Rays of Thunder

Atop the AL East during this extremely early period of the 2019 MLB season...are the Tampa Bay Rays, the weirdest team from 2018. And, as luck would have it...they may have gotten weirder.

Just from who's been allowed into the lineup alone, things are still pretty unusual. Ji-Man Choi is the starting first baseman, and he's already doing a pretty nice job. Yandy Diaz, backup infielder from the Indians teams of yore, is doing well in a permanent infield role. Brandon Lowe has snagged the starting second base spot instead of Daniel Robertson, which is pretty surprising. And the starting DH seems to be NOT Avisail Garcia, but Austin Meadows, who's off to a nice start.

The rotation seems to surprisingly firm as well, with a Snell-Morton-Glasnow-Chirinos formation, and all four are doing well. However...the opener strategy seems to still be in full effect, with Ryne Stanek opening a game yesterday, only for Ryan Yarbrough to pitch four innings afterwards anyway. Look, if Yarbrough can GO for distance, and from last year's numbers he certainly can, why hide him behind an opener? You don't need to blur the line between starter and reliever, you can just start Yarbrough and save someone sneaky like Stanek for the eighth.

But again...this is a strategy that more and more teams seem to be adopting (Nate Karns opened for Baltimore the other day), so...maybe I'm wrong. But it's still odd.

Odder still: this is Kevin Kiermaier's team, and he's doing a bang up job, but it doesn't feel like it's powered by one singular star figure. This is definitely a group effort, with Meadows, Tommy Pham, Choi and Kiermaier all splitting equal fame here. This is the kind of team that doesn't need a captain, or a central figure, but can still win games just by having different heroes show up in different places.

Look, I know it's early...but the Rays are gonna be dangerous this year. The Sox are ailing, the Yanks are still rusty, and the Rays are already making their presence known. Which is...kind of scary.

Coming Tomorrow- For years, we thought he'd be a bust. Now that he's been moved to late in the lineup, however...his bat has FINALLY come alive. And a hell of a season for it to do so.