Our All Time Top 50 Tampa Bay Rays have been revised to reflect the 2024 Season.
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2024 revision of our top 50 Tampa Bay Rays.
As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
Please note that our algorithm has changed, which yielded minor changes throughout the baseball lists.
Last year, the Rays finished 80-82 and missed the playoffs. There were two new entrants and multiple elevations coming from the 2024 season.
As always, we present our top five, which saw one change.
3. Ben Zobrist
5. David Price
You can find the entire list here.
Based on the revisions, Kiermaier overtook Price for #4.
Brandon Lowe moved up from #16 to #9.
Third Baseman Yandy Diaz was not able to move past last year’s #10.
Outfielder Randy Arozarena, who was traded to Seattle during the season, advanced two spots to #17.
Pitcher Zach Eflin, who was traded to Baltimore during last season, enters at #50.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.
Our All-Time Top 50 Tampa Bay Rays Have Been Revised to Reflect the 2023 Season
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out, and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Tampa Bay Rays.
As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in Major League Baseball.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, the Rays went off to a torrid start and made the playoffs but was unable to get past the first round. There are two new entrants and several elevations, some of which are significant. However, this is more of a reflection of the franchise’s relative youth and Tampa Bay’s propensity to unload tenured players.
As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:
3. Ben Zobrist
4. David Price
You can find the entire list here.
Yandy Diaz, who went to his first All-Star Game, and won his first Batting Title, skyrockets from #29 to #10.
The enigmatic Outfielder, Randy Arozarena, also made a huge jump. An All-Star last season, Arozarena climbed to #19 from #30.
Now a two-time All-Star, Pitcher Shane McClanahan also had a giant rise in the rank. He went from #43 to #20.
Another Pitcher, Tyler Glasnow, who is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, went from #45 to #30.
The controversial and likely MLB-banned Wander Franco debuts (and likely ends) at #32.
Manuel Margot moved to #43 from #50 and is no longer with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The last new entrant is Isaac Parades, who enters the list at #47.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.
May 1 Update: Notinhalloffame MLB Cup Standings.
It is with great pleasure that we announce the third annual Notinhalloffame MLB Regular Season Cup, and let us explain how this works:
With every single regular season game, we anointed the best five players in the game with descending points, 5-4-3-2-1.
We knew the following:
- The top players for the MLB NIHOF Cup are not always the best in the league, as injuries keep players out of games, and a premium on staying healthy can help pile up points. It also does not hurt to be a top player on an average or mediocre team, as they can amass Cup points easier that elite players on loaded squads.
- In Baseball, it is more common than in Basketball and Hockey for a player to accrue points with a single Home Run in a game, and overall favors position players. Starting Pitchers have a hard time with approximately 30-35 Stats and throwing less innings than in previous generations. This also is true for closers, which is not made for this process.
- Please remember, that this is NOT necessarily who we think were the best players this year, and does not reflect overall consistency. Treat this the way did, as a fun process and more of a compilation of temporary statistical domination.
At present 619 Players have generated at least one Cup Point.
So, MLB players! Get your agents to work winning this into your contracts!
This is the first update, with standings as of May 1.
1. Rafael Devers: Boston Red Sox, Third Base:
39 Cup Points, 29 Games, 1.35 Cup Points per Game, 10 Home Runs, 27 Runs Batted In, 0 SB, .232/.285./.563, 1.1 bWAR.
Devers is a mild surprise at number one, as although the two-time All-Star is leading the American League in Home Runs (10), he is not currently in the top ten in OPS. Saying that, power is huge in Cup Points, and he is also at present third in RBIs (27). This will trump Batting Average every time here.
2. Shohei Ohtani: Los Angeles Angels, Designated Hitter & Pitcher:
38 Cup Points, 29 Games, 1.35 Cup Points per Game, 7 Home Runs, 18 Runs Batted In, 5 SB, .294/.355./.541, 2.1 bWAR & 4-0, 1.85 ERA, 46 SO, 0.824 WHIP.
