3 Rays who could benefit greatly from playing at George H. Steinbrenner Field 

Before getting into this, it should be noted that a lot of this doesn’t factor in the fact that the weather in New York City is vastly different than Tampa, making these direct comparisons, while maybe the best we’ve got, still flawed. 

However, the idea behind this is to look at Rays hitters and their expected home run totals at Yankee Stadium compared to Tropicana Field and see who stands to gain from this switch. 

Plus, left-handed hitters who pull a lot of fly balls could theoretically receive a bit of a boost too, but that too can be difficult to predict. 

Still, it’s fun to think about these guys potentially hitting a bunch of bombs, so without further ado, here are the 3 Rays who will benefit most from playing at George H. Steinbrenner Field. 

1. Brandon Lowe

Shocker, the guy who already hits a lot of long balls will receive a boost from playing in the lefty-friendly Yankee Stadium replica. 

This might come as a bit of a shock, but Lowe’s home run totals only increase by 3 compared to the Trop if every dinger he hit was at Yankee Stadium. 

The good news is that the Florida weather being so hot could provide a bit of a boost for those numbers, and he also pulls a crap ton of his balls in play.

So overall, Lowe is still going to mash because, well, he's Brandon Lowe, but there's a chance he could be even better this season, which could give the Rays a huge spark for the 2025 season, especially if he can stay healthy.

2. Richie Palacios

One thing Palacios did last season that was a fascinating part of his brief, but fun appearance with the Rays was pull the ball. A lot more.

His pull rate jumped to nearly 50% for the year, and his ground ball rate fell to 37.9% on the season, the former a career-high and the latter a career-low.

Palacios doesn't nearly have the power of Lowe, and he could be fighting for playing time depending on how things shake out in the outfield corners and the DH spot, but those 2 signs in his batted ball profile combined with the Rays' proclivity to get the most out of their players could lead to him having a solid increase in his power production due to getting a few extra homers in their new stadium.

3. Jonathan Aranda

Another guy with a questionable spot in this Rays lineup, Aranda's path to playing time seems to be as a DH vs. right-handed pitching.

That's fine, and a good start for the 26-year-old slugger.

Where Aranda could really improve would be with the fact that he's going to be a pull-happy lefty hitting in this new park, where he would've had 9 homers last season.

Add in some wonderful quality of contact metrics both in the majors and in AAA from last season and you've got a player primed and ready for a solid 2025 campaign at GHS.