Robbie Ray

Everything went right for Ray in 2017, when he registered a 2.89 ERA despite a 3.94 BB/9 and 3.72 FIP. An oblique strain limited him to just 123.2 innings in 24 starts last season, and 70 walks led to a 3.93 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. After initially resembling the better model, he carries a 3.86 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He remains just as tough to hit with a .221 batting average, but a 4.10 BB/9 continues to cause him trouble. Enjoy the strikeouts, but expect a volatile ERA and bloated WHIP. Despite all the speculation, he stayed in Arizona through the trade deadline and has returned from a back injury.

Over the last few year's Ray has been the epitome of a volatile pitcher. This year hasn't been any different, as he still struggles with the home run and as a result, carries an ERA near 4. The strikeouts will still be there, of course, but until he fixes that ERA, he is merely a SP3.

Ray was an obvious regression candidate coming off his phenomenal 2017 season, and regress he did. While his strikeout rate remained elite, his walk rate ballooned to over 5.00 per nine innings, inflating his WHIP back up to 1.35. Ray is really hard to hit, so he's capable of keeping his ERA under 4.00, but the WHIP isn't likely to be pretty, which makes him hard to rely on as a weekly starter in standard mixed leagues.