Think about it. Had he not pulled him Snell would have done what he did that entire season. Screw up in the 7th and give up way too many runs and then he would have been fully to blame for losing the WS. Had Cash not pulled him Snell would never have went to the Padres and then been able to get paid like he did with the Dodgers now. So on behalf of Cash… you are welcome Blake Snell.

Just thought this was cool given the gloomy off-season.

After comments from my post on prospects I missed on last Sunday, I have decided to try to do a weekly prospect evaluation until the season starts. Eventually, some of these names will be very obscure if you aren't big prospect watchers. Hopefully, everyone enjoys it, but these are deep dives and will get a little long, and this one is rather long as its more like an article not a forum post particularly with the inclusion of the 2021 Draft information which was necessary to explain Cooper Kinney. Hopefully, some of you will stick through it and enjoy it.

Before getting into Cooper, I want to discuss the Rays 2021 Draft. The 2021 Draft might be the most crucial in recent memory for the Rays, after swinging big on Nick Bitsko in 2020, signing him over the slot to only watch him have shoulder issues before he pitched in the Minors in 2021. I didn't think the Rays were going to be aggressive; I figured college players were going to be selected; with a team rolling in 2021 and the future looking bright, I figured high-floor college picks to save money then take with some high upside HS pitchers and prep hitters after round 3 and use the excess bonus pool. Find guys to fill holes and swing big on what you do best in developing high-upside pitchers.

Instead, the Rays took a massive swing with their 1st round with Carson Williams. A pick that was interesting as Carson was a no-doubt SS even as he matured and was going to a team that, in the short-term, had a SS that would possibly have to move to 3rd or 2nd as he matured (Wander). That decision has been highly impactful, providing a long-term solution for a problem the Rays thought was already answered. Equally, the Rays took another big swing in the 1st round with their CBA pick that year in drafting Tennessee Prep 2nd baseman Cooper Kinney. The Rays had a bonus pool of only 7,955,800 in 2021; small market teams generally conserve bonus pool value to take big swings on high-upside prep guys later in the draft. These high up-side prep players typically sign for over-slot values to have them forgo college commitments; this also occurs early in the draft. Gunnar Henderson is the most recent example, but prep players, particularly hitters, are risky. They require significant draft capital investments and take substantial portions of bonus pool allotment, restricting teams from taking big swings on guys later in the draft. The 2021 draft was not a very Rays-like at all. They swung big on 2 high school hitters, and neither took deals below slot, signing for 2,347,500 and 2,145,600, respectively, accounting for 56.5% of their allotted pool.

Carson is a possible superstar at minimium he is a 3-4 WAR player that plays the best defense at SS in the MLB who could go 20-20. If he can negate SO issues and keep his SO% sub 27% he is a 6+ Star who could go 30-30 with that. He is a top 5 prospect on almost every prospect list due to the upside, with Keith Law being the only dissenter ( Not a surprise if you know Keith Law's risk-adverse prospect evaluations even he states the upside but the SO% scares him, which I would be lying if it doesn't scare me). Carson has been compared to Evan Longoria for his leadership and work ethic, and he could be the new face of the franchise. If he reaches his high ceiling, he could provide hope once again that the Rays could have a homegrown HoFer again.

Cooper Kinney has yet to be afforded the same prospect love, and at this point, it's not due to quality of play. FanGraphs is the highest on him in the organizational prospect list at 8th with a 45 FV, Baseball America doesn't have him in the top 30, and Pipeline has him at #16. Cooper was a high-floor pick; he was always going to hit; the upside of Cooper was tied to two things, what was his true power potential, and if he could ever become an MLB caliber 2nd baseman or would he be locked to DH/1B which really can diminish upside due to the high offensive floor tied to those positions. He has a smooth left-handed swing and regularly barrels up the ball, leading to the belief of above-average power going forward. In 2021, in the Florida Complex League, Cooper hit and hit well, slashing .286/.468/.839 with a 143 wRC+. Although he had no homers and only a .086 ISO, he had a 21.3 BB% and K% percentage. His prospect stock crashed in 2022 with a torn labrum on the backfields of Spring Training, killing his full-season debut.

