It’s been an up and down year for the Rays 22-year old, #2 prospect. Literally. Willy Adames was first called up back on May 22nd to make his major league debut. He was optioned back to Durham just three days later. Then, on June 11 he was brought back when Christian Arroyo went on the DL. It was rumored he was up for good and he and Jake Bauers were finally going to give the fans a glimpse of possibly the next decade of Rays baseball.
Today, Adames was sent back to Durham and the Rays recalled RHP Chih-Wei Hu ahead of their four-game series in Minnesota.
The struggle
It’s been a struggle at the plate for Adames most of the year. In 26 games, he’s hitting .216/.263/.341 with three home runs and nine driven in with limited playing time. The playing time might not be entirely his fault. SS Adeiny Hechavarria is still here but likely to be traded in the next few weeks. UTIL’s Daniel Robertson and rookie Joey Wendle both can play three infield positions as well as the outfield. Both are hitting consistently and playing top-notch defense. Adames fell victim to his own struggles as well as bad timing.
Make no mistake, he is the future in the middle of this Rays infield. Being sent back to Durham gives him every day playing time to polish and be ready in a few weeks to come back. There’s little doubt come August we’ll be seeing Willy, again.
A fresh arm for the road
Hu, 24, is up for his third stint with the Rays this season. He’s only pitched in one game and has a 10.13 ERA in 2.2 innings.
