Joe Boyle Featuring Dominant New Pitch for Rays This Season

A new pitch is helping Tampa Bay Rays starter Joe Boyle taking his performance to another level.

Mar 28, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Joe Boyle (36) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays have done a great job developing pitchers in recent years, which is what made the arm talent of Joe Boyle so exciting.

He has all of the tools to become a dominant starting pitcher, but there were some things he had to work on. His lack of accuracy and control made for some difficulties, but he took strides in the right direction in 2205 as the season moved along.

Coming into spring training this year, making the Major League rotation was going to be a challenge. Shane McClanahan was returning from injury and the team signed two veterans, Steven Matz and Nick Martinez, to round out the rotation along with Ryan Pepiot and Drew Rasmussen.

However, with Pepiot not healthy to begin the season, Boyle has been given a golden opportunity with the Big League team. Through his first two starts, he certainly looks like a Major League contributor while showcasing a brand new pitch.

Joe Boyle has brought a sweeper back in his arsenal

Mar 6, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Joe Boyle (36) throws a pitch during the first inning against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

After abandoning the sweeper last year as he worked through a release point change with his mechanics, Boyle has brought the breaking ball back in 2026, and the early results are magnificent.

As shared by David Adler of MLB.com, his newfound sweeper is one of the 10 nastiest pitches being debuted this season. The sidearm delivery that he is using now has turned the offering into a truly dominant one.

“So Boyle has brought it back this year as he tries to throw a larger pitch mix overall. The 6-foot-8 righty is getting a good mix of velocity and sharp movement on his 2026 sweeper, which is sitting at just over 85 mph with 15 inches of glove-side break,” Adler wrote.

The results have been hard to argue against. In his season debut against the St. Louis Cardinals, he threw 6.0 innings and allowed only three hits, resulting in two earned runs, with four strikeouts.

Joe Boyle today:

5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K
33% Whiff%
34% CSW%

The only runs the Twins scored were from 3 sub 75 mph EV hits and a costly error. He has lowered his FB usage this year and that seems to have made a big difference for him.#RaysUp #MLBpic.twitter.com/1Y57eHkUyF

— Off The Trop (@OffTheTrop) April 3, 2026

The biggest takeaway from that outing? He didn’t issue a single walk.

Boyle did surrender three free passes in his second start against the Minnesota Twins across 5.1 innings, but he gave up only two earned runs again. This time, what stood out was his nine strikeouts.

With Pepiot not expected to be sidelined very long, it will be interesting to see what the team decides to do with Boyle when the time comes to make a decision on the starting rotation. If he continues pitching at this level, it will be difficult to send him back down to Triple-A Durham.