Kinney's return in 2023 was not talked about much. However, he was a very competent hitter at an age-appropriate level (one could argue slightly underaged at 20 for A ball still), slashing .274/.341/.734, putting up a 110 wRC+ with 10 HRs, a .118 ISO, and a sub-22 % SO rate. His 2024 season is the most slept-on of all Rays prospects.

As a 21-year-old in high A, Cooper was the 2nd best hitter in the South Atlantic League behind only his 22-year-old teammate and top 100 prospect Brayden Taylor. Posting a 289/.352/.846 slash line, equaling his 10 HR total in 144 fewer at-bats but, more importantly, posting a .205 ISO with a 381 wOBA and a 137 wRC+, with a 22.2 SO%. At first glance, there are only 2 true knocks on his year were an IL stint that shut his season down in September (Cant find much on it, simply possible it was minor, and the Rays shut him down to let him get going on his offseason) and a .350 BABIP that traditionally I would view as unsustainable. However, 2 things stand out. First, he posted a .337 BABIP one year after labrum surgery. Labrum and should surgery sap power and take a while to fully recover physically ( anyone with shoulder injuries can say post-injury things don't feel right) and mentally (Trusting that you can swing hard and not have issues). So, a .337 BABIP post-injury makes the .350 BABIP seem believable, but a 32.7% line drive rate makes it seem almost 100% sustainable.

Kenny is a line drive merchant, only producing at 21.4% Flyball percentage. Line drives, on average, generate a .685 average and a .190 ISO; groundballs produce a .239 average and .020 ISO, and flyballs produce a .207 average and a .378 ISO. If you want a weighted number, wOBA values for each are .684, .220, and .335, respectively. This is commonly known as line drives equal hits and doubles, flyballs equal outs and HRs, and groundballs incur hits via luck, or an infield single, by virtue of speed (Still some luck) or groundout. That 32.7% line drive rate was the second-highest of any MiLB player last year and the highest of any full-season player. He is also an extremely balanced hitter showing his advanced approach to hitting with a pull percentage of 35.5%, center at 27% and oppo at 37.5%.

Now, the main negative is that Cooper is not a great defender at 2nd. Minor league defensive values are difficult to find, so the range factor is just about the only usable stat as it explains range and arm strength to a degree. The 2nd range is very important. Cooper had a 1.186 RF, which was not horrible but not great, with only Jorge Polanco and Jose Altuve producing lower values among MLB 2nd basemen. Altuve was worht -6 OAA, Palanco at -8. Kinney also still has a lot of physical projection left, so he might slow further, making him fringy at 2nd. He could be a cleaner fielding Daniel Murphy (I will come back to this) but will never be a great defender. At best, he could be average. His arm is fringe for 3rd, so 2nd would likely be where he could keep his feet in the dirt. However, his bat should negate these issues.

Cooper Kinney had the best minor league season that no one noticed or cared about this year as an underaged player in high A. His line drive approach will produce a lot of doubles and could provide more power with additional loft, but the Rays generally like line-drive profiles like Kenney's. His overall feeling about hitting makes him an interesting player who I believe will be an MLB player, whether as a role player or full-time, which will be answered this year in AA. If his current profile was in the MLB, you would be looking at a 2.5-3.5 WAR at 2nd due to the poor defense, and although his .205 ISO profiles for around 20 HRs and 25 doubles, he is more likely to produce 12-18 HRs and 28-35 doubles. If he can become average defensively, he could exceed that; overall, his player comp is that he could be this generations Daniel Murphy. A 2-3.5 (Maybe career peak of a 4 WAR season) WAR 2nd baseman with poor defense, but excellent live drive numbers that will let him run into HRs with a 110+ wRC+. Even with that said, Cooper has more power potential at a younger age than Murphy (College pick), so we could see better offensive numbers closer averging a 115+ wRC+. Anything over 105 for second is fantastic as only 8 2nd baseman with over 300 AB logged a wRC+ over 100. I am very high on Cooper Kinney and hope that AA affirms his talent and we could see him as a fringe top 100 prospect similar to the leap Curtis Mead made in 2022, going from a high upside 20-year-old in High A to a bona-fide top 100 prospect by the end of a great season in AA as an underaged guy. Cooper might be a year older but will still be underaged for the level and could skyrocket up rankings like Mead did, with a great year in Montgomery.

