Fleming, McClanahan and Patino have been as good as advertised
| Forward this to a friend Subscribe to more newsletters |  | | [MARK J. TERRILL | Associated Press] | | Difficult decisions ahead with all these rookies | Let me start by saying this is not a fair comparison.
The rookie pitchers in the Rays rotation have been eased into their roles, in terms of both workloads and expectations. For the most part, Josh Fleming, Shane McClanahan and Luis Patino have been limited to the 4-5 inning range and they rarely see hitters for a third time in a game.
Having said that, the younger guys have kind of saved Tampa Bay’s season.
That’s because the three pitchers the Rays signed to $12 million worth of free-agent deals in the offseason — Chris Archer, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha — have combined to go a disappointing 3-3 with a 4.59 ERA in 70.2 innings. Meanwhile, the three rookies are 5-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 63.2 innings.
Like I said, it’s not a fair comparison. But if the youngsters had not been ready to join the rotation so quickly, the Rays would have been in a heaping load of trouble in 2021.
Not that this was a huge surprise. The reason the Rays could get three starting pitchers for $12 million is because Archer, Hill and Wacha have all had injury issues in recent seasons. So the front office was pretty much counting on the rookies to pick up the slack at some point.
I just don’t think they were expecting all three to be such an integral part of the staff in the first quarter of the season.
Archer has been limited to just two appearances due to an elbow problem, and the lengthy absence means it will take him several weeks or more to rebuild arm strength. Wacha has been out for two weeks with a hamstring issue but threw an extended bullpen on Sunday, and will probably be activated sometime during the Baltimore series this week.
The question is how everyone fits in the plans once Wacha is ready to pitch multiple innings again.
At this point, Tyler Glasnow and Hill are the best bets at the top of the rotation. Following a rough start, Hill has given up only two earned runs in his last 21.1 innings. Ryan Yarbrough and Fleming will continue to get work as both starters and bulk guys. McClanahan pitched into the sixth inning for the first time in his last start, and Patino has been slowly built up to the 75-80 pitch range.
So with Wacha coming back, the Rays are going to be staring at seven potential starters.
Tampa Bay has had some tandem starts this season and could use that strategy going forward, but that would limit the number of late-inning options in the bullpen with so many starter/bulk guys on the active roster.
The 21-year-old Patino would probably be the most likely of the rookies to be sent to Triple-A Durham, but he could make the decision a little more interesting with his scheduled start in Baltimore on Tuesday.
No matter how it ends up shaking out this week, the Rays are fortunate the rookies were ready and able when called on this month. It’s the only reason Tampa Bay is still within two games of the American League East lead. | | |  | | [MARTHA ASENCIO RHINE | Times] | | No reason to Wander, and other baseball links | • Before jumping on the Wander Franco bandwagon, you might want to read this Marc Topkin story. There were some minor incidents in Durham in the past week that remind us that Franco is barely out of his teens and has never played above Class A before this month.
• The Yoshi Tsutsugo experiment in Tampa Bay ended much faster than most of us expected. The Japanese slugger played less than 80 games before being designated for assignment and traded to the Dodgers. And while his signing turned out to be a bust, the thought process behind it was still sound.
• Don’t look now, but Toronto’s lineup is starting to live up to early expectations. The Blue Jays are in second in the AL East and shortstop Marcus Semien has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters in May. Here’s a Toronto Star story that details how the former Oakland star has turned his season around.
• If you were wondering what the heck the Dodgers were thinking signing Albert Pujols, you’re not alone. His StatCast numbers suggest he’s been hitting in bad luck, but it’s still hard to see how he fits in with a National League team. This ESPN story includes the wonderful nugget that it’s been a dozen years since Pujols’ last hit as a pinch-hitter. | | | Gain unlimited access to Rays, Buccaneers and Lightning coverage for about $1 a week! | | | |  | | [CHRIS O'MEARA | Associated Press] | | Power outage for Yandy Diaz and more notes | • Yandy Diaz’s power was a revelation when he first arrived in Tampa Bay. After hitting one homer in his first 265 at-bats in the majors, Diaz hit 16 bombs in his first 320 at-bats in Tampa Bay, including the postseason. And then, just as quickly, his power disappeared again. Diaz has not hit a home run in his last 189 at-bats, although he is the rare Tampa Bay hitter with more walks than strikeouts.
• The only thing keeping Mike Brosseau in the big leagues right now is his versatility. Brosseau has already played five different positions this season, which is critical for a team that mixes and matches as much as Tampa Bay. But Brosseau’s other calling card is his ability to crush left-handed pitching, and he’s fallen way short in that category. Brosseau was a lifetime .313 hitter against lefties coming into this season. So far in 2021, he’s hitting .180 against left-handers and .118 against righties.
• Mike Zunino took a pay cut from $4.5 million to $3.0 million to return to Tampa Bay in 2021. Right now, it’s looking like one of the better bargains of the offseason. Zunino is tied with Buster Posey for the Major League lead among catchers with eight home runs. He’s already gotten more hits in 2021 (17) than he did in all of 2020 (11).
• Want to know why Tampa Bay’s farm system is the envy of baseball? Between Franco, Vidal Brujan and Taylor Walls, the Rays have three middle infielders hitting a combined .336 with 10 homers in 131 at-bats at Triple-A Durham.
Contact John Romano at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes. | | Did someone forward this to you? Get Rays Report in your own inbox next time. It's free to subscribe. Sign up here. | | | | |
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