Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
200-plus innings. 190 strikeouts. A win-loss record of 18-7 with a 2.73/1.13 ERA/WHIP.
By the end of the season (at the current pace), the Tampa Bay Rays may very well have a pitcher with numbers that are good enough not just to lead the team as its ace, but to contend for the AL Cy Young award altogether — and he was passed for Jeff Niemann in the starting rotation as recently as last year.
Yes, the hurler that I’m speaking of is neither David Price nor Matt Moore.
Instead, it’s the relatively little-known Alex Cobb, who was finally given a job in the rotation to start the season and is running away with the opportunity. His latest gem came on Tuesday against the divisional rival Toronto Blue Jays, where the righty was simply in control for the majority of his 6.1 innings, allowing just a run on three hits and two walks.
The lone damage came off a rather loud home run to Colby Rasmus, but Cobb did manage to retire 11 of his first 12 batters, and otherwise only allowed one man on scoring position through his entire start after being given an early 4-0 lead to work with.
With a stellar 14-2 GO-AO ratio on the day, the 25-year old didn’t even have to put his strikeout ability in play as he simply let his defense do the work.
That’s not to say Cobb can’t get the whiff when he wants to, though. He actually boasts a 8.19 K/9 through his 59.1 innings in 2013 right now, a career-best mark despite just striking out two on Tuesday. Combined with an also career-best 2.12 BB/9, and you get the picture why seven of his nine starts have been of the quality variety.
Still, there’s work to be done before Cobb truly takes the next level in the bigs.
The biggest knock against him, inefficiency, is still something of an issue, as he’s thrown at least seven complete innings just three times this season, and needed 107 pitches to get through 6.1 against Toronto before showing signs of an empty gas tank.
On top of that, Cobb has allowed long balls at a 1.21 HR/9 rate, something that’ll have to come down to keep his 2.73 ERA from trending closer to his 3.78 FIP. Sure, that’s helped by a 19.5 percent HR/FB rate that’s not likely to be sustainable, but neither is a 86.5 percent strand rate, so a little luck goes both ways, I suppose.
What is certain, however, is that he is showing the skills that would make him a very solid mid-rotation starter even with a slight regression. But if he can keep improving? The top of the Rays’ starting five might get pretty crowded soon.
