Rays 2009 player preview: Gabe Gross

January 15, 12:58 PMTampa Bay Rays ExaminerRob Quinn

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What a day it was to be Gabe Gross!! I know I would be pretty stoked about getting almost a 300% raise. That’s what Gross received from the Rays yesterday as salary arbitration was avoided and a one-year, $1.255 million contract was signed. Gross made $414,000 last year. The raise was a well-deserved one for Gross, who played great defense and came through with some clutch hits after joining the Rays in a late-April trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.

So what will the 2009 season have in store for the new millionaire? Well, it appears Gross will absolutely get the first crack as the platoon starter in right field over newcomer Matt Joyce. Gabe Gross will likely get the starts against right-handed pitchers, while Gabe Kapler will start against lefties. While with the Rays last year, the left-handed Gabe hit .256 with 11 homers in 234 at-bats against right-handed pitching. Pretty solid numbers. The Rays don’t need Gross to be a superstar; they just need him to be solid.

Gross absolutely owned right field defensively in 2008. Though it is difficult to statistically rank defensive performance, FanGraphs has done it and Gross was one of the top ten outfielders in the American League last year. Expect more of the same in 2009.

Before I get to my statistical prediction for Gross, the Rays’ outfield situation needs a big update. B.J. Upton will most likely miss the first week of the season. This means that against righties, Kapler will probably start in center and Gross will start in right. Against lefties, Fernando Perez and Kapler will be the starters, with Perez likely to start in center and Kapler in right. Hopefully Upton will be able to return for the home opener against the Yankees, which will likely mean a return to AAA for Fernando Perez. Whew. Complicated. We’ll see how it all plays out.

Okay, back to Gross. He absolutely loved the home cooking last year, hitting .303 at the Trop with a .568 slugging average. Lefty Gabe also ripped off a .435 average against the Yankees. On May 13, Gross hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the eleventh at the Trop to beat the Yankees 2-1. It would be the first of three walk off hits on the year for Gross. Gabe’s second walk-off hit was a solo homer off Chicago’s Matt Thornton in the bottom of the tenth on June 1 to give the Rays a 4-3 win. His third walk-off hit came on June 21 against the Astros – a two-run, pinch-hit double off Doug Brocail to give the Rays another 4-3 win.

Overall, the book on Gross goes like this: a lot of defense, a little bit of power, some clutch hitting, and quality, consistent team play.

My 2009 prediction: 139 G, 347 AB, .259 AVG, 15 HR, 49 RBI, 52 R

Gross will go slightly beyond his 2008 numbers, which will result in a very successful season.

Gabe Gross on baseball reference

Gabe Gross on retrosheet

Gabe Gross on FanGraphs

Tampa Bay Sports Examiner Ted Fleming has news on new Rays' alternate jerseys and the announcement that 620 WDAE will now be the radio home of the Rays.

 Comment on away on Lefty Gabe or e-mail me at raysexaminer@live.com