When the Rays traded Wil Myers away, while getting Steven Souza back as the only replacement outfielder in the deal, the newcomer’s name instantly received a lot of public attention. While Myers had a down year for the standards set by his pedigree and reputation, being placed in the same conversation has made Souza’s expectations a bit higher for his new organization.

Souza now comes into Tampa Bay with a recent string of strong performances in the minor leagues, and is already being projected as a potential 20 homer-20 steal player in his first full season. But how much should we trust his skills, having spent parts of eight years in the minor leagues and not debuting until his age-25 season?

Read the rest of this entry »

Who is Jedd Gyorko? The Padre second baseman burst onto the scene in his rookie year 2013 season, providing power numbers that outpaced any reasonable expectations for a second baseman in this era of diminishing offense. Then 2014 hit, and Gyorko wallowed in batting average misery until finally succumbing to a stint on the disabled list for plantar fasciitis. After his time off. Gyorko put up respectable numbers for the remainder of the season.

As a relatively untested, young hitter, it’s natural to wonder how much of his production to date represents his talent level going forward. Has the league adjusted to Gyorko’s tendencies, with the second half of 2014 being the product of some luck-aided inflation? Or can we write off the first half entirely and blame the injury for his poor performance, with expectations of improving on his 2013 season being a real possibility?

Read the rest of this entry »