Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays have had three straight losing seasons. The worst of that group was a 68-94 record in 2016. Looking at the roster in 2017, it’s hard to imagine Tampa being anywhere near that bad again.
Evan Longoria, Kevin Kiermaier, Steven Souza Jr., Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison, Colby Rasmus and Matt Duffy certainly looks like a decent lineup. There may not be a superstar there, but there isn’t an easy out in that group.
The Rays have a formidable starting rotation as well. Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Blake Snell and Alex Cobb are a strong front four. Jose De Leon is one of the best prospects in baseball and should add to the strength of the rotation at some point during the season.
On top of that, the rest of the American League East is a question mark.
The Red Sox are far and away the best team. But do the New York Yankees or Baltimore Orioles have the starting pitching to contend? Can the Toronto Blue Jays withstand the loss of Edwin Encarnacion and the the rest of the team, which is aging fast?
The ingredients are in place for Tampa to be bounce back after three sub-par seasons.