Rays Dirty Dozen: SP Depth Leads Rays into 2016

RHP Taylor Guerrieri – 23 years old

Still only 23 years old, it seems like we’ve been hearing Guerrieri’s name for a long time. He’s overcome his TJ surgery and proved in 2015 that he’s ready to continue his sheer dominance on the mound. The difference between Snell, Faria, and Guerrieri is that the first two can be counted on to pitch in the rotation all season long, while Guerrieri will likely be working with an innings limit. Having just returned from his surgery in 2015, he’s still going to be building up his arm strength and could therefore be relegated to helping the Rays out in the pen at some point, vice the rotation.

With the innings limit in mind, if the Rays do need to call up a starter early on in the season, Guerrieri could get that first look. It would allow the Rays to keep both Snell and Faria out of the Super Two category while also getting a look at what Guerrieri could provide the team in 2017. He should still be good for approximately 120-130 innings in 2016, so he has a lot of value for the Rays and remains an important depth piece.

Next: Not expected to be needed but nice to have at #11