Rays' youngsters challenge for jobs

A month into spring training and a dozen games into the Grapefruit League schedule, the Rays still have little clarity about what young player or players will get their last couple of jobs.

In fact, the contenders to share playing time with Ben Zobrist and Gabe Kapler at second base and in right field have played so well, the decision looks even more difficult.

Sean Rodriguez and Reid Brignac are having excellent springs, and Matt Joyce has done nothing to take himself out of the mix for the right field job. And Justin Ruggiano may be playing himself into it.

"I thought it was cloudy in the beginning; it's still cloudy to me," Manager Joe Maddon said before Sunday's 9-6 loss to the Tigers. "We have good kids and many are capable of playing here right now."

Executive vice president Andrew Friedman ultimately will decide who's on the 25-man roster, but the manager and his staff will have significant input.

Maddon doesn't know which way it will go.

"All of it has been, like, little mini-meetings among people talking about what they're seeing, what they like," Maddon said. "We haven't had the one group meeting yet to try to hammer this out."

Rodriguez, the player to be named later in the Scott Kazmir trade last August, continues to be the story of camp. He hit his team-leading fourth home run Sunday and showed his versatility by starting in right field after playing second and shortstop previously.

The 24-year-old is hitting .400 and offers the advantage of playing in the infield or outfield, and possibly catching in a pinch.

But his chief competitor, Reid Brignac, hasn't shrunk from the competition. The 24-year-old, who played shortstop Sunday, is hitting .417 with a team-leading 13 RBIs.

"That's the beauty of competition - it brings out the best in one another," Rodriguez said Sunday. "That's what you want."

Brignac was drafted into the Rays system (2004) and has steadily moved into contention for a job with the major-league club. He had a brief tour with the Rays in 2008 and three more last year, playing in 31 games with 23 starts and batting .278.

To make the club coming out of spring, he'll have to convince the Rays he can play more than his main position of shortstop. That means second base and possibly third, although the Rays have veteran Willy Aybar as a backup at third.

"Reid believes he belongs here," Maddon said. "And every time the last couple of years we've had to send him back, he was sincerely disappointed. He's very driven right now. ... I just love what he's doing."

Joyce, the 25-year-old Tampa native whom the Rays got from the Tigers for pitcher Edwin Jackson after the 2008 season, was given a strong chance of making the team entering camp.

He's 5-for-12 at the plate (.417), but a strained right elbow kept him sidelined through the weekend.

Meanwhile, Ruggiano, 27, a three-year veteran of the Triple-A Durham Bulls, hit his third homer of the spring Sunday, while going 2-for-4 and raising his average to .478. Maddon said he has "bolstered" his standing.

"I played winter ball this year, with the hope of coming into spring training and getting comfortable a little faster," Ruggiano said. "I want everyone to take a look at me and see what I can do."

The Rays want Ruggiano to cut down on his strikeouts - his 147 ranked second most in the International League last year - but Maddon said he likes what he's seen this spring with his two-strike approach, which included a two-strike single up the middle Sunday.

Ruggiano said he asked Maddon recently about his philosophy for hitting with two strikes.

"In the past, I've spread out, and I think that kind of messes up my natural spring path," Ruggiano said. "He mentioned, 'just choke up, and think middle away.' ...

"He said, 'Just allow yourself to have that extra control of the bat while choking up just a little bit, maybe an inch.' And it's helped. It makes the bat like I can get it through the zone quicker."

Not long ago, the Rays were forced to go into the season with young players they knew weren't ready. Now they have young players who are pushing quality veterans - more young and ready players than they have room for.

"That was such a horrible time," Maddon said of previous springs. "You knew you were bringing guys here that really shouldn't be here. And now you're sending guys back you believe belong here. That's quite a jump, quite a difference."