Tampa Bay Rays Blake Snell wins Cy Young and earns drug test

Winning the Cy Young award has earned Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell an unwelcome gift in the form of a random drug test.

It has been quite the eventful week for Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell. On Wednesday, it was announced that he won the American League Cy Young award, a well deserved honor in what was a breakout season for the Rays lefty. His ascension to stardom could not have come at a better time for Tampa Bay, as he was one of their few actual starters last season.

However, winning the Cy Young award came with an unwanted prize. In a random coincidence, Snell is also going to have a drug test later on today. Just a “random” test, right?

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This seems similar to when Eric Thames was on a hot streak last year, and was seemingly tested for PEDs after every home run. But, it is all about making sure the players are on the same playing field. Nothing to see here – just a random test being administered. Just a pure coincidence about the timing.

There is no question that Snell had an incredible season. He led the league with 21 wins and a 1.89 ERA, and finished sixth with 221 strikeouts. Snell was also the only real starter on the Rays to make more than 20 starts in 2018, as ‘opener’ Ryne Stanek was the only other pitcher to make more than 20 starts. However, Snell pitched 180.2 innings, as opposed to Stanek’s 66.1 innings over 59 appearances.

It is possible that this is just the beginning for Snell and the Rays. Tampa Bay had been looking for someone to step into the shoes left behind by the likes of David Price and James Shields, and thought that Chris Archer would be that pitcher. Instead, it was Snell who took that step forward, becoming the top of the rotation arm the Rays desperately needed.

It was a great start to the week for Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell. Unfortunately, it is going to randomly get worse.