ST. PETERSBURG — As the Rays continue to celebrate the franchise’s past. the future has been making its presence felt.
Willy Adames, Jake Bauers and Christian Arroyo shared the starting infield for Tampa Bay’s 4-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, a combination that the Rays hope will carry them for years to come.
The trio represents three of the Rays’ top five position prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. The last time the Rays had three starters at the big-league level under the age of 23 was 2008 when Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Reid Brigand were beginning their Tampa Bay careers. It has been something the youngsters — and Rays fans — have been looking forward to, especially Adames and Bauers, who have become close friends while working their way through the Rays organization together over the past few seasons.
“For all of it to come together and be here now, it’s special,” Bauers said. “I hope that feeling sticks around for a while.”
Bauers, the team’s No. 5 overall prospect, has made quite a splash since receiving a call up. His four extra-base hits through the first five games ties him with Delmon Young in 2006 for the best start to a Rays career. Bauers singled to left in his first at bat against Jays starter Jaime Garcia on Tuesday. He also walked and picked up his first big league stolen base.
Arroyo has also found success since being called up from Durham earlier this month. The Rays’ No. 6 overall prospect singled in the fourth to push his average up to .298 on the season.
Adames, who was recalled for Monday night’s game, doubled off the wall in left field in the sixth. He finished the night 2-for-4
“If we can keep this going, I think we are going to win a lot of games,” Adames said.
Liberatore signs
Matthew Liberatore, the No. 16 overall selection by the Rays in this year’s amateur draft, joined the Rays before Tuesday’s game after coming to terms on his first professional contract.
Liberatore was ranked as the No. 2 overall player in this year’s draft by Baseball America.The 18-year-old lefty went 8-1 with a 0.93 ERA (60.1-IP, 8-ER) and 104 strikeouts as a senior at Mountain Ridge (Ariz.) High School and was Arizona’s Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.
“As an organization, we believe that Matthew has the physical and mental ability to develop into a top-end starting pitching prospect,” said Rays Director of Amateur Scouting Rob Metzler. “Through hard work to this point in his career, Matthew has shown an advanced ability to compete with an impressive repertoire of pitches and an arm action and delivery built for sustained success. On top of his physical ability, he is a young man with strong character and a great mental foundation for playing baseball. We believe these ingredients will continue to flourish in our system. We are thrilled that we were able to complete a deal so quickly after the draft in order to get Matthew started on his professional journey.”
Up next
The Rays will finish off the three-game set against the Jays with a 1:05 start on Wednesday. Wilmer Font (0-3, 9.53 ERA) will open the game on a second consecutive “bullpen day” for the Rays with righty Matt Andriese likely to get an early call from the bullpen. The Jays will send veteran lefty J.A. Happy (8-3, 3.71) to try and avoid a series sweep by the Rays.