Pinellas, Hillsborough, St. Petersburg, Tampa have had 20 years to fix the situation the Rays find themselves in. They keep getting in their own way to spite their face, and we're to a comical place where its 3 steps beyond embarrassing. The Rays saga is now a national story in the shadow of a hurricane ravaged baseball stadium that they cannot even decide if they'd like to fix. Orlando has the 6% bed tax, has money in reserve, has somewhat of a base from the Rays already being in Central Florida. Their DT is growing, its one of the most visited areas in the country due to WDW, SeaWorld, and Universal. It almost makes too much sense. I was born and bread in Tampa. Love the Rays so much and want what's best for them. This makes more sense each day that passes.

I'll preface all of this by saying look, I know most of you aren't going to want to hear this. I know most of you are going to hate any idea of the Rays leaving the Tampa Bay Area. I totally get it. And it honestly does come off as insult to injury after Hurricane Milton. But what about the Orlando group pushing to get an MLB in Orlando? It's always felt like a dream, but after the developments post-Milton with the Rays, could the Rays moving to Orlando actually have a chance?

Even before Hurricane Milton, a new stadium in St. Pete was still going to have the same location problem that the Trop has. Heck it's hard for Rays fans even from Tampa to go to weeknight games, never mind fans from areas farther away. I live south of Orlando, not far from Disney, and I enjoy going to MLB games, but it's just too difficult to get to St. Pete. Here's why Orlando could work:
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1) Fresh Start.
Unlike St. Pete that has always held the stadium agreement around the Rays neck, the Orlando group pushing for MLB and the entire Orlando area would probably come together to support getting the Rays. And I know Stu is not a good owner by any means, but St. Pete has really messed this up and probably made the relationship between the Rays and St. Pete unrecoverable. With Orlando my guess would be the stadium would be paid for by a combination of the group pushing for MLB, the city/county via tourist taxes (including probably a creation of a special development district like with other sports teams) and then some from the Rays. I know Stu is notorious for not wanting to pay anything. I think if the city / group gets Stu to pay for even a little bit (20%), the city / group would largely pay for the rest. Heck even if it required some sort of half cent sales tax increase, most would probably be okay with it.

2) Stadium Plans
Orlando could learn from some of the previous mistakes with the Rays. Orlando is set up to be more centralized in general and the current group has already indicated the stadium would be in a centralized location in Orlando. Plans have been that a stadium would be on I-Drive right near the Convention Center, SeaWorld and the new Universal Epic Universe park. Yes the traffic would royally s*ck, it already does, but it would still be a great location. Plenty of hotels and things to do before or after the game. 528 was recently expanded to 8 lanes so that would help. An MLB team would probably speed up some of the I-4 construction. Plus with the space they could even have a small entertainment district, similar to what the Braves have with The Battery.

3) Media Market
Orlando, as the 15th biggest media market, is the biggest market in the U.S. that does not have an MLB team. I know Tampa is 12th and would then be the largest, but that would be addressed in my final point below and the biggest point for current fans.

4) Going to Orlando keeps the Rays in the Central Florida area and accessible for fans.
While it would be hard, just remember that many in Orlando support the Bucs and Lightning and make the trip over to Tampa regularly for games. Being in Orlando would allow Rays fans to still at least somewhat have a team and Rays fans could still come to Orlando for games. Heck for the Rays fans who live in places like Brandon, Riverview, Wesley Chapel, Lakeland and Plant City, going to Orlando won't be any worse than going to St. Pete. Heck it could even be a little closer for Rays fans in Polk County and far eastern Hillsborough County.

