Tampa Bay was one of the surprising competitive teams last season, fighting their way until the end of the season. They have been a team wheeling and dealing with trades, which has added a few new faces. They don’t have a prototypical power bat in the middle of the lineup, but names like Ji-Man Choi and Tommy Pham have 20+ HR power at the top of the order. Kevin Kiermaier is projected to hit leadoff, although health has been a major issue with him the last few seasons. They landed Austin Meadows in the Chris Archer trade last season, and is a talented young outfielder expected to get a full-time role and hit fairly high in the order. Sneaky pieces like Joey Wendle and Yandy Diaz make this a pretty good offense without the flashy option or expensive bat.
2019 Tampa Bay Rays Pitching Analysis
Tampa Bay was a surprise team last year, fighting in the Wild Card until the final week of the season. Blake Snell was the American League Cy Young winner, winning 21 games with a sub two ERA. He wasn’t the only reason why they won, and their rotation got a bit better with the addition of Charlie Morton. They have some very interesting young names with upside, and if they can take another step, this rotation might be in the runnings for the next few seasons as a top ten rotation. Snell and Morton is a very good one-two punch out of the gates. Morton blossomed in Houston where his strikeouts and velocity went up. Heading to Tampa is a good move for him where he should be able to keep this type of success. Morton had a 3.13 ERA and a whopping 201 strikeouts in 167 innings. Morton is moving to a better division where he faces Boston and New York compared to Oakland and Los Angeles. A tick up in the ERA wouldn’t be a surprise, but he should sit in the threes come the end of the season. Snell projections are interesting because of what he posted last year. Sure some regression will happen, but Snell has emerged as a true ace.
The bullpen games worked well for Tampa Bay last season, using spot starters and all kinds of junk to win games. It worked, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them go with it again this season. Names like Ryan Yarbrough and Yonny Chirinos would start games and pitch a few innings before turning it over. They are in the projected rotation again this season, with the only other true starter being Tyler Glasnow and Jacob Faria. They could go a more traditional approach with those two. Glasnow came over in the Pittsburgh trade, and the stuff is there, but his ability to control his pitches has been a major issue. He is still a young arm to keep an eye on, as is Faria. Tampa Bay continues to be a place where pitchers succeed, especially younger ones. There are plenty of options for the Rays to go with this season.
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