The Rays have come on strong recently to take over first place in the AL East Monday night by beating the Red Sox. It's safe to say through 106 games that most teams near the top of their division at this point aren’t there by accident, but we have also seen some epic collapses in the past few years from teams that looked to be sitting pretty heading into August.
The Rays don’t strike me as a team on the verge of collapse, and in fact might be one of the most solid teams headed into the postseason. Due to some solid play from unexpected players this season, the Rays might have fewer holes to fill than any other contender in baseball. The acquisition of James Loney was huge for the Rays this offseason, as he is having an incredible comeback year. I don’t think anyone expected him to hit as well as he has, batting .317 with 10 homeruns and 50 RBIs heading into August. Wil Myers has been the other big surprise for the Rays on offense this season in his rookie year.
Myers made his Major League debut in the middle of June, but has already made a major impact on this team, batting .328 with seven homeruns and 27 RBIs in only 34 games. It has already been brought up by some analysts that he might make a run at Jose Iglesias for AL Rookie of the Year, even in his limited playing time so far. With these two players adding to the offense brought on by the usual superstars Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist this lineup will be a dangerous one in the playoffs.
The surprise offense has been a nice bonus, but the real reason the Rays are such a strong team this year is their pitching rotation. The Rays might have the best rotation in baseball anchored by David Price and followed by other strong starters Matt Moore, Jeremy Hellickson and Chris Archer. Those four starters went 16-1 in 20 starts in July with a combined ERA of 1.69. That group figures to get even stronger when Alex Cobb returns from the disabled list soon, who will likely replace Roberto Hernandez in the rotation. This rotation could be nearly impossible to beat in the playoffs if they keep pitching like they have been. Not only has the rotation been great, but an already decent bullpen has just been strengthened by adding the best available reliever on the trade market in Jesse Crain, who was just shipped to the Rays from the White Sox this weekend.
The Rays with their excellent rotation and surprise offense might be heading into the playoffs as the favorite at this point, now that they are tied with Oakland for the best record in the American League, and a half game up on the Red Sox. The Rays are definitely serious contenders heading into this year, and with all of the young talent on that team, they could be the team most likely to dominate baseball in the next few years to come.