The Old Rays Come Roaring Back

 

I say 'the problem with the Rays' like there's just one, but the main problem with the Rays is that their low-cost recycling method opens itself up to diminishing returns if you don't pick the right prospects to trade your stars for. Alright, you've traded for good prospects, but you need them to be stars pretty quickly. 

And so we're at this point where the current batch of returns has only really given them one perennial star in Isaac Paredes, and many more purely serviceable guys like Jose Caballero, Zack Littell and Ben Rortvedt. But the alarming part is that the base, made up of people who have stuck around and haven't been flipped yet, isn't doing especially well right now.

Just now, late June, we've finally gotten Yandy Diaz going. It took him a while. He came off to a disastrous start, but the management said 'hey, let's stick with it and give it another shot', and because the fate of democracy is not resting on the shoulders of the first baseman from the Tampa Bay Rays, this went well. Diaz is now hitting .275 with 40 RBIs and 7 homers, which is much more his speed. But the heart of this team, people like Brandon Lowe, Randy Arozarena and Josh Lowe, just aren't doing it. These are the people the Rays decided to keep around, and remember how rare that is. And they're just...kinda there. Arozarena is at least power hitting but he's been awful otherwise. Brandon Lowe's been doing the same thing he does every year, bob around, miss some time and remind people of how good he looked in 2019. 

And even having both Aaron Civale and Zach Eflin around hasn't really added much to the Rays' rotation prospects. Littell has been in charge of the most work, but now his ERA's over 4. Civale's is over 5. There are no starters with a positive W/L radio. Supporters will say 'well that's cause Springs, Rasmussen and McClanahan aren't here', and...I mean, maybe, but with this Rays team even McClanahan would start going 'hey, can I have some run support please?'. It's just an imperfect formula, cause there's not enough above-average starters, and there's not enough above average hitters, and thus the team is...one game below average.

And yes, they're still ahead of the Blue Jays, but for how much longer? Next up are the Royals, Rangers, Yankees and Guardians, there's no way they win all of those. The Jays also have a tough schedule up until the All-Star break, but they at least finish off with beatable teams like the Giants and Diamondbacks. The Rays need to hope that their mediocrity will be able to get them by for a little while longer, as it usually does.

Coming Tomorrow- A speedy shortstop for a team that should not be that much of a match for the hometown team.