The top of this Tampa Bay Rays rotation is relatively set.<\/p>\n
Drew Rasmussen<\/a>, coming off an elite 2025 season, is their Opening Day starter.<\/p>\n Ryan Pepiot<\/a> is a solidified number two.<\/p>\n If healthy, Shane McClanahan<\/a> could be a very good third member of this staff.<\/p>\n But the bottom two spots are very much up for grabs.<\/p>\n Especially if McClanahan is unable to accumulate as many innings coming off a lot of major injuries, these pitchers will be imperative to the Rays’ success in 2026.<\/p>\n Who are these pitchers that could fill out the Rays’ rotation?<\/p>\n What are their strengths and weaknesses?<\/p>\n Here are a few of the possible answers, starting with the two free agent acquisitions in the offseason.<\/p>\n The biggest thing that stands out when looking at Nick Martinez<\/a> and his arsenal is just how many pitches he throws.<\/p>\n He’s got six of them, with all being used in the double-digits in terms of usage rates.<\/p>\n The Rays could approach this as a problem or a good thing.<\/p>\n If he’s used more as a starter\/bulk guy like he was last year, when he racked up over 160 innings, those pitches could come in handy.<\/p>\n If he’s utilized more in short bursts, the Rays may want to consolidate a few of those offerings.<\/p>\n Then they can make those pitches even better using their usual sorcery.<\/p>\n Three of the offerings he used the most often were his cutter, 4-seam, and changeup.<\/p>\n The changeup graded out the best on Stuff+ with a 112 mark.<\/p>\n As an overall pitcher, he’s very on-brand for the Rays.<\/p>\n He fills up the zone with an excellent 6.1% walk rate.<\/p>\n His ability to avoid solid contact was among the best in the game, with a 90th percentile hard-hit rate.<\/p>\n The struggles were mostly with the righty hurler’s ability to get whiffs and chases, neither of which was his strong suit in 2025.<\/p>\n But his 58-degree arm angle is an interesting change of pace, especially compared to this next guy.<\/p>\n Both Steven Matz<\/a> and the previously mentioned Martinez could easily serve as relievers at some point during this season.<\/p>\n With Matz being a lefty and having a 34-degree arm angle, he could be a fascinating change-of-pace arm when paired with Martinez.<\/p>\n Matz also has a very different arsenal, with a sinker-curve combination that makes up 80% of his pitches thrown.<\/p>\n He served mostly as a reliever last year, appearing in 53 games but only starting a couple.<\/p>\n 2023 was the last time the veteran lefty cracked triple-digit innings, and at age 34, those days might be behind him.<\/p>\n But Matz can still hold quite a bit of value with his sinker, as he posted a +8 run value with the pitch in 2025.<\/p>\n He, like Martinez, also managed to limit the walks at an incredible rate (3.6% to be exact) and induce plenty of grounders with that sinker.<\/p>\n His ground ball rate was at the 76th percentile for the majors in 2025.<\/p>\n Matz could easily be a very good bulk man.<\/p>\n His ability to get outs in a different way than many of the other arms on this staff makes for an interesting chess piece for Kevin Cash<\/a>.<\/p>\nNick Martinez<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Steven Matz<\/strong><\/h2>\n