Tropicana Field
- Tweets 1,161
- Following 749
- Followers 1,192
- Likes 5,676
Off The Trop retweeted
Yeah the lineup will definitely be interesting. I’m good with Ben or Richie at 2B.
My maybe hot take is VMJ should start in left over Chandler against Fried. Fried completely negates any SB threat and VMJ has shown he can handle LHP. And DeLuca and Vilade need to be in there
2
1
4
360
Off The Trop retweeted
Being a small budget, analytics heavy team means exploiting market inefficiencies. And for a long time, those market inefficiencies were about playing ugly baseball. But now everyone plays ugly baseball. So the new market inefficiency is playing pretty baseball. I'm not joking.
15
40
1,559
63,612
Nick Martinez gets the ball tomorrow night with the Rays one win away from a trip to the ALCS.
Martinez quietly put together one of the best seasons of his career:
180 IP | 3.10 ERA | 1.09 WHIP | 109 K | 26 BB
He was even better away from the Trop, posting a 2.38 ERA across 94.2 road innings. In two starts at Yankee Stadium this season, Martinez allowed just 3 runs over 12 innings and the Rays went 22-9 in his 31 starts.
Hitters slashed .309/.344/.470 (.814 OPS) against Martinez the third time through the order this season and with a rested Griffin Jax ready to go behind him, I’m expecting a short leash once the Yankees lineup starts to turn over for a third time.
Running From The OPS
3
3
136
21,109
A team full of superstars is awesome and all, but a team full of role players will hardly let you down.
Ian Seymour last night:
3 IP | 1 H | 1 ER | 0 BB | 4 K
77.6 MPH Avg EV
29% CSW%
Other than a solo HR from Ben Rice, Seymour was near perfect. Pounded the zone and got weak contact all night.
Having a true Swiss Army knife like Seymour is such a valuable asset in the postseason, and he showed exactly why last night.
1
17
475
Ian Seymour last night:
3 IP | 1 H | 1 ER | 0 BB | 4 K
77.6 MPH Avg EV
29% CSW%
Other than a solo HR from Ben Rice, Seymour was near perfect. Pounded the zone and got weak contact all night.
Having a true Swiss Army knife like Seymour is such a valuable asset in the postseason, and he showed exactly why last night.
Box-Toppers Baseball
1
68
1,884
Freddy Peralta faced the Yankees once this season with the Mets. His line:
6 IP | 2 H | 3 ER | 6 BB | 4 K
The Rays have since adjusted his pitch usage and mechanics. Here’s how his usage in that start compares to his 10 starts with Tampa Bay:
FB: 59% 📉 52%
CH: 13% 📈 30%
CB: 3% 📈 12%
ST: 0% 📈 6%
SL: 25% 📉 0%
Increasing changeup usage has been a staple for the Rays all year, but Freddy increasing his curveball usage to steal strikes early in counts has been huge.
He’s also nixed his slider in favor of his sweeper, which he’s used as an occasional put-away pitch against RHH.
Running From The OPS
4
4
74
11,516
1-0. See you Monday night, Mr. Schlittler 😏
Cam Schlittler on Tropicana Field: “I wouldn't say there's really too much of a (home) crowd here. I expect there to be a lot of Yankees fans. In some ways, you are, to an extent, kind of playing at home. I feel like the guys are excited to have that atmosphere here.”
29
594
Victor Mesa Jr.’s 2026:
79 G | 235 AB
.260 AVG | .327 OBP | .498 SLG
.825 OPS | 14 HR | 34 RBI | 9 SB
128 wRC+ | 2.6 fWAR | 13 DRS
Mesa Jr. made the most of his first extended opportunity in the big leagues and provided significantly more power than expected as well as elite defense.
He entered the season with questions surrounding his bat and now, at just 24 years old, looks like a legitimate piece of the Rays’ outfield moving forward.
Off The Trop
2
6
50
1,711
Cam Booser’s 2026:
42 G | 41 IP
1.98 ERA | 2.93 FIP | 0.76 WHIP
29.6% K% | 3.9% BB%
13 HLD | 87.5% LOB%
Booser put together an excellent season after being left off the Opening Day roster and became Cash’s most reliable left-handed option.
The 34-year-old southpaw enters October with 10 consecutive scoreless outings.
Running From The OPS
1
30
1,091
Off The Trop retweeted
Scariest batters in MLB history:
1. Barry Bonds
2. Ted Williams
3. Taylor Walls with a man on 3rd and less than 2 outs
Taylor Walls’ 2026:
124 G | 3.5 bWAR | 21 DRS
74 wRC+ | 21 SB | 12 SH
60 R | 36 RBI | 10.6% BB%
Walls has been one of the Rays’ most valuable players this season. His 21 DRS leads all MLB shortstops by 8.
The bat will never be his strength, but he consistently worked quality ABs, posting a career-high batting average and leading the AL in sacrifice bunts.
6
3
174
20,356
Taylor Walls’ 2026:
124 G | 3.5 bWAR | 21 DRS
74 wRC+ | 21 SB | 12 SH
60 R | 36 RBI | 10.6% BB%
Walls has been one of the Rays’ most valuable players this season. His 21 DRS leads all MLB shortstops by 8.
The bat will never be his strength, but he consistently worked quality ABs, posting a career-high batting average and leading the AL in sacrifice bunts.
3
6
81
23,694
Junior Caminero’s 2026:
162 G | 616 AB
.276 AVG | .360 OBP | .524 SLG
.885 OPS | 42 HR | 101 RBI
100 R | 170 H | 18.6% K% | 11.3% BB%
Back-to-back 40 HR seasons, 100+ RBI, and he started all 162 games at third base. All at just of 23 years of age.
One of the best young hitters in baseball officially took the step towards Superstardom this year.
MLB
6
100
2,304
Drew Rasmussen’s 2026:
30 GS | 172 IP
2.67 ERA | 2.82 FIP | 0.91 WHIP
26.0% K% | 4.8% BB%
.198 BAA | 0.73 HR/9
The Rays ace had a career-high in IP, leading to his best season yet. He’s as consistent a SP as they come and will certainly be in the top 3 in AL Cy Young voting.
Running From The OPS
58
1,219
