All Rays team, pitchers

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The Rays have been hamstrung by financial constraints from the beginning of the franchise. That pattern shows when looking at the Rays pitchers over the years. The Rays have had some nice starting pitchers, but they generally left via trade or free agency when it came time to make some money. The selections in the Rays bullpen especially highlight that pattern. In making these teams, I generally want the player to spend at least three years with the team. In the Rays case, players like Fernando Rodney and Danys Baez would probably have made this team, but they were only in Tampa Bay for a year or two. Even with all of that, the Rays had had some nice pitchers.

Starting pitcher: David Price David did his best work for the Rays before being traded to the Tigers. In 7 seasons with the Rays, Price went 82-47 with an ERA of 3.18. Besides those strong numbers, there were a lot of other bells and whistles. There were five all star selections, two second place finishes in the all Cy Young award voting, and a Cy Young award in 2012. That season he went 20-5 with a league leading ERA of 2.56. Price's peripheral stats were all solid. He had good control, striking out 8.4 hitters per 9 innings and had a whip of 1.142. His WAR for his time with the Rays was 21.4. Price was outstanding throughout his stay with the Rays.

Staring pitcher: James Shields Shield started his career with the Rays 2006 and pitched for them through 2012. After starting 31 games for the Rays in 2007, James started 33 games for them in each of the next five seasons. He was consistent and durable. The results were also solid. Shields went 89-73 with an ERA of 3.89. James had his best season in 2011 when he went 16-12 with an ERA of 2.82. He also led the AL in complete games with 11 and shutouts with 4 that season. He also put up his career best WAR at 5.2 Shields provided the Rays with stability during his stay with them.

Starting pitcher: Chris Archer I really like the WAR stat but sometimes it surprises me. For example, I was surprised to see Archer's WAR with the Rays is only 11.9 after six seasons. Admittedly, his first season with them was abbreviated, but still I thought would have been higher. Archer is durable, and has great stuff as evidenced by his strikeout per 9 inning rate of 9.7. Archer's best season was 2015 when he was 12-13 with an ERA of 3.23. His WAR for that season was 4.2. It seems like he should do that every season. Maybe 2018 is when it all comes together for him.

Starting pitcher: Scott Kazmir Kazmir spent all or part of 6 seasons with the Rays. From 2005-08 he was very effective. His ERA was in the 3.24-3.77 neighborhood for those four seasons. His total WAR for that time was 17.3. His best season was 2007 when he went 13-9 while leading the AL in strikeouts with 239 and in starts with 34. Kazmir averaged 9.4 strikeouts per 9 innings in his stay in Tampa, but walks were a problem. Scott averaged 4.1 walks per 9 innings. Scott was a two time all star with the Rays.

Starting pitcher: Alex Cobb While Cobb has had durability issues, he has been healthy just long enough to make this list. Cobb has spent six seasons with the Rays, but has only been able to start 115 games during that time. Cobb managed to put up a WAR of 3.9 in both 2013 1nd 2014. After being out of commission in 2015, and pitching only 22 innings in 2016, Cobb had a WAR of 2.4 in 2017. And he was getting better as the season wore on. Cobb has a won-lost record of 48-35 in his time with the Rays, with an ERA of 3.50. Like so many other Rays, Cobb will go on and get paid elsewhere after getting his start in Tampa.

Relief pitcher: Alex Colome Alex has managed to stay with the Rays for five seasons without being traded. He's been the Rays closer for the last two seasons, racking up 84 saves. Colome's stats are pretty good across the board. He has an ERA of 3.14 and 8 strikeouts per 9 innings. Throw in a WHIP of 1.221 and you have a good bullpen piece. Now that Alex has a track record of success, it's probably time for him to pack his bags.

Relief pitcher: Roberto Hernandez Roberto is the Rays all time saves leader with 103. He piled those up in three seasons with the Rays. His best season with the Rays was in 1999 when he recorded 43 saves. His work that season was good enough to achieve a WAR of 2.7. By the time Roberto got to Tampa, he wasn't a big strikeout guy, averaging only 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Still, he was a functional closer. His ERA of 3.43 is reflective of that.

Relief pitcher: Jake McGee This hard throwing lefty filled various roles in the Rays pen for six seasons. Jake did some closing with the Rays, picking up 26 saves in his time in Tampa. Jake was a big strikeout guy, striking out 11.1 hitters per 9 innings and having a WHIP of only 1.017. Jake's best season was 2014 when he had a WAR of 2.7. That was by virtue of an ERA of 1.89 an a WHIP of 0.897. Jake McGee, another guy who did good work in the obscurity of Tampa.

So there's my Rays pitching staff. How does it line up with yours? Let me know.