J.P. Howell, Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler have really tightened up the Rays’ bullpen this season. Lefty J.P. Howell has been a huge surprise as he has never pitched well in the majors before this season. Coming into the 2008 season, Howell had a 5-14 record with a 6.34 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP in 33 starts in his major league career. Howell has really taken to the role of long reliever as it appears that he’s picked up a couple of mph on his fastball. Howell is 6-0 with 2 saves, a 2.68 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP this year and it would even be better if he had better control. Howell has walked 27 batters this season while allowing only 38 hits in 57 innings this year. Dan Wheeler has been outstanding in his role as set up man this season for the Rays. He is 2-4 with 3 saves, a 2.38 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP this year and he should continue to have a fine season for the Rays. Grant Balfour has been filling in for the injured Troy Percival as the closer and he has been nasty. Balfour is 2-1 with 3 saves, a 1.64 ERA and a 0.95 ERA so far this year. He has only allowed 10 hits while whiffing 33 batters in only 22 innings this season. The Rays hope he can keep up the good work the rest of the season.

The Rays felt good coming into this season about the starting rotation but they still wondered what they would get out of the #4 and #5 starting jobs. But, Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine have stepped up big time and have solidified the back end of the rotation. Jackson is 5-6 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP so far this season and even though he has been up and down this year he has been solid overall. Jackson does need to tighten his control a little bit as he has walked 47 batters in 110 innings and that has gotten him into some trouble this year. Andy Sonnanstine is the opposite of Jackson as he gives up a lot of hits but gets disappointed if he even walks one batter in a game. He is 10-4 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP this year. He has only walked 20 batters in 114 innings this season which keeps the Rays’ defense on their toes. Scott Kazmir (7-5, 3.04), James Shields (7-6, 3.83) and Matt Garza (7-5, 3.96) should all have better records than they have if the Rays just hit a little better when they were pitching. Still, not many teams can match the starting rotation of the Rays 1-5 and that should help them maintain the first half pace they have set.

The Rays have limped into the All-Star Break on a 7-game losing streak which has caused them to lose first place in the American League East. They are now 55-39 which has them 1/2 a game behind the Red Sox in the East but they are leading the Wild Card Race by 2.5 games. The Rays project to have a big second half as the only hitter playing above his head is Dioner Navarro who is hitting .310 with 25 runs scored, 4 homers and 35 RBIs this season. Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena all should have big second halves of the season as long as they stay healthy the rest of the way. Sure, Evan Longoria is the favorite to win the American League Rookie of the Year but the guy that has really stepped up has been Eric Hinske. He was left for dead by the Red Sox over the winter but he hooked on with the Rays and a minor league contract. Hinske earned his job and really played well while Carlos Pena was out. Hinske is hitting .267 with 36 runs scored, 14 homers, 45 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Rays are for real!

The Rays really have no good reason to keep David Price in the minors if he continues to dominate the minors like he is right now. Price was the #1 pick of the entire major league draft in 2007 and he’s a very polished college pitcher who won’t need much more time to be ready for the show. If Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson falter in the near future, Price will be in the majors as a starting pitcher. Don’t be surprised if the Rays are also tempted to use Price out of the bullpen the rest of the season just like the Yanks did with Joba Chamberlain. The 22-year old left handed Price has started 10 games in A+AA ball this season and he is 8-0 with a 1.63 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He has only allowed 47 hits while whiffing 59 batters in only 60.2 innings this year. The thought here is that Price will be pitching for the Rays in less than one month from today.

21-year old righty starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson was the #8 prospect in the Rays’ minor league system coming into this season according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook. He’s proving that he should have been ranked a little higher on that list. Hellickson has started 17 games in A+AA ball this season and he is 7-3 with a 2.76 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He has whiffed 92 batters in 91.1 innings and he has only walked an amazing 6 batters! Teams have been asking for him when talking to the Rays about trades but they should be careful as Hellickson is likely going to be a solid major leaguer in the future.