Why the Rays Will Win the AL East

To be completely honest, I am sick of all the articles written to strip the hope of the few loyal Rays fans. 

Terms given to our Rays—such as "One Year Wonders" and "Flukes"—make my stomach turn. 

This is a response to that, predicting not just a Wild Card win, but an AL East title.

Yes, an AL East title.

If you want to stop reading, now would be the time to stop; however, if you are looking to be sold on the Rays, you've come to the right article.

Setting

As of June 29, the Rays sit at third place in the AL East, where many naysayers predicted they would end the season, behind the vast wallets of Boston and New York. Five games behind Boston and two games behind New York in the Wild Card, the Rays are in a perfect place to make a run. 

If a World Series team could ever have low expectations from fans, Tampa Bay does. Not only are they a small market team, but life is made easier by the media focusing on the Yankees and their three free agent acquisitions, and the Red Sox and their abundance of pitching.

This will allow Joe Maddon and his young club to get comfortable and play baseball the way they did last year.

Offense

Even with sluggish starts from B.J. Upton, Dioner Navarro, and Pat Burrell, the Rays sit atop all of baseball in runs scored, runs batted in, total bases, stolen bases, and on-base percentage.

They also place second in batting average, slugging percentage, walks, doubles, and hits, and sit fourth in home runs. Does this not scream "baseball's best offense"?

B.J. Upton has finally come on, and looks like he did in the postseason last year, and two seasons ago when he first broke out. 

Evan Longoria looks to have cemented his status as the best third baseman in the business.

Carl Crawford has reminded us that he is Carl Crawford, and may steal 90-plus bases.

Ben Zobrist may be the greatest thing that has happened to the Rays this year, and is on pace for around 33 homers and 18 steal.

Carlos Pena will hit at least 45 home runs and hit in 120 runs.

Jason Bartlett won't hit .365, but .330 isn't out of the question, with around 35 steals to add to his great year.

Gabe Kapler has been on fire and Gabe Gross has been very serviceable...and Pat Burrell hasn't even started hitting yet.

Add to it the fact that they are running like crazy, and this is the most fun offense we've seen in years.

Starting Pitching

Tampa Bay currently ranks 12th in team ERA, but in the past month, they are number two. This is a sign of what to expect for the rest of the year. 

Scott Kazmir is back and healthy, showing us that he is capable of being who he was a couple of years ago.

James Shields is pitching like the ace he is.

Matt Garza is finding consistency.

With the exception of one start, David Price continues to get better. He needs to throw more strikes and be more efficient, but he strikes out enough batters to keep his earned runs in check.

Jeff Niemann has pitched very well, showing us the capability of a number three starter in the four spot.

Andy Sonnanstine and Wade Davis await in the minors if Niemann or Price pitch poorly, or if anything happens to a starter. 

Bullpen

At the start of the season, it didn't look like the Rays could hold a lead. Dan Wheeler, Troy Percival, Jason Isringhausen, and Grant Balfour all struggled, and the list goes on and on.

Then, something clicked—nobody could score off the Rays' relievers for quite some time. Everybody started pitching like last season.

Most importantly, the Rays found their closer in J.P. Howell. The soft-throwing lefty has been outstanding this year and has cemented his status as closer.

Summary

Everything clicked at the right time for the Rays, winners of 19 of their past 27 games.  Look for the Rays to continue on this tear, all the way to the AL East title.