You would have a certain synergy between the two cities at that point that you don't have now. People in Tampa / St. Pete / Clearwater could support the Rays and Magic in Orlando and people in Orlando / Daytona Beach / Sanford / Kissimmee could support the Bucs and Lightning in Tampa. Honestly it helps for all the teams to have a regional fan base. Since a lot of people in both Orlando and Tampa are transplants, many follow the team they grew up with. So being able to pull support from both Orlando and Tampa would greatly help with long term success and fan support.

Plus at the end of the day, the Rays going to Orlando would be a whole heck of a lot better than losing them to Nashville, Charlotte or Montreal.
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Like I said, it's not a good situation, but it could be an opportunity for Orlando. I hate that it would be at Tampa Bay's expense, but it's probably the only way Orlando could get an MLB team and it would at least keep the team in the area. I would hate to see MLB baseball leave Central Florida period. The Rays could play either at a renovated Disney Wide World of Sports Complex (where the Atlanta Braves used to do Spring Training until 2019) or a renovated Osceola County Stadium (where the Houston Astros used to do their Spring Training) until the stadium was built. The Disney complex would be more centrally located (since it's off I-4) and being southwest of Orlando would make it at least closer to Tampa Bay for current fans as well.

Heck Orlando could even make some compromises. While I would like to name of the team to actually be Orlando, I could see them changing to name simply to Florida (for example if they keep the Rays name, potentially the Florida Rays instead of the Orlando Rays), again as a way to keep some of the current fans. I could also see Orlando being okay with the team still playing a series or two each year in Tampa at the Yankees Spring Training Complex, again, to keep some of the current fans. Not sure if the Rays name would stay if the team moved to Orlando or if there would be a new name.

What are your thoughts on the team going to Orlando? Do you think it's possible instead of just losing the team to Montreal, Nashville or Charlotte? Would you still support the team if it moved to Orlando?

I keep reading on youtube comments everywhere that the Rays should move to Orlando that Orlando has a stadium deal ready to go. This is NOT accurate. There was one guy that wanted MLB in Orlando, Pat Williams, who proposed the idea of using TDT revenues to build an indoor ballpark on I-Drive next to Sea World.

The Orange County Commissioners and both mayors of OC and Orlando basically said "nah" and didn't even bother to take it up for a vote. They instead voted to spend massive amounts of money (over a billion when all added up) to expand the OC Convention Center, renovate Camping World Stadium, renovate the Kia Center, renovate the UCF football stadium, amongst some other things. The money is already allocated and there is no money left for a MLB stadium. And Pat Williams has since passed away.

So please stop this "rumor". It is true that Tampa/Hillsborough/St Pete/Pinellas taxpayers do not want to spend taxpayer money on a stadium for the Rays. They keep sending that message over and over again for two decades. Its just like the Coyotes situation in Arizona...the overwhelming majority of voters do NOT want tax money going to a new ballpark. So unless Pinellas County and the Rays kiss and make up they are going to move somewhere out of state.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/42609559/rays-play-47-first-59-home-69-last-103-road

Was driving in NWA with my fiancé and got talking about Brent Honeywell and was waxing poetic about what he should have been. My fiancé asked me if that's the worst I missed on a player and it got me thinking about what prospects I completely whiffed on and why. So I am going to discuss a few prospects that I missed on due to Injury, completely whiffed on, and guys I was correct about. I hope that it will help some learn from mistakes I made with prospects and tamper expectations on guys, as we will see a youth influx over the next 2 years and they might struggle early on or overachieve. I am not an expert, but baseball is my main hobby and I have pretty solid grasp on advanced stats, and how they impact individual results. Most of my misses were due me not buidling my own opinionletting preconceived notions from prospect evaluators create bias instead of doing my own statistical research. Hopefully there is some information that helps those who read build expectations for players going forward. I will apologize for the length of this hopefully those that read the whole thing can gain something from it.

