3 Things To Improve All 30 Teams — The Tampa Bay Rays
The 2021 Tampa Bay Rays finished the season with a record of 100–62. This was good enough to win the AL East which both Wild Card teams came from. The Rays lost their first matchup in the playoffs to the Red Sox 3 games to 1 for an early exit. This year, the Rays look to build on their success and finally win that ellusive first World Series title. Let’s see how we can help them.
1. Have Someone Qualify For The ERA Title
The Tampa Bay Rays are one of, if not the most analytically driven team in baseball. Behind manager Kevin Cash and the front office that calls the shots day in and day out, starting pitchers don’t face a lineup 3 times in a start, lefty-righty matchups are king, and the shift is abundant. It’s even been to the point of the Rays losing the deciding World Series game 6 because Cash pulled Blake Snell with 1 out in the 6th while pitching an absolute gem so he wouldn’t face the lineup a third time. So this one might not happen, but it would be beneficial.
In 2021, the Rays had a total of 0 pitchers qualify for the ERA title. In 2020, a 60 game season so only 60 innings needed to qualify, same story. The Rays last had a pitcher qualify for the ERA title in 2019 when Charlie Morton threw 194.2 innings over 33 starts. Don’t misunderstand this, analytics are great and can be beneficial in many different ways. But, more beneficial than analytics is not overworking your bullpen.
Tyler Glasnow, the Rays’ ace, is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery. He will not be expected back until late this season at the earliest, if not next season. So, the Rays brought in free agent pitcher Corey Kluber to lead their staff. The 3 time All Star and 2 time Cy Young award recipient has not pitched more than 16 games in a single season since 2018, so keeping the 36 year old healthy is a must. Should even just Kluber qualify for the ERA title, the Rays would add 2 wins to their total.
2. Start Randy Arozarena In Right Over Manuel Margot
The 2021 AL RotY resides with the Tampa Bay Rays. Randy Arozarena is one of the young superstars the Rays are more than happy to call their own. In 2021, Randy hit .274/.356/.459 with 55 extra base hits and a 131 OPS+ over 604 plate appearances and 141 games. 81 of those games came in left field, 53 in right, 19 at DH, and 3 inning in CF. This year, the majority of his time should be spent in right field.
If you take a look at the Rays most used lineup/defensive positioning from 2021, one thing stands out. Out of the 9 hitters, Arozarena not included, 1 has an OPS+ below league average, RF Manuel Margot. This is not to say that Margot shouldn’t play multiple times a week, but when you have a guy like Arozarena not having a normal spot in the field and he’s one of the best hitters on your team, some changes need to be made to the lineup.
Not only is Arozarena the better hitter than Margot, he also carries a better fielding percentage in right than Margot does. Arozarena has yet to commit an error in right during his time in the Majors and Margot committed 3 just last year. Margot does have the better range, but that also could contribute to more errors as he’s trying to make plays on balls he has no business making a play on. In the long run, starting Arozarena in RF and having him play 150+ games would help offensively and defensively and add 2 more wins to their total.
3. Sit Back And Enjoy A Full Season Of Wander Franco
Former number 1 prospect in all of baseball Wander Franco made his Major League debut on June 22, 2021. Playing in 70 games, he hit .288/.347/.463 with 30 extra base hits and a 129 OPS+. All of this at the age of 20. Now 21, Wander looks to carry over the success he had in 2021 and not have the dreaded sophomore slump that plagues many a Big Leaguer.
Wander Franco is just a good hitter. He doesn’t draw many walks, but that could come with time, but he strikes out way below league average at 12%. League average is 23.2%. If you extrapolate Franco’s 2021 stats over 150 games you get 660 plate appearances with 173 hits, 38 doubles, 11 triples, 15 homeruns, 52 walks, and only 79 strikeouts. For those keeping track at home, that’s 64 extra base hits.
All of this is assuming that Wander doesn’t slump in his sophomore season and that he stays healthy for 150+ games. If he can put up the same production over a full season, he would add 4 wins to the Rays total.
At least 1 starting pitcher qualifying for the ERA title, Arozarena having a set job, and a full season of phenom Wander Franco would add 8 wins to the Rays’ 2021 total. This would give them a record of 108–54. They already had the best record in the AL in 2021, and a record like that should keep them atop the mountain.
This has been the 27th entry in our series in which we take a look at all 30 teams individually and see what we can do to help them improve year over year. Previous entries include the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Atlanta Braves, the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Guardians, the Colorado Rockies, the Detroit Tigers, the Houston Astros, the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles, the Miami Marlins, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Minnesota Twins, the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Oakland Athletics, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Francisco Giants, the San Diego Padres, the Seattle Mariners, and the St Louis Cardinals. Follow me on Twitter @TroyBrock1993 for updates and other sports musings. Next up will be the Texas Rangers!
