Curtain Rays

 

Well, uh, that certainly is one way to start a season, isn't it?

I don't think it's a controversial opinion to say that the Rays' insane 13-0 start was thanks in part to scheduling. If you give them the A's, Tigers, Nats and Red Sox to start off with, you know they're gonna go more than .500 to open the season. Not losing any games is just the nth degree of that, and the Rays have not only started things off strong, but have done it in a way where they haven't had the embarrassing loss or slip-up that even great teams like the Braves, Yankees or Padres have had to this point.

Like, I thought the Cardinals were going to the NLCS and they're torrid out of the gate, Jordan Walker notwithstanding. Of course, I also thought the Rays would finish in 4th in the AL East this year, and while that's not quite out of the cards, it's hard to see from where they're currently sitting.

From a non biased standpoint, the Rays are doing a lot right, and it's the culmination of 5 years of Kevin Cash's mentality finally paying dividends. Yes, this is still a team where the stars are people that came up through other farm systems and were brought over at the exact right time, and several of those guys, like Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes, Drew Rasmussen, Harold Ramirez, begrudgingly Jeffrey Springs, Jose Siri and, of course, Randy Arozarena, are still playing at peak levels and are helping the team along. Arozarena is still the hero figure this team has been crying out for, and with Kiermaier gone he's been taking up the marquees and earning it, with 16 RBIs already.

The biggest indicator of future success, and the biggest reason to be very scared of what the Rays will be doing in the next few years, is that their league-favorite farm system is now beginning to help populate the team as well. Shane McClanahan and Wander Franco are now the best players on the team, now that they're up in the majors and surging. Both Lowes, Brandon and Josh, have been on point to begin the year, with Brandon Lowe showing some of the contact-hitting prowess he hasn't taken advantage of since his rookie year. Now Taj Bradley's up in the majors and providing great firepower and velocity even as he acclimates to MLB hitting. There are definitely more young players where that came from, and mixing that slow spool of homegrown talent with the ingenious GM moves that have made the Rays a low-budget success to this point is going to ensure this team competes for the rest of the decade.

The Rays may not go 162-0, but winning the first 13 games of the season is just an appetizer. They're going to be here for a while, and they will likely be this infuriating the whole time.

All I can say as far as this season is concerned is that even as the wins pile up, so do the injuries. Jose Siri, Zach Eflin and, most hysterically in my opinion, Jeffrey Springs have all gone down in the last week, and with Glasnow, Kittredge and Baz already injured, it makes me wonder when the Rays will really run out of depth, or if that's even possible. It's an intriguing rabbit hole to go down, and it'll be interesting to see how far they go, especially if Springs is out for a while. 

I mean, goodness knows, imagine how mad Jeffrey Springs will be if he misses pride month.

Coming Tonight: I was pissy about this team's strict Opening Day roster cuts, but now that the injuries are coming in they're realizing how many of them were ill-advised. One starter down and suddenly this guy, who wasn't with the team to start the season, is now one of their most reliable pitchers.