Tampa Bay

Rays

Caminero made a statement in Santo Domingo, recording four hits with stratospheric exit velocities over 107 mph, including a fourth-inning homer to right field, which capped a five-run frame that also included big flies from Juan Soto and Manny Machado. The 22-year-old rising fantasy star is the type of power hitter that is immune to most environments and shouldn’t face too much pullback from transitioning to Tropicana Field, which has historically graded out as one of the more pitcher-friendly environments in the game.

Despite diminished velocity, McClanahan was effective in going without a walk and picking up one strikeout. His fastball averaged 93.8 mph, which is down three mph from when he was last seen in 2023. He did peak at 96.7 mph, though, so it doesn’t seem like that velocity is gone forever. Fantasy managers need to have limited expectations, but he’s not long removed from being among the best left-handed starters in baseball.

The 25-year-old made his spring debut on Saturday after being delayed due to a hamstring injury, but he seemed pretty healthy today. Both of Simpson’s hits were singles, but one of them was 95 mph off the bat, so it wasn’t all soft contact. Simpson has spent a lot of the offseason working on his centerfield defense, and turning himself into an above-average defender out there would go a long way to securing his playing time in a crowded outfield.

Englert gave up five hits, but was able to limit the scoring damage to just a Logan Davidson single. The 25-year-old is capable of working multiple innings, but it’ll likely be in a bullpen role without fantasy upside.

Rasmussen, the Rays’ Opening Day starter, is up to five scoreless innings to open the spring. He got one strikeout today and breezed through his outing while using just 36 pitches.

Díaz is 4-for-7 with two homers and three walks in the early going here. He’s led off in three of his four starts to date, hitting second in the other appearance. He’ll probably spend time in both spots during the regular season, though it could come down to whether any of the team’s lefties turn into quality leadoff options. Gavin Lux is one player who figures to get a look there this spring, but he’s yet to debut because of some soreness.

Walls had been sidelined with an oblique injury, but you certainly couldn’t tell in this one. His home run off Konnor Pilkington was 106 mph off the bat and traveled almost 400 feet. The Rays love Walls’ defense, so he will always be a threat to steal playing time away from your favorite fantasy player.

Seymour actually threw 61 percent strikes and got ahead in the count often; he just couldn’t get any Tigers hitters to chase when he was ahead. He had just a seven percent whiff rate on the day, with his only whiff coming on a sweeper. He’ll need to get his command in order if he has any chance of beating out Steven Matz and Joe Boyle for the final spot in the Rays’ rotation.

Martinez was signed two weeks ago to fill a spot in the Rays’ rotation, but he didn’t look great today. He posted just a 17 percent whiff rate while allowing four hard-hit balls in three innings. He was able to pound the strike zone and get ahead in the count, but he wasn’t fooling Tigers hitters. He still seems locked into a starting spot over one or both of Joe Boyle and Ian Seymour.

Simpson went 1-for-2 on Friday in his spring debut against the Blue Jays following a brief absence at the outset of Grapefruit League action due to left hamstring tightness. It’s an ongoing situation that fantasy managers should keep a close eye on, especially since hamstring issues can be recurring issues if not managed properly. The 25-year-old speedster stole 44 bases in 109 games last year as a rookie and will be one of the most coveted steals threats in fantasy drafts this spring.