The Injured guys-

Brent Honeywell Jr. will always be my white whale. I swore that dude was going to be an All-Star starter at one point and collect top-10 CY young finishes. It was all right there, minimal arm effort with no history of arm injuries through the minors, and he was just nasty with a +-fastball, a plus-slider, a +pronated change (circle change), a developing curve, and off course a wipe out screwball. He dominated AA as a 22 year old (really underaged at that time) and held his own in AAA that same year when the level of talent in AAA was way higher then today. Then pitchers and catcher reported in 2018 and his career was washed by an UCL strain. One TJ later he was a shell of what he was never able to ramp his stuff up again, was nice to see him have a solid year this year out of the bullpen but God that one hurts at worst he would have been a backend starter and at best he could have headlined a rotation.

Cole Wilcox- similar to Brent but even more stuff ++Fastball that touched 100, +Slider that sat at 91-93 MPH and a +-circle change. Stuff was off the charts combined with a massive frame (6'5) and minimal arm effort he was unhittable for 10 against age appropriate hitting to slightly underaged hitting in A ball. Then UCL tear and TJ he is now a sinkerball specialist that never reclaimed his stuff. Now could eventually be a backend innings eater, but it's far removed from a floor that was intially a dynamic high-leverage closer and a ceiling that of a 1B or #2 starter. I was way to high on him prior to making a start for the Rays I was starting to write my thesis in summer of 2021 and would regularly watch/listen to MiLB games while working on it I would tune into a Cole Wilcox's starts I remember listening to his start against the Braves A ball team (can't remember their namw) where he was pulled in the 3rd felt like a gut punch particularly due to the fact I was at NC State so I was going to Bulls games and it was clear when I went to watch him that Brent was never going to be the same. Him losing stuff and reinventing himself is great but I had posts back in 2021 saying I believed he was the true key prospect in the Snell trade not Patino. Helpfully he can become an MLB starter/swing guy that can get eat innings and be an MLB player. Would feel great if that was the case.

Brendan McKay- I wasn't nearly as a high on McKay as some partly because I desperately wanted the Rays to get MacKenzie Gore in the 2017 draft and he was picked 1 pick earlier. Stuff was above average but to me lacked a truly domiant pitch, guy just had an insanely high floor due to his control and the fact he had 4 MLB caliber pitches. That floor was a #3 starter, heck I remember seeing prospect evals that stated his floor as that in 2018. But his stats supported at minimum he could be that #3 starter in MLB. Delivery was smooth as well, but the injuries just piled up and I never adjusted my expectations as I still believed it was happenstance injuries, two oblique strains happenstance injuries, then the shoulder injuries then Thoatric outlet syndrome and I knew that floor was gone. It's great to see him pitch again but recovery from TOS is bleak and he had 18 dominate innings in AA as a 28 year old. Hopefully he can still have a career.

True Misses-

Jake Bauers- I learned a lot about prospects after Jake struggled in 2018 then flamed out in Cleveland. The biggest is to take prospect ratings with a grain of salt. Jake Bauers was a top 100 prospect, but his raw numbers werent inspiring outside of his wRC+ numbers. His whole prospect profile was predicated off being above league average as an underaged prospect throughout the minors, yes a 132 wRC+ as a 20 year old is extremely impressive but it was all predicated off high walk rate, and his ISO numbers were unimpressive for a 1st baseman or a below average fielding corner outfielder. Top 100 prospects generally have to fit into two boxes the first their upside is so high that their floor it's self is a usable MLB player, this can be due to elite secondary tools at premium positions (defense for catcher, SS, or CF) or they are tooled up to a point they cna piece together value (Prospects atlwast 3 60+ FV tools always seem to put together some value, Josh Lowe is an example even if Fangraphs had him at 55 power instead of 60). Or they have insanely high floors that ensure MLB starter might never be capable of a 4.5+ WAR season but should 2-4 WAR seasons through their careers. Jake Bauers was in latter, he wasn't going to be a superstar but his discipline combined with solid pop should have allowed him to run a slashline around .260/.350/.780 with 15-20 HRs. He was just a limited hitter who had to pull for power, and once his SO% rised in the MLB his average cratered and his BB% couldn't float an everyday player at offensive minded postions. Really this one annoys the shit out of me, as looking back at his OPS I should have looked past the wRC+ numbers at the time and seen his traditional stats weren't as great as I would have thought.

