2017 Season Preview: Tampa Bay Rays

Major Additions: Wilson Ramos, Colby Rasmus, Shawn Tolleson, Jose De Leon, Mallex Smith

Major Losses: Drew Smyly, Logan Forsythe, Desmond Jennings, Alexei Ramirez

Strengths: Rotation, Overall Depth

Weaknesses: Impact Bats

Potential Breakout Stars: Entire AAA Rotation, Jake Bauers

The Rays have a very well balanced team, with plenty of depth at each position as well as on the pitching staff. What they lack, however, are impact bats. Evan Longoria slashed a respectable .273/.318/.521 last season, but you look at that career-low .318 on-base percentage and the fact that he just turned 31, and that combination doesn't scream "lineup anchor." What they lack top and middle of the order talent, they make up for in depth. Kevin Kiermaier, aside from being one of the best fielding outfielders in the game, slashed .246/.331/.410 and went 21 for 24 in stolen base attempts. Brad Miller nearly tripled his career high with 30 home runs last season, and Matt Duffy will look to get back to his 2015 self (.295/.334/.428). Colby Rasmus, Corey Dickerson, and Steven Souza all add to the balanced offense, while getting Wilson Ramos (.307/.354/.496) back early in the season will be a huge boost. The bench is strong, too, with guys like Nick Franklin (.270/.328/.443), Mallex Smith (.238/.316/.365, 16 SB), and former first overall pick Tim Beckham (.247/.300/.434). The starting rotation, in my opinion, is among the deepest in baseball. Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi are the two "sure things" at the top, but Alex Cobb will be returning for a full season after 2015 Tommy John surgery, and they have too many young guys ready to step up to count. Blake Snell was very good as a rookie last season, and Matt Andriese had a nice first full season too. Even beyond the guys with significant big league experience, Jose De Leon, Jacob Faria, Chih-Wei Hu, Jaime Schultz, Brent Honeywell, Ryan Yarbrough, Hunter Wood, and Taylor Guerrieri all look like they could be ready to join the big league rotation at some point in 2017. One thing is for sure about this Rays team; they won't have to worry about finding starting pitchers. In the bullpen, Alex Colome (1.91 ERA, 1.02 WHIP) is back after a big breakout year, while Brad Boxberger (4.81 ERA, 1.73 WHIP) and Shawn Tolleson (7.68 ERA, 1.73 WHIP) will look to bounce back from rough 2016's to the dominance they are capable of. From there, the bullpen looks to be a bit of mix and match, as Danny Farquhar, Xavier Cedeno, and Erasmo Ramirez have all had sporadic, but never sustained, success at the MLB level. In addition to the plethora of AAA starters listed above, prospect Ryne Stanek could also make an impact in the bullpen.