Can the defending AL East champions regain their crown

There’s an interesting Lurman Base song called “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen,” where at one point he says:

“… Prices will rise, politicians will get along, you will grow old too …”

He had to follow these three statements:

And the Rays are surpassing their predictions.

A joke was circulated in baseball circles that the Rays would find a way to work better than their predictions show. It is an organization that is known to get the most out of its players, and which has been able to compete year after year, despite a meager budget compared to some other teams. This was evident in 2021.

The Rays followed an appearance in the World Series and a winning percentage of 0.667 in the shortened 2020 season with the company with 100 wins and another AL East crown, despite playing in a division with four legitimate contenders for the playoffs. Keep in mind that this happened after the severance of ties with Charlie Morton and Blake Snell. Remaining ace Tyler Glasnov was also injured in 14 starts of the season.

While a lot can happen from now until the start of the season, I don’t expect the Rays to make serious strides through a trade or free agency. In 2022, this registry will retain most of its core, although it will lack its ace, Tyler Glasnau, who is recovering from Tommy John’s surgery and will not be a factor in 2022.

Mike Zunina has had the best season of his career, and even if you’re expecting some regression from the bat, Francisco Mehia has also been a striker above average, and between them the Rays are a really solid situation behind the dish. Yandi Diaz and Ji Man Choi still have to create unsightly products above average, which is invaluable in the top league list.

The core of this line has several exciting names. Brendan Lowe is one of the strongest second bases in the game. Although at different stages of their careers both Vander Franco and Randy Arazaren played in their first year in 2021. Both have been extremely successful and need to move forward.

2019 Austin Meadows may not return, but he remains a productive striker. Other outfielders, such as Manuel Margot and Kevin Kirmaer, provide good value in defense without compromising composition.

Ultimately, the Rays lineup won’t surprise anyone like their division rivals, the Blue Jays, but it has enough good players surrounding their core Brendan Lowe, Vander Frank and Renny Arazaren to be a threat against teams rather than a responsibility .

The number one state in the ERA and WHIP in the American League last year will not have nearly the same amount of turnover as that season. It won’t flicker like the Brewers trio, but it will definitely do the job.

The rotation will be dominated by a mix of evolving weapons and veteran feeders. Shane McClanahan showed a huge side last season and should continue to develop as a leader in this rotation, Shane Baz lags behind him by a step or two and is unlikely to get the same load, but he is also another exciting young hand.

Healthy Corey Claber should eat some of these innings, and other names, such as Luis Patinho and Drew Rasmussen, will be important. The bullpen lost Colin McHugh, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Brooks Raleigh had a great year to contribute along with names like Andrew Kittage, Pete Fairbanks and Jeffrey Springs.

One of the things the Rays do very well, and this is evident in the throwing headquarters that constantly dominates most categories, is their ability to maximize the list of 40 people with many players on the AAA frontier, ready to jump and if nothing else, not be responsibility.

Watch out for names like Tommy Romero and especially Colby White, who are likely to appear in the top ten.

Expectations

Despite my reservations regarding the Red Sox throwing headquarters, the AL East has four legitimate contenders for the playoffs, even if they are at different levels, and it is one of the most unpredictable divisions in baseball. Rays are the only winners and they need to be respected.

Although my choice in the East in 2022 was the Toronto Blue Jays, I wouldn’t be surprised if “Flight” won for the third time in a row, and even if it didn’t, I’m totally looking forward to the postseason. Tampa ”will be a question of how they get there.

Any team outside of AL East will face a difficult path that will reach the playoffs outside of victory in their division.

Overall victory forecast: 94-66 (.588) *

The regression from 100 to 94 victories should not be taken as a statement that the team has become even worse, far from it. However, even with a stable core, a steady win in 100 games is a very challenging task, and in a division with the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox, Ray faces the glove.

* For the season preview, we predict season-based wins with 162 games. Obviously this year will not be a season with 162 games. Due to the fact that we do not know how long the campaign will last, we default to 162 for the sequence.