Victor

Mesa Jr.

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.

When you’re hot, you’re hot and Mesa is absolutely sizzling at the plate since last week’s All-Star break. The 24-year-old launched opened the scoring in this one by smashing a 412-foot solo shot into right-center field off Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease in the second inning. It was his lone hit in four at-bats, but it helped set the tone for an eventual lopsided victory. Mesa has now collected four homers and one stolen base over his last seven games. He isn’t likely to help much in the batting average department, but he’s emerging as a viable power and speed source that deserves consideration for a roster spot in deeper fantasy formats.

Mesa’s home run was his seventh of the season. He hit an inside-the-park home run off Sonny Gray in the second inning, a line drive to centerfield that got by Ceddanne Rafaela. He rounded third base and the throw to home plate actually beat him there, but the catcher couldn’t come up with the ball. Mesa’s hitting .216 with a .760 OPS and 14 RBI.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine night of rest for the speedy 25-year-old outfielder. Victor Mesa Jr. will start in his place in left field and bat seventh for the Rays against Zac Gallen and the Diamondbacks.

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.

Junior Caminero homered to start the scoring in a five-run eighth, and Mesa went on to finish it, making it an 8-3 game with the second homer of the inning off Sam Bachman. Mesa is at .200/.319/.350 in 48 plate appearances since being called up on May 24. He’ll probably wind up back in Triple-A at some point,

Rays manager Kevin Cash divulged Friday that Simpson has been playing through a thumb contusion that he suffered earlier this week. The 25-year-old speedster figures to avoid a trip to the injured list, but that’s hardly a lock. He’ll get some extra time off to rest and hopefully put the issue to bed. Richie Palacios is in left field with Victor Mesa Jr. in the opposite corner on Saturday afternoon. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day heading into Sunday’s series finale in Miami.

The 421-foot homer off Tyler Wells was Mesa’s only hit in five at-bats — and it didn’t prevent the Rays from losing in 13 — but he did have three other hard-hit balls and a sac bunt. It ought to keep him in the lineup with the Rays facing righties the next two days.

With Jonny DeLuca (hamstring) landing on the 10-day injured list on Sunday, Mesa will have an opportunity to show the Rays what he can do. He was sizzling at the dish at the Triple-A level, slashing .318/.416/.545 with a pair of homers and seven RBI through 77 plate appearances.

The official roster move is unlikely to be made until later this weekend following Saturday’s rainout at Yankee Stadium. Victor Mesa Jr. is the likely call-up from Triple-A Durham to fill his roster spot. DeLuca left Friday’s series opener with a right hamstring issue that occurred when he went first-to-third on a seventh-inning double by teammate Cedric Mullins. He’s likely facing a multi-week absence, even if the strain proves to be relatively minor.