As the Rays head to Los Angeles to open a four-game set with the Angels starting on Thursday, the Rays can thank their Halo’d AL opponents for the player who has been arguably the Rays best hitter in 2018.
C.J. Cron has twice as many homers as any other hitter on the Rays, and his 134 wRC+ trails only Daniel Robertson (138) on the team. His 0.9 fWAR ranks behind only Robertson (1.2) and Mallex Smith (1.0) among position players. Given the low value placed on first base play in these evaluation systems, Cron’s fWAR suggests he may be the overall most valuable Rays hitter in 2018.