OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

Art Deco · 06-28-2023, 06:44 PM

Record: 48-30 (14-11 for the month)
1st place AL East, 5 games ahead of the Yankees

The Rays may have cooled off a bit but it was still a very good month for them as the Yankees really cooled off (10-17) and the division lead expanded. In fact Tampa Bay is 7 up on New York in the loss column as through some weird quirk in the schedule we've played four fewer games than the Yankees.

We did suffer one injury of significance as Huascar Ynoa tore his labrum and is done for the year. He's a free agent this winter so it's likely he threw his last pitch as a Ray. And we did make one fairly large trade:

After the Triston Casas acquisition in late May we needed to find a fit for him and we cut the cord on Jace Jung, who seemed to be getting progressively worse since he was picked up in 2024. Burleson was always the 27th man on the roster and Devers was supplanted at SS by Carson Williams. So we packaged the three of them to Texas which was willing to part with a couple of guys that I felt would really help us. Hall's a fireballer with great stuff and movement (65/65) but iffy control (45) who had a 2.16 ERA and 0.9 WAR in 8 starts for the Rangers. He was put into the rotation in place of Ryan Pepiot who has gone from 2025 Cy Young candidate to 2026 major struggler and Pepiot was moved to a long relief role. Also coming over was Mitchell, who was off to a torrid 352/431/519 start for Texas, good for 2.2 WAR in only 58 games. The former Pirate has been kind of a late bloomer, coming into his own during his age 27 season, and while he was undoubtedly playing over his head he's still a 60 contact/50 power guy who will mix into the lineup more than Burleson did.

So here's how things look around MLB as we're just about at the midway point of the season:

The Rays sport the best record in the AL and the 4th-best in MLB. Also make sure you find someone who loves you the way OOTP loves Jalen Beeks. After being a dominant bullpen force for us in 2023 and 2024 he's turned into a dominant starter with the Mets. This isn't the first time Beeks has been an OOTP stud in one of my Rays saves even though IRL he can't even stay in the majors (or find the plate) this season and he was never this good in the past.

Can't really complain about leading the league in runs scored and fewest runs allowed, even though we're somewhat deficient in a few of the component parts. This team is allergic to drawing walks yet they string the hits together, and the team defense remains lousy even after Williams was installed at SS. One thing of note here is that we've dominated at the Trop (29-11) while playing .500 ball on the road.

Since we're at midway mark here are the YTD stats for easy pace calculating instead of the monthly stats.

We have some highly exciting young players in Elly, Wander, Chourio and Auer and they've all produced. De La Cruz is a bonafide MVP candidate and if Wander hits with more power he could be one as well. You can see here that Jung, Devers and Burleson added up to -0.1 WAR. Mitchell has been an improvement with power and batting average, but he has stopped walking since coming over as perhaps it's contagious. Not for Casas though as he boasts a .403 OBP since joining the team. Vargas however has been a colossal disappointment and has started losing ABs against righties to Casas and Mitchell. Also I find it baffling Langeliers and Williams have combined for only 3 homers, but again these problems are more nitpicks with how well the offense is doing overall.

And while Elly is a top MVP candidate there's little doubt Taj is a Cy Young contender at 10-0, 1.98 with the peripherals to back him up. Cleavinger is having an incredible year in relief, yet to be scored upon and Hall has looked good since coming over from Texas. McClanahan remains a bit inconsistent and if he could get on a roll the sky's the limit, and Petty was another excellent in-season pickup.

Speaking of Taj:

Down on the farm:

Of course Williams and Petty have been up with the big club for over a month now and Santana continues to roll at Durham and will be our first option should a starter go down. Caminero came back from his six-week injury and is hitting again at Durham, but with the acquisitions of Casas and Mitchell his window for immediate help kind of closed. Of course there will be some new names on this list next month as we have the draft, and I'll probably have a post that recaps it as well as any wheeling and dealing we do prior to the trade deadline at the end of July.

