Rays' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Draft Preview | Zach Eflin, Pete Fairbanks, Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz, Jeffrey Springs and More
Discussing the top fantasy pitchers from the Tampa Bay Rays as the 2024 season approaches.
The fantasy baseball season is closing in quickly. FantasySP has published a number of articles relating to 2024 fantasy baseball draft prep and will continue to do so through the start of the MLB season.
Recently, we’ve been looking at things on a team-by-team basis. We’ve covered several teams already, and those articles can be found at the links below:
American League - Texas Rangers (hitters and pitchers), Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros (hitters and pitchers), Minnesota Twins
National League - Los Angeles Dodgers (hitters and pitchers), Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves (hitters and pitchers), Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins
Now, we’ll take a look at the Tampa Bay Rays. We’ll take a look at the pitchers now after covering the team’s hitters earlier.
Get ready for draft season! Check out our Mock Draft Simulator, Average Draft Position list and Draft Genius!
Top Fantasy Pitchers
The first Tampa Bay pitcher off fantasy draft boards is Zach Eflin. According to the FantasySP Average Draft Position chart, Eflin ranks 69th with a mark of 73.33.
Eflin was a beast for the Rays in his first season with the team. He made 31 starts and covered 177 2/3 innings. He went 16-8 with a 3.50 earned run average and struck out 186 batters along the way. Pretty much every number represented a career high.
He should be the team’s No. 1 starting option in 2024. Going near his current ADP, you are getting good value back if you get close to a repeat of last season’s numbers. He’s made a good third or fourth starting pitcher for fantasy purposes, and will be a big draft steal if he finishes top 15 in fantasy points, like he did last season.
The next Tampa Bay pitcher taken is reliever Pete Fairbanks. He should serve as the team’s closer in 2024. Fairbanks ranks 142nd on the ADP list with a mark of 139.75.
Across 49 games and 45 1/3 innings pitched in 2023, Fairbanks had a 2.58 ERA and earned 25 saves. He finished with a 2-4 record and struck out 68 batters along the way.
The Rays should be one of the better teams in the American League this season, which should open plenty of closing opportunities for Fairbanks. If he can get a few more games in this season, there’s a decent chance he posts several career highs and is one of the better fantasy relievers in the game.
Next up is Ryan Pepiot, who ranks 196th with a mark of 170.67. He was traded to Tampa Bay this offseason in the Tyler Glasnow deal.
Pepiot appeared in eight games (three starts) for Los Angeles in 2023, covering 42 innings and posting a 2-1 record. He had a 2.14 ERA and struck out 38 batters along the way. There just wasn’t enough room in the Dodgers’ rotation for the fairly inexperienced MLB arm of Pepiot, but the move to Tampa Bay should allow him a chance to stick in a starting rotation all season.
He figures to serve in the back half of the five-man rotation, but his slot in the rotation should be pretty safe, at least to start the season. It’ll be a bit of a gamble taking him because we’ve only seen him cover 78 1/3 innings over his first two seasons in the MLB. In the latter portion of a fantasy draft though, the risk is pretty low, while the upside is much higher. I like Pepiot as a depth arm for your fantasy team, and if he delivers for you, your team should be in great shape.
Jason Adam is next up, ranking 277th with a mark of 222.83. He’s expected to be the eighth inning setup pitcher for Tampa Bay, and fill in for Fairbanks if he ever were to miss time or need a little break.
He’s been great for the Rays over the past two seasons, combining for a 6-5 record and 2.22 ERA across 117 2/3 innings. He also has 20 saves over those seasons, along with 144 strikeouts.
I’m not usually one to vouch for drafting a non-closer reliever, but Adam is one of the few I’d make an exception for. He’ll have the chance to rack up a few wins and plenty of holds, and maybe a few saves. If Adam can keep his ERA low and rack up a good amount of strikeouts, there’s a chance he’s one of the better non-closer relievers for fantasy purposes.
The last Tampa Bay pitcher on the ADP list is starter Shane Baz, who ranks 327th with a mark of 278.25.
Baz was one of the most promising young arms in the game, but hasn’t pitched since 2022 because of Tommy John surgery. He only has 40 1/3 MLB innings to his name, but his potential is about as high as many of the promising young arms in the entire league. Baz has a career 4.02 ERA and 3-2 record, along with 48 strikeouts. He’s not expected to be part of the MLB rotation to start the regular season, but if he shows positive signs at Triple-A, it won’t be long before he’s back with the big league team.
In the latter portion of fantasy drafts, that’s when I like to take some gambles on players, whether they are returning from a major injury or haven’t made the big leagues yet. There isn’t much risk in using a late pick on Baz, and if you don’t immediately need a roster spot to play with, Baz is definitely a guy I’d be in favor of taking late. If he stays healthy and enjoys a breakout season, he’s a guy that could power a fantasy team - if he struggles post-injury, you can simply drop Baz and look elsewhere for fantasy help.
Aaron Civale, Zack Littell and Taj Bradley are all projected to fill out the team’s starting rotation to start the season, while Tyler Alexander is the long reliever. Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs are other big names that could help out at some point this season.
Civale got the most innings in of any of those guys, working 122 1/3 frames in 2023. He went 7-5 with a 3.46 ERA and 116 strikeouts. Those are pretty solid numbers, and make him one of the better streaming options to start the season (if someone doesn’t take a chance on him late in a fantasy draft)
Bradley led that group of pitchers with 129 strikeouts, doing so in 104 2/3 innings. He went 5-8 last season and had a 5.59 ERA across 23 games (21 starts). If he can lower his ERA and keep his strikeout numbers up, he’d be a pretty solid fantasy option, so keep an eye on him.
Littell started half of the 28 games he appeared in a season ago, getting in 90 total innings. He had a 3-6 record, 4.10 ERA and 74 strikeouts. He could move back to the bullpen once Rasmussen, Springs or Baz return, but that will all depend on who is pitching the best.
Alexander started just once across his 25 appearances in 2023, but he covered 44 innings, so he could start in a pinch. He went 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA, striking out 44 along the way.
Rasmussen and Springs got in a combined 11 starts in 2023.
Rasmussen made eight starts, going 4-2 with a 2.62 ERA and 47 strikeouts over 44 2/3 innings pitched. He’s expected to be out through at least August, so keep an eye on him as a possible late season addition.
Springs should be available by July. He went 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA across 16 innings pitched in his three starts in 2023. He struck out 24 batters along the way. Those numbers are hard to ignore, and I’ve seen it a few times already this spring where a fantasy owner uses a late pick on Springs - they will just stash him until he’s available a couple months into the season. Being able to do that requires a big bigger roster than standard leagues allow, so act accordingly.
The Rays’ pitching staff is one of the more intriguing groups from a fantasy perspective. There’s some bigger names, lesser-known guys who have delivered in the past and then some young guys who could make or break the team’s season depending on how they pitch. If you don’t land one of the guys currently on the ADP list, keep a close eye on some of the other options as Tampa Bay usually rosters several strong fantasy pitching options.
Fantasy SP will help you track the best options, so be sure to check back throughout the season!
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