A Very Good Place To Start
For the second time in team history, the Tampa Bay Rays will finish the month of April with the best record in Major League Baseball. The last time this happened (2010), the Rays finished the season with a 96-66 record (2nd in MLB) and won the AL East, eventually losing to the Texas Rangers 3-2 in the American League Division Series.
This bodes well for the Rays as five of the last six World Series champions ended April with either the best record in MLB or the best record for their respective league. The 2014 champion San Francisco Giants are the lone exception, having won the title as a Wild Card team. That season’s April leaders, the Milwaukee Brewers, missed the playoffs completely, finishing with an 82-80 record.
Leading the way for Tampa Bay on the mound is American League Pitcher of the Month Tyler Glasnow. The 25-year-old right-hander went 5-0 in six starts through the end of April, racking up 38 strikeouts and a 1.75 (ERA) over 36 innings. He is currently leading the majors in wins and is third in both ERA and WHIP.
Glasnow was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 2018 trade that also brought Austin Meadows, who got off to a blistering start (.351 batting average, six home runs, and 19 runs batted in over 20 games) before being sidelined by a thumb injury. Meadows is expected to be back on the field by mid-May.
Another big contributor on the offensive side is second baseman Brandon Lowe, who was named American League Rookie of the Month for April. Over 25 games Lowe hit .289 with six home runs and 17 RBI.
How do you think the Rays (and Glasnow and Lowe) will finish the season? Let me know in the comment section!
