Tampa Bay Rays news and links: Virtual Reality Batting Practice

Rays just keep hitting HRs! Spread the word: the Trop is the new Coors Field.

Links!

- Alex Cobb and Chase Whitely began their rehab, throwing actual pitches near a pitching mound. A big step, and hopefully things continue to go well. We miss you Cobb!

- Yesterday, we linked to Jason Collete's article detailing the Rays super aggressive start. Jeff Sullivan over at Fangraphs has his own write-up on the Rays becoming baseball's most aggressive team.

- Also on Fangraphs, the KATOH projections are out for the Rays prospects. Interesting names come in at the top two spots.

- The Rays are turning to virtual reality for batting practice, focusing mostly on improving strike zone awareness ad pitch tracking.

- The Dodgers unveiled a new 3D printed raised letter batting helmet logo, which looks cool although unnecessary.

- Billy Hamilton, known for being fast and doing fast things, just set the record for fasted time around the bases for HR "trot" in Statcast history, circling the bases in 16.2 seconds.

- Over at Lookout Landing, we get this great fanpost (shout out to the author: the old wisdom) with a very cool gif showcasing small sample size visually.

Plugs!

- Today at noon (12 pm EST), join me for our first weekly Live Video Q&A Mailbag over at the DRaysBay Facebook page.