A hot streak which has seen the Rays win 13 of 14 - all without Wander Franco - has them at 52-29 and with the second-best record in baseball, only one behind the Angels who got off to a ridiculous start but have come back to Earth lately. The standings and leaders:
(Side note: I wish OOTP would let you open the standings page in a browser like reports and boxscores, would make it easier to put all the leaders and the wild-card race in there too).
Two great months sandwiched around a mediocre one and we're on pace for 104 wins. The pitching has been excellent despite our usual lousy defense and an uncharacteristic penchant for walks. And thanks to some recent outbursts in Boston and Colorado our offense now ranks among the league's best.
And aside from Kyle Tucker, who's been every bit the superstar and Juan Soto replacement we hoped he'd be (now we just need to find the next Soto or Tucker next year to rent), nobody has really stood out on offense over the course of the season despite the success we've had in putting runs on the board. Instead it's been kind of one guy gets hot for a while and right now the hot guy is Joshua Mears with 5 homers in his last 7 games. And really, Mead, Arozarena and Vazquez have been pretty dreadful at the plate, so this team could score even more runs if they get going when Wander returns in about a month.
Excellent pitching numbers all around with the exception of Feyereisen and Patino. Taj Bradley has exceeded all expectations - when he's been healthy that is as he's gone back on the DL but for a short stint. And swapping out Patino for Luis Castillo has really made the staff formidable.
A look at the farm:
Not quite as impressive as a year or two ago, with graduations (Mead, DeLoach, Taj, Schmitt, Mears) and trades (Cooper Kinney, Danny Jimenez, Carlos Colmenarez) depleting the list.