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One of my favorite ways to kill time during the Rays offseason is to go peruse the Rays statistical leaderboards and finds stats that surprise me from the previous season. I’m guessing I’m far from alone in that regard, and as such, let’s test your knowledge.
I’m going to briefly discuss each stat after each question, so if you don’t want spoilers, just scroll down slowly.
[Note: Mobile users will not see the polls that are acting as the quiz, so you may want to switch methods of reading this...]
Poll
Question #1: Which Rays hitter had a 34.6% strikeout rate in 2019?
This poll is closed
-
7%
Kevin Kiermaier
(35 votes) -
50%
Mike Zunino
(236 votes) -
36%
Brandon Lowe
(171 votes) -
5%
Yandy Diaz
(24 votes)
Answer:
[Spoiler]
Brandon Lowe. In fact, Lowe had a higher strikeout rate than Zunino, which is certainly a bit troubling. He also barely had a higher walk rate than Zunino, and let me tell you for a fan who obsesses over plate discipline, this nugget has me a bit worried about Lowe’s ability to repeat, or even have a near-replicate of his 2019 season in 2020. Lowe is projected for a 105 wRC+ in 2020 after a 125 wRC+ in his rookie campaign, but it seems like the floor may be a lot lower on that number than with many other Rays.
(Side note: I included Yandy as a joke since his 17.6 K% and 10.1 BB% were both outstanding and make me love him all the more.)
Poll
Question #2: Who led the 2019 Rays in steals?
This poll is closed
-
7%
Avisail Garcia
(33 votes) -
73%
Tommy Pham
(346 votes) -
11%
Kevin Kiermaier
(52 votes) -
7%
Austin Meadows
(37 votes)
Answer:
[Spoiler]
Tommy Pham. This one quite surprised me, and it’s an aspect of Pham’s game that might be more noticeable once the season comes around. The Rays, as a team, finished eight in the league in stolen bases last year, with Pham contributing 25 of their 94 steals. While stolen bases are playing less and less of a role in modern baseball, I do still think there’s a positive impact to be had with runners who can throw off a pitcher’s rhythm when they get on base. None of the Rays offseason acquisitions so far appear like they will be helping to replace those 25 steals, or maybe more importantly, the threat of those 25 steals.
Poll
Question #3: Which of these part-time first baseman had the highest wRC+ in 2019?
This poll is closed
-
49%
Ji-Man Choi
(222 votes) -
24%
Nate Lowe
(110 votes) -
25%
Yandy Diaz
(113 votes)
Answer:
[Spoiler]
Ji-Man Choi. I almost certainly would’ve guessed it was Diaz, but Choi, despite his beloved nature, still seems to be a bit underrated by everyone. The lovable lefty posted a wRC+ of 121 in 2019, topping both Diaz (116) and Lowe (107). Interestingly, FanGraphs has all three pegged as near matches for 2020, with Choi projected for a 112 wRC+; Diaz for 112; and Lowe the highest at 117 (!).
The biggest takeaway may be that the Rays had three legit first base options in 2019, and they’ve added yet another (Tsutsugo) in what should be a definitive position of strength for Tampa Bay in 2020.
Poll
Question #4: Five Rays pitchers topped 100 innings. Morton, Yarbs, Yonny, Snell, and who?
This poll is closed
-
14%
Emilio Pagan
(65 votes) -
16%
Tyler Glasnow
(71 votes) -
9%
Brendan McKay
(40 votes) -
59%
Jalen Beeks
(263 votes)
Answer:
[Spoiler]
Jalen Beeks. You may have gotten this one simply by the process of elimination, but it’s still pretty wild to think that Beeks topped 100 innings for the Rays last year. Just remember that fact when you worry that the Rays pitching staff can’t get any better than it was in 2019.
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Poll
Question #5: What was Nick Anderson’s K-BB% while with the Rays?
This poll is closed
-
4%
29%
(18 votes) -
10%
36%
(43 votes) -
34%
42%
(140 votes) -
50%
50%
(204 votes)
Answer:
[Spoiler]
50%. I mentioned this stat in passing in a recent article, but holy hell it needs repeating. 50% K-BB%! That is beyond bonkers, even if it was only 21.1 innings. The league leader in K-BB% last year, even among relievers, was Josh Hader at 40.8%, and that was the fourth-best reliever season ever! No one who threw more two-thirds of an inning last year had a 50 K-BB%, and the all-time record for K-BB%, even among relievers with 20 IP as a minimum, is Craig Kimbrel at 44.2%. So basically what Anderson was doing was unprecedented.
* * *
So, how did you do? If there’s interest, we can do another one, maybe in the advanced stats or Statcast realms later on in the offseason. Feel free to drop your own little quizzes in the comment section.