Why The Tampa Bay Rays Are Built To Stay In The AL East Race

The Tampa Bay Rays spent most of April and May with the best or second-best record in the American League. Heading into the weekend of June, the Rays remain atop the AL East, even if recent events make it seem like they're barely hanging on.

Getting swept at home earlier this week by the Detroit Tigers, who had the worst record in the majors at the start of the month, will shake you up a little.

But even if the Rays don't keep up with the New York Yankees in their division, they have shown plenty of reasons to be optimistic about getting winning results for the rest of the 2026 season.

The Rays present one of the best starting pitching rotations in the league, led by resurgent left-hander Shane McClanahan, perennially underrated right-hander Drew Rasmussen and always overlooked Nick Martinez.

McClanahan, who is nearing three years removed from Tommy John surgery, enters his next start with the 12th-best adjusted ERA in the league among starting pitchers, and is just outside the top 40 for K%. He's simply regaining elite form, having finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022. He's working on making his third All-Star team.

Rasmussen made the All-Star team in '25 and has more impressive peripheral stats (K%, BB% and hard-hit%) so far this season. Martinez isn't a strikeout pitcher but has a 3.51 ERA since returning to the majors in 2022, 17th-best among starters in that span. That compares favorably to other righties like Sonny Gray and Kevin Gausman.

They lost righty Ryan Pepiot for the season because of hip surgery and have gotten mixed results converting Griffin Jax to the rotation. But a lot of teams would love to have their top three.

They don't have a deep lineup, but they do have three star hitters: Yandy Díaz, Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda. Only the likes of Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Schwarber and Shohei Ohtani are having better offensive seasons than Díaz at DH. Nobody at third base is having a better season at the plate than Caminero. Aranda has improved his power and patience after making the All-Star team in '25.

The Rays are more effective running the bases than most teams, if not all, and always seem to find short-inning relievers to miss bats in the late innings.

The series against the Tigers notwithstanding, the Rays return to Tropicana Field has been a big success. They're 21-9 at home, playing at one of the quirky MLB parks that can offer an actual home-field advantage.

They're also 4-1 against the Yankees after going 4-9 against them in 2025. The Yankees look like a better team on paper, but they always look better on paper. And the margin narrows significantly when they don't have Aaron Judge in the lineup. Judge has missed time with a muscle injury, and reportedly is visiting a doctor who specializes in thoracic outlet syndrome. That would be a devastating outcome for the Yankees.

With the rest of the AL having a down season, the Rays find themselves in great shape to use their fast start to cruise to the postseason for the first time since 2023.