Vidal Brujan- oddly wasn't as a high on Vidal as Jake Bauers, I think a lot of lessons I learned with Jake helped me temper expectations by the time he had kinda failed as a prospect in 2019 i saw holes in Vidal's profile. Vidal built his whole prospect ranking on a great full season debut in 2017 then an electric year in 2018 as a 20 year old in A and high A. Putting up a 190 wRC+ in high A as a 20 year old was insane prior to MiLB realignment. He had a solid 2019 as he came down to earth in High A with a 122 wRC+, but looked good as a 21 year old in AA with a 113 wRC+ (if you adjust for 5 points every ear underaged at that point average AA age was over 24 years old that puts it at a 128 so damn solid). I lost some of the luster for his game in 2019 as I took the lessons from Jake Bauers, and this coincided with a philosophical switch in how a viewed baseball. I became much more dependent on ISO, BABIP, wOBA, and batted ball data (even simple ones like GB, FB, and LD percentages). His BABIP numbers were unsustainable and his wOBA was unspectacular, he lived off of putting the ball on the ground in the minros thos hits evaporate in the MLB due to the fact that an average middle infield and 3rd baseman's defense is above average in the minors. Then reports in 2021 that he added more loft to his swing had me cast further doubt on his future but did help me belive more power was there as he traded worst BABIP numbers for better ISO numbers idnicating a switch to a gap to gap aporach opposed to slap hiting apporach that could ambush pitches and pull them if he was set up for it, but I still figured he would be an above average fielder, with elite speed, that could hit above .260 with 10-15 HR power once he completely developed (26 is when we see the end of physical traits developing. I was wrong, the raw power never materialized and in 2021 we saw the bat get knocked out his hand by MLB pitching. The floor of a utility infielder that could play everyday similar to Ben Zoborist was gone. Like I said in wasn't as high on him as others, but I still belived fully he would be an everyday starter at the MLB level.

Daniel Robertson- was the first prospect I truly missed on, my expectations were to high, and my knowledge of baseball as the time was to low to truly glean anything from why I whiffed on my expectations. Looking back now I know why, when the Rays acquired him for Zorilla as a 20 year old there was still a lot of physical projection, yes he was shorter (5'11), but the guy was stout built, and played excellent defense, however as he got older and bigger he got slower, what was 50-55 grade speed dipped to 40, his once great defense slipped to being above average, and the physical projection of more power never materialized. I thought he could be a shorter JJ Hardy clone, providing good but unspectacular defense at 3rd or SS, with 15-20 HRs and a .240 average, and in 2018 it looked like he could deliver on that stat line, as he put up a 128 wRC+ with the Rays to go with a .152 ISO as a 24 year old in 88 games. But his production was OBP driven and he ran a .328 BABIP which was due for regression. A lot of the reason I was so high on him is I read prospect writeups saw basic numbers and never dug deeper. Really him and Jake Bauers taught me a lot about how to set my expectations for prospects and how to personally come to my opinion on players opposed to being spoon fed information.

Guys I was right about

Luis Patino- Arm effort, arm effort, arm effort, nothing Patino did looked easy to me. His delivery wasn't smooth to me and he was erratic due to an erratic unrepeatble delivery. Electric stuff just as erratic as he could be. Sure the 1% top outcome was him being an electric front man for a rotation, but I just never saw it, I personally saw a ceiling as an elite BP guy. When you can consistency find the zone your SO% dips and your earned runs go up and Patino could never find the zone. I was way higher on Cole Wilcox and firmly believed he would by far provide the most return in the Blake Snell trade.

