AL East 2017 Positional Rankings: A Terrible Year For AL East DHs
By Nate Wardle
1. Tampa Bay Rays – Corey Dickerson, Lucas Duda, Logan Morrison, Rickie Weeks, Evan Longoria, Trevor Plouffe, Brad Miller
Dickerson was also the primary left fielder for the Rays, who used the designated hitter by committee approach based on whether players needed rest, trying to get guys hot, etc.
Morrison had a strong year, Longoria was slightly worse than typical Longoria, but some of the other guys on here were pretty bad in 2017.
Dickerson was an All-Star, hitting .282/.325/.490 with 27 home runs, 33 doubles, 62 runs batted in and 84 runs scored for the Rays. These numbers were much closer than what has come to be expected from Dickerson, with career averages of .280/.325/.504.
Dickerson had a 2.8 offensive WAR and a -0.9 defensive WAR, which shows that maybe he is best suited as a DH.
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I have to think that if the Rays can keep Kevin Kiermaier healthy, Dickerson will likely be the primary DH for Tampa in 2018 with Mallex Smith starting in the outfield with KK and Steven Souza Jr.