Three weeks into the 2023 season in the American League East, the Tampa Bay Rays have separated themselves from the four other teams, but the season is young and the standings will look different than they do today when the regular season comes to an end on Oct. 1.
In the first three weeks, there have been some surprises and disappointments, while teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are already dealing with key injuries. Giancarlo Stanton, really to the surprise of nobody who has struggled to stay healthy in his time in the Bronx, is going to be out for up to six weeks according to manager Aaron Boone with a hamstring injury.
One of the biggest surprises through the first week of the season was the start Adam Duvall had with the Red Sox in center field. Batting fourth, he was hands down their best hitter and most productive hitter in the lineup for Alex Cora. His injury leaves a void, but after getting swept by the Rays last week, they came home and took advantage of the Los Angeles Angels in two by winning three out of four and then rallying to beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4, in 10 innings on Tuesday night.
In what many consider to be the best division in baseball, there has been no bigger surprise in Major League Baseball so far than Kevin Cash’s Rays. This is where we will start with some random thoughts about the AL East through three weeks.
April 19, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>To compound matters, Paxton had an outing for the Worcester Woo Sox in Triple-A Wednesday night that is not exactly promising. In two-thirds of an inning against Lehigh Valley out of the bullpen, he gave up five hits, seven earned runs, and walked two. He faced just nine batters. Talk about adding more problems to a pitching staff that is not built to be a contender.</p>
<p>The Red Sox signing pitchers who still think they have something left is not working out well and it’s going to bury them in the standings by Memorial Day. It’s hard to believe that the once big-spending Boston Red Sox are in this situation and model in 2023.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #58595b" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/21/rays-red-sox-yankees-3-early-season-thoughts/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Third thought </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-523220 size-full" src=https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/21/rays-red-sox-yankees-3-early-season-thoughts/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fcalltothepen.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1247585136.jpeg" alt="MLB player Anthony Volpe, Yankees" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://calltothepen.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1247585136.jpeg 3200w, https://calltothepen.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1247585136-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">TAMPA, FL – FEBRUARY 23: Anthony Volpe #77 of the New York Yankees looks on during Spring Training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 23, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Yankees: Anthony Volpe finding success at the top of the order</h2>
<p>Anthony Volpe is getting more and more confident with the Yankees with each game he plays in <a href=https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/21/rays-red-sox-yankees-3-early-season-thoughts/"https://calltothepen.com/2023/03/27/new-york-yankees-anthony-volpe-roster-shortstop/">his first season in the majors</a> and now he has been setting the table at the top of the order for Aaron Boone while making an impact.</p>
<p>Boone has moved his shortstop to the top of the order and he has been finding ways on base and causing traffic for opposing teams. In Wednesday night’s 3-2 10-inning Yankees win over the Los Angeles Angels, he singled to lead off the bottom of the first inning, then scored on Aaron Judge’s two-run homer.</p>
<p>Thursday afternoon in New York’s 9-3 win over the Angels, he once again got things started right away in the first inning with a leadoff walk that led to a five-run outburst. He has reached base in some capacity in 15 of his last 32 plate appearances. Just 21 years old, he is turning into a sparkplug at the top of the order, getting on base, stealing bases, and giving the Yankees something that DJ LeMahieu couldn’t always provide.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The youngest Yankees player ever to steal 3 bases in a game! <a href=https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/21/rays-red-sox-yankees-3-early-season-thoughts/"https://twitter.com/Volpe_Anthony?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@Volpe_Anthony ⚡️</p>
<p>Presented by <a href=https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/21/rays-red-sox-yankees-3-early-season-thoughts/"https://twitter.com/Delta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@Delta <a href=https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/21/rays-red-sox-yankees-3-early-season-thoughts/"https://t.co/7Pci68cAdH">pic.twitter.com/7Pci68cAdH
<p>— New York Yankees (@Yankees) <a href=https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/21/rays-red-sox-yankees-3-early-season-thoughts/"https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1647348070764408832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>April 15, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>The AL East is going to be a beast all summer long and is the best division in baseball. The Rays and Yankees will be battling with the Toronto Blue Jays and even the young Baltimore Orioles at the top, but the top of their rotation is going to be trouble for the division, as will Volpe while the Red Sox will be competitive, but need more from Bloom’s patchwork rotation.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="3 potential landing spots for Bumgarner after DFA" data-url="https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/20/madison-bumgarner-3-landing-spots/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #58595b" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/21/rays-red-sox-yankees-3-early-season-thoughts/"https://calltothepen.com/2023/04/20/madison-bumgarner-3-landing-spots/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> 3 potential landing spots for Bumgarner after DFA </a> </div>
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