Drew

Rasmussen

Rasmussen, the Rays’ Opening Day starter, is up to five scoreless innings to open the spring. He got one strikeout today and breezed through his outing while using just 36 pitches.

All three runs scored in the ninth, with the Rays winning on a Jonny DeLuca two-run single. Rasmussen’s velocity was down 1-2 mph today, but that’s OK for his first time out. He’s already been named the Rays’ Opening Day starter.

There was some doubt because Shane McClanahan (nerve issue) is expected to be healthy to start the season and had been an Opening Day starter in the past. Still, Rasmussen was the team’s best pitcher last year, registering a 2.76 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 127/37 K/BB ratio in 150 innings. The 30-year-old has a 2.70 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 333/86 K/BB ratio in 389 2/3 career innings as a starter. He figures to be a potential top-30 starting pitcher in fantasy baseball this year.

This was obviously the plan going in. Rasmussen was supposed to be on a limit of about 150 innings this season as he returned the rotation, and the Rays pulled him at exactly the 150-inning mark today. Because of the way the Rays used him, Rasmussen’s fantasy impact was severely curtailed over the last three months — he pitched a total of 65 2/3 innings in his final 15 starts and won only three times — but his season line of 10-5 with a 2.76 ERA is exceptional. With a normal workload in store next year, he should be a top-40 SP in spring drafts.

Rasmussen allowed four hits, walked one and struck out two. The 30-year-old right-hander was lifted after three innings and 76 pitches. Rasmussen wasn’t efficient with his pitches and wouldn’t have lasted much longer in the game even without the Rays managing his end-of-season workload. He has a 2.80 ERA and 124/35 K/BB ratio in 147 2/3 innings this year. Rasmussen is lined up to face the Orioles on the road next week.

Rasmussen gave up only four hits, including a solo homer to rookie Moisés Ballesteros in addition to a two-run double to Dansby Swanson. He struck out five and handed out three free passes. The 30-year-old righty was lifted after just 80 pitches (50 strikes) as Tampa Bay continues to put a strict governor on his late-season workload. He’ll face the division-leading Blue Jays on Thursday his next time out.

Ramussen left the game with a 1-0 lead over throwing 82 pitches in five innings, but the Rays’ bullpen quickly gave the lead up in the sixth. Ramussen has been tremendous this season and is still worth using next week against the Cubs, but he’s unlikely to be pushed much deeper than 80 pitches in that one either.

Rasmussen struck out two batters on the evening and didn’t walk a batter. All of the scoring done against him came via the long ball, as Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez and Jorge Polanco each clubbed solo homers in the fourth inning. The 30-year-old right-hander got just six whiffs on 72 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll carry an outstanding 2.74 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 115/28 K/BB ratio (134 2/3 innings) into Sunday’s matchup against the Guardians.

Rasmussen left with a 3-2 lead after 85 pitches, but that wound up being blown in the ninth. Rasmussen has completed six innings in four straight outings. The Rays are trying to limit his workload, but he’s just been so efficient that he keeps making it through six anyway; he hasn’t thrown more than 92 pitches in a start this season and he’s totaled just 331, an average of 83 pitches, during this four-start run. He’ll face the Mariners at home next week.

Rasmussen was dialed in here. The only runs he gave up were via solo home runs to Trent Grisham and Austin Wells while the Yankees struggled to sustain any rallies otherwise. Both of those homers came on some badly missed pitches too. First, a cutter that never cut which Grisham barely yanked over the right field fence and then a hanging curveball that Wells crushed. After some workload concerns earlier this summer, Rasmussen has now completed six innings in three consecutive starts and looks to be as sharp as ever. He’s scheduled to face the Guardians on the road next time out.