The Devil Rays went 2-3 last week as they were outscored 32-31 by their opponents.  The D-Rays continue to get awful pitching whenever James Shields or Scott Kazmir aren’t pitching and that needs to change soon.  The Devil Rays entered this week with a 20-28 record which had them in last place in the American League East, 13.5 games behind the Red Sox.

The Devil Rays have placed catcher Josh Paul on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left elbow, but the prognosis is that Paul will miss 6-8 weeks.  Paul has played in 15 games this season and he’s 12 for 49 (.245 avg, .547 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 5 RBIs.  The D-Rays have recalled Shawn Riggans from AAA and they will likely let him play more than Paul did because they have been very disappointed in Dioner Navarro’s play this season.  Riggans has already played in 2 games for the D-Rays and he’s 1 for 8 with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs.

21 year old righty swinging 3B Evan Longoria is off to an outstanding start to his career.  Longoria is the #1 ranked prospect of the Devil Rays according to Baseball America.  In 46 AA games so far this season, he is 49 for 161 (.304 avg, .982 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 10 homers, 37 RBIs and 30 walks.  If Longoria keeps hitting like he is right now, he will be the D-Rays starting third baseman shortly after the All-Star break.

James Shields has been the best pitcher on the Devil Rays so far this season.  Shields would have at least six wins and maybe as many as 8 if the Rays had anyone in their bullpen that could get the lead to Al Reyes.  In 9 starts this season, Shields is 3-0 with a 2.94 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP so far.  In 67.1 innings, he has allowed 49 hits and has walked 13 batters while whiffing 62!  The only problem Shields has had so far this season is with the longball as he has allowed 8 homers.  Look for Shields to be the D-Rays All-Star this season if he keeps pitching like he is right now.

The Devil Rays have been using Brian Stokes as their set-up man and the results have been horrible so far this season.  In 23 games, Stokes is 2-5 with a 6.98 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP this season.  In 19.1 innings, he has allowed 32 hits, 5 homers and he’s hit 3 batters with pitches.  Stokes main problem is that his fastball is too straight and that negates the fact that he throws it in the 95 mph range.  Look for Stokes to be in AAA soon if he doesn’t start to pitch better.