Inside The Rays

The Rays have been unable to escape the 1-run loss curse, dropping five straight games by a single run. It was great to see Jonny DeLuca deliver two absolute bombs in his first couple of games back, and Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez each delivered gritty outings in back-to-back starts. We also touched on Theo Gillen's recent promotion and how he's the only prospect in the minors with 12+ HR, 25+ SB, and an average over .310 , all while flashing plus defense and sound plate discipline. The offense has been a struggle over the last few weeks, particularly outside of the team's trio of offensive talent. With a stretch of upcoming home games at Tropicana Field, hopefully a big offensive day is right around the corner to snap the Rays out of their funk.

The Rays were swept by the Dodgers, but all three games were one-run losses and winnable. The pitching also looked excellent: Drew Rasmussen dominated, posting a 0.43 ERA, 1.75 xERA, and 1.24 FIP in June. He's posted an absurd 38.9% K-BB%, the best mark in baseball, and has held opponents to a .129 batting average. His 29 strikeouts and 1.1 fWAR lead all pitchers this month. Other than Ohtani, he was the best pitcher in baseball this June. Nick Martinez has given up three or fewer runs in 13 of his 14 starts this season, and his 2.60 ERA through his first 14 starts with the club is the fourth-best mark in Rays franchise history (min. 50 IP). We harped on Cam Booser and Jonathan Aranda bouncing back during the series, and the return to Tropicana Field is huge for this team. Ten straight games and 17 of 23 at the Trop is massive as the Rays look to bounce back against a loaded Nationals lineup starting today.

The Rays had a tough start to the west coast road trip, but they salvaged the Angels series with an 8-3 win on Sunday. The offense has been struggling lately, so it was good to see them have a strong game to end the series. We talked about the pitching performances from Griffin Jax, Shane McClanahan, and the bullpen. Next series is the Dodgers on the road, that should be an interesting one.

After a rough week-and-a-half stretch, the Tampa Bay Rays took care of the Boston Red Sox, sweeping them, and they now have a sweep against every team in the AL East. Yandy Díaz continued to deliver in almost every game and extended his MLB-leading 24-game on-base streak. Drew Rasmussen became the first pitcher in franchise history to record 22 or more strikeouts, one walk or fewer, and three or fewer hits allowed in a two-start span. Nick Martinez, after his start against the Red Sox, now has the second-lowest ERA in Rays history through the first 13 starts of a season (min. 50 IP). Bryan Baker also made Rays history, becoming the third closer in franchise history to record 18 saves by June 9, joining Alex Colomé's 2016 season and Fernando Rodney's magical 2012. Baker's 16 hits allowed are the fewest among the three, and he now carries a 1.98 ERA to start 2026. We also talked about the success of Kevin Kelly, Casey Legumina, Cedric Mullins, and Ian Seymour's new Sweeper shape and updated role with the team. The Rays now begin a west coast road trip, and we highlighted the Angels series, including a player who has had success in that ballpark and a pitcher who has looked great in his new role but could get even better with a Sweeper that hasn't yet taken full shape.

The Rays have been going through a little skid over the last week and a half, but prior to that they went 21-4 over a 25-game stretch. The Rays trio went absolutely insane in the month of May. Jonathan Aranda posted a .374/.464/.560 slash line with a 1.025 OPS and 183 wRC+, along with 1.2 fWAR. He led all qualified hitters in OBP and AVG and was tied with Nick Kurtz for 1st in wRC+ and OPS. Junior Caminero, on the other hand, posted a 165 wRC+ in the month of May with an 18.1% BB% compared to a K% of just 13.8%. His Avg EV was an absurd 94.1 MPH, the 8th highest mark in baseball. We also talked about Yandy Díaz and why he could be the best hitter in Rays franchise history. We recapped the Orioles series, the recent three-game set against the Angels, and Game 1 of the Tigers series that came down to the wire.

What isn't going right for the Rays right now? They are 21-4 in their last 25 games, have the most series sweeps in baseball to start the season, and aside from all the metrics we talk about, they are doing the small things right. They are playing great defense, taking extra bases on poor cut-off throws and bad defense, and they are gelling as a unit. In every post-game interview, a player mentions it. This group believes in each other and they don't quit. Everyone has each other's back. The Rays took care of business, sweeping the Baltimore Orioles, capped off by an amazing comeback win in the series finale during the 8th inning with huge at-bats from Richie Palacios and Jonathan Aranda. This series had MLB debuts, first career home runs, a blowout 16-run performance, and plenty of energy, especially from the tarps off movement in left field.

The Rays continue their dominant stretch of baseball, especially at home, where they are an MLB leading 16-5. The pitching continues to perform well as Shane McClanahan, Nick Martinez, Drew Rasmussen and others had productive outings. The offense has been scoring in a lot of ways, including production from Taylor Walls and Cedric Mullins, as well as the trio in Caminero, Diaz and Aranda. We previewed the Orioles series with some interesting pitching matchups like Shane Baz returning to the Trop and guys like McClanahan and Jax going. We also briefly talked about the upcoming MLB Draft, which has a loaded top of the class, including UCLA's SS Roch Cholowsky, Fort Worth Christian SS Grady Emerson, and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey.

The Rays are now 15-2 in their last 17 and entered yesterday’s game with the lowest team ERA and were the best at limiting hard contact. They quite literally are getting outs from every pitcher in their bullpen and starting rotation. Nick Martinez has a 1.70 ERA to begin the season, Shane McClanahan has looked great over his last 4 starts with his pitches grading exceptionally well, and Bryan Baker is closing games out like nobody’s business, racking up 11 saves to start the year. Jonathan Aranda added his 8th HR of the season, Junior Caminero is continuing to hit balls 450 FT with exit velocities north of 115 MPH, and the team is making a ton of contact and working competitive at-bats. The Rays are now 27-13 and own the best record in the American League, leading the AL East by 2 games over the New York Yankees. They play 2 more games against Toronto before welcoming the Miami Marlins.

The Rays are fresh off a series sweep against the Giants, highlighted by a walk-off in game 3 from Jonathan Aranda, the 200th in club history, a strong performance from Griffin Jax to open game 2 with the bullpen following suit and capped by Aranda's 26th and 27th RBIs of the season, and Shane McClanahan's best start of the season in game 1 with home runs from Yandy Díaz and Junior Caminero. Prior to the Giants series, the Rays took 2 of 3 from the Guardians thanks to strong performances from Steven Matz and Nick Martinez and big games from Ryan Vilade and, yet again, Jonathan Aranda. The Rays open their next series against the Blue Jays tonight at 6:40 PM with Nick Martinez and his 1.70 ERA taking the mound in game 1.

The Rays swept the Twins and are winners of four straight games. Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan delivered strong outings, and Nick Martinez tossed 8 innings, matching his career high. Junior Caminero had himself a 2-HR game against Taj Bradley with EVs over 111 MPH and distances over 435 FT. He's red hot when he goes the other way or up the middle. Jonathan Aranda also smoked 2 HR off his former teammate for the first multi-HR game of his career, both over 105 MPH and over 402 FT. The offense the last few days has been clicking on all cylinders, getting production from 1-9, and the pen has looked very impressive with strong performances, especially from Griffin Jax, who opened yesterday, throwing more Changeups and being more competitive in the zone. We also talked about some of the most productive players in the farm, including Theo Gillen, Xavier Isaac, and Taitn Gray.