This story was excerpted from Adam Berry's Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ST. PETERSBURG -- In some ways, this is an unusually top-heavy roster for the Rays.
They’ve had three of the best hitters in the American League all season in Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda -- and now have four, with Liam Hicks on board. They have three of the best starting pitchers in the AL in Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martinez and Shane McClanahan. They have an All-Star closer, Bryan Baker, and one of the game’s best setup men, Kevin Kelly.
Typically, even Tampa Bay’s best teams aren’t built to beat teams with the top of their roster. The Rays often dominate with their depth, getting contributions from all over their team and throughout the organization.
One of the things that’s made this Rays team so special is that they’re doing both. Their stars have led the way, earning most of the attention in the process, but their role players have been a huge part of their success as well.
Here, let’s highlight four of Tampa Bay’s unsung heroes -- one from each part of the roster.
2B Richie Palacios
Remember when the Rays optioned Palacios to Triple-A Durham near the end of Spring Training? Can’t blame you if you don’t. The Rays entered the spring thinking Gavin Lux would be their primary left-handed-hitting second baseman, but instead it’s been Palacios all year.
The energetic infielder has been a key part of their clubhouse culture and infield mix, delivering impressive defense at second and league-average offensive production that seems to get even better in big moments.
Palacios enters Tuesday’s series opener against the Blue Jays with a .242/.344/.358 slash line, good for a .702 OPS. Despite having the seventh-most plate appearances, he has the fourth-most walks (38) while being tied for sixth in RBIs (36) and fifth in steals (11) on the team.
“We probably don't talk about him enough, how valuable he's been for us and the defense that he's played and the amount of big hits he's come up with,” manager Kevin Cash said. “[He’s been] right in the middle of a lot of our big rallies. It seems like Richie does a lot of good things for us.”
OF Ryan Vilade
It came in a losing effort, but look no further for proof of Vilade’s versatility and value than what he did Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.
In the first inning, he went a long way to snag Gunnar Henderson’s line drive into the right-field corner, survived a hard collision with the fence, then fired the ball back to first base to complete an inning-ending double play.
Three innings later, he got the Rays on the board by hammering a 2-2 fastball from Trevor Rogers out to center field for his 10th home run. Junior Caminero is responsible for Tampa Bay’s six longest home runs this year, but that one, at 441 feet, checked in at seventh.
Vilade plays on a part-time basis, mostly against left-handed pitchers, but he trails only the Rays’ “Big Three” with an .814 OPS, and he's fifth on the team in home runs (11) and RBIs (37).
Not bad for a guy the Rays acquired in a cash deal with the Reds last November, with all of 28 Major League games of experience to his name.
“He's been such a big component to our team,” Cash said. “He's not in there every day. He's making the most of his opportunities. … He's done a tremendous job, he's always prepared, and his desire to help the team in any way is off the charts.”
LHP Ian Seymour
After experiencing some ups and downs in the bullpen to begin the season, the left-hander has been a huge part of Tampa Bay’s rotation as a starter and bulk-inning reliever the past two months.
Since joining the rotation on June 8, Seymour has put together a 3.58 ERA with 82 strikeouts and 16 walks in 65 1/3 innings while the Rays have gone 8-5 in his 13 outings. He has recorded three quality starts in a row, and he’s pitched six innings while allowing three runs or fewer in six of his 13 outings in this role.
Getting Shane McClanahan and (eventually) Griffin Jax back in the rotation may squeeze him out at some point, but Seymour has proven himself as a reliable option in just about any role.
LHP Cam Booser
It’s hard to overstate what Casey Legumina and Booser have done to stabilize the Rays’ bullpen on the fly this season. Legumina came over in a late-April trade with the Mariners, then Booser was summoned from Triple-A Durham at the end of May.
All Booser has done since then is get outs. The 34-year-old has been simply excellent whenever his name has been called, giving Cash another nasty left-handed option in key situations.
After getting four big outs Monday night, he owns a 1.84 ERA with 38 strikeouts and only six walks in 29 1/3 innings over 28 appearances. Twenty-two of those outings have been scoreless. Among AL pitchers who have worked at least 20 innings this season, his WHIP (0.82) and strikeout-to-walk ratio rank fourth-best.