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Remember last year, when the Colorado Rockies came out of nowhere to make the playoffs, and then made it all the way to the World Series? The general reaction among casual fans was confusion. Who are these guys? What are their names? Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe…We had to learn those names on the fly.

Well, pay attention. Learn your lesson from last year and get to know the Tampa Bay Rays. They entered play today with the best record in baseball, becoming the only team in baseball history to have the most losses in the league one year and the most wins in the league on July 1st of the next year. Let’s take a few moments to find out the names of these guys now. You never know. In October, the information might come in handy.

For the Rays, it starts with pitching. They have four great young pitchers in their starting rotation: Scott Kazmir has a 7-3 record with a 2.28 ERA. He is the one name you probably know from this staff. After Kazmir, there is James Shields, best known for his role in the brawl with Red Sox OF Coco Crisp. He is 6-5 with a 3.70 ERA. Matt Garza is third. He came to the Rays during the offseason from Minnesota in the deal that sent Delmon Young to the Twins. Garza is 7-4 with a 3.47 ERA. Garza made news a couple of weeks ago when he got into a fight in the dugout with his own catcher, Dioner Navarro. Many experts say Garza has the most potential of this staff. Rounding out the rotation is Andy Sonnanstine (9-3, 4.60 ERA) and Edwin Jackson (4-6, 4.33 ERA). Even though Jackson is under .500, he gives the Rays a dependable fifth arm in the rotation. Most teams don’t have that.

In the bullpen, the Rays have experience to match their youth. The addition of closer Troy Percival (19 saves) has been huge for their confidence. Dan Wheeler and JP Howell are dependable late-inning, setup guys while Gary Glover, Trever Miller, and Grant Balfour fill other important roles in the pen.

In the field, the Rays have placed key guys around their young stars. Navarro is the catcher, who has the important task of handling the pitchers. The infield is young, but Carlos Pena provides some experience at first base. Akinori Iwamura plays second. He is one of the few Japanese imports who have worked out. Most Japanese players come over with much fanfare, only to disappoint. Iwamura has fit right in. At shortstop is Jason Bartlett. He came from Minnesota, along with Garza, in the Delmon Young deal. At third base plays Evan Longoria. He is a rising star that Tampa recently locked into a long-term contract. He is the Rays’ third baseman of the present and the future.

The outfield is solid with veteran Carl Crawford in left, BJ Upton in center and Eric Hinske in right. Rocco Baldelli is on the disabled list right now, but should join the club soon. Gabe Gross is a key bat off the bench.

This is the lineup that the Rays would probably put on the field for Game 1 of the ALDS. There is a lot of conversation surrounding whether or not the Rays should make a trade for someone at the trade deadline. Do they trade away some of their young talent for a player who can help them in this year’s playoffs? It’s a fascinating debate.

The Rays’ best chance is now. There is no guarantee that their young stars will play this well in future years. They need to plan for this year, and go for the World Series. With the Red Sox and Yankees staring up at them, they are in the driver’s seat for a bid at the championship.

Think about that. The Rays are contenders for the World Series. Who predicted that before the start of the season?

Scott Wiebe is the author of How to Fix College Football, a new eBook available on the Merchandise page of this website.  If you have any questions or comments about this column, send them to swiebe2282@yahoo.com.  Thanks for visiting this site.  While you are here, please take a moment to click an ad or two.  The ads help to support this site.