For the 2021 MLB preseason, The Game Day has compiled 2021 Rays Prop Bets, including Tampa Bay Futures Odds & Picks. I’ll list a few 2021 Rays Picks, Player Props and Team Prop wagers that MLB bettors can target.
Tampa Bay Rays Futures Bets: 2021 Team & Player Props
Player Props & Futures
2021 AL MVP (Odds provided by BetMGM)
- Randy Arozarena (+5000)
- Austin Meadows (+6600)
- Wander Franco (+6600)
Arozarena is extremely intriguing at this price. Naturally, his 10-homer postseason tear last October is fresh on every bettor’s mind, but the 26-year-old star-in-waiting’s professional resume supports the notion he’d be capable of an MVP-caliber performance across a full season. Arozarena hit over .300 on three different occasions at the Double-A and Triple-A levels while in the Cardinals organization, and he’s generated a .286/.384/.607 line across 99 plate appearances over his first two seasons.
The sample size is still clearly modest and Arozarena has never mustered a higher single-season total than the 12 home runs he managed at Triple-A Memphis in 2019, so there are question marks attached. Nevertheless, given his tools and the odds, there’s no question Arozarena at least merits consideration for a flyer on what could be an excellent return on investment.
Meadows is also an intriguing candidate at even longer odds, as the young outfielder is highly motivated following a forgettable 2020 season. The 25-year-old battled COVID and even some weight issues last season to finish with a paltry .205/.296/.371 line, but this is the same player who slugged 33 homers and slashed .291/.364/.558 in 2019. Similar to Arozarena, Meadows was never a true power hitter in the minors, so it remains to be seen if he can once again be that prolific in the long-ball department.
Finally, Franco is an interesting inclusion, as the organization continues to insist he will not begin the season at the major-league level. The supremely talented prospect spent last season soaking up knowledge at the Rays’ alternate training site, but he’s still to play above the High-A level. While a start to 2021 at Triple-A Durham and an eventual big-league promotion wouldn’t be out of the question whatsoever for Franco, it’s likely he simply wouldn’t have enough time to accrue MVP-caliber numbers in 2021, although he’s probably a future annual contender for the distinction.
(Odds provided by PointsBet)
2021 Most Regular Season Stolen Bases
- Randy Arozarena (+5000)
Arozarena is an interesting inclusion in this market after being left off those for most hits, home runs or RBI. The outfielder does have very good speed, but he topped out a 17 steals at Triple-A Memphis back in 2017 in terms of his minor-league career and was only given the green light on four occasions last season.
Arozarena has consistently boasted an elite on-base percentage throughout his time as a pro and reached safely at a .382 clip with the Rays last season, but it would seem unlikely he’d see the number of attempts necessary to rack up the steals crown.
Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena is an intriguing option for several MLB Prop Bets such as most regular season runs, stolen bases and even MVP. (Credit: USA TODAY Sports)
2021 Most Regular Season Runs
- Randy Arozarena (+5000)
This market makes considerably more sense for Arozarena, although his odds remain long due to concerns about how often he might ring up runs outside of the ones he’ll compile through his own honers. The Rays scored a serviceable 289 runs last season, which ranked them just inside the top half of the league at No. 14.
Arozarena will likely have some talented-but-not-quite-elite bats such as Mike Brosseau, Joey Wendle, Ji-Man Choi and Brandon Lowe hitting behind him at times, and his own aforementioned above-average speed and ability to get on base should certainly help his cause in terms of crossing the plate often.
However, the Rays don’t have the feel of an elite offense, and although Arozarena’s slotting in the order should help him rack up a fair share of runs, he’s about as long a shot as his odds imply.
2021 AL Cy Young Award
- Tyler Glasnow (+1000)
With Blake Snell now in San Diego, Glasnow is the unquestioned ace of the Rays staff. The big right-hander seemed to be ramping up for a breakout 2020 when he posted an elite 6-1 record, 1.78 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 12 starts in 2019, but although he won five of six decisions in 2020, his ERA bumped up to 4.08. However, he also generated an absurd 38.9 percent strikeout rate and averaged 97 mph on his heater for the second straight season, so the raw tools are unquestionably there to generate Cy Young-worthy numbers. At four-digit odds, Glasnow is an appealing flyer to take if you can swing it.
2021 Most Regular Season Pitcher Strikeouts
- Tyler Glasnow (+2500)
As just alluded to, Glasnow’s elite ability to miss bats is one of the most impressive aspects of his repertoire, and he should be near the top of the leaderboard if he enjoys a season of full health. Last season’s aforementioned 38.4 percent strikeout rate wasn’t really an outlier, as he’d produced figures of 29.1 percent and 33.0 percent in the previous two seasons.
The 27-year-old is also far from a one-trick pony, as he continues to develop a hybrid cutter/slider to add to his already impressive arsenal of pitches. The one question mark attached to Glasnow is whether he’s capable of the durability that would be necessary to capture the K crown – he’s never logged more than 111.2 innings in any of his five big-league seasons.
Despite the uncertainty, the combination of Glasnow’s skill set and this price certainly makes a wager on him worthy of consideration.
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