RaysUp Projections on last 30 Tampa Bay Rays - Freddie Peralta shines on the mound
Rays Playoff Push, Prospects and Baseball Around the World Mark Corbett and Mat Germain break down the Tampa Bay Rays as they head into the final stretch of the season, plus prospects, the Little League World Series, the Rays stadium debate and international women’s baseball. Rays Playoff Push The Rays face a difficult schedule as they battle toward the postseason. Mark and Mat discuss recent performances, injuries, Kevin Cash’s decisions and how the roster could take shape for the playoffs. ...
Rays Playoff Push, Prospects and Baseball Around the World
Mark Corbett and Mat Germain break down the Tampa Bay Rays as they head into the final stretch of the season, plus prospects, the Little League World Series, the Rays stadium debate and international women’s baseball.
Rays Playoff Push
The Rays face a difficult schedule as they battle toward the postseason. Mark and Mat discuss recent performances, injuries, Kevin Cash’s decisions and how the roster could take shape for the playoffs.
Freddy Peralta’s strong outing gets attention, including how increased use of his changeup may be helping his success.
Rays Prospects on the Rise
Xavier Isaac and Caden Bodine have moved up to Triple-A Durham. Bodine’s rapid climb through the Rays system has been especially impressive and could put him in the conversation as a future Tampa Bay catcher.
Jacob Melton, Jake Fraley, Victor Mesa Jr. and other Durham players could also provide the Rays with options down the stretch.
Little League World Series
Canada puts together an impressive international run with wins over Australia, Panama and South Korea. Mark also highlights Alabama standout Kinley Rasmus, whose pitching and hitting have drawn comparisons to Mo’ne Davis.
ABS and Baseball’s Changing Rules
Should MLB fully automate balls and strikes? Mark and Mat discuss the ABS challenge system, overturned calls and whether technology should take a larger role in officiating.
Rays Stadium Debate
The proposed new Rays stadium in Tampa remains a major topic. Mark and Mat discuss taxpayer funding, construction costs, community benefits, affordable housing and the value of keeping Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay.
Women’s Baseball World Cup
The show wraps up with the Women’s Baseball World Cup in Taiwan, including Japan’s strong performance and the continued international growth of women’s baseball.
Topics: Tampa Bay Rays, Rays prospects, MLB playoffs, Kevin Cash, Freddy Peralta, Xavier Isaac, Caden Bodine, Durham Bulls, Little League World Series, Kinley Rasmus, ABS challenge system, Rays stadium, Women’s Baseball World Cup, women’s baseball.
BaseballBiz On Deck with Mark Corbett and Mat Germain covers the Tampa Bay Rays, MLB, prospects, baseball history and the business of the game.
BaseballBiz RAW
Mat Germain: [00:00:00] Yeah, man
Mark Corbett: Welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck. I am Mark Corbett, your host, and with me, of course, is Mr. Mat Germain. Welcome back, Mat. How the heck you doing, brother?
Mat Germain: I'm a little warmer now that summer is in its midst and the dog days are ending. Um, but, uh, other than that, I think I got a little bit too much sun a few times, so I'm, I'm happy for the summer that I got, Mark.
How about you?
Mark Corbett: I am just as pleased as can be. It was great that we get a little bit of traveling and, , that was some fun with family and friends, and that's always great. It's, , been interesting watching the different baseball games. Everything from, , the women's stage in Rockford with the international games there, the little leagues, we can talk about that in a little while.
And it's just, it's just insane all the different kind of baseball that's been going on. But, uh, good times, my friend, good times. Mm-hmm.
Mat Germain: And,
Mark Corbett: [00:01:00] RaysUp, RaysUp, RaysUp. Okay, well, we definitely gotta address that. I'm ... I, I don't know about you. I mean, I was feeling so high and mighty after nine games on the road and coming home with series after series after series, sweep, sweep, sweep, and then coming home and not so shiny bright as it was on the road.
And getting on the road again, we're still kind of... D- well, I guess we got through 500 on the road this last trip.
Mat Germain: Mm-hmm.
Mark Corbett: But-
Mat Germain: Right ...
