has certainly earned a job with the Orioles and the attention of fantasy owners, if he can show that he can continue to get on base and utilize his decent speed, he will not last long on the waiver wire. So owners need to pay close attention in case he turns into one of the early season gems of 2016.

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