Michael Brosseau is used to being overlooked and has just shook it off as he progressed from signing as an undrafted free agent in 2016 to contributing to the Tampa Bay Rays 96-win season in 2019.
He was called up to the Rays on June 22nd after 73 games with the Durham Bulls in where he hit .304/.394/.567 with 16 homers. After his promotion he appeared in 50 games with Tampa Bay hitting .273/.319/.462 with six homers spanning 142 plate appearances.
Unfortunately, his right handed bat wasn’t option A or option B in September as he appeared in eight games garnering just 10 plate appearances. It should be noted that he was sent to Durham on August 28th and didn’t return until September 7th.
Last season, Brosseau was one of the Rays better right-handed bats against left-handed pitching batting .300/.329/.500 with four homers versus southpaws spanning 73 plate appearances.
Brosseau did a lot of damage against the pitching starved Baltimore Orioles batting .417 against them (10-for-25) with five homers including .462 against Orioles’ left-handed pitching (6-for-13) with three homers.
This success comes with the caveat that he did much of the damage against All-Star lefty and Rookie of the Year runner-up John Means hitting all three of the homers and batting .444 (4-for-9) against him.
Brosseau’s glove should keep him on the field and his bat in the lineup, especially against left-handed pitching. Last season, Brosseau made 21 starts at second base and 11 starts at third base. He also appeared in 11 games in left field (5 games) and right field (6 games).
While the Rays roster is being formulated and the free agent and trade market is surveyed for a right handed bat or two, it’s important not to overlook the contributions that Micheal Brosseau could provide in 2020.
