The sun is shining brighter on Florida baseball these days.

Prior to Wednesday night’s games, the surprising Tampa Bay Rays were 27-19 and just one game behind the American League East-leading Boston Red Sox. The Rays moved near the top of the AL East with a recent 8-1 surge that included a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels and three wins in four tries facing the New York Yankees.

Down the interstate in south Florida, the 25-19 Marlins are the leaders in the highly competitive National League East. They held a game-and-a-half lead over both Atlanta and Philadelphia going into Wednesday’s action. On Tuesday night, the Marlins defeated Arizona, the team with the best record in the league, and they are looking to stick Brandon Webb (9-0, 2.56 ERA) with his first loss of the season Wednesday.

As it turns out, the two teams to post the largest improvement in winning percentage over last season are Tampa Bay and Florida. The Rays have improved their winning percentage by .180 over their 2007 mark of .407. The Marlins have improved by .130 over 2007.

Biggest Improvement in Win Pct. 2007-2008

Team. . . . . . . 2007. . . . . . . . . .2008. . . . . . . . . . .Diff
Rays. . . . . . .407 (66-96). . . . . .587 (27-19). . . . . . . . .180
Marlins. . . . .438 (71-91). . . . . .568 (25-19). . . . . . . . .130
Orioles. . . . .426 (69-93). . . . . .545 (24-20). . . . . . . . .119
Astros.. . . . .451 (73-89). . . . . .553 (26-21). . . . . . . . .102
White Sox. . .444 (72-90). . . . . .545 (24-20). . . . . . . . .101

Tampa Bay’s young rotation -- Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Edwin Jackson, Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine -- has been critical to the Rays’ early success. Florida’s middle infield, Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez, is leading the Marlins’ offensive charge, with a combined 23 home runs and 55 RBIs through 44 games.

Both teams will need terrific performances from young pitching staffs to stay in the pennant race deep into the season. Both the Rays and Marlins perpetually retool with young talent, so the jury is still out whether these two clubs are ready to become contenders in 2008.