ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Baseball superteams are not identified in 32 games.
The smooth path the Rays have traveled will eventually veer toward potholes, which is when talent and depth will be tested.
But the buzz saw the Yankees will visit this weekend has played like a superteam through the first month of the season.
Kevin Cash’s crew has been the best club in the majors by a wide margin and in virtually every area.
The Rays’ cumulative OPS is .876, just about equal with the career OPS of seven-time All-Star Nolan Arenado.
The Rays’ team ERA is 2.87, on par with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal.
It is not just that the Rays have won 26 of their first 32 games, it is that they have outscored opponents by 114 runs and routed their way to the top of the AL East.
“They’ve done everything,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday. “They’ve pitched as good as anyone in the league. They’ve swung the bats as well as anyone in the league.”
He is not wrong.
The Rays have the best cumulative batting average (.278) in baseball — and their staff has surrendered the fewest runs.
Their bats have swatted the most home runs in the game (67) and their pitching arms have allowed the fewest (20).
The Rays, who will host the first showdown between the divisional rivals in a three-game series beginning Friday, won their first 13 games and are already 20 games over .500 — the quickest team to reach that mark since the 1984 Tigers.
It took the ’98 Yankees and ’01 Mariners 38 games to achieve 20 more wins than losses.
“They’re playing like the best team in the league right now,” said Boone, whose last-place Yankees (17-15) are nine games back. “Not surprising that they’re really good. Gotta play really well to go beat them, especially down there.”
Even coming off a series victory over the Guardians, the Yankees are not entering enemy territory playing their best.
Their outfield will not consist of the injured Aaron Judge (eligible to be activated off the IL on Monday) or Giancarlo Stanton, with fliers Willie Calhoun and Jake Bauers expected to see plenty of time.
The Yankees’ tweaked rotation enables Gerrit Cole to get a turn at Tropicana Field on Sunday, but Nestor Cortes (strep throat) will miss the series.
Jhony Brito and Domingo German will start the first two games, which could see the division deficit swell to double-digits.
While the Yankees adjusted to throw their ace at the Rays, Tampa didn’t bother responding.
The Yankees will miss star Shane McClanahan (who pitched Wednesday), Zach Eflin (Thursday) and Tyler Glasnow (who is on the IL).
The Rays will open with Yonny Chirinos, who has been effective but has usually followed an opener, before Drew Rasmussen (3.66 ERA) starts Saturday, and reliever Josh Fleming will start a bullpen game Sunday.
The Rays’ 2.79 bullpen ERA is second only to the Yankees’ (2.77).
The Yankees’ staff will be busy with a lineup led by 22-year-old phenom Wander Franco, international star Randy Arozarena and underpaid contributors who seem to quietly do everything well.
Yandy Diaz has a great eye, powerful bat and 1.038 OPS. Infielder Taylor Walls is reaching base 38.8 percent of the time.
Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe (no relation) are both enjoying bounce-back years.
“They’ve done a great job of just building and transitioning their roster to be really complementary of one another,” Boone said of the Rays, who platoon often. “Depending on what the matchup is that day, who they’re facing, their 13 position players really complement each other well.”
If there is a question beyond sample size concerning Tampa Bay, it is quality of opponent.
The Rays have won nine of 10 games against teams from the AL Central and eight of nine against NL clubs (Nationals, Reds and Pirates).
In come the Yankees, with a heavier payroll by roughly $200 million, yet who might be trading big bats for slingshots.
Their injury-depleted offense has been quiet for weeks.
“With the big guys down right now, we’ve got to find a way to manufacture runs,” Isiah Kiner-Falefa said Wednesday.
The gritty, gutsy Yankees, playing small-ball as an underdog, against the most efficient organization the sport has seen.
