Can the Tampa Bay Rays Count on Mikie Mahtook in 2016?
By Jason Burke
The Tampa Bay Rays had a +2 run differential in 2015 and scored just 644 runs over the season, good for 25th in baseball. The saving grace to the Rays’ surprise 80-82 season was their solid pitching staff which combined for a 3.74 ERA, good for 11th in baseball, or just a tick behind Kansas City at 3.73. With that in mind, the Rays will be looking for a boost at the plate before the 2016 season, and one potential candidate is Mikie Mahtook who thrived late in the season. Only Ryan Brett (3 at-bats) and J.P. Arencibia (71 at-bats) hit for a higher average in 2015 than Mahtook, who ended the season with a .295 batting average, 9 homers and 19 driven in over 41 games. Over a full season that extrapolates out to 36 bombs and 75 RBI.
Mahtook didn’t really get consistent playing time until September, where he played in all but four games and hit .356 with 4 homers and 8 RBI to go along with a .406 on-base percentage. In the final four games of the season in October he smashed another two long-balls and drove in five more runs. To say he finished on a high note would be an understatement.
In the Minor Leagues, Mahtook hit a cumulative .269/.334/.408 with 32 home runs and 243 RBI over four seasons. He hit a cumulative 16 bombs in 968 Triple-A plate appearances, while it took him just 115 to hit his nine in the Majors.
So is Mahtook part of the answer for Tampa? Having accumulated just over 100 at-bats in the Majors, it’s tough to tell just how productive the 25-year-old outfielder will be next year. There are sure to be ups and downs, but just how drastic those swings are is anybody’s guess. While Mahtook totaled an 0WAR of 1.2 in his time in the big leagues, he also put up a -0.2, which, if it keeps up, could hinder his playing time and thus his effectiveness for this offensively challenged club. Then again, that number could also just even out with more playing time.
The Tampa Bay Rays had six players hit double-digit home runs in 2015 with Evan Longoria leading the way with 21, followed by Logan Forsythe (17), Steven Souza Jr. (16), Asdrubal Cabrera (15), Kevin Kiermaier (10) and Curt Casali (10) all making the list as well. Mahtook, Tim Beckham (9), Brandon Guyer (8) and Joey Butler (8) were all within shouting distance of the mark, which should lead to pitchers trying to be more fine with their pitches, which typically leads to mistakes. Mistakes get hit.
Mahtook did the majority of his damage from the two hole in the lineup, accounting for six of his home runs and 13 of his RBI while the right-hander hit .382 with a .424 OBP. Placing him right in front of Longoria in the order offers protection for any batter, but Mahtook could be the player to maximize on that protection, especially if he gets on a hot streak like he did in the final month of 2015.
Look for Mahtook to level off a bit in 2016. Prediction: .265 batting average, 18-22 home runs and 70 RBI to go along with 12 steals.