Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is usually host to a team of people that most people have heard of. That's why the stadium's so nice for a spring training field, the contracts are so exorbitant that the Yankees have the money to make a huge complex, even for temporary use. And it's because they know that people are coming to see Aaron Judge, and Gerrit Cole, and now Bellinger and Goldschmidt, all these huge stars that baseball is built on.
And so there is some incredible irony in the fact that right now, Steinbrenner Field is the official home of a team featuring roughly 25 people that no one has fricking heard of.
People made fun of the Rays in the 2000s, back when they were the Devil Rays and routinely haunted last place, because they'd trot out these minor league caliber guys and wouldn't warrant their own existence. Y'know, one expansion team gets a ring and routinely competes and the other just withers away. But even then, there were still guys people had heard of. Aubrey Huff was on those teams. Carl Crawford was on those teams. Eventually B.J. Upton and Scott Kazmir. Then 2008 happens, Evan Longoria comes along and it's finally cool to play for the Rays. But the Rays' model of cheap roster building has made it so that the second a player becomes close to a household name, they immediately leave. So honestly they really do operate like a minor league team. Only instead of a ticket to the show, they just give somebody a ticket to a team that can probably pay them.
And so now this has spread in a way that the majority of the Rays' best players are completely anonymous. I say this with a slight bias, as I follow baseball closely and have heard of everybody. But I look at the majority of these guys and even I go 'who the f--k ARE these people??'
Here now, are a few of the Rays' top performers so far this year. Jonathan Aranda, who's hitting .298 with 14 RBIs and 4 homers. Kameron Misner, an outfielder who is hitting .300. Jake Mangum, a career minor leaguer finally remaining in the majors and hitting .338 with 8 steals. Jonny Deluca, who, before he got hurt, was hitting .435. Taylor Walls, one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball despite being unable to hit water even if he fell out of a fricking canoe. It is very rare for a team to have so many .300 hitters that most people haven't heard of, which really speaks to the devaluation of the .300 hitter. The depressing part is that all of these 'breakout' guys are 26 or older, meaning this is still an older median team even if they're trying to rebuild. That's insane to me. The Rays' idea of rebuilding is getting 5 27 year olds together, hoping the majority of them start hitting .300 and then seeing which ones they can sell for the next batch of people that can hit .300 in Tampa.
I will add that not every 2025 standout has been completely anonymous for the Rays. Drew Rasmussen I've certainly heard of. The Brewers traded him for Willy Adames, which worked out pretty well for them. He's been healthy for the Rays finally, and so far this year he's been their best starter, with a 2.64 ERA and 30 Ks. Amusingly, between Rasmussen, Baz, Pepiot and Littell, the only homegrown Rays starter remaining is Taj Bradley, and I don't know if he's really the standout here. That's the odd part, there isn't a Blake Snell or Chris Archer type homegrown ace waiting around, at least immediately. The next nearest starter is Joe Boyle, not a Tampa product. And Shane McClanahan is technically the ace, but his arm's held together with duct tape by this point.
The Rays are getting a lot done with a little, but I don't think they can get to the very top with it this year. Unless things drastically change.
Coming Tomorrow- More than five years into this decade, I can safely say that this guy will undoubtedly be included in a 'all-2020s rotation'. The accolades may not end there.
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