Rays have lightning to match their lumber
This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat publication. To learn the complete publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it frequently in your inbox.
ST. PETERSBURG — The most up-to-date workforce to steer the Majors in house runs and stolen bases included a 36-year-old Jackie Robinson and a 24-year-old Don Zimmer. There’s nonetheless loads of season left, in fact, however the 2023 Rays have an opportunity to perform the identical feat as these 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Rays entered Tuesday with 101 homers, 11 greater than the Braves and Dodgers. Tampa Bay has additionally racked up 73 steals, 15 greater than the second-ranked Pirates and 20 greater than every other American League workforce. For what it’s value, the final workforce to steer the AL in house runs and stolen bases was Cleveland in 1995.
The house runs have been stunning, though they haven’t been lapping the sphere this month fairly like they did in April. The Rays hit 14 extra homers in March/April than every other workforce, however they’re fifth within the Majors this month. But they didn’t essentially run wild on the bases in April, both, primarily as a result of they have been hitting so many house runs and successful video games by such massive margins that there was much less of a necessity to take action.
They’ve definitely turned on the inexperienced gentle this month, although. The Rays stole 25 bases in the course of the just-completed 10-game homestand and a whopping 48 from May 1-29, double the entire of every other membership throughout that stretch.
Yes, this workforce can slug like few others. Yes, they will run in addition to anyone else, too.
“We knew he had a lot of team speed,” mentioned first-base coach Chris Prieto, who serves because the Rays’ baserunning coach. “There’s a whole lot of guys which have the inexperienced gentle, have the chance to steal, and it has been enjoyable to observe them choose their spots, not drive the problem at occasions and shut it down when they should.
“Obviously [we’re] really pleased. Really good athletes, good instincts. They’re prepared. They ask questions. But for the most part, I sit back and watch them be really good athletes, and it’s been fun.”
The Rays knew they might probably wreak havoc on the basepaths this 12 months. Back in Spring Training, supervisor Kevin Cash mentioned Tampa Bay had its quickest group of place gamers since he was introduced on board. He often referenced the previous Rays golf equipment that featured burners like Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton.
But did anybody see this stage of thievery coming?
“Every game is a little bit different. Sometimes, you have the opportunity to steal bases; other times, you don’t,” Randy Arozarena mentioned final week by interpreter Manny Navarro. “With the type of game that we play, with the defense and the power and hitting, it’s very beneficial for us to be able to steal bases and have that advantage to ultimately score more.”
The Rays have an MLB-leading seven totally different gamers with a minimum of 5 steals. Taylor Walls is 14-for-14. Josh Lowe has 12. Luke Raley has seven. Arozarena and Manuel Margot have six. Jose Siri has 5. And Wander Franco leads the best way with 19, his highest whole in any skilled season, proof of his well being, instincts and what Prieto known as a “fearless” strategy on the basepaths.
“That is probably one thing that I wasn’t totally prepared for — that [Franco] was going to be such a base-stealing threat. But he’s, for the most part, made a lot of good decisions,” Cash mentioned not too long ago. “He gets really good jumps, and the speed speaks for itself.”
This 12 months’s guidelines modifications have performed a component, in fact. Baserunners are better off with the pitch timer, limits on disengagements and barely greater bases. But the Rays have additionally dedicated to the thought of turning into a greater baserunning workforce after making an MLB-high 73 outs on the basepaths whereas being caught stealing 37 occasions final season.
The Rays examine details about themselves, like their leads and first steps. They break down opposing pitchers, from their occasions to the plate to pickoff strikes and different tendencies, for instance. There’s a noticeable consideration to element that usually results in outcomes, like after they had two seven-steal video games and a five-steal efficiency in a 12-game span from May 17-28.
“I think they’re asking questions amongst each other. I think they’re noticing things, seeing things. We run video so they can look at video,” Prieto mentioned. “But all that said, it’s, it goes back to the players that we have — the dynamic players that we have.”
