Rotation Report Card: Grading Rays' 5 Starters after 10 Outings Each
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TAMPA, Fla. — As manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, Kevin Cash has a million things to worry about. But what he hasn't had to worry about even once this year is who his starting pitcher was going to be.
The five starting pitchers in the Rays' rotation have all started 10 games now, with no one missing a game, no one needing a few extra days, no one off to the injured list. Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen and Shane Baz have all answered the bell.
Every single day. They are the only team in baseball that can make that claim as of Sunday morning,
"It's comforting, and we're really appreciate of the body of work they've provided,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said of his steady rotation. "We thought in spring training with the five of them plus (Shane) McClanahan, we felt really good about this group and the potential. We've had some bumps along the way, but we feel like they have kind of settled in pretty well and are coming into their own when we've needed them the most.
"They give us reason to think they're fully capable of (quality starts every night) and know that they are such a strong part of our team. They definitely set the tone for us, and I think they've done a good job for us as of late.''
The Rays have played 51 games so far, so the odd start came from Joe Boyle, a minor-league who was called up to start the April 13 game against Atlanta. All he did was pitch five no-hit innings, and was sent back down to Durham the next day.
He made the spot start because he was on regular rest and the Rays were in the midst of playing 13 games in 13 days. Cash was able to move everyone back a day, which made sense.
Still, it's amazing that all five starters have stayed healthy and pitched deep enough into games to not tax their bullpen. Starters have gone at last five innings in 44 of their 51 starts.
We thought this would be a good time to dole out some grades on how the five starters have done so far this season. When they're good, they are really good. The elite numbers are eye-popping. And when they've struggled, they've all seemed to bounce back nicely, outside of Baz, who had a brutal three-game stretch.
Here's our grades for the five starters.
Drew Rasmussen (A-minus)
Drew Rasmussen missed 15 months after the third elbow surgery of his career, missing time from May 2023 to August 2024. The Rays used him in relief or opener spots all of last year, pitching in 16 games, but never more than two innings.
The plan worked. He felt great the end of the season and was able to go into the offseason healthy and feeling good. He prepped for returning to the rotation and has been the Rays' best starter. Here's what he's done so far this season — fully deserving of that A-minus grade.
The numbers
Rasmussen is 3-4 with a 2.60 ERA in 52.0 innings. He has 43 strikeouts and 12 walks, with 6 home runs allowed. The won-loss record is deceiving because he's lost one game 1-0 and had two games where he pitched five scoreless innings but didn't get a win.
The good
What sets Rasmussen apart from his Rays colleagues is that he’s had six A-plus starts, not five. Look at these six off-the-charts impressive outings, where's combined to throw 32.2 innings with only two earned runs and 20 hits. That's an elite ERA of 0.55, with a 3-1 record in those six starts.
- March 31 vs. Pirates: Pitched five scoreless innings with two hits. No walks, four strikeouts and got the win.
- April 6 vs. Rangers: Pitched five innings, allowing just one run and three hits. No decision.
- April 12 vs. Braves: Pitched five scoreless innings with four hits, one walk, seven strikeouts, but didn't get a decision.
- April 18 vs. Yankees: Pitched 5.2 innings, allowed one run and three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Took the loss in 1-0 defeat.
- May 17 vs. Marlins: Pitched six scoreless innings with four hits, no walks. He had five strikeouts and picked up his second win.
- May 23 vs. Blue Jays: Pitched six scoreless innings with four hits, two walks and three strikeouts,picking up his third winn and running his scoreless streak to 12 innings.
The bad-ish
In the four ‘’average’’ starts, the home run ball was an issue, giving up six shots and losing three of four starts. In two of the starts, those one or two bad pitches was the difference in winning and losing.
He pitched 19.1 innings in those four starts against Arizona, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Milwaukee, and allowed 13 runs and 20 hits. That adds up to a 6.05 ERA.
The prognosis
Rasmussen at his best makes him one of the best right-handers in the game right now. Those numbers in those six starts are All-Star worthy. Any time you see an 0.55 ERA, it turns some heads.
The Rays are looking out for Rasmussen’s health after three elbow surgeries and they’ve kept him on a pitch count, stretching him out slowly. Still, this is not a guy who’s going to pitch much more than 150 innings or so, no matter how good he is. Plus, there is still always that concern that you’d like him ready for postseason games in October. That’s always the hope.
Rasmussen has been terrific, and it will be interesting to see how Cash and his staff handle his usage the next four months.
Ryan Pepiot (B-plus)
Ryan Pepiot slid into Shane McClanahan's Opening Day slot when the lefty went down late in spring training with a nerve issue in his arm. Pepiot has been good, but not great. He has six quality starts, but the Rays are 2-4 in those games.
Still, he's been reliable, too. Dating from last June to this April, he went 17 straight starts where he gave up three runs or less. That's the fourth-longest streak in Rays history, and only McClanahan (23), Rasmussen (19) and Tyler Glasnow (18) have been better. That's some elite company.
The numbers
Pepiot is 2-5 with a 3.99 earned run average. He has 47 strikeouts and 18 walks. He's only allowed 50 hits through Saturday, second to Rasmussen (40) among the starters.
The good
What Cash likes most about Pepiot is that ''he gives us a chance to win every day.'' He's not wrong. Even though he's had a few shaky moments — like walking three batters in two starts, which he hates — he's also been consistent. In his five best starts, he's allowed just one run twice where he didn't get a win. And he lost in Toronto 3-1 by giving up a three-run homer. He was great otherwise.