The Notinhalloffame Cup is built for Ohtani, who can compile points in two different avenues; the only one who can do so. The Japanese superstar led his nation to a World Cup, and right now his Angels have a winning record. Ohtani is off to his best pitching start, and he is his usual self with the bat. We can’t imagine Ohtani not leading this by June.
3 (TIE). Patrick Wisdom: Chicago Cubs, Third Base:
34 Cup Points, 25 Games, 1.36 Cup Points per Game, 10 Home Runs, 20 Runs Batted In, 0 SB, .250/.324/.541, 1.0 bWAR.
Wisdom is the current National League leader in Total Bases (59) and Extra Base Hits (15) and his second in Home Runs (10). This is best start of Wisdom’s career.
3 (TIE). Mike Trout: Los Angeles Angels, Outfield:
34 Cup Points, 27 Games, 1.26 Cup Points per Game, 7 Home Runs, 18 Runs Batted In, 0 SB, .308/.395/.589, 1.2 bWAR.
Trout remains the baseball player we all know and love and the Angels are the first team to rank two players. The Centerfielder is currently fourth in Home Runs in the AL (7).
3 (TIE). Max Muncy: Los Angeles Dodgers, First Base:
34 Cup Points, 25 Games, 1.36 Cup Points per Game, 11 Home Runs, 22 Runs Batted In, 1 SB, .238/.408/.563, 1.4 bWAR.
Muncy is only batting .238, but his OPS is 1.070 which is leading the NL. He is also at the top of the leaderboard in Home Runs (11) and Slugging (.863).
6 (TIE). Ronald Acuna: Atlanta Braves, Outfield:
33 Cup Points, 27 Games, 1.22 Cup Points per Game, 4 Home Runs, 14 Runs Batted In, 13 SB, .352/.440/.545, 1.7 bWAR.
Acuna leads all NL batters in Runs Scored (23), Stolen Bases (13) and Total Bases (59), and is currently second in Batting Average (.352) and On Base Percentage (.440).
6 (TIE). Yordan Alvarez: Houston Astros, Designated Hitter & Outfield:
33 Cup Points, 27 Games, 1.22 Cup Points per Game, 6 Home Runs, 27 Runs Batted In, 0 SB, .272/.388/.543, 0.8 bWAR.
Alvarez has cooled off a bit after a blistering start, but is still third in RBIs (27), and is leading the NL in both Win Probability Added (2.3) and Championship Win Probability Added (1.3).
6 (TIE). Matt Chapman: Toronto Blue Jays, Third Base:
33 Cup Points, 27 Games, 1.22 Cup Points per Game, 5 Home Runs, 21 Runs Batted In, 1 SB, .384/.465/.567, 2.0 bWAR.
Chapman is having the best start to his career, and is currently first in Hits (38), Doubles (15), Batting Average (.384), OBP (.445), OPS+ (219), bWAR for Position Players (2.0) and Total Bases (68) and is second in OPS.
9 (TIE). Cody Bellinger: Chicago Cubs, Outfield:
31 Cup Points, 24 Games, 1.29 Cup Points per Game, 7 Home Runs, 18 Runs Batted In, 4 SB, .297/.371/.604, 1.5 bWAR.
Is Cody back? The 2019 MVP faltered in his last three seasons as a Dodger, but he playing excellent baseball at the moment and emerging from the grave that many pundits dug for him. He is fourth in bWAR for NL Position Players (1.5), fifth in Slugging (.604) and sixth in OPS (.976).
9 (TIE). Pete Alonso: New York Mets, First Base:
31 Cup Points, 27 Games, 1.22 Cup Points per Game, 10 Home Runs, 25 Runs Batted In, 0 SB, .257/.328/.562, 0.7 bWAR.
Alonso is the NL leader in RBIs (25), a stat he led last year with 121. With 10 Home Runs already this year, he is on pace to have to his second straight 40-plus tater year.
9 (TIE). Randy Arozarena: Tampa Bay Rays, Outfield:
31 Cup Points, 27 Games, 1.22 Cup Points per Game, 7 Home Runs, 28 Runs Batted In, 3 SB, .327/.392/.573, 1.2 bWAR.
It is still very early, but Arozarena is on pace to have the best year of his life. At present, he is fourth in Batting Average (.327) and second in Total Bases (63).
