New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction & Betting Tips - MLB Spring Training

Prediction published on 05/03/2024, 16:53  by Matthew Newman | Modified on 05/03/2024 at 16:55 in Baseball Predictions

The American League East looks like being as deep as ever this season and this is a good opportunity to get an insight into just how competitive it will be as the New York Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays in a spring training game on Wednesday. The Yankees have been bubbling under so far, not the finished article quite yet as a team but there have been glimpses that they can be back to their best after the embarrassment of missing the postseason in 2023. One of the biggest positives for them is that Anthony Rizzo has made an excellent start. He missed a huge chunk of the 2023 season and a fully fit Rizzo with the short right porch at Yankee Stadium is a danger to all. Clarke Schmidt gave them a great start against the Marlins on Monday for a starting rotation that could be excellent.

Tampa got off to one of the hottest starts in memory in 2023, winning their first 13 straight to kick off the season, the longest win streak to start a campaign since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers. A midsummer slump saw them slip behind the Baltimore Orioles and end up having to take on the eventual World Series winners, the Texas Rangers, in the opening round of the playoffs. They are a team that lacks any star quality but seem all the better for that, able to play for one another as a team. There were no big signings over the winter and it will be business as usual with the next man up philosophy.