Christopher Morel DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman/designated hitter Jonathan Aranda and outfielder Christopher Morel are both on the bench to start Tuesday's game at George M. Steinbrenner Field versus the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. Curtis Mead is making the start at first base and is batting fifth, while rookie Kameron Misner is starting in left field and hitting sixth for the Rays against rookie right-hander Thomas Harrington, who will be making his big-league debut. Aranda has gotten off to a hot start this year by going 5-for-9 with four doubles, an RBI and two runs scored in his first four games. When healthy, he'll be a lineup regular for the Rays at either first base or the designated hitter spot. Morel has gone 3-for-9 in the early going with an RBI, two runs scored, two walks and four strikeouts in four games so far. In addition to Misner, rookie Jake Mangum is starting in right field for Tampa on Tuesday.

MLB.com's Adam Berry writes that Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Christopher Morel is set to be the team's starting left fielder in 2025. In addition to Morel, Richie Palacios is likely to get plenty of work in left field and center field alongside Morel and Jonny DeLuca, respectively. After being traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Rays in 2024, Morel started 20 games at third base and 11 in left field. However, infield prospect Junior Caminero is fully expected to be the team's full-time third baseman in 2025, which will shift Morel to a permanent outfield role. The 25-year-old Dominican right-handed power hitter had a mere .547 OPS in his 190 plate appearances for the Rays last year, so he'll need to improve on that or risk losing valuable playing time to Palacios. Morel hits the ball hard when he makes contact, but the problem is he has trouble making consistent contact.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Christopher Morel and shortstop Taylor Walls are getting the day off on Friday for the series opener against the division-rival Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Richie Palacios is making the start in left field and is hitting seventh, with Jose Caballero returning to shortstop and batting eighth against Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta. Morel has reached the 20-homer mark for the second straight season, but he's also hitting under .200 in 149 combined games with the Rays and Chicago Cubs. He's been even worse since coming to Tampa at the trade deadline, hitting .183 (30-for-164) with just three home runs, four doubles, two triples, seven RBI and 55 strikeouts in 180 trips to the plate. Palacios has mainly been a speed threat for fantasy managers in AL-only leagues with a career-high 19 stolen bases in 2024, but he hasn't provided much else in just 90 games.