Joe

Boyle

Boyle struck out seven while issuing two walks. The right-hander now has a glistening ERA of 1.29 in Triple-A, and he’s likely to continue to dominate Triple-A hitters as long as he’s in the International League. He’s been inconsistent at best at the major-league level, but depending on the matchup, he could be worthy of a look if/when Tampa Bay gives him another shot.

Five hitless innings Sunday against the Braves wasn’t enough to get their Rays to change their minds about keeping Boyle around after his spot start, but at least it did firmly establish him as being next in line when anything opens up.

This was the plan all along with the Rays needing a spot starter on Sunday only; however, Boyle looked great in his start against the Braves, so there was some question about whether or not he would remain in the Tampa Bay rotation. It seems like the Rays will stick with their original plan and bring up a reliever to help the bullpen. Boyle was solid on Sunday but couldn’t pitch more than four innings in either of his first two Triple-A starts due to a high pitch count, so he does need to continue to work on the consistency of his command.

Boyle was excellent in his Rays debut. The 25-year-old right-hander didn’t allow a hit in five innings of work, induced 12 whiffs and posted a 32 percent CSW. Boyle was removed in the sixth inning after allowing two batters to reach on a hit by pitch and a walk. Tampa Bay pushed back the rest of its rotation so it’s unclear how much staying power the converted reliever might have in the big leagues. He passed his first start with flying colors, though his lack of command is obviously something he’ll have to continue to overcome.

Boyle will take the ball for Sunday’s series finale against the Braves with Shane Baz being pushed back for Monday’s opener against the Red Sox in an effort to build in an extra day of rest for the entire rotation. The hard-throwing 25-year-old’s omnipresent control issues amplify the risk for streaming purposes, but there’s significant strikeout upside here. He’s compiled a solid 2.25 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 10/6 K/BB ratio across eight innings (two starts) this season at the Triple-A level.

This was the quintessential Joe Boyle start. He showed off tremendous velocity and struck out four in four innings. However, he also walked four and needed 80 pitches to get through four innings. This is going to be a process for Tampa Bay to turn him into a reliable starter.

Boyle also walked two, and those larger command issues have been a big reason why many people expected Tampa Bay to move Boyle into the bullpen. Instead, the Rays have kept Boyle as a starter and even have him working on a “splinker,” which he showed off in this start. His raw stuff remains impressive, but there remain doubts that he will ever be able to harness enough command to be an MLB starter.

The move comes after Boyle allowed two runs and walked five in 4 2/3 innings against the Red Sox on Saturday. He was pretty impressive overall this spring, but the Rays had no intention of carrying him as a reliever. He might, however, now be sixth on the team’s starting pitcher depth chart with Shane McClanahan (triceps) set to miss time.

Already one of the game’s hardest throwing starters, Boyle, acquired from the A’s in the Jeffrey Springs deal, took it up a notch today, averaging 100.3 mph on the 19 fastballs he threw. He also went without a walk, though he did plunk Andrew McCutchen. It was an awfully encouraging outing from someone who wasn’t supposed to have a real shot of making the Rays rotation. Maybe that will change in the coming weeks.

We’re not sure whether the Rays place greater value on Boyle or the 36th overall pick in the draft, but those were the two biggest gets here. Boyle has a fantastic arm that has rarely proven capable of throwing strikes. He seemed to make great strides initially after the A’s acquired him from the Rays at the 2023 trade deadline, but he took a couple of steps back last season in totaling a 6.42 ERA and 40 walks in 47 2/3 innings in the majors and a 5.12 ERA and 39 walks in 45 2/3 innings in Triple-A. The Rays will probably have him start games in Triple-A initially, but if he’s going to make an impact, it seems more likely to happen as a reliever.