9 (TIE). Marcus Semien: Texas Rangers, Shortstop:
31 Cup Points, 28 Games, 1.11 Cup Points per Game, 5 Home Runs, 23 Runs Batted In, 1 SB, .268/.346/.455, 1.3 bWAR.
Semien is currently first in Runs Scored (25) in the AL, and is tenth in Hits (30).
Our next update will be the morning of May 7.
Our All Time Top 50 Tampa Bay Rays have been updated to reflect the 2022 Season
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022 revision of our top Tampa Bay Rays.
As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, Tampa was not able to make the playoffs, but they were contenders. On a young team, this allowed, four new entrants on our Top 50.
As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:
3. Ben Zobrist
4. David Price
5. Kevin Kiermaier
You can find the entire list here.
Kiermaier, who is now a Toronto Blue Jay, did not do enough to move past his number five spot.
Brandon Lowe, moved up one rank to #15.
Of the highest four new entries, we have Infielder, Yandy Diaz, who enters this list at #29.
2021 American League Rookie of the Year, Randy Arozarena, debuts at #30.
An All-Star last year, Shane McClanahan enters at #43, and fellow hurler, Tyler Glasnow moved up two spots to #45.
Outfielder, Manuel Margot debuts at #50.
We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.
17. Randy Arozarena
Finding a home in Mexico after defecting from Cuba, Randy Arozarena impressed in the Mexican League to get signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017, playing well enough to get a late-season callup two years later. St. Louis traded him to Tampa the year after, and in the Sunshine State, he would become a star.
Arozarena played only 23 Games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, but he was a starter in Outfield during Tampa’s playoff run, where he won the ALCS MVP, blasting nine Home Runs in the post-season and winning the Babe Ruth Award. Still rookie eligible in 2021, Arozarena won the Rookie of the Year (20 HR, 145 Hits), and had 20 taters again in 2022. Arozarena had one of his most rewarding years in 2023, beginning by representing his new country, Mexico, in the World Baseball Classic where he had the defensive play of the tournament and a Slash Line of . He then made history as the first MLB player to start his career with three straight 20/20 years, and was an All-Star for the first time.
Sadly, Arozarena's game fell off dramatically in 2024, and he was traded mid-season to the Seattle Mariners. As a Ray, Arozarena had 531 Hits with 85 Home Runs.
Notinhalloffame names Tyler O'Neill the 2021 Leftfielder of the Year
The process continues.
We here are Notinhalloffame.com have plans to create our own set of post-season awards, which we will look back and retroactively present from 1901 on. That will take a while, but it has never stopped us before!
Our awards are not league specific.
Now it is time for our 2021 positional awards.
We will be awarding a positional player of the year, but not only that, offer up the runner-up and second runner-up, meaning that we will have First, Second, and Third All-MLB players.
Let’s work our way around the diamond and award the best of the best in Baseball!
*Please note that to qualify, a player must appear in that position at least 50% of the time.
Leftfielder of the Year (First Team All-MLB): Tyler O’Neill, St. Louis Cardinals. 6.3 bWAR, 5.4 fWAR, 138 H, 34 HR, 89 R, 80 RBI, 15 SB, .286/.352/.560/.912.
We are saying this a lot, but O’Neill is another player who had a breakout campaign in 2021, especially offensively as his previous high in Home Runs in a season was only nine.
Second Team All-MLB: Leftfield: Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays. 4.2 bWAR, 3.3 fWAR, 145 H, 20 HR, 94 R, 69 RBI, 20 SB, .274/.356/.459/.815.
Arozarena is the likely American League Rookie of the Year, and Rays fans have to be thrilled with the expected future of the 24-year-old.
Third Team All-MLB: Leftfield: Kyle Schwarber, Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals. 3.2 bWAR, 3.1 fWAR, 106 H, 32 HR, 76 R, 71 RBI, 1 SB, .266/.374/.554/.928.
A hamstring injury cost Schwarber a myriad of games this year, but in his first tear away from the Cubs, he split his time between Boston and Washington, raised his Batting Average, reduced his Strikeouts, and put up his best OPS to date.