Tampa Bay Rays: Team Leaders in Simulated Season Statistics

The Tampa Bay Rays have really picked up some steam in Baseball-Reference’s simulated season.

The Tampa Bay Rays are currently 30-25 heading into Memorial Day’s game against the 20-32 Detroit Tigers. The Rays are currently still four games back of the Yankees in the division. They’ve closed the gap from a couple of weeks ago as the starting pitching has come to life.

Let’s take a look at the statistical leaders for the Rays thus far.

Baseball-Reference is simulating the 2020 season using OOTP’s software. The simulation’s home page can be found here.

New-comer Hunter Renfroe leads the team in homers (11) and RBI (33). Renfroe is slashing .260/.316/.495 on the season to this point. We knew he brought power after crushing 33 homers last season for San Diego. The Tommy Pham trade is working out well so far. Not only is Renfroe tearing the cover off of the ball in Tampa, but Xavier Edwards is also currently the Rays’ fourth-best prospect.

Yandy Diaz has lost his power. After spending most of his career being unable to hit homers, last year he hit 14 in just 307 at-bats. Diaz currently has two homers and is slugging just .393.

Brandon Lowe is building upon his All-Star rookie campaign. He owns the highest batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.369) on the team. Lowe has nine homers and 34 RBI in 49 games.

If I told you a catcher would be leading the team in slugging percentage at this point, who would your first guess be? Mike Zunino? Michael Perez? Nope. How about Kevan Smith. Smith has only played in 15 games for the Rays in this simulated season, but he holds a .543 slugging percentage.

Austin Meadows is a rock with .275 batting average, 15 doubles, nine homers, five triples, and four steals.

Nick Anderson is the primary closer this season with 12 saves.

Colin Poche is dominating with 42 strikeouts in 29.1 innings pitched with a 2.15 ERA.

Charlie Morton and Brendan McKay are tied for the team-lead in wins with five each with Blake Snell and Yonny Chirinos notching four apiece.

Tyler Glasnow has rebounded after a rough start, including a complete game, one-hit shutout of the Orioles. His ERA sits at a tidy 3.36 on the season with 71 strikeouts in 64.1 innings.

Jose Alvarado has rebounded from his down season with a 1.35 ERA in 20.0 innings. he leads the team with seven holds as the primary setup man to Nick Anderson. The back end of this bullpen is potentially the best in the game.

Sounds about right in line with real life. Are you enjoying the simulated season? Let us know in the comments below.