Jonny

DeLuca

DeLuca mostly plays against lefties, but he got a start with Chandler Simpson resting today. He actually has a better OPS against righties than lefties this year (.776 to .731), but the Rays haven’t truly bought in. If typical form holds, he’ll start against the one lefty and probably one of the three righties the Orioles throw in their upcoming four-game series.

Simpson, 25, will get a day off for the series finale against the A’s. Jonny DeLuca will hit sixth and play left field while Simpson rests.

There haven’t been any rumblings of any sort of injury, so it looks to be just a routine night off for the 31-year-old outfielder. Jonny DeLuca will start in his place in center field and will bat sixth for the Rays against Logan Gilbert and the Mariners on Friday evening at T-Mobile Park.

Mesa won’t get a chance to face Blue Jays veteran righty Kevin Gausman despite homering in each of his previous three contests. The 24-year-old has been scorching-hot at the dish and there’s plenty of underlying date, including a near-40 percent hard-hit rate, that suggests he can keep hitting for power. It’ll be Jonny DeLuca patrolling right field at the outset of Tuesday’s game in Toronto.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t add to the nice day in the ninth, when he grounded out against Aroldis Chapman with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run at second to end the game. The homer off Ryan Watson was hit sixth in 189 plate appearances. He is batting .258/.294/.438 while starting against all lefties and a bit less than half of the time versus righties.

Over the last three weeks, DeLuca has gone 9-for-33 (.273) with three home runs, six RBI, and three steals in 12 games. He continues to play less often than Victor Mesa Jr., which has limited his fantasy upside. However, if DeLuca were to get more playing time, he could be firmly on the radar in deeper formats.

DeLuca drove in a run in the third inning on a base hit and stole second on a double-steal. He then reached on a groundout in the fifth and swiped second for his second steal of the game. DeLuca later took Cristian Javier deep for a solo homer in the seventh. The 27-year-old outfielder has been getting sporadic playing time, hitting .265/.306/.450 with five homers, 25 RBI, and nine steals across 162 plate appearances.

DeLuca has started four straight games and appears to have emerged as a regular starter in center field or right field. Since coming off the injured list earlier in June, he has gone 5-for-18 (.278) with two doubles, two home runs, four RBI, and one steal in six games. He’s slashing .270/.301/.453 in 47 games for the Rays this season and is an option in deeper formats even though he will sit one or two games a week. Victor Mesa Jr. will start in right field and bat eighth on Thursday.

DeLuca’s two-run shot gave Tampa Bay a lead they wouldn’t surrender, and he also doubled. He just returned from the injured list on Friday and has hit second and third against two left-handers over the weekend. He’ll need to carve out more consistent playing time to even become a fantasy option in deeper leagues, but there’s power and speed potential whenever he’s in the lineup.

He’ll resume his role as a platoon outfielder for the Rays. DeLuca has enough speed to be an interesting fantasy play in leagues with daily transactions, but won’t garner enough playing time to be valuable in most leagues.