Rays pitchers are piling up innings. Is this Tampa Bay’s new normal?

TAMPA — First, a disclaimer:

The feats we are about to discuss are not Herculean. Some might argue they are not even remarkable. They will not break records, nor are they likely to influence voters of the major offseason awards.

On the other hand:

Holy moly!

What Tampa Bay’s starting pitchers did through the first dozen-plus turns of the rotation is unlike anything we’ve seen in the last decade. At least around here.

Going into the second week of June, the Rays have not missed a single start due to injury or ineffectiveness. (We are, of course, not including Shane McClanahan, who has been out since the end of spring training while recovering from a nerve issue in his left arm.) They have thrown more innings than any rotation in the majors. They have the most quality starts in the American League.

Rays starters have gone a minimum of five innings in 87.8% of their appearances. And if that doesn’t seem noteworthy, consider they were at 58.6% just a few years ago. None of this would impress Old Hoss Radbourn and his 73 complete games in 1884, but it’s notable for a franchise that has occasionally pushed the boundaries of what is expected from a starting rotation.

This is a team that revolutionized the idea of openers. A team that has the longest — and second-longest — streak between complete-game performances in major-league history. A team that averaged 16 starters per season from 2021-24.

And now every starter in the rotation seems obsessed with getting deeper into games.

“You want to talk about something a starting pitcher takes pride in?” pitching coach Kyle Snyder said. “This is something we’ve not been accustomed to doing in this organization, given how much we leverage matchups. Are we (first) in starter innings pitched right now?

“It’s not that we’re zigging when everybody else is zagging, but I think we’re developing a lot more of confidence and trust in what they’re capable of. It’s been a lot of fun. A lot.”

Rays starter Zack Littell threw a career-high 117 pitches in a recent complete game against the Astros. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

There are reasons for this. The obvious being good health.

Just a couple of years ago, there were questions about whether Tampa Bay’s renowned success on the mound was coming at the expense of pitchers pushing themselves too hard and getting injured. Tyler Glasnow, Shane Baz, Drew Rasmussen, Andrew Kittredge, Jeffrey Springs, Jalen Beeks, Yonny Chirinos and McClanahan were among players needing elbow surgery in Tampa Bay.

At the time, team officials and pitchers swore that the Rays were as mindful of any organization when it came to minimizing the risk of injury. And, in 2025, those assertions seem to be bearing fruit.

While MLB All-Stars, postseason heroes and Cy Young contenders such as Gerrit Cole, Joe Musgrove, Corbin Burnes, Cristian Javier, Jordan Montgomery, Jose Urquidy, John Means and Kyle Bradish have had Tommy John, or similar, procedures in the past calendar year, the Rays have mostly avoided the surgeon’s scalpel.

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Most of their starters had a good base of innings behind them from last season and, other than Rasmussen, have not needed limitations on their usage. Still, that has not stopped the Rays from monitoring pitch counts, stress levels and innings even when things have gone well.

Zack Littell, for instance, threw a career-high 117 pitches in a recent complete game against Houston so he skipped the normal between-starts throwing session a few days later. In his next start, he still went six innings while giving up only one run.

Rasmussen gets on a bullpen mound every day between starts, but he doesn’t necessarily throw. He’ll practice his delivery with water bags or do other corrective exercises or activation routines without putting stress on his arm.

“I think we all have a relationship with Kyle where we can be honest and tell him how you’re truly feeling,” said Ryan Pepiot. “I think in some other clubhouses you might be like, ‘Oh, I’m fine,’ even though your arm might be barking or you’re hanging a little that day. If you tell him, he’s going to say, ‘Okay, let’s dial it back a little bit.’ He’s been big with me this year on throwing less pitches in my bullpens and sides.

“You get to August/September and the number of pitches start adding up at a time when you want to be at your best. So it’s a conversation we’re always having to make sure we’re spending time in the training room and utilizing the phenomenal staff we have here.”

Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder (23) visits with starter Ryan Pepiot (44) and catcher Danny Jansen (19) during a game. Pepiot says the pitchers “have a relationship with Kyle where we can be honest and tell him how you’re truly feeling.” [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

In the last eight years, the Rays have had a total of five pitchers start 30 games or more in a single season. At this point, all five of their starters are on pace to make 32 starts. Now, that almost certainly won’t happen. A turned ankle, a pulled hamstring, a July trade will likely derail one or more of Tampa Bay’s starters in the coming months.

But the idea that the Rays have been able to count on the same five guys for nearly three months, and that they’ve thrown enough innings in 88% of their starts to keep the bullpen from getting overused has been revelatory.

“Things are going to happen that you just can’t anticipate. You’ve just seen a guy get hit in the head when the catcher was throwing down (to second),” Snyder said. “But their ability to take the ball and consistently give us opportunities to get a lead and be competitive in the first six innings of every game has been a lot of fun. Both for the group to watch and for them to play off one another.”

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