The Tampa Bay Rays are more loaded than most people think in 2015, showcasing a deft combination of veteran talent and young players ready to make their marks on The Show. With that being said, here's our picks for 3 Tampa Bay Rays Players Ready To Break Out In 2015.
DH John Jaso
Whether he's a pure platoon bat or not, the returning Jaso is primed to flourish with a more consistent load of plate appearances to work with and a shift from playing catcher to DH. Jaso gets on base nearly 37% of the time against right-handers, and without having to worry about putting on the gear regularly, his swing will only benefit from concentrating on his performance in the batter's box.
RHP Jake Odorizzi
Odorizzi's rookie season started off with some turbulence in 2014, but the 24-year-old righty found a major groove down the stretch by slowing things down and dissecting the game on a pitch-by-pitch basis. Now a true mainstay of Tampa's rotation, expect the talented Odorizzi to cut his walk total (59 in 2014) and ERA (4.13) significantly with a full season of ups and downs under his belt.
SS Asdrubal Cabrera
Cabrera, 29, has seen his at-the-plate production fall off since his All-Star campaigns of 2011-12, but he's still relatively young and has plenty at stake on a one-year prove-it contract with Tampa. Expect Cabrera to silence questions about his defensive range with above-average work at short, while using his second-straight walk year as motivation. That'll likely be enough to get him closer to his .268/.330/.409 career slash line -- just what the Rays ordered when they signed him this offseason.
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