Tampa Bay Rays starter Drew Smyly had a tough month of May. Can the left-hander rebound in June?
Drew Smyly’s 2016 started off with a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on April 4. In that start he lasted 6 2/3 innings, gave up five earned runs on five hits—three off home runs—and the Rays lost the game 5-3. He rebounded nicely in his five starts—striking out 11 twice—limiting his walks and pitching long into games, but something seemed to happen in mid-May and now Smyly is struggling to get guys out.
In the two starts in which he had 11 strikeouts against Cleveland and Boston, Smyly used different pitches for strike three. Against Cleveland, he struck out two in the first inning and he used his curveball to get Rajai Davis swinging and Jason Kipnis looking. Against Boston, when he struck out the side to start the game, Smyly used a curveball to get both Mookie Betts and David Ortiz to strike out swinging, while using his fastball to get Dustin Pedroia looking. Jackie Bradley Jr. was the only Boston batter to get a hit off Smyly who stymied the offense for eight innings en route to a 3-0 Rays win.
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Smyly’s run of good starts ended when he only lasted five innings in a no decision on May 4 against the Dodgers and the bad run began on May 10 against Seattle in Tropicana Field. Against the Mariners, Smyly had a strange five innings of work. He gave up six runs on 10 hits while striking out five and not walking a batter. In his next game, he bounced back a bit getting the win against Toronto, but walked four batters and was only able to last five innings. His next three starts were all losses against Detroit, Miami, and Kansas City.
In that last start, on May 31 against the Royals, Smyly had his worst start of the year, only lasting four innings, and giving up eight runs on 12 hits and surrendering a home run. The Royals were not fooled by many pitches, they made a lot of contact in the zone and hit nearly every pitch type Smyly had to offer.
When looking at his numbers month to month, you will notice that Smyly has lost some velocity on all of his pitches. He wasn’t exactly a flamethrower to begin with, averaging 91-92 mph on his fastball, and losing velocity on your curve isn’t a terrible thing, but when you’re also losing it on your fastball and your cutter, it is not a good sign. In April he was able to get guys out with his fastball. In May, it hasn’t been as easy.
This could be the reason why Smyly’s having issues lasting deep into game and why his strike outs have decreased. Also keep in mind, that Smyly only made 12 starts in the Majors last season and that Sunday afternoon marks his 12th start of 2016. He may just need to adjust to life as a starter in the Major leagues and may work out the kinks in time. It’s definitely something to keep on eye on going forward.
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The Tampa Bay Rays need Drew Smyly to turn his season around. Hopefully, this is just a matter of overcoming fatigue and getting used to the rigors of taking the mound every fifth day.