Rays' Luke Maile: Ascends to top of depth chart
Maile will start at catcher and bat ninth in the order Sunday against the Yankees, MLB.com's Bill Chastain reports.
The last-place Rays have used the second half of the season to give Maile his first extended chance at regular at-bats in the majors, as he'll be making his fifth start behind the plate in six games. The early returns haven't been overly promising -- Maile is slashing just .194/.242/.258 across 34 plate appearances since his July 15 promotion to the big leagues -- but because former No. 1 catcher Curt Casali hadn't failed much better in a much larger sample of at-bats earlier this season, Maile will now get an opportunity to showcase his skills. He should remain off the radar outside of AL-only leagues until he begins to experience more success at the plate.
