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No team in MLB has played better baseball this season than the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays sit at 48-20 and offer the second-best pitching and hitting (both in terms of runs per game) in the league — a lethal combination that has helped Tampa open up a 5.5-game lead at the top of the competitive AL East.
The Rays might not have the big-name superstars of other clubs, but Tampa Bay probably has nine players who could make a realistic case for being an All-Star this year. The 2023 MLB All-Star Game is set for July 11 in Seattle, and these are the five Rays players (minimum) who will be in uniform for the American League.
Rays: 5 players who must be All-Stars in 2023
Wander Franco
Want to know who leads MLB position players in WAR? It's not the speedy Corbin Carroll, steady Freddie Freeman, or even the excellent Ronald Acuña Jr., but Rays shortstop Wander Franco.
At the plate, Franco is batting a hair below .300 and offers one of the lowest strikeout rates in the league — both impressive for a 22-year-old. He also benefitted from the new pick-off rules, recording 22 stolen bases already.
But it is in the field where Wander Franco has truly set himself apart from other shortstops. He has nine defensive runs saved to go with a league-leading 1.3 defensive WAR, making Franco the obvious choice to be the American League's starting shortstop this July.
Yandy Diaz
In his three previous seasons with the Rays, Yandy Diaz was a strong contact hitter who walked more than he struck out. He even finished 20th in AL MVP voting in 2022. This year though, Diaz turned into one of the best power hitters the St. Petersburg area has ever seen.
Now playing mostly as a first baseman, Diaz has 12 homers through 55 games — two off his career high. He ranks second in Major League Baseball in average exit velocity, trailing only the great Aaron Judge, while also ranking in the 98th percentile in expected batting average. This scary combination of power and average has made Yandy Diaz one of the best hitters in baseball this season, and a slam-dunk All-Star candidate.
Josh Lowe
Josh Lowe has managed the impressive feat of setting himself apart while playing on the best team in baseball. Lowe is on pace for 30 home runs and 40 stolen bases this season — which would make him only the seventh player in the history of the American League to reach that plateau.
Mike Trout is the only AL player to reach the 30/40 mark in the 21st century, which really gives a sense of how well Lowe has played this year.
Shane McClanahan
After finishing with a 12-8 record, 2.54 ERA, and 194 punchouts in 2022 — which led to an All-Star Game invite and a sixth-place finish in AL Cy Young voting, McClanahan has upped his game in 2023. Through 14 starts, the young lefty has a 10-1 record with a minuscule 2.18 ERA.
Playing for the red-hot Rays helps McClanahan in the win-loss department, but pitching at least five full innings and allowing two runs or fewer in 12 of your 14 starts is also a very good pathway for picking up wins. Shane McClanahan will be in the conversation for starting the MLB All-Star game for the American League.
Zach Eflin
Welcome to the Tampa Bay Home For Rehabilitated Pitchers. The current top project for the Rays' pitching gurus is Zach Eflin. Once a top prospect, Eflin never reached the heights expected of him during his seven years with the Philadelphia Phillies — with the last two marred by injuries.
Since joining Tampa Bay this off-season, Eflin's ERA (2.97) is a full point lower than in any of his seasons with the Phillies and he is walking batters at the lowest rate of his career. He might not be the biggest name in the Rays rotation, but Eflin is finally playing like an ace in Tampa.
