Tampa Bay Rays: Reviewing the first 60 games of 2019

With word spreading that the league and the players are nearing a deal which includes a 60-game season, we take a look at the Rays first 60 games of last year.

After 60 games, the Tampa Bay Rays were just one game back of the Yankees. By the way, even with a 16-team playoff format the would-be world champions, the Washington Nationals, would not have even made the postseason in this format.

That’s okay. Wild cards eliminated the use of the World Series as an exhibition between the two greatest teams in all of the land. You have to operate within the rules in which you play. The World Series champion doesn’t really determine the best team in baseball over a whole season anymore, so I don’t see this as an issue. The Nationals didn’t win their division but were the best team in the game last year?

So, while that’s an interesting tidbit, it’s not really that important. We know what this season is.

This is going to be different and if you keep an open mind, it’s going to be fun. Every game is always important. I’m tired of hearing people say “with a shortened season, every game will be important.”

There’s always a postseason race that comes down to a game or two. You think the managers ever look back and go, “If only I knew that game on April 25th mattered!”

If 16 teams are making the postseason we could see some interesting runs. A young, talented team such as the Blue Jays could end up in the postseason. The Orioles… well even with a 60-game schedule, they may still lose 100 games.

Back to the stats. As promised, here’s a look at what the stats might feel like in a 60 game season based on how they looked after the Rays first 60 games last year.

Tampa Bay Rays 2019 Offensive Leaders Through 60 Games

• Home Runs – Austin Meadows, 12; Avisail Garcia, 11; Brandon Lowe, 11; Yandy Diaz, 9; Tommy Pham, 8
• Runs – Avisail Garcia, 30; Austin Meadows, 29; Yandy Diaz, 29; Brandon Lowe, 28; Kevin Kiermaier, 27
• RBI – Austin Meadows, 38; Brandon Lowe, 36; Avisail Garcia, 28; Tommy Pham, 25; Kevin Kiermaier, 23
• Batting Average – Austin Meadows .349; Avisail Garcia .300; Tommy Pham .293, Brandon Lowe .279; Ji-Man Choi .279
• OBP – Austin Meadows .424, Tommy Pham .406; Avisail Garcia .358; Ji-Man Choi .350; Yandy Diaz .350
• Slugging – Austin Meadows .645; Avisail Garcia .530; Brandon Lowe .510; Yandy Diaz .480; Tommy Pham .471

Tampa Bay Rays Starting Pitching Leaders Through 60 Games

• Innings Pitched – Charlie Morton, 74.1; Blake Snell, 66.0; Tyler Glasnow, 48.1; Yonny Chirinos, 35.2; Ryne Stanek, 28.0
• ERA – Hunter Wood, 0.00 (4 IP); Tyler Glasnow, 1.86 (48.1 IP); Ryne Stanke, 1.93 (28.0); Charlie Morton, 2.30 (74.1 IP); Yonny Chirinos, 2.78 (35.2)
• K% – Blake Snell, 35.0%; Charlie Morton, 30.4%; Tyler Glasnow, 30.0%; Ryne Stanek, 29.3%; Yonny Chirinos, 23.3%
• WHIP – Ryne Stanek, 0.89; Yonny Chirinos, 0.90; Tyler Glasnow, 0.91; Charlie Morton, 1.06; Blake Snell, 1.11

Tampa Bay Rays Relief Pitcher Leaders Through 60 Games

• Innings Pitched – Jalen Beeks, 49.0; Diego Castillo, 29.2; Jose Alvarado, 23.1; Emilio Pagan, 20.2; Chaz Roe, 18.1;
• ERA – Jake Faria, 0.00 (2.0 IP); Emilio Pagan, 0.44 (20.2 IP); Oliver Drake, 1.23 (7.1 IP); Casey Sadler, 1.76 (15.1); Diego Castillo 2.12 (29.2)
• K% – Emilio Pagan, 38.7%; Oliver Drake, 32.0%; Jose Alvarado, 31.4%; Wilmer Font, 30.0%; Diego Castillo, 28.3%

Stats compiled from Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs.