Rays/Dodgers Trade: Logan Forsythe Dealt to L.A for Jose De Leon

By Brad Kelly | Jan 23, 2017

Aug 21, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe (11) is congratulated by Tampa Bay Rays scored during the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

After weeks of speculation, the Dodgers finally landed their new second basemen in Logan Forsythe from the Rays for Jose De Leon. What is the fantasy fallout from the deal?

The Dodgers had their sights set on addressing the second base position this offseason, and they finally found a suitor. While it may not be the high-profile name that some had hoped, Logan Forsythe is not so bad of a catch. However, it did cost them top prospect Jose De Leon, who will now head to Tampa.

Logan Forsythe should have the biggest impact in 2017 as he looks to slide atop the Dodgers’ lineup. He is coming off back to back solid seasons with the Rays. He followed his breakout 2015 with a .264/20 HR/52 RBI/76 R/.778 OPS performance. Now with the Dodgers, what should owners expect next season?

Forsythe played in 26 fewer games last season but was able to notch a career high 20 HR. He upped his LD rate to 23% and his Hard Contact% to 36% while dropping his Soft contact by 4%. He had his up and downs, but he still squared the ball up at a solid rate.

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His AVG dropped because of his career high 22.4% K rate. He was more aggressive and chased more out of the zone. But the trade-off was more power, which owners accepted. That high of K rate is not what you want from a leadoff guy, but hopefully, he can get back to his more contact focused approach. Keeping the 15+ HR should be doable, but he needs to draw more walks to help his counting stats.

Forsythe should still be a top-12 second basemen in 2017. He will have Corey Seager and Justin Turner following him in the order so while his RBI may drop some thanks to the NL move, he will still have solid counting stats.

The Rays are, no shock here, getting the prospect in the deal. Jose De Leon is a major success story. The Dodgers selected him in the 24th round of Southern University, and he ascended the ranks to being one of the best prospects in the game. He entered the 2016 season as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and still ranks as one of the best RHP in the minors.

Even though he missed some time at the beginning of the season, he was brilliant in the minors in 2016.

Showcasing impeccable command and a deceptive delivery, he finished with a 2.99 ERA/1.06 WHIP/163 K/37 BB line over 114 innings. He made his way to the majors last season, but it was a rocky four start debut.

He was battered for a 6.95 ERA, and it was clear that he still needed to refine his arsenal. He lost velocity on his fastball last season, which now sits in the low-90s, but he does have an excellent changeup that plays off of it well. The real next step in development will be if he can get his breaking ball at the same at the same level.

He already could be a backend of the rotation arm now, but if he gets a feel for his curveball or slider, he may ascend to that ace status that some scouts project. The Rays rotation is pretty full at the moment, they also have stud prospect Brent Honeywell waiting in the wings, so De Leon should start 2017 in the minors.

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The Rays will also likely limit his innings as he has never thrown more than 120 innings in the minors and battled injuries last season. Fantasy owners in dynasty leagues already covet De Leon, but in redraft leagues, he can be ignored on draft day at this point. Look for him to be promoted sometime this season though, and he would then jump onto the waiver wire radar.

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