06-28-2023, 06:44 PM	#47
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,775	June 2026 Record: 48-30 (14-11 for the month) 1st place AL East, 5 games ahead of the Yankees The Rays may have cooled off a bit but it was still a very good month for them as the Yankees really cooled off (10-17) and the division lead expanded. In fact Tampa Bay is 7 up on New York in the loss column as through some weird quirk in the schedule we've played four fewer games than the Yankees. We did suffer one injury of significance as Huascar Ynoa tore his labrum and is done for the year. He's a free agent this winter so it's likely he threw his last pitch as a Ray. And we did make one fairly large trade: After the Triston Casas acquisition in late May we needed to find a fit for him and we cut the cord on Jace Jung, who seemed to be getting progressively worse since he was picked up in 2024. Burleson was always the 27th man on the roster and Devers was supplanted at SS by Carson Williams. So we packaged the three of them to Texas which was willing to part with a couple of guys that I felt would really help us. Hall's a fireballer with great stuff and movement (65/65) but iffy control (45) who had a 2.16 ERA and 0.9 WAR in 8 starts for the Rangers. He was put into the rotation in place of Ryan Pepiot who has gone from 2025 Cy Young candidate to 2026 major struggler and Pepiot was moved to a long relief role. Also coming over was Mitchell, who was off to a torrid 352/431/519 start for Texas, good for 2.2 WAR in only 58 games. The former Pirate has been kind of a late bloomer, coming into his own during his age 27 season, and while he was undoubtedly playing over his head he's still a 60 contact/50 power guy who will mix into the lineup more than Burleson did. So here's how things look around MLB as we're just about at the midway point of the season: The Rays sport the best record in the AL and the 4th-best in MLB. Also make sure you find someone who loves you the way OOTP loves Jalen Beeks. After being a dominant bullpen force for us in 2023 and 2024 he's turned into a dominant starter with the Mets. This isn't the first time Beeks has been an OOTP stud in one of my Rays saves even though IRL he can't even stay in the majors (or find the plate) this season and he was never this good in the past. Can't really complain about leading the league in runs scored and fewest runs allowed, even though we're somewhat deficient in a few of the component parts. This team is allergic to drawing walks yet they string the hits together, and the team defense remains lousy even after Williams was installed at SS. One thing of note here is that we've dominated at the Trop (29-11) while playing .500 ball on the road. Since we're at midway mark here are the YTD stats for easy pace calculating instead of the monthly stats. We have some highly exciting young players in Elly, Wander, Chourio and Auer and they've all produced. De La Cruz is a bonafide MVP candidate and if Wander hits with more power he could be one as well. You can see here that Jung, Devers and Burleson added up to -0.1 WAR. Mitchell has been an improvement with power and batting average, but he has stopped walking since coming over as perhaps it's contagious. Not for Casas though as he boasts a .403 OBP since joining the team. Vargas however has been a colossal disappointment and has started losing ABs against righties to Casas and Mitchell. Also I find it baffling Langeliers and Williams have combined for only 3 homers, but again these problems are more nitpicks with how well the offense is doing overall. And while Elly is a top MVP candidate there's little doubt Taj is a Cy Young contender at 10-0, 1.98 with the peripherals to back him up. Cleavinger is having an incredible year in relief, yet to be scored upon and Hall has looked good since coming over from Texas. McClanahan remains a bit inconsistent and if he could get on a roll the sky's the limit, and Petty was another excellent in-season pickup. Speaking of Taj: Down on the farm: Of course Williams and Petty have been up with the big club for over a month now and Santana continues to roll at Durham and will be our first option should a starter go down. Caminero came back from his six-week injury and is hitting again at Durham, but with the acquisitions of Casas and Mitchell his window for immediate help kind of closed. Of course there will be some new names on this list next month as we have the draft, and I'll probably have a post that recaps it as well as any wheeling and dealing we do prior to the trade deadline at the end of July. Last edited by Art Deco; 06-28-2023 at 06:46 PM.