For Rays, the fight for All-Star spots is part of a bigger battle

MINNEAPOLIS — The Rays have the player with the best overall offensive stats among American League second basemen in Brandon Lowe.

Same, minus some power numbers, for AL first basemen in Jonathan Aranda.

They’ve got a DH who has hit .400 for more than a month in Yandy Diaz.

They’ve got a promising third baseman who started Saturday with 21 homers — third most in the AL — on his 22nd birthday, plus personality and a million-dollar smile, in Junior Caminero.

They’ve got three of the 15 AL starters with ERAs of 3.50 or better in Zack Littell, Ryan Pepiot and Drew Rasmussen.

Yet when the pitchers and reserves for the AL All-Star team are named Sunday afternoon, it seems the Rays will be lucky if two of those seven candidates are actually ticketed to Atlanta for the July 15 midsummer showcase.

“We shouldn’t be on pins and needles with some of our guys to get in,” Lowe said. “But it’s kind of just the way things are and the situation we’re in. Selection is Sunday, so we’ll hold out for that, and hopefully we’re celebrating multiple guys.”

Brandon Lowe, shown warming up before at at-bat against the Athletics Tuesday in Tampa, has the best overall offensive stats among American League second basemen. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

If so, it likely will be because their peers — who vote nine reserves and eight pitchers into the game— recognized the talent the Rays have. And they can correct, in the case of the four position players, what the fans who cast ballots worldwide for the starters passed over.

It also would not force the Rays to count on favor from Major League Baseball officials, who appoint the six players to fill out the 32-man roster and subsequent replacements for injured and otherwise unavailable players.

This year’s All-Star process provides the latest example of what the Rays feel is an ongoing battle to get the credit and attention they deserve given their overall success — third-best record in the majors since 2008 with nine playoff appearances — and individual talent.

“It’s one of those things that you’ve just kind of grown accustomed to when you’re here,” said Lowe, in his eighth season. “My first year that might have gotten on my nerves, like, ‘Oh you don’t know who these guys are?’ But I mean, at this point it’s the same thing year after year; you just kind of get adjusted to it.”

The fan voting at first base stood out this year, as Aranda has been consistent all season in accruing better stats than the two finalists — Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who won the start, and New York’s Paul Goldschmidt.

“I don’t think there should be any doubt that Jonathan Aranda should be the starting first baseman in the All-Star Game,” Lowe said. “It sucks the way that the voting doesn’t let him be available to be that starter. So, that stinks.”

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

The Rays can cite slights, such as not being featured on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” and being assigned daytime starts for recent playoff appearances.

Rays starter Drew Rasmussen relaxes before a game against the Orioles in June in Tampa. He is one of just 15 AL starters, including three Rays, with ERAs of 3.50 or better. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

And they can take note of mistakes, such as a recent MLB Network show where an analyst referred to Aranda as Jose, and stadium PA announcers and game broadcasters who continue to mix up the different pronunciations used by Brandon Lowe (as in “wow”) and Josh Lowe (“low”).

But they also understand that’s how life has been for a team far from the big city that annually ranks near the bottom of the league in attendance.

“Your big media markets, that’s your driver, right? If you’re ESPN or MLB Network or whatever, you’ve got more people that watch in New York. You have more people that watch in LA. You have more people that watch in Chicago, etc. That is what it is,” said Rays veteran closer Pete Fairbanks.

“I just would like to get some appreciation for (Rasmussen) and for Jonny Aranda, and the freaking year that Brandon Lowe is having that doesn’t seem like it’s getting the love that it should for a past All-Star.”

But they also know it comes with being a Ray.

“We’re calloused to that sort of stuff,” Fairbanks said. “It’s nothing new for the people who have been here for a while. Our overall focus is not on feeling slighted by the coverage of the Rays. But it’s obviously internal for us. And we’re going to laugh about whatever happens, and try and continue to play good baseball.”

Even when they do, they feel they don’t get enough of that love from the national media in traditional formats or — in the currency of today’s players — from league and other major social media sites.

“It’s definitely frustrating, just from the national media side of it,” starter Zack Littell said. “Even the stretch of baseball we played, where we had the best record in baseball for a month and a half, it finally started to get talked about.

Rays third baseman Junior Caminero celebrates after scoring the winning run during a game against the Texas Rangers in June in Tampa. He started Saturday with 21 homers, third most in the American League. [ CHRIS O’MEARA | AP ]

“But we were just blowing through people for a while. And I think the Yankees, even Baltimore, Boston, these teams, after a week and a half, they’re talking about how good these teams are playing. So, yeah, it’s frustrating. But again, it’s kind of part of it.”

In some ways, the Rays have found ways to use the lack of credit and attention to their advantage.

“Short answer, no. I don’t think that people still realize who we are as team,” said outfielder Josh Lowe. “I think we’re all OK with that, honestly. Being a ‘smaller market team,’ you kind of get overlooked, and you’re the underdog, even though you might be the better team nine times out of 10.

“And I think we’re all fine with that. I feel like there’s certain times when we get too much hype, we kind of just take our foot off the gas. And when we’re overlooked, it kind of just fuels the fire a little more. And I think that’s the type of attitude, the type of mindset, that we need to continue having.”

Or, as Pepiot put it, “If you’re going to underestimate us, we’ll show you who we are.”

Baseball operations president Erik Neander said he kind of gets it.

“I felt like probably there are a lot of people that didn’t have the highest expectations for our team this year. We’ve been there before. Some of our best work has happened when the expectations have been the lowest,” he said.

Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz celebrates scoring a run against the Minnesota Twins Friday in Minneapolis. Diaz has hit .400 for more than a month. [ BRUCE KLUCKHOHN | AP ]

“It’s a talented group. I think some of it is when you have teams that are usually built on what you think is ahead, rather than what they’ve accomplished today — like when you’re always in that space — the credit and the recognition tends to come a little bit later.”

Neander said that applies individually, too, noting that the players not named All-Stars now should get their props later.

Ultimately, Josh Lowe said, the Rays can seize the narrative.

“Let them say whatever they want. Let them not talk about us. Let them talk about us, whatever,” he said. “We know we believe in this clubhouse. And 10 times out of 10, I like our chances versus anybody.”

If the Rays, who’ve made it to the World Series twice, were to finally win a ring this year, would that get them the credit and attention they feel they deserve?

“I would hope so,” Littell said. “At least until a week after the parade maybe. And then we’ll be picked fourth in the AL East again next year.”

• • •

Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.

Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.

Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook.