24-year old lefty reliever Jake McGee made the Rays’ pitching staff out of spring training. But, he was quickly sent down to AAA by the Rays because of his performance. McGee pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Rays this year and he was 0-0 with a 5.14 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. I think McGee will get another chance soon with the Rays if he keeps pitching like he is right now. McGee has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 3-2 with 8 saves, a 3.21 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has only walked 5 batters while whiffing 31 of them in his 28 innings in the minors. Lefty relievers with arms like McGee’s don’t grow on trees, so I have a feeling that the Rays will give him another chance at some point in 2011.

25-year old righty swinging 3B Evan Longoria cranked a walk-off solo homer last night in the bottom of the 9th inning to help the Rays beat the Reds. He has been red hot with the bat lately. In his last 8 games, Longoria is 11 for 34 (.324 avg) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers and 15 RBIs. He has now played in 52 games for the Rays this year and he is 46 for 185 (.249 avg, .822 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Rays are 6-2 in their last 8 games and Longoria is a big reason for the surge. When he is hitting, the whole team seems to follow his lead.

In the 1998 expansion season for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, rookie righty starting pitcher took the league by storm.  Arroyo pitched in 32 games (all starts) in 1998 for the Devil Rays and he was 14-12 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.  He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in the A.L. in 1998.  Arroyo pitched in 56 games (all starts) in his short stint with the Devil Rays (two years) and he was 21-24 with a 4.23 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  Arroyo is tied for fifth in Rays’ history with 4 complete games and he is also tied for 4th in shutouts in team history with 2.  The Devil Rays dealt Arroyo to the Rockies along with infielder Aaron Ledesma to the Colorado Rockies for 3B Vinny Castilla on December 13th, 1999.

29-year old righty starting pitcher James Shields has been awesome so far this year for the Rays. He has started 15 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 7-4 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has only allowed 86 hits and 27 walks in his first 112 2/3 innings for the Rays so far this year and he has 108 whiffs. Shields has been a horse for the Rays as he has 5 complete games and 3 shutouts so far this year! In Shields last two starts, he has pitched 18 innings in which he has given up 9 hits, 1 run (unearned), walked 3 batters and whiffed 15 as he won both games. Shields has been amazing for the Rays so far this year and they need him to keep up the good work as the bullpen isn’t needed much when he starts games.

The Rays felt that they could deal shortstop Jason Bartlett over the winter for bullpen help because they thought 25-year old lefty swinging shortstop Reid Brignac was ready to take over. Brignac played in 113 games last year for the Rays and he was 77 for 301 (.256 avg, .692 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 8 homers, 45 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. This year has been a different story though as Brignac can’t hit out of a wet paper bag right now. Brignac has played in 51 games for the Rays so far this year and he is 24 for 139 (.173 avg, .419 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Rays would probably send Brignac to AAA if they had a legit option ready in the minors to replace him, but they don’t right now.