Top 5 debut seasons in Rays history

Last October, Randy Arozarena reminded Rays fans just how exciting it can be to watch a new player shine. The rookie outfielder tore it up in September and dominated in October, setting records with each home run he hit in his introduction to both a local and national audience.

That's the energy you can get from a player in his first year, whether it's a long-awaited prospect excelling from Day 1 or a recent acquisition (via trade or free agency) immediately changing the dynamic of the roster.

The Rays will get another reminder starting Tuesday, when top prospect Wander Franco will make his big league debut for the Rays against the Red Sox at Tropicana Field. What does he have in store? What kind of impact could that have?

Here are five of the Rays' best individual debut seasons, from highly touted rookies to well-known veterans to under-the-radar acquisitions. For the purposes of this exercise, we tried to stick to true team debuts; we didn't consider Austin Meadows' 2019 season because he played 10 games for the Rays in '18, for example, or Jeremy Hellickson's '11 season because he pitched 10 times the year before.

1) Carlos Pena, 2007

In his first six seasons in the Majors, it became obvious that Pe?a was capable of hitting the ball out of the park. The lefty slugger mashed 86 home runs, but he never really broke out and struggled to find a consistent home as he bounced from the Rangers to the A's to the Tigers to the Red Sox.

In 2007, though, Pe?a found a home with the Rays. He signed a Minor League deal with Tampa Bay and came to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. He immediately became a star, crushing 46 homers in his first season -- a single-season team record that still stands. Overall, Pe?a slashed .282/.411/.627 with 103 walks and 121 RBIs.

"What a great opportunity for me. After grinding for so many seasons and then almost feeling like I was out of the game, I get an opportunity to come as a Minor League invitee, and I was able to stay, miraculously, on the team," Pe?a said last week on MLB Network, reflecting on the anniversary of that signing. "It was the perfect environment for me. … I just went out there and played ball, and all my ability was able to express itself on the field."

Pe?a's debut season began a dominant four-year run that cemented Pe?a as the best first baseman in franchise history. From 2007-10, he hit 144 home runs, drove in 407 runs, posted an .884 OPS and helped the Rays win their first American League pennant in '08.

2) Evan Longoria, 2008

You probably expected this one, right? It was a safe bet.

Longoria, the third overall pick in the 2006 Draft, debuted on April 12, 2008, and immediately put together an All-Star season with a .272/.343/.531 slash line, 27 homers, 85 doubles and incredible defense at third base. It was the beginning of an excellent career for the franchise's all-time leader in wins above replacement, home runs and RBIs, among many other categories.

Longoria totaled 4.8 WAR in his rookie year and teamed up with Pe?a to give the Rays an intimidating middle of the order as they reached the World Series. Although he went just 1-for-20 in the Fall Classic that year, Longoria posted a 1.102 OPS with six homers and 11 RBIs in 11 games over the first two rounds of the 2008 postseason.

Longoria was subsequently named the 2008 AL Rookie of the Year Award winner, becoming the first Tampa Bay player to win one of the major end-of-season Baseball Writers' Association of America awards.

3) Fernando Rodney, 2012

Here is the complete list of pitchers in Major League history to work at least 70 innings with an ERA of 0.60 or lower in the same season: Fernando Rodney, 2012. End of list.

Rodney -- at age 35, in his 10th Major League season -- recorded 48 saves, a 0.60 ERA, a 0.78 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings over 76 appearances. And he fired a whole bunch of invisible arrows out to center field in the process.

Rodney earned the first of his three career All-Star nods and was so dominant that, even as a reliever, he finished fifth for the AL Cy Young Award, which was won by teammate David Price. A league-average ERA+, a stat that takes into account pitchers' ballparks and the run-scoring environment, is 100. In 2012, Rodney had a 641 ERA+.

What Rodney did in his first of two seasons with the Rays was historic.

4) Charlie Morton, 2019

This was not just one of the best individual debuts the Rays have seen, but one of the greatest seasons a pitcher has ever enjoyed for the franchise.

Brought in as a veteran starter after reviving his career in Houston, Morton turned out to be everything the Rays could have asked for -- and more. The right-hander finished 16-6 with a 3.05 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP and 240 strikeouts in 194 2/3 innings over 33 starts. He made his second straight All-Star team and finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting behind former Astros teammates Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole.

Morton was a steady presence on a pitching staff beset by injuries and a calming presence in a young clubhouse. He was the Rays' starting pitcher when they beat the A's, 5-1, in the AL Wild Card Game, and he kept their season alive as the winning pitcher in a 10-3 rout of the Astros in Game 3 of the AL Division Series.

5) Matt Garza, 2008

Acquired from the Twins in November 2007 as part of the Delmon Young deal, Garza instantly assumed a spot in the Rays' rotation alongside James Shields, Scott Kazmir, Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine. And he immediately became a big part of their worst-to-first turnaround in '08.

At age 24, Garza finished that season 11-9 with a 3.70 ERA in 184 2/3 innings over 30 starts, including three complete games and two shutouts. The Rays lost his lone ALDS outing and his only World Series start, but he earned AL Championship Series MVP honors by pitching Tampa Bay to victory over Boston in Games 3 and 7. In the clincher, he held the Red Sox to one run on two hits and three walks while striking out nine and pitching into the eighth inning.

Honorable mentions

? Rolando Arrojo, 1998: Tampa Bay's first All-Star went 14-12 with a 3.56 ERA (133 ERA+) in 202 innings over 32 starts, finishing second in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting as a 32-year-old rookie during the franchise's inaugural season.

? Jose Canseco, 1999: This member of the ill-fated "Hit Show" lineup started off hot with the then-Devil Rays before a back injury derailed his first campaign. Still, he hit 34 homers and drove in 95 runs -- both second among first-year players in franchise history behind Pe?a's totals in 2007.

? Rocco Baldelli, 2003: He debuted with so much promise, batting .289 with 78 RBIs and 27 steals and checking in at third place in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting.

? Rafael Soriano and Joaquin Benoit, 2010: Had Rodney not reset the standard for relief pitching two years later, we might be even more impressed looking back at what Soriano (45 saves, 1.73 ERA) and Benoit (1.34 ERA, 0.68 WHIP) did in their only season with the team.

? Casey Kotchman, 2011: The St. Petersburg, Fla., native filled the void left by Pe?a by hitting .306 with an .800 OPS (good for 3.6 WAR) as the Rays returned to the postseason.

? Wil Myers, 2013: He didn't quite live up to his lofty potential with the Rays, but he won the 2013 AL Rookie of the Year Award despite playing only 88 games by slashing .293/.354/.478 with 13 homers, 53 RBIs and posting a 2.2 WAR.

? Joey Wendle, 2018: He hit .300 with a .789 OPS and played excellent infield defense, totaling 4.8 WAR and earning AL Rookie of the Year votes.

? Ryan Yarbrough, 2018: He's tied for first in wins (16) and tied for fourth in strikeouts (128) among first-year pitchers in franchise history.

? Arozarena, 2020: Yes, it was a small sample in a shortened season and an expanded postseason. But we can't use any of that as an excuse to leave out someone who set so many records in October.