So yeah. The 2020 Rays were the best team in the AL, by a very wide margin, and spent the entire season getting better and better, right until the duel-of-the-gods World Series, which they came very close to winning. While it may have been impossible for anybody to top the Dodgers, the Rays were able to knock out the Jays, Yankees and Astros without making it look that difficult. This was a season that had been building for the past 2, and I'm so glad it didn't infuriate me entirely.
Austin Meadows, while not topping his 2019 breakout, was still pretty good in a limited season, with 27 hits and 13 RBIs in 36 games. The .205 average is concerning, but hopefully he'll work on his contact skills when given a full season of production.
2021 Prediction: 25 homers and a full season of strong material to make up for a slightly-less-dominant Rays team.
Yandy Diaz was also limited by injuries this year, playing only 34 games, but he still made the most of it, hitting .307 with 35 hits and 11 RBIs, and 9 hits and an RBI in the postseason. He doesn't get a lot of play, but Yandy Diaz is still one of the sturdiest, most impressive members of these Rays teams, and while Mike Brosseau had the bigger moment this year, Diaz might be the more important 3rd baseman.
2021 Prediction: Thanks to Brosseau, Diaz isn't gonna play at 3rd as often as he did, and might play DH more, but will still be a .300 hitter.
Ji-Man Choi didn't have quite the power-hitting year that fans were used to, but he still hit .230 with 16 RBIs, which isn't horrible. He also had 10 hits, 4 RBIs and 2 homers during the postseason, so he was still a crucial member of the team then.
2021 Prediction: Unless he improves as a power-hitter, the Rays are gonna get rid of him.
I...try not to make Mike Zunino customs. He's...in my opinion, the single most overrated player in the league. Zunino has only hit higher than .250 on a season ONCE in his 8-year career. His career WAR is 6.7, which is the kind of stat Mike Trout can pull in a full season. The fact that he can consistently hit .199 and still get work blows my mind. But...Zunino was essentially the starting catcher for the Rays in the playoffs, and had 8 RBIs and 4 homers throughout the postseason, despite a .170 playoff average. So...yes, he can hit for power, but he can't hit for average, which must be frustrating.
2021 Prediction: I still think the Rays are gonna sign someone else as a starting catcher, so Zunino will do alright, but...as a backup.
The Rays have finally heeded my advice and made Ryan Yarbrough a full starter, no opener BS or any of that. Yarbrough responded with his best season to date, with a 3.56 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 11 games. Yarbrough is a consistent, workhorse of a pitcher, and his ability to eat innings helped the Rays out a lot this year.
2021 Prediction: More of the same. 13 wins, lots of innings, good solid work.
After coming over from Miami last year, Nick Anderson continued his reign as the best reliever you've never heard of, giving up a single earned run in 19 appearances, and notching 6 saves, 26 Ks and a .55 ERA. Absolutely insane numbers. His postseason numbers...less appealing. 8 earned runs, 2 losses, and only 9 strikeouts [only, he says].
2021 Prediction: Has and keeps the closing gig, with slightly higher ERA but similar consistency.
The most impressive breakout relief pitcher for the Rays, in a field of MANY, was Pete Fairbanks, traded at last year's deadline for Nick Solak to Tampa, and finally getting some substantial playing time. In 27 innings, Fairbanks had a 6-3 record, a 2.70 ERA and a 'pen-leading 39 Ks. In the postseason, he sported a 3.65 ERA with 17 Ks. Even with a few postseason earned runs, Fairbanks was hot as hell all year.
2021 Prediction: Less consistency, but he's still gonna be one of their most prevalent bullpen pieces.
And I can't not make a custom of the Rays' Game 4 hero Brett Phillips, whose ninth-inning RBI off of Kenley Jansen shook the country, and kept the Rays alive against the Dodgers in the World Series. Despite not being a very impressive bench presence for Kansas City or Tampa this year, Phillips still had his brief moments of power, including Game 4.
2021 Prediction: Back to uneventful bench OF work.
Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of AL East teams who have recently been to the World Series, let's examine why the Boston Red Sox ['s pitching] fell apart.
Yandy Diaz was also limited by injuries this year, playing only 34 games, but he still made the most of it, hitting .307 with 35 hits and 11 RBIs, and 9 hits and an RBI in the postseason. He doesn't get a lot of play, but Yandy Diaz is still one of the sturdiest, most impressive members of these Rays teams, and while Mike Brosseau had the bigger moment this year, Diaz might be the more important 3rd baseman.
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