29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Sam Fuld was pretty much a throw-in for the Rays in the Matt Garza trade. Everything has broke well for him this year and he has found himself as the Rays’ starting LF. Fuld has played in 17 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 23 for 66 (.348 avg, .895 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Fuld plays the game 100% all of the time and it has resulted in him making some awesome catches. He will likely keep the starting job in LF for a while now as he got the gig when Manny Ramirez called it quits. He has already become a fan favorite at the Trop because of his all-out style of play.

31-year old 1B Dan Johnson is likely running out of time if he wants to keep his roster spot with the Rays. He has played in 15 games so far this year for the Rays and he is 7 for 54 (.130 avg, .393 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Johnson has been making contact as he has only whiffed 8 times so far this year. His problem is twofold, because Casey Kotchman is light years better than Johnson defensively. Casey Kotchman has played in 10 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 7 for 22 (.318 avg, .787 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Kotchman also hasn’t whiffed yet this season which is pretty amazing. Johnson needs to pick up the pace with the bat or he’s going to find himself not only out of the running for the starting 1B job, but for a major league job in general.

Rays’ manager Joe Maddon said that he was going to go with a closer by committee this year but it appears as if veteran righty Kyle Farnsworth has forced a change of plans. Farnsworth has pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Rays so far this year and he is 1-0 with 4 saves, a 1.42 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. He has given up 5 hits in his first 6 1/3 innings as he has been missing a lot of bats. Farnsworth has been very aggressive in the strike zone as he has whiffed 5 batters while not walking anyone in his first 6 1/3 innings so far this year. Farnsworth has the right temperament and the arsenal of stuff to succeed as a closer, but it will be up to him to keep the job by performing well. Closer by committee almost never seems to work, so I hope that Maddon sticks with Farnsworth.

Through the first 9 games, the Tampa Bay Rays are only hitting .163 as a team with a awful .515 OPS. They have only scored 20 runs in the first 9 games and that’s the big reason why they are 1-8 on the season. The Rays only have six batters hitting .200 or over and only one of them is a full-time starter (B.J. Upton who is hitting .290). LF/DH Johnny Damon was brought in to give the Rays a spark at the top of the lineup this year, but so far he’s really struggling. Damon has played in 8 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 4 for 32 (.125 avg, .370 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. With Damon’s track record he has earned the benefit of the doubt, so he will likely continue to play every day. IF/OF Ben Zobrist plays all over the field defensively but they Rays were depending on him to help out the offense, but that hasn’t happened to this point of the year. Zobrist has played in 9 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 5 for 34 (.147 avg, .531 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. Zobrist has already whiffed 10 times this year as he is often looking helpless at the plate. The Rays were set to give lefty swinging Matt Joyce his big shot in RF this year. But, he is having a tough go of it so far this year. Joyce has played in 9 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 3 for 23 (.130 avg, .477 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 stolen base. Joyce did get two of his three hits this year yesterday so maybe he will break out of his funk. Lefty swinging 1B/DH Dan Johnson was given the starting 1B job at the start of this year but he didn’t do much with it. Johnson has played in 9 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 3 for 34 (.088 avg, .345 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. He might start losing P.T. now that the Rays have called up 1B Casey Kotchman to replace Manny Ramirez on the active roster. Lefty swinging catcher John Jaso is also off to a slow start in 2011. He has played in 8 games for the Rays this year and he is 1 for 15 (.067 avg, .192 OPS). Jaso will likely continue platooning with Kelly Shoppach behind the plate for the time being. Lefty swinging SS Reid Brignac was supposed to inherit the starting job from departed Jason Bartlett, but it hasn’t worked out that way so far this year. Brignac has played in 7 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 3 for 17 (.176 avg, .440 OPS) with 1 RBI. The Rays can’t compete if they don’t start scoring more runs, period. I’m starting to get the feeling that is going to be a long summer in Tampa/St. Petersburg this year.

25-year old righty swinging infielder/outfielder Sean Rodriguez deserves to play everyday for the Rays right now. With Evan Longoria out of action and Manny Ramirez retired, the Rays need their best 9 players on the field night in and night out. Sean Rodriguez should be starting at 2B or 3B everyday at least until Longoria returns to action. Rodriguez has played in 6 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 4 for 13 (.308 avg, 1.126 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. All Rodriguez needs right now is consistent P.T. to take his game to the next level and Joe Maddon should give it to him. After all, Maddon has nothing to lose because the Rays just aren’t hitting the ball well, so why not give Rodriguez his big shot?