$Predicting The Tampa Bay Rays\' 2016 Opening Day Lineup$

Predicting The Tampa Bay Rays' 2016 Opening Day Lineup

By Brad Faber

Under first-year manager Kevin Cash, the Tampa Bay Rays went 80-82 and finished in fourth place in the AL East last season. Going into 2016, the Rays will clearly have their work cut out for them in a tough division, but this is still a very talented club with a lot of good pieces. Here is a spring training prediction of how Cash’s lineup may look when his club takes on the Toronto Blue Jays on opening day.

$Predicting The Tampa Bay Rays\' 2016 Opening Day Lineup$

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1. Logan Forsythe, 2B — In his age-28 campaign, Logan Forsythe had a breakout season last year, hitting .281/.359/.444 with 17 homers and 68 RBIs. There has been talk of the Rays using him as a leadoff option for the 2016 season.

2. Brad Miller, SS — Acquired in an offseason trade with the Seattle Mariners, Brad Miller is coming off of a season in which he hit .258/.329/.402 with 11 homers and 46 RBIs. Miller was a .334/.409/.516 hitter over his minor league career, so he should definitely still have some untapped potential.

3. Evan Longoria, 3B — Although it wasn't his best season, Evan Longoria still hit a very solid .270/.328/.435 with 21 home runs and 73 RBIs last year. When healthy, the third baseman can be expected to be a productive middle-of-the-order bat.

4. Corey Dickerson, DH — Acquired in an offseason trade with the Colorado Rockies, Corey Dickerson should be capable of providing ample protection for Longoria in 2016. Dickerson played in only 65 games last year, but he hit an excellent .304/.333/536 with 10 homers and 31 RBIs. Back in 2014, he posted a .312 BA and launched 24 homers.

5. Logan Morrison, 1B — Acquired in the same deal that brought Miller to Tampa Bay, Logan Morrison is coming off of a season in which he hit .225/.302/.383 with 17 homers and 54 RBIs for the Mariners. The Rays still have James Loney as well, but Morrison has shown an ability to hit with more home-run power.

6. Steven Souza Jr., RF — Through 110 games last year, Steven Souza hit .225/.318/.399 with 16 homers and 40 RBIs. The soon-to-be 27-year-old should still have a strong chance to develop into a 20-plus homer threat, but he will certainly need to work on cutting down the strikeouts (33.8 percent K rate in 2015).

7. Kevin Kiermaier, CF — Through 151 games last year, Kevin Kiermaier hit a respectable .263/.298/.420 with 10 homers and 40 RBIs. His specialty, however, may be his defense, as he was credited with a whopping 42 defensive runs saved in 2015.

8. Desmond Jennings, LF — After being limited to just 28 games last year, Desmond Jennings should give the Rays a major boost in his return to the lineup. Jennings was a 3.0-plus fWAR player each year from 2012-14.

9. Curt Casali, C — Through just 38 games last year, Curt Casali hit .238/.304/.594 and crushed 10 homers. He should give the Rays a solid option behind the plate in 2016.

Chris Archer, P — Already named the Rays' opening day starter, Chris Archer is coming off of a season in which he went 12-13 with a 3.23 ERA (122 ERA+) and a 1.14 WHIP over 212 innings. Archer gives the Rays a legitimate ace at the top of their rotation going into 2016.

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