Wednesday, July 16

TAMPA -- Six weeks later, it’s almost hard to believe the Rays ended Spring Training with concerns about their defense, long a foundational piece of their run-prevention machine.

According to Sports Info Solutions’ defensive runs saved, the Rays have been the best defensive team in baseball this season. They had totaled 26 DRS as of Monday morning, six more than the second-place Cubs.

They’re also fourth in outs above average, according to Statcast. Using more traditional metrics, they are tied for the fewest errors in the Majors (13) and tied with the Royals for the best fielding percentage (.990).

“Our defense has been really good, and I can be honest and say that there was some uncertainty around it coming out of Spring Training,” manager Kevin Cash said. “You watch how the guys go about their business, whether it's the outfield or in the infield, leading into batting practice. They really take their craft seriously.”

And you don’t even necessarily need statistics to appreciate the Rays’ defensive acumen. Whether it’s Taylor Walls making elite plays at shortstop, Chandler Simpson and Jake Mangum robbing home runs, Brandon Lowe ranging, leaping and sliding at second base or José Caballero making an impact all over the field, their athleticism seems to produce at least one highlight-reel play per day.

“I think it’s more so a testament to everybody coming in to work, get better, know that there’s different areas of their game that can improve,” Walls said. “From the outfield, infield, guys behind the plate, I think we’ve done a tremendous job of knowing that last year we could have done better and really setting the goal early in the spring.”

Nobody appreciates what the Rays defense has done so far more than their pitchers. There’s the obvious benefit of defenders turning potential hits into outs, of course, or ranking second in the Majors (behind the Angels) with 32 ground-ball double plays this season.

There’s also a peace of mind pitchers feel when they know they can trust their defense, freeing them up to pound the strike zone. The Rays have done that as well as anybody this season, with one of the Majors’ lowest walk rates (7.8%) and the fewest pitches thrown per inning (15.54).

“I like it when they hit it to our guys -- or at least in the vicinity, right?” starter Drew Rasmussen said, smiling. “I think we have a lot of athleticism, which really helps. Our guys hammer home defensive work every single day, and what that group and that unit can do as a collective is unbelievable.”

Indeed, if you want to understand what sets the Rays’ infield apart, watch how they’re practicing with third-base coach Brady Williams nearly four hours before first pitch. Defensive work is a regular part of Tampa Bay’s pregame routine, and the Rays dial up the intensity of their ground balls to make it worthwhile.

Scooping up 75-80 mph ground balls in the afternoon doesn’t really prepare an infielder for the 110 mph scorchers they’ll see that night, so the Rays do what they can to make those ground ball sessions as realistic as possible.

“They’re coming out hot,” Lowe said. “You get those balls hit at the max they can hit it, it makes the game ground balls seem a little bit easier, a little bit slower. You train to the high end, speed everything up on you early, so that when you're in the game, you can slow things down.”

They’ll put a coach by the right-handed batter’s box to create a more realistic angle and have him smash pitches tossed to him, for example. They use a stopwatch to time their double-play turns, knowing how long they need during games.

Lowe said that work is “absolutely competitive,” with players not wanting to get ribbed for mistakes and coaches perhaps pleased when they hit balls too hard to handle. Walls, who ranks among the Majors’ leaders with six DRS, said their practice gets infielders ready to read swings, spin and angles while “recalibrating that internal clock” with game-like intensity.

“That’s the key for us, just the intensity and how serious we take practice, so it becomes easier in the game,” Caballero said. “I feel like we speed the practice up, slow the game down.”

Williams credited the players for their individual work as well, citing one memorable example. On the first day of Spring Training, Williams saw Lowe on the Charlotte Sports Park half-field, throwing plyo balls and working on his hip flexibility. The day before the Rays left for New York last week, Lowe was going through the same routine to stay sharp in the field.

“I think the group, the whole group, they've talked about being the best. They want to be the best in baseball,” Williams said. “All the other guys are staying up with their routines and what they need to do. And I do believe the group just wants to be great.”

• Erik Neander acknowledged he is “disappointed” with the Rays’ record but sees “a lot of signs underneath that point to this group being much more capable.” Read more >>

• Simpson’s latest feats of speed? Scoring from second on an infield single and turning a routine grounder into a clean hit. Read more >>

• The Rays won the kind of game they should be built to win Saturday. Read more >>

• Josh Lowe (back spasms) had his planned rehab assignment delayed a few days. Read more >>

The Rays are hosting the Phillies and Brewers this week at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The homestand ends on Mother’s Day, and the Rays have a promotion for the occasion.

The club is offering a Mother’s Day brunch ticket package, which includes a bottomless spread and a ticket on the first-base rooftop. The deadline to purchase tickets is Friday at 11:59 p.m. According to the Rays, the ticket package offer has limited inventory and will sell out. Learn more >>

The Rays named Double-A Montgomery infielder Cooper Kinney their Minor League Player of the Month and Triple-A Durham left-hander Ian Seymour their Minor League Pitcher of the Month.

Kinney, the Rays’ No. 23 prospect, had a slash line of .338/.393/.662 while leading the Southern League in home runs (six), OPS (1.055), total bases (51) and slugging percentage last month. Seymour, the Rays’ No. 19 prospect, put together a 2.01 ERA with 38 strikeouts and eight walks in 31 1/3 innings over six outings in March/April.

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