Last year was a landmark season for the Tampa Bay Rays. With one of the smallest payrolls and fan bases in all of Major League Baseball, the Rays managed to win 96 games and make it to the American League Divisional Series where they lost to the super power Houston Astros, but not before extending them to the full five games. Tampa Bay won 90 games in the 2018 season which shows that this is a franchise that has things well though out and with a “Moneyball” type of plan. The Rays opened with a win total of 90.5 for the 2020 season. And that number looks just about perfect as far as the challenge of making the winning pick.
We’ll have MLB Odds at Bookmaker.eu available for every game of the 2020 MLB season.
2020 Tampa Bay Rays Win Total Odds at Bookmaker.eu: 90.5, -115 over, -115 under
After winning 90 or more games the past two seasons and making the post season for the first time since 2013 its no surprise that the Rays are getting more public betting attention. In fact, Tampa Bay gained too much respect from the gambling community last year as they did not show a profit on the season despite their 96 wins. That leads into the possibility that they may be overvalued for the 2020 campaign.
American League East
Working in favor of the Rays going over the total of 90.5 wins on the season is that they will have a disproportionate amount of games against the dreadful Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. Counter to that is just as many games against the powerful New York Yankees and a Boston Red Sox team that could be a lot better than what is expected.
Moneyball
The Oakland A’s may have the patent on this formula for success used by low revenue teams but the Rays have shamelessly stolen it and perhaps improved upon it. Tampa Bay is one of the best managed teams in any sport and gets the most out of what they have. They are not cheap but rather very smart.
On the Hill
The Rays ranked third best in all of Major League Baseball for 2019 staff earned run average.
Right hand starter Charlie Morton has been a big reason for the Rays success. Morton has been an AL All-Star the past two seasons and is coming off a career year for 2019. His record was 16-6 with a 3.05 earned run average. Morton struck out 240 batters in 194.2 innings of work and posted a 1.08 WHIP.
Left hander Blake Snell is expected to have a comeback season after taking a big step back for 2019. Snell won the 2018 AL Cy Young Award and was also an AL All-Star that went 21-5 with a 1.89 earned run average and 0.97 WHIP. Snell struck out 221 batters in 180.2 innings of work that year. Last year he was 6-8 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. Which Snell we get will go a long way towards determining if the Rays clear the win total or not.
At the Plate
Right fielder Austin Meadows was a 2019 AL All-Star that scored 83 runs with 29 doubles, 33 home runs, 89 runs batted in, a .291 average, .558 slugging percentage, and .922 OPS.
2020 Tampa Bay Rays Win Total Betting Odds Pick
Tampa Bay is worthy of a lot of respect for what they have been able to accomplish with limited resources. But they are still trying to push a boulder up a hill against the big market teams. The Rays have defied gravity the past two years and may slip back in 2020.
MLB Betting Odds Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays under 90.5 wins
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
