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Tim Beckham May Contribute to Tampa Bay Rays Yet

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Tim Beckham Tampa Bay Rays

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Since he was taken at first overall in the 2008 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, it is had to say that Tim Beckham has done anything to excite. Now 25, Beckham has just eight big-league plate appearances to his name, has struggled to hit for power in the minors, as evidenced by his career .381 slugging percentage, and his defense at shortstop has been underwhelming.

When you consider that the Rays picked him over the likes of Buster Posey and Eric Hosmer, his situation is even harder to stomach. That said, Beckham has still turned into a useful player, and he may be able to contribute to the Rays in 2015.

Luckily for Beckham, the Rays have a fairly weak middle-infield picture right now. Their two projected starting middle infielders are Nick Franklin and Asdrubal Cabrera. However, neither plays great defense, especially at shortstop, and Cabrera’s bat is not what it used to be while Franklin has yet to translate solid minor-league numbers to the big leagues.

On the backup frontier, the Rays are also underwhelming. Logan Forsythe figures to be on the bench, but he hit just .223/.287/.329 in 2014 and was even worse the year before. Plus, he is not capable of playing at short in anything other than an absolute emergency. Left-hander Juan Francisco, a minor-league signee, could factor in, but he is limited to the corner infield and DH, where the Rays have Evan Longoria and two lefties in John Jaso and James Loney.

Because of their lack of options, Beckham has a legitimate shot to earn a bench role with the club, and he might actually be a favorite. He would add the ability to play shortstop, which would be valuable thanks to Franklin and Cabrera being below-average defenders there. He can also play second base, and the Rays would surely get him exposure at other positions as well.

Plus, Beckham’s ability to hit left-handers will be useful for the Rays. Since 2011, Beckham has hit a solid .296/.369/.418 against lefties in the minors. He would be a good platoon-mate for Franklin, who has just a .573 OPS against lefties in the big leagues, though, that job could also go to Forsythe. Beckham could also spell Loney at first and Jaso at DH against left-handers.

Beckham will never reach the superstar potential that he had when he was drafted, but that does not mean he cannot be a valuable big leaguer. For the first time in his career, the 25-year-old will finally have a shot at cracking the big-league roster, and he could end up being a solid contributor to the Rays in 2015 and the future.

Drew Jenkins is an MLB writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DrewJenkins77, “Like” him on Facebook, add him to your network on Google, or contact him at [email protected].

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