Arizona Diamondbacks: Is Robbie Ray among ‘elite’ pitchers?

By Mark Brown |

Robbie Ray gives credit to Randy Johnson for advice and mentoring. (Denis Poroy / Getty Images)

Lefty Robbie Ray of the Arizona Diamondbacks could ascend as a dominant pitcher in 2018.

If numbers keep improving, and if this trend continues, lefty Robbie Ray of the Arizona Diamondbacks could rise among the top pitchers in the game. From a previous unknown status and three major league organizations in his resume, Ray’s standing and production persist to lean upward.

While discussion centers around righty Zack Greinke as the Diamondbacks’ number one starter and “ace” of the staff, there is a growing buzz around the game that Greinke no longer possesses the necessary “out pitch,” and his status as one of the best pitchers in the game continues to decline.

That would leave Ray ready to leap-frog over the veteran righty and continue his ascendancy as the Diamondbacks’ principal pitcher.

Numbers present a case for Ray’s rising star.

In 2016 under then manager Chip Hale, Ray now at 26-years-old, moved into the rotation and responded with an 8-15 season, a 4.90 ERA and his 218 strikeouts were among the NL leaders.

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In one year under new manager Torey Lovullo, Ray’s production marked a definite improvement. His season record increased to 15-5, and his ERA of 2.89 was fourth best in the NL. Only the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw (2.31), and the Nationals pair of Max Scherzer (2.51) and Stephen Strasberg (2.52) were lower. For the second straight season, Ray recorded 218 strikeouts, and that was third best in the NL behind leader Scherzer (268) and Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets (239).

After beating the Padres in San Diego on May 20, Ray went 13-2 with five no decisions for the remainder of the season. Along the way, he became the first pitcher in history to record four, straight 10-strikeouts games at Dodger Stadium. All of which was reward for a spot on the NL All-Star team for the mid-summer classic played last July in Marlins Park.

From a pitcher known to register high pitch counts and early exits, Ray told Call to the Pen during this past season of a principal adjustment made.

“In the past, I had a slower delivery and that lead to a tendency to be wild,” he said. “With (pitching coach Mike Butcher), I worked on getting a faster delivery to the plate. It wasn’t like, get the ball and throw it immediately. But I picked up the pace, and that definitely help.”

In nearly an apparent reversal of form, Ray was battered in game two of the NLDS against the Dodgers. The principal reason, L. A. manager Dave Roberts told Call to the Pen doing the winter meetings last month in Orlando, was his team postulated Ray would not be as sharp coming off a relief appearances in the wild card game against the Colorado Rockies just three days before.

The Dodgers guessed correct because Ray lasted only 4.1innings in game two, surrendered four runs, walked four and left with a pitch count at 88 pitches. That included 18 pitches in the third inning and 26 in the fourth.

At the recent winter meetings, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Louvullo told Call to the Pen “I made some mistakes” during the season, and perhaps the most glaring was sending Ray out in the playoffs without his regular rest and routine bullpen sessions.

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Heading into 2018 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, it’s likely Lovullo will be more cautious, but not until the post-season. That being too far too advanced on the current radar screen, it’s a safe bet to assume the spotlight will be on Ray and whether his adjustment to an accelerated delivery will continue to have a positive impact on his production, numbers and pitch count.

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