OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

Art Deco · 07-21-2023, 09:15 AM

Final Regular Season Record: 101-61 (21-10 for the month+)
1st place, AL East, top record in AL

Despite another round of injuries the Rays closed out 2026 with an excellent final month to comfortably win the AL East, clinching the division with almost a week to go. We'll be facing either the Guardians or Yankees in the ALDS in about 5-6 days' time.

I mentioned injuries and we had a few more:

* Starting 1B Triston Casas fractured his foot with about a week left in the season and will miss the ALDS; he may be available for the ALCS should we advance.

* Jackson Chourio isn't recovering from his concussion as hoped and now will at least miss the ALDS and could be out longer with an "uncertain return date".

* Reliever Chase Petty partially tore his UCL and will be out into mid-2027.

* Reliever Ryan Pepiot sprained his ankle on the 19th and missed the rest of the regular season. His recovery is pegged for about a week from now so he's on the playoff roster but we'll see.

The Chourio injury opened up playing time for rookie prospect Junior Caminero, who's hit pretty decently since coming up (268/324/444) but the Casas injury is more problematic since we didn't have real cover at 1B. Tommy Saggese, who had a big season at Durham (296/384/528 with 27 HR) after a lousy 2025, had his contract purchased and became the regular 1B over the final week or so and hit .222 with a homer in 6 games. He'll probably start in the ALDS.

First in runs scored, first in fewest runs allowed, not a bad combination. Consistently good all season, the only bad thing you can say about this team is that it played mediocre to lousy defense.

We were led by the terrific trio of Wander, Auer and Elly who all had down-ballot MVP seasons. Langeliers probably earned at least 2/3 of that WAR in the second half of the season as he became one of our more reliable hitters. Winn and Siri were valuable off the bench and Carson Williams really stabilized the infield after being called up mid-season.

The true strength of this club was its starting pitching and the Mac/Taj/Springs trio was probably the best 1-2-3 punch in the league. In his final start I made sure Bradley got one more out in the 7th inning before taking him out so his ERA would dip below 2. Springs meanwhile may have been the big story as his renaissance as a starter made up for Drew Rasmussen turning into a pumpkin and then getting hurt. Waylin Santana was largely impressive in September as can be seen above and should be a part of the 2027 rotation. The bullpen stabilized a bit from its lousy first half and Camino Doval (who put his first half struggles behind him) took the closer's job from Jason Adam, who struggled all year and lost 2 MPH off his fastball with the resulting ratings downgrade. In fact Adam has gone from closer to off the playoff roster at this point.

We've already promoted most of the guys who can help us now and for 2027 but Quelch is a possibility for LF as Brock Jones did tail off considerably in the second half (although he did still earn 2.3 WAR for the year).

But it's time to put aside the future as the playoffs are ready to begin. Next post will be a Wild Card round recap as we learn our ALDS opponent.

07-21-2023, 09:15 AM	#51
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,611	September/October 2026 Final Regular Season Record: 101-61 (21-10 for the month+) 1st place, AL East, top record in AL Despite another round of injuries the Rays closed out 2026 with an excellent final month to comfortably win the AL East, clinching the division with almost a week to go. We'll be facing either the Guardians or Yankees in the ALDS in about 5-6 days' time. I mentioned injuries and we had a few more: * Starting 1B Triston Casas fractured his foot with about a week left in the season and will miss the ALDS; he may be available for the ALCS should we advance. * Jackson Chourio isn't recovering from his concussion as hoped and now will at least miss the ALDS and could be out longer with an "uncertain return date". * Reliever Chase Petty partially tore his UCL and will be out into mid-2027. * Reliever Ryan Pepiot sprained his ankle on the 19th and missed the rest of the regular season. His recovery is pegged for about a week from now so he's on the playoff roster but we'll see. The Chourio injury opened up playing time for rookie prospect Junior Caminero, who's hit pretty decently since coming up (268/324/444) but the Casas injury is more problematic since we didn't have real cover at 1B. Tommy Saggese, who had a big season at Durham (296/384/528 with 27 HR) after a lousy 2025, had his contract purchased and became the regular 1B over the final week or so and hit .222 with a homer in 6 games. He'll probably start in the ALDS. First in runs scored, first in fewest runs allowed, not a bad combination. Consistently good all season, the only bad thing you can say about this team is that it played mediocre to lousy defense. We were led by the terrific trio of Wander, Auer and Elly who all had down-ballot MVP seasons. Langeliers probably earned at least 2/3 of that WAR in the second half of the season as he became one of our more reliable hitters. Winn and Siri were valuable off the bench and Carson Williams really stabilized the infield after being called up mid-season. The true strength of this club was its starting pitching and the Mac/Taj/Springs trio was probably the best 1-2-3 punch in the league. In his final start I made sure Bradley got one more out in the 7th inning before taking him out so his ERA would dip below 2. Springs meanwhile may have been the big story as his renaissance as a starter made up for Drew Rasmussen turning into a pumpkin and then getting hurt. Waylin Santana was largely impressive in September as can be seen above and should be a part of the 2027 rotation. The bullpen stabilized a bit from its lousy first half and Camino Doval (who put his first half struggles behind him) took the closer's job from Jason Adam, who struggled all year and lost 2 MPH off his fastball with the resulting ratings downgrade. In fact Adam has gone from closer to off the playoff roster at this point. We've already promoted most of the guys who can help us now and for 2027 but Quelch is a possibility for LF as Brock Jones did tail off considerably in the second half (although he did still earn 2.3 WAR for the year). But it's time to put aside the future as the playoffs are ready to begin. Next post will be a Wild Card round recap as we learn our ALDS opponent.