Mark Corbett: hmm. So- So were you, have you been surprised with, uh, w- anything we've seen?
Mat Germain: No. We, we knew that the competition was gonna get stiffer, and the Rays against AL East can be hit and miss sometimes in certain series.
So, you know, when you're running into teams that are still vying for that playoff spot and are making that push, they're really hungry and pushing all the buttons to try to get there. , So the, the Jays and the Orioles and, and even the Tigers, like, they were still sort of in the hunt, , and they still are, [00:02:00] so, so you're, you're running into a lot of talent that, uh, that can push back.
So if you're not p- on top of your game , and doing your best. The Rays have some injuries that are key to the, the roster. , Victor Mesa Jr. was a really important- Right ... kind of catalyst. His arm in right field, his defense and, and what he was starting to bring at the plate, and the energy and his speed.
And without him in the outfield, you could feel it. There was a, the, a lack of something. So hopefully he can come back soon. Uh, but I do know that Jacob Melton and Jake Fraley are both on rehab assignments in Durham. , And Jacob Melton just hit a home run at 114 miles per hour exit velocity. Um, so he's obviously got his timing down and, and he was doing great before the injury, so I would love to see him get a shot if Victor Mesa is gonna be out for a little bit longer, just to give a boost to the Rays' lineup.
Um, I think it, it's really important, and that's assuming Jake Fraley was on a 60-day IL. [00:03:00] I don't know how serious the injury was and how long of a rehab he's gonna get, but it might take him a little bit more time to get, uh, his legs under him.
Mark Corbett: As long as we're talking about what's going on, uh, in the lower levels, you were s- discussing on Blue Sky I think earlier today about a couple players who moved up to AAA.
You want to talk about them?
Mat Germain: Yeah, well, I, I monitor those things so closely. But in this case, it's because of the tools, right? When you're looking in the Rays system and you're like, "Okay, who has the best power tool and who has the best, uh, hit tool?" Well, they just promoted both of them to AAA, so that means they're on the doorstep of the show.
, Xavier Isaac, who last year had brain surgery, , was promoted to AAA, and he'll be taking over first base/DH duties , and his power has been rated as high as 70 to 80 even in some cases, as an 80 tool. Uh, and that's, , the potential of it. It might not be an 80 now, [00:04:00] but it has 80 potential in the future.
Mark Corbett: Gotcha.
Mat Germain: Uh, for anybody who doesn't know, he's just 22 years old. He was a first round pick of the Rays and he's definitely, um, one of those guys you love to pull for because he just has a infectious personality. In the, the in the double AA he had hit 24 home runs, um, and had a 400 on base percentage, so he was definitely getting on base.
And what I noticed with him is that his patience was excellent, but they weren't giving him much to hit because they, they recognized the beast style power he has. The other guy that got promoted is Caden Bodine. Now, the Rays got him in the, in the trade with, uh, the Orioles for Shane Baz, and I'm telling you, Mark, there's a, a serious, , helium to this guy because-
um, you know, wh- when they got him at first everybody was like, "Yeah, you know, they like this guy. They liked Slater. They like..." But he's passed through four levels this year, Mark. He started in A ball, he went to A plus, he went to [00:05:00] AA, and now he's in AAA. Geez. I'm telling you, the Rays rarely do this. The last time I remember them coming close was Wander Franco, but he was so young that they held him back a little bit and he's, he ended up finishing the year in AA.
But they just don't do that. Like, that, this is, uh, breaking new boundaries basically for them. Part of it is because Nathan Flewelling was in the same level, so they pushed Caden Bodine up to AA a little bit earlier than they might have. Yeah. But he did so well once he got there. They was just like, "Move him up to AAA and let's see what he can do."
And, and he's looking great. , I think there, there's... , i'm not saying this year he's gonna arrive, but if you told me that he would start, behind the plate for the Rays in next year and take over from Nick Fortes, I would not be surprised. , , more likely is that he gets a June call up or something like that.
But you never know with catching position and injuries and everything else so, um, he's just one of those guys where if you, if you trust the fact that [00:06:00] he can stay behind the plate- He definitely will be, you know, maybe the highest level hitting catch