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Robbie Ray 2020 Outlook: Top Of The Rotation Potential At A Mid-Round Price
5 years agoRobbie Ray could be the most underrated fantasy asset in the game today. The 28-year-old didn't post a great ERA in 2019 (4.34 in 174 1/3 IP), but his 3.76 xFIP suggests that his run prevention was just fine if you normalize his 20% HR/FB (15.1% career). More importantly, Ray is a strikeout machine. His 31.5 K% ranked seventh among qualified starters last season, sandwiched between Jacob deGrom and Yu Darvish. Yes, he walked a few too many guys (11.2 BB% last year), but there could be a quick fix for that. Ray introduced a sinker to his repertoire last year that only posted a 49.8 Zone% to his fastball's 57.3% rate. His sinker was also brutalized to the tune of a .365/.437/.683 line against. If he ditches the sinker in favor of his fastball, Ray could repeat his exceptional strikeout totals without allowing quite as many baserunners. Even if he doesn't, landing ace-level strikeouts from a guy with a 146.80 NFBC ADP is too good to pass up. The Diamondbacks also project as an intriguing “sleeper team” for 2020, so Ray should earn plenty of victories as well. All told, Ray offers at least SP2 upside for a fraction of the cost.
