Rays' Danny Jansen homers again, but weather prevails against Twins

Three at-bats. Two home runs. A .667 AVG. Is it too early to crown the Rays new catcher as American League MVP? Of course it is, but we can't deny that this is a fantastic start to his Rays tenure.

In the September 22nd contest against the Red Sox and this afternoon's game against the Twins, Danny Jansen lifted a solo shot over the left field wall. In 2024, all nine of his home runs were deposited into the left field seats. In fact, Danny Jansen has hit 74 career home runs and only four of them were directed over the center field or right field fence.

It seems that we may have another Paredes-type hitter (with less power). Former Rays All-Star Isaac Paredes has collected 72 career home runs with all of them being pulled over the left field wall. Although, most right-handed hitters benefit greatly when they pull the ball, especially when it comes to their power statistics.

If Jansen can continue this power surge during the 2025 season, then the Rays offense could certainly prosper. Tampa hitters produced a grand total of 147 homers a season ago, which was third worst in the whole major leagues, ahead of only the Nationals and the 121-loss White Sox.

With a full season of slugging youngsters Christopher Morel and Junior Caminero, those numbers should look more acceptable this year. If we can add Jansen to the mix, then the sky may be the limit for this offense.

Due to the cancellation of today's exhibition, the stats were erased from each player's record. Obviously, they don't count towards much anyways, but we can still say we witnessed a Danny Jansen blast before the torrential downpour.

Taj Bradley will get the start tomorrow against the NL East champion Phillies. The 23-year old righty looks to expand on a 2024 campaign that saw some extreme highs and lows. In July of last year, Bradley was awarded Pitcher of the Month honors when he went 3-1 with a 1.45 ERA. Opposing hitters hit a dismal .160 against the 6'2 pitcher that month, but the rest of his season wasn't quite as successful. Bradley will attempt to start strong tomorrow against one of the most formidable offensive forces in the National League.