Tampa Bay Rays Roster
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Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks earned his fourth save of the season on Friday after tossing a scoreless ninth inning in a 4-3 win over the Blue Jays. Fairbanks needed just six pitches to dispatch of the heart of the Jays' order. Fantasy managers are surely delighted after the 30-year-old pitched the eighth inning Wednesday, recording a hold and losing out on a save opportunity in the ninth. There may still be some situational pitching going forward, however, where Fairbanks is used in higher-leverage situations and not necessarily the ninth inning. On the season, the righty has a 5.73 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and a 16.7% K-BB% to go along with his four saves.
Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Tyler Alexander picked up a quality start in a 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. Alexander allowed three runs on three hits over 7 1/3 innings while striking out four on the way to earning the win. The veteran southpaw kept the Toronto lineup off balance for most of the game, with most of the damage coming via a two-run homer by Davis Schneider in the eighth inning. Alexander now has a 2-2 record, 5.17 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts over 47 innings of work this season. Alexander isn't a must-start in fantasy but he's worth a look as a streaming option in deeper leagues.
Minnesota Twins outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez broke out of a 19-game home run drought on Thursday evening. Through his first