All Hail Tampa's "Zorilla"

(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

As is the case with any year, there have been numerous surprises in Major League Baseball so far this season.

Russell Branyan, a career .237 hitter, is batting .307. Zack Greinke, who had 34 victories in his first five seasons, already has eight this year.

And, before he landed on the disabled list with a groin strain, it seemed that 37 year-old Raul Ibañez had discovered the fountain of youth, with a .312 average, 22 homers, and a 1.027 OPS highlighting a phenomenal first 250 at-bats.

But perhaps the biggest surprise of all comes from a Tampa Bay Rays team that has been surprisingly mediocre. The Rays are just 35-33 this season, and trail the AL East leading Red Sox by six games heading into Thursday's action.

Joe Maddon's team has been ravaged by injuries during the first third of the season, as Scott Kazmir, B.J. Upton, Jason Bartlett, and Pat Burrell have all missed a significant number of games. Second-baseman Akinori Iwamura suffered a serious knee injury on May 22nd, and will not play again this year.

With five of its key players not contributing at full capacity, one might wonder how the youthful Tampa Bay squad has managed to even stay afloat in the ultra-competitive AL East division.

The answer is a 28 year-old utility-man nicknamed "Zorilla" by his eclectic skipper.

Ben Zobrist was a sixth-round draft pick of the Astros back in 2004, and was traded to the Rays in the deal that sent Aubrey Huff to Houston in July of 2006. He made his Major League debut less than a month later, but showed nothing resembling his current offensive prowess.

In 2008, Zobrist flashed excellent power, mashing a dozen homers in just 198 at-bats. Perhaps that outburst—in what was his legendary age-27 season—should have served as a notice of Zorilla's arrival. But it certainly didn't portend quite as magnificent a performance as he has had so far.

Through his first 174 at-bats of the season, Ben Zobrist has authored a phenomenal slash line of .310/.420/.678. He has collected 14 doubles, legged-out four triples, and slugged 14 homers.

You read that correctly: Despite having at least 60 fewer plate appearances than most of his counterparts, Zobrist ranks eighth in the junior circuit with 32 extra-base hits, just six behind the leader (his teammate Evan Longoria).

The switch-hitting Zorilla has crushed righties (.277/.394/.622) and clobbered lefties (.382/.477/.800). He has been a gourmet chef at home (.293/.426/.707) and a fierce warrior on the road (.326/.415/.652).

Zobrist has also done his job regardless of the situation. He has catalyzed rallies (.330/.427/.716 with the bases empty), kept them going (.291/.413/.640 with men on), driven runners in (.277/.393/.660 with RISP), and come through in the clutch (.292/.414/.583 with RISP and two outs). Zorilla is also 4-for-10 with two grand slams in eleven trips to the plate with the bases loaded.

And, he has been remarkably consistent. Zobrist was a torrential shower in April (.289/.360/.644) and a gorgeous flower in May (.313/.439/.625). He's showing no signs of falling into a June swoon either, sporting a .327/.441/.796 line this month.

To all of the incredulous fantasy owners who were fortunate enough to grab him but sold high expecting his magic to run out, Zorilla's AL-best 1.237 June OPS is a mindblowing slap to the fa

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