Rays Dirty Dozen: SP Depth Leads Rays into 2016

Apr 6, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A general view of Tropicana Field at the main gate prior to the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles of at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

RHP Jacob Faria – 22 years old

If for some reason Snell falters or the Rays need to call up two starters, Faria is definitely up to the task. While he hasn’t reached the AAA level yet, he’s shown such complete dominance at the AA level that a call up from AA seems achievable at this point. It’s amazing to me how under rated Faria remains despite such a dominant performance in 2015. While Snell and Honeywell tend to get much of the attention at the top of the Rays pitching ranks, Faria is often spoken of as an afterthought.

In Faria and Snell, the Rays possible have two future top-of-the-rotation arms that have ceilings above the number three level. While it’s a lot to ask of them to expect such a performance in 2016, there’s no doubt that they have the talent to do so and both are likely to get a shot to prove it soon. As with Snell, it’s more likely that he gets a shot sometime after the first third of the season is in the books. With his 149 IP in 2015, he’ll be ready to put in a full workload in 2016.

Next: Healed and ready to build on a fine 2015 at #10