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Fantasy baseball: 2020 Tampa Bay Rays fantasy preview

By Mike Marteny

OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 02: Charlie Morton #50 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during the AL Wild Card game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday, October 2, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 02: Charlie Morton #50 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during the AL Wild Card game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday, October 2, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /
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ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 07: Austin Meadows #17 of the Tampa Bay Rays hits a 2-RBI double against the Houston Astros during the fourth inning in Game Three of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field on October 07, 2019 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

2020 Tampa Bay Rays projected starting lineup:

Brandon Lowe, 2B (.270, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 2 SB in 296 AB)
Austin Meadows, LF (.291, 33 HR, 89 RBI, 12 SB in 530 AB)
Yandy Diaz, 3B (.267, 14 HR, 38 RBI, 2 SB in 307 AB)
Ji-Man Choi, 1B (.261, 19 HR, 63 RBI, 2 SB in 410 AB)
Hunter Renfroe, RF (.216, 33 HR, 64 RBI, 5 SB in 440 AB with SDP)
Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, DH (.272, 29 HR, 79 RBI, 0 SB in 557 AB with Yokohama Bay Stars)
Willy Adames, SS (.254, 20 HR, 52 RBI, 4 SB in 531 AB)
Kevin Kiermaier, CF (.228, 14 HR, 55 RBI, 19 SB in 447 AB)
Mike Zunino, C (.165, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 0 SB in 266 AB)

The Rays aren’t much for fantasy baseball gold, but they do have some nice middle round picks. You could make a case for Brandon Lowe being the highest drafted player on the team based on 17 homers in just 296 at bats at a position that doesn’t have a ton of power.

I really like Austin Meadows. Maybe not as my top outfielder, but he is a very good second outfielder. I like the power on Renfroe, but he will seriously hurt your average. You can pluck him in later rounds, but make sure you have enough to make up the hit for the average before you take the plunge.

Diaz and Choi are both solid options for CI in the middle to late rounds of drafts. You can throw Adames in there too. There is reason to believe that the average can get better. 20 homers from a late round SS is not bad at all.

What can we expect from Yoshitomo Tsutsugo? At just 28, Tsutsugo is already a ten-year veteran of Japan’s NPB. He had 255 homers with a .281 average in those seasons. We can expect a solid average and decent power, but don’t go off the deep end trying to get him. Japanese pitchers make a faster impact that hitters most of the time. I like Tsutsugo, but not where he’s been going in some drafts.

The good news is that Tsutsugo is a solid fielder that can play multiple positions. Brendan McKay will likely DH only again this year, and he’s still a top priority. The Rays will still likely sit McKay the days after he pitches, so Tsutsugo will still see plenty of time at DH.

What to do with McKay? The two-way leverage is intoxicating when building a roster, but he didn’t do much on either side in limited samples. The upside is through the roof, but it’s hard to know just how much the Rays will use him. I like him in middle rounds, but he usually doesn’t last that long.

Prospects to watch:

Vidal Brujan is a burner that hits for a high average. The issue is that he’s blocked by Lowe at 2B and Adames at SS. If he gets a chance to play, he’s a great source of steals.

Randy Arozarena has hit for good power and a high average over the last couple of years. Where’s he going to play though? DH is spoken for, so the only real shot he has is for Renfroe to struggle enough that the Rays want to bench him. That seems unlikely. Arozarena is worth a look if he gets playing time, but with Margot and Jose Martinez also on the bench, his chances are slim.

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