With the Boston Red Sox coming off a 100+ win season and World Series title, and the New York Yankees also coming off a 100+ win season, 2019 figured to be a tough year to make the playoffs from the AL East.
However, the Tampa Bay Rays took care of their business and capitalized on a disappointing Red Sox team, eventually going 96-66 and making the playoffs as the AL Wild Card. They won there, but fell to the eventual AL Champion Houston Astros in the ALDS, 3-2.
Now, going into 2020, there should be no underestimating of the Rays as a contender in the AL East as they have retained much of their talent and saw many young players become big contributors by season’s end.
So, how will they be rated in MLB The Show 20?
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Blake Snell, SP
ACE: Snell needs to find the lofty heights he hit in 2018
2019
launch rating: 89
2020
prediction: 88
Coming off a Cy Young season in which he
pitched a 1.89 ERA, 2019 was a disappointment. While struggling through
injuries and poor play he stumbled to a 4.29 ERA. However, he retained a great
strikeout rate, with 147 SOs in 107 innings pitched.
Now healthy, he should enter 2020 much closer to his Cy Young form. Nevertheless, I do expect his initial rating to drop just a touch as he was not the ace he was rated as last year.
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Charlie Morton, SP
AGELESS: Morton was dynamite in 2019
2019
launch rating: 82
2020
prediction: 86
Morton’s 2019 initial rating was harsh. He
may have been 35 going into the season, but that shouldn’t have been reason
enough to start him so low. He followed up a very good year in Houston with a
similarly good year in Tampa, winning 16 games with a 3.05 ERA and 240
strikeouts.
He may be 36 heading into this season, but his gradually improving performance should keep him at a high rating, and comfortably in the 80s overall.
Tyler Glasnow, SP
STAR RISING: Glasnow rounds out an immense starting three
2019
launch rating: 69
2020
prediction: 84
Glasnow is the third and final star of the Rays starting rotation and will be rated among the best Rays players in The Show 20. He may not have played much last year (12 games), but he won six of them, lost one, and had a 1.78 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 60.2 innings pitched.
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He may not be expected to replicate an ERA
that high in 2020, but he showed his ceiling – ace level. He should start the
year in the 80s overall as he takes his place as one of the better number three
starting pitchers in the Majors.
Kevin Kiermaier, CF
GOLD GLOVE: Kiermaier is among the best fielders in the Majors
2019
launch rating: 83
2020
prediction: 83
Kiermaier is the figurehead of a very talented defensive outfield with Hunter Renfroe, and the Rays are going to be hard to hit against. Kiermaier is among the best defensive players in the Majors, and claimed his third Gold Glove in 2019.
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He isn’t particularly explosive with the
bat, but his fielding prowess and solid ability at the plate will be enough to
keep him in the 80s overall in 2020.
Jose Alvarado, RP
REBOUND: Alvarado needs a big bounce back in 2020
2019
launch rating: 88
2020
prediction: 82
Alvarado had a monster 2018 season and was pegged to be the Rays’ best reliever or closer. Instead he slumped. He missed a lot of time with injury or personal issues and was a different player on the mound.
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His control was not nearly as good as he
walked 18.5% of batters (fifth percentile in the MLB) and his ERA rose from
2.39 to 4.80. As a result I would expect his initial rating to drop, a lot.
Nevertheless, his potential and ability is still high enough to keep him among the
better players on the roster.
Tampa Bay Rays MLB The Show 20 ratings
predictions
Player | Position | 2019 launch
rating | 2020
prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
Diego Castillo | RP | 82 | 82 |
Austin Meadows | RF | 63 | 82 |
Hunter Renfroe | RF | 76 | 80 |
Mike Zunino | C | 83 | 80 |
Joey Wendle | 2B | 81 | 80 |
Ryan Yarbrough | SP | 77 | 77 |
Brandon Lowe | 2B | 68 | 77 |
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