Four Tampa Bay Rays in MLB’s Top 100 Players

The Tampa Bay Rays were well represented in MLB’s Top 100 Players Right Now. When all was said and done the Rays owned four spots on the list.

The Tampa Bay Rays placed four players on MLB Networks’ Top 100 Players Right Now.

45) Austin Meadows
52) Charlie Morton
82) Blake Snell
92) Tyler Glasnow

I know the first instinct for some Rays’ fans is to complain that they are being short-changed. Think of it like this: This season there will be 26 players on 30 teams across Major League Baseball. That means at any given point there are 780 players in the Major Leagues. In order to make this list, a player is considered to be one of the top 12.8% in the league.

Some of the rankings are splitting hairs, but it’s nice to see the Rays take up four spots on the list, considering how much they make use of platoons. It’s no surprise to see the top three starters in the rotation on the list. All three are viable Cy Young candidates and Glasnow cracking the top 100 is a national acknowledgment that his 12 starts last season he had turned the corner.

As we discussed in a recent article, Austin Meadows has the makings of an MVP. We recently went over the numbers against lefties and righties for the Rays’ hitters. We took a look at all of the toys Kevin Cash had to play with this season and how he might be able to mix and match.

"Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash and All His New Toys"

One conclusion is that it doesn’t matter if a righty or a lefty is on the mound, Austin Meadows should strike fear into their souls.

Just to put these rankings in perspective, Austin Meadows ranked ahead of notable names like Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Ramirez, Justin Turner, Ozzie Albies, Nelson Cruz, Giancarlo Stanton, Chris Sale, Joey Gallow, and Tommy Pham.

Do you think the rankings were off? Spot on? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.