D-backs’ Robbie Ray still has room to grow into ace, ESPN says

Robbie Ray improved, no doubt. How much?

ESPN’s David Schoenfield isn’t so sure it was as big of a leap as you’d think after the left-handed starter improved his ERA from 4.90 to 2.89 over the past two seasons. That’s not necessarily bad news.

It means the Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher has a shot at taking another step forward, and Schoenfield listed Ray as one of 10 pitchers who could become MLB’s next superace.

While Ray’s strikeout, walk and home run numbers were similar spanning two seasons, the addition of a curveball into his repertoire that replaced some fastballs and complemented his slider helped limit damage when batters made contact with his pitches.

The difference was all in his batting average on balls in play (BABIP): .355 in 2016, .270 in 2017.

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His exit velocities allowed were basically the same. So, was he simply smarter and better in 2017, or maybe more fortunate? Probably a little of both, but there’s reason to believe he hasn’t hit his ceiling just yet. He’s one of the hardest-throwing lefty starters in the game, and if he can cut down on his walks — 71 in 162 innings — he could consistently post sub-3.00 ERAs.

Ray went 15-5 over the course of 2017, and the 26-year-old showed mettle when he was hit in the head with a comebacker in late July only to return a month later looking better than ever.

Ray recorded wins in six of the next seven starts, and until the end of the season, Arizona won all eight regular season games he appeared in following the scary injury.

Here are the remaining nine pitchers that Schoenfield also listed as the next potential MLB star pitchers:

Luis Severino, New York Yankees
Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets
Alex Reyes, St. Louis Cardinals
Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds
Michael Kopech, Chicago White Sox
A.J. Puk, Oakland Athletics
Jose Berrios, Minnesota Twins
Lance McCullers, Houston Astros
James Paxton, Seattle Mariners

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