The career of Shane McClanahan has been brief thus far, but he has been another arm in the continuing reloading of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Taken with the 31^st Pick of 2016’s Amateur Draft, the southpaw, who played his college ball at South Florida, could stay in state.  McClanahan debuted for Tampa in late April of 2021, earning a spot on the Starting Rotation.  He finished the season with a strong 10-6 Record and was seventh in Rookie of the Year voting.

McClanahan went to the All-Star Game as an MLB sophomore, completing the year going 12-8 with a 2.54 ERA and a sub-one WHIP (0.954).  He was also sixth in Cy Young voting. The hurler made the All-Star Team again in 2023, and had another good season (11-2, 3.29 ERA) albeit in only 21 starts, due to requiring Tommy John Surgery.

Will a healthy McLanahan bring another All-Star year in 2025?

Finding a home in Mexico after defecting from Cuba, Randy Arozarena impressed in the Mexican League to get signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017, playing well enough to get a late-season callup two years later.  St. Louis traded him to Tampa the year after, and in the Sunshine State, he would become a star.

Arozarena played only 23 Games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, but he was a starter in Outfield during Tampa’s playoff run, where he won the ALCS MVP, blasting nine Home Runs in the post-season and winning the Babe Ruth Award.  Still rookie eligible in 2021, Arozarena won the Rookie of the Year (20 HR, 145 Hits), and had 20 taters again in 2022.  Arozarena had one of his most rewarding years in 2023, beginning by representing his new country, Mexico, in the World Baseball Classic where he had the defensive play of the tournament and a Slash Line of .  He then made history as the first MLB player to start his career with three straight 20/20 years, and was an All-Star for the first time.

Sadly, Arozarena's game fell off dramatically in 2024, and he was traded mid-season to the Seattle Mariners.  As a Ray, Arozarena had 531 Hits with 85 Home Runs.

Yandy Diaz defected from Cuba at the age of 21, and the prospect joined the Cleveland Indians organization, and he would make his first appearance with the team in 2017.  Two years later, Diaz was part of a three-team trade that landed him with the Rays, where he found a better fit and opportunity.

Playing at Third Base and First, Diaz was a starter, but missed a lot of time in 2019 and 2020 due to injuries.  Healthier since, Diaz has been a solid producer both offensively and defensively, and has had 624 Hits to date for Tampa.  In 2023, Diaz went to his first All-Star Game, and set career-highs in Doubles (35), Home Runs (22), RBIs (78), Slugging (.522) and won his first Batting Title (.330).  Was this the season of his life?  It could be, as Diaz regressed in 2024, though still had 158 Hits.  

If Diaz returns to 2023 form, he could crack the top five of this franchise list. 

If you are a regular visitor at Notinhalloffame.com, you know that we created the Notinhalloffame NHL Cup, where in every regular season game, we award points (5-4-3-2-1) to the top five performers.  This is the second year that we have done this, and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid won the first one.

To keep everyone regularly in the loop this time, we have decided to give regular updates, starting at when the first player cracked 40 Points, and tell all of you the top ten.  We will this going forward with every update as the first player breaches the elevated ten-point threshold afterward.

Here is the current top ten, based on the first player to breach 140 Notinhalloffame Cup Points:

1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers.  152 Cup Points:  72 Games, 60 G, 78 A, 138 P, +16, 16.3 PS.  (#1 on last update)

What more can we say about McDavid’s 2022/23 Season.  He is running away with every major statistical category, and has a commanding lead in Cup Points.  Last year’s Notinhalloffame NHL Cup winner is extending his lead and he is currently the league-leader in Goals (60), Assists (78), Points (138) and Point Shares (16.3).  The Hart, Pearson, Richard and Art Ross are his to lose, and he won’t.  Is this the best year of his life?  He would agree, but only if the Oilers win it all!

2.  Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, 114 Cup Points:  59 Games, 30 G, 60 A, 90 P, +22, 10.1 PS.  (#2 on last update)

MacKinnon is playing phenomenal hockey, is ranked very high in Cup Points considering how few games he has played relatively to the rest of the top ten.  He is third in Points per Game (1.53), and sixth in Points (90).

3. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins. 112 Cup Points:  70 Games, 48 G, 45 A, 93 P, +30, 12.1 PS. (#2 on last update)

Pastrnak falls back to #3.  The top offensive Bruins player is second in Goals (45), fifth in Points (86), eighth in Plus/Minus (+30) and is also leading the NHL in Shots (333).

4. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche. 102 Cup Points:  70 Games, 47 G, 38 A, 85 P, +9, 10.3 PS. (#5 on last update)

Rantanen moved back up to #4, and it is the Avalanche who are the first team with two ranked players.  He is the current leader in Even Strength Goals (36), third in Goals (47) and is on a team that could repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.

5. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers, 103 Cup Points:  68 Games, 34 G, 62 A, 96 P, +23, 10.7 PS.  (#9 on last update)

Tkachuk has been on fire lately, and at present is sixth in Assists (62) an fourth in Points (96).  He is only eight Points away from last year’s total.

6. Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins.  102 Cup Points:  43 Games, 35-5-1, 1.95 GAA, .937 Save Percentage, 11.5 PS.  (#6 on last update)

Ullmark is the odds-on favorite for the Vezina and is currently the league leader in Wins, GAA and Save Percentage.  Our question, is can he do this is the playoffs?

7. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, 100 Cup Points:  68 Games, 33 G, 56 A, 89 P, +13, 9.4 PS.  (#7 on last update)

Pettersson is having his best year to date, albeit on an abysmal Canucks team.  He is currently tenth in Assists (56) and eighth in Points (89).

8. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning.  98 Cup Points:  72 Games, 44 G, 38 A, 82 P, +3, 9.7 PS. (#4 on last update)

Point is having a good year, and is a point-per-game player, there are still quite a few players with higher point tallies than the Tampa Center, who dropped four spots in our last update.  Saying that, Point has been the most clutch player for the Lightning, and is currently fourth in Goals (44).

9. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils.  97 Cup Points, 66 Games, 37 G, 44 A, 81 P, +7, 9.3 PS. (#7 on last update)

For the second update in a row, Hughes fell two spots and has been a bit of a slump.  The two-time All-Star has fallen out of the top ten in Goals, but is having the best year of his life.

10. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, 94 Cup Points:  71 Games, 41 G, 48 A, 89 P, +30, 11.5 PS.  (Not on last update)

Robertson makes an appropriate return to the top ten, as the first-time All-Star is in seventh in Goals (41), eighth in Points (89) and eighth in Plus/Minus (30).

Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov, fell off the top ten.

Our next update will occur when the first player breaks 160 Cup Points.