Tampa Bay Rays

With the first two months of the season in the books, we'll take a look at how Rays prospects have performed at the two highest levels.

Each team is loaded with talent, as the Rays feature one of the top farm systems in the game.

We'll have a look at who's off to a hot start and who's struggling, with special attention to some of the Rays' most noteworthy prospects.

AAA: Durham Bulls (31-23, First Place, IL South)

Who's Hot

Matt Garza is a pitcher that I was extremely high on heading into the season and he certainly hasn’t disappointed. Just look at the numbers through 11 starts:

5 Wins
76.0 Innings
3.08 ERA
1.21 WHIP
60 Strikeouts (7.1 K/9)
27 Walks (3.2 BB/9)
.266 BABIP

In fact, he has exceeded just about anyone’s expectations. The question is, can he possibly maintain this type of success?

Coming into this season, critics and fans were well aware of the Tampa Bay Rays ability to score runs. With one of the best young line-ups in baseball, the Rays were predicted to fight for the AL East crown with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

Most people picked the Yankees and the Sox to finish ahead of the Rays because of one thing: starting pitching. After a sub-par year from both Matt Garza and James Shields in 2009, the Rays aces have gotten off to great year in 2010.

Lets take a closer look at James Shields, Matt Garza and the rest of the Tampa Bay rotation.

It has been an amazing quarter season for the Tampa Bay Rays. Many wonder if they can keep this up. But when you dig into the reasons behind the Rays success, this has been a few years in the making. And it sure appears it can be sustained.

The Tampa Bay Rays are one of the most home grown teams in all of baseball. Nearly every single player is a result of the Rays drafting. Take a look at each player and see how this team has been comprised.

Begin Slideshow

Carter’s MLB Power Rankings-Teams:
NOTE: Team and Player Statistics updated through 11:00 AM CT, May 23

1. Tampa Bay Rays (31-12)
For the fifth straight week, the Rays (aka-the Road Warriors) are in the top spot. They deserve to be number one.

2. New York Yankees (26-17)
Despite only going 4-6 in their last ten games, the Yankees are still the MLB’s second-best team in my book. If they keep it up offensively, they might not have much to worry about going forward.

3. Philadelphia Phillies (26-16)

A quarter of the way into the 2010 season, the Yankees are on pace for a 101 win season.  They lead the majors in runs scored.  Their offense is still the feared Bronx Bombers.

So why does it feel like tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Rays is a "must win?"

Baseball fans would say it's only May.  Yankees fans would say check with them come September.  But Rays fans might say divisions can be won and lost in the first six weeks.

Pat Burrell just cleared waivers (no surprise there) and is now a free agent whom any team can sign for around $300,000 for the rest of the 2010 season.

With Mark DeRosa currently on the DL and possibly needing season-ending wrist surgery, I would expect the Giants to think long and hard about signing Burrell at a bargain price. 

You have to think after Burrell’s performance in the AL last season and his lack-there-of this year that only an NL team would give him a shot (except maybe a team like the Royals) to see if he can relive his former Phillies glory.

The Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in baseball right now with a 24-10 record. The Rays just completed a very successful West Coast road trip, as they won six of the nine games on the trip. They are only a half game ahead of the New York Yankees in the standings though.

The Rays have very good hitters and a great pitching staff. They have a big time star in 3B Evan Longoria. Longoria is batting .326 with eight homers and 29 RBIs so far. He has committed a few errors of late on defense, but his offense has made up for the errors in the field.

As the old saying goes: "You can't win the World Series in April, but you sure can lose it."

Sadly, this looks to be the case for the struggling Red Sox—possessors of one of the MLB's highest payrolls. Their struggles are due in large part to a fragile relationship between a developmentally-minded front office and a rabid fan base desperate for big-name players and marquee deals.

When done correctly, a developmentally-oriented system can lead to great results—enter the Red Sox of 2007, whose mixture of young talent and big-name stars led to World Series glory.