Robbie Ray 2025 Fantasy Baseball Outlook: Veteran Seeking Productive Year After Elbow Surgery
3 weeks agoTommy John Surgery (TJS) in 2023 has meant Robbie Ray totaled only 34.0 IP in the last two seasons. Prior to his elbow injury, Ray was looking like a top-20 starting pitcher. Between 2021-2022, Ray threw 382.1 innings. In those 64 starts, Ray had a 25-19 W-L record, 3.27 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 460 Ks. His 3.47 xFIP and 3.35 SIERA across those two seasons suggested Ray was a slam dunk SP2, where he was taken in 2023 drafts. The good news is that Ray returned to the mound late last year, and looked good. In seven starts, Ray had a 3-2 W-L record, 4.70 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 43 Ks (30.2 IP). Even in a small sample, his ERA might not look like a reason to draft Ray. However, his 4.09 xFIP and 3.50 SIERA suggest he was unlucky and that small a sample shouldn't be given too much credence. The positive was Ray's 33.3% K% in those starts as strikeouts were a big reason why he had so much fantasy appeal. We shouldn't expect more than ~160.0 IP from Ray in 2025 but assuming he comes through Spring unscathed, Ray should be a productive fantasy option.