Ace – RHP Alex Cobb, $4,000,000
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Alex Cobb is a great bargain at only a $4 million base salary in 2015. He has ace stuff and enough veteran experience at 27-years of age to be the anchor of this dream rotation.
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While his durability has not been one of his biggest assets since breaking into MLB in 2011, the Boston native has started no less than 22 games over his last three seasons. If the Tampa Bay Rays get 32 starts out of him in 2015, excluding bonuses or incentives, it will cost them only $125,000 per start. There is great value in that.
Cobb has a lifetime ERA of 3.21 as a professional. 2014 was a strong campaign for him despite again visiting the disabled list. He finished the season with a 2.87 ERA, a FIP of 3.23 a WAR of 3.9 and 17 quality starts. His QSPCT of 0.630 ranked him 18th highest in the entire American League for pitchers with a minimum of 160 IP.
A healthy Cobb will be the ace of the Rays in 2015. But that’s not to be taken lightly, as Tampa Bay has a number of young and talented arms on the rise in recent years. Compared to what former Rays teammate David Price will now be paid in 2015 ($19.75 M) with the Detroit Tigers, Cobb’s $4 million salary may produce similar, if not superior numbers, for Tampa Bay this year.