In those five starts, he's pitched 29 innings and allowed just eight earned runs and 21 hits. That's an ERA of 2.48. That's not Rasmussen elite in his best starts, but it's certainly very good.
The bad-ish
In those other five starts, he's pitched 27.1 innings and allowed 17 runs and 31 hits. That's 5.60 ERA. There have been too many times where things have compounded quickly on him. His worst outing was against Boston, where he gave up six runs and nine hits in six innings in a 7-4 loss.
The prognosis
Like Cash said, Pepiot gives them a chance to win. He's a confident pitcher, and no moment is every too big for him, which is a nice trait to have for a guy who has only 47 career starts.
Zack Littell (B)
Zack Littell started the season with five straight losses in his first five starts, but it wasn't all his fault. While he was on the mound in those games, the Rays scored a total of four runs. He's been cursed with a lack of run support throughout his career.
4.2Since then, he's 3-0 in his next five starts, and the Rays have won all five games. His grade has skyrocketed, and probably could have even been a tick higher.
The numbers
For the season, Littell is 3-5 with a 4.25 earned run average. It's literally been droppe for seven starts in a row when it peaked at 6.88 after giving up seven runs in a loss to the Los Angeles Angels. That was the worst performance all season. He has 38 strikeouts with just 10 walks, and pitches to contact. He's coaxed 73 ground balls so far.
The good
Littell never bitched about the lack of run support, and kept going out there trying to turn things around. He's done exactly that. In his last five starts, he's pitched a team-high 30.1 innings, and allowed just 11 runs. That's a 3.26 ERA.
Littell doesn't overpower people, but he's efficient. He pitched into the eighth inning during a win at Toronto on May 15, the longest start of the year for the Rays.
The bad-ish
Because he's more crafty than powerful, there are times when he's missing his spots that he can get roughed up. That certainly was the case in that loss to the Angels. He only lasted four innings and gave up four home runs. He's given up 14 homers on the season, including three solo shots in that win at Toronto.
The prognosis
There was a concern during the spring that Littell might get caught up in the numbers game if McClanahan hadn't gotten hurt. He might have been the sixth man in a five-person rotation.
It became a moot point, and we'll see what happens in the second half of the season. He has plenty of experience coming out of the bullpen, but he's also been darn good in the rotation. He's a valuable piece to have, and the Rays will get good use out of him as they chase down a playoff spot.
Taj Bradley (B-minus)
Bradley has given up two runs or less in six of his starts, but he's given up four runs or more three tiems and has been knocked around a bit. Walks have been a concern. He's got 24, which leads the team. In his three bad losses to Texas, the New York Yankees and Miami, he walked four, four and three batters, respectively.
It's gotten him in too much trouble.
But there's been plenty of good as well, especially in the start after a rough outing. The Rays haven't lost back-to-back Bradley starts all season, which is a nice sign of maturity,. He's learning how to pitch through the tough times and learn from his mistakes.
The numbers
Bradley is 4-3 on the season with a 4.61 earned run average. He has 48 strikeouts and 24 walks. He's had seven strikeouts in four starts.
The good
Bradley is only 24 years old and he's been learning on the fly at the big-league level since coming up in 2023. He pitches with a lot of confidence and always has a smile on his face. He's got a good fastball that he can place well, and good secondary pitches.
Six starts of two runs or less is impressive, even if one was a 3-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals, where he pitched seven innings and only allowed two runs with five hits. He leads the team with four wins, along with Shane Baz.
The bad-ish
Bradley has a good four-pitch mix and when he's throwing strikes, he's tough to beat. "He's capable of getting guys out in the zone, and he needs to do that,'' Cash said. Bradley agrees. He said after his loss in Miami, where he gave up five runs in four innings, that he didn't do that, and was trying to be too fine.
Sometimes he just out-thinks himself. He's got good stuff, but needs to avoid the blow-up innings.
The prognosis
Bradley has such good stuff that he's going to be a big-league pitcher for a long time. When he gets hot, he could stay hot. Remember 2024, when he went one six-start stretch allowed just two total runs? His grade will increase quickly if that happens again. And if it does, I won't be surprised. This grade could be a click higher too.
Shane Baz (C-plus)
Shane Baz completed the round of 10 starts for everyone in the rotation on Saturday night, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1. He looked great, allowing just one run in 5.2 innings. He really needed it.
It was an important outing for him, because he had been brutal in his last three starts, giving up 21 runs in his four May starts before Saturday.
He was 3-0 in April, which is what made the tailspin a bit surprising — and a lot disappointing. Things went from bad to worse for him, and he couldn't shake it.
The numbers
Baz is 4-3 with a 4.94 ERA. That ERA was just 2.45 in April, but it's been 7.82 in May. He leads the team with 52 strikeouts
The good
Baz might have been the best right-hander in the American League in April. He beat Pittsburgh and Boston with 21 combined strikeouts and no walks, and then won a 1-0 game in San Diego on April 25, pitching seven innings and allowing just four hits.
The bad-ish
All of May was bad until Saturday night. He lost three times, giving up seven runs to Kansas City, six to Philadelphia and five to Miami. He was uncompetitive all three times.
The prognosis
Baz can approach 100 mph with his fastball and usually has good control of it. He's also got a curveball that baffles hitters. He's been struggling to have succes with his slider, but he's also that guys who will work to put it all together.
Most like his counterparts, his best days are elite. He just needs to be more consistent and avoid those blowups.
Tom Brew is the publisher of ''Tampa Bay Rays on SI'' and has been with the Sports Illustrated platform since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He owns eight sites on the "On SI'' network and has written four books.
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