Ryan Pepiot- when you a good fastball and changeup with good extension and you are the key pitching piece in a return for the Rays it's pretty good bet your a legit MLB pitcher. I was very high on Pepiot stuff numbers looked good, walk rate and control issues showed possitve progression (his 2023 numbers for the Dodgers were unsustainable but it was possible he just saw a valley and a peak so if he could settle in between 2022 and 2023 he would be great). I figured the Rays would help him figure out a third pitch and a gyro slider fit perfectly as it is usable to both lefties and righties, throw in a big curve and you got a guy who could have a top-10 CY Young finish in his future, or atleast have 3+ WAR seasons as a solid #3 if he doesn't coninue to progress.

Josh Lowe- I never gave up on Josh Lowe. Always believed that all those tools would eventually work, he was far better suited to be an OF then at 3rd. You could see development and he wasn't being overwhelmed completely until his first stint at high A as an underaged 20 year old going against college aged pitching even then it wasn't abysmal (98 wRC+). ISO numbers comforted be in 2018 simply due to fact it was clear as a 20 year old college aged players picked on him. As long as he took a stride in 2019 it wouldn't be an issue, plus his SO% didn't rise so it seemed like he needed to make pitch selection adjustments and met ally grow which was going to happen with a 20 year old. Then 2019 validated anyone that still believed he could be 4+ WAR guy. Since then there have been ruff pitchers (2022 and once he returned in 2024) but he has shown an ability to make adjustments to pitchers as seen in 2023 after he cooled in July, and really was turned his season around in 2024 preventing it from being a total loss. He will always have a little boom or bust in his game but if he gets rolling he is a 30-30 candidate hopefully we see a return to a sub- 26% strikeout rate next year with no oblique injury.

There are more for each section but the guys I talked about were prospects or young acquired players who I either whiffed on or was correct with regards to my expectations. The biggest take way I hope everyone takes aways is to look at prospect ranking skeptically, and to go past surface level stats. Even if you don't believe in advanced stats actually look at them they can often provide context and clues as to why something is happening and paint a better picture. Particularly with prospects as we often have a rosy approach to prospect evaluations.

With all the talk about traffic, development, local government prioritizing disaster recovery over baseball, two locations for the Rays are in most conversations; Tampa and Montreal. For Tampa, the max NHL seats in the arena is 19,092. The Trop averaged 17,000+ in 2023 and 16,000+ in 2024.

During all the insanity the past few days I was hoping someone would ask the Rays if the main issue is the hurricane damage to the Trop or the delay in bond vote.

Does anyone really think that if the bonds were voted in as expected we would still be full steam ahead?? If he is being truthful then what a collosal screw up by the Pinellas County commission.

Not for anything nefarious and not really looking for real time. More of in the last 2-5 years, and see if there is a pattern of scouting certain cities? Just wondering if we would see a spike in travel to Montreal when that happened, and maybe a spike to a specific region in the last year.

If pinellas county and Hillsborough county don’t budge on stadium deals, what about a move across I-4 to Orlando? I’m sure Orange County or Osceola county might be willing to do what the Tampa Bay Area isn’t. I’m a rays fan living in Kissimmee so this might be just me daydreaming, but is there a reason this wouldn’t work?

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From what I’ve read and the rumors I’ve heard; Hillsborough county needs the money for a potential Raymond James renovation/new football stadium vs spending any money on the rays? So unless Stu sells the team to a billionaire who is willing to foot the bill for a new stadium it’s not going to happen.

Excuse my grammar. I’m not that smart.

any guesses what prices are going to be?

Hey, Rays fans,

I wrote about the 2024 season and its bright spots. Hopefully, it brings some light in as you guys inch closer to 2025.

https://pitcherlist.com/2024-american-league-silver-linings/

This way worse than any 100 loss season

No more Trop

Team is being deconstructed

High chance to leave Tampa Bay

Fuck Stu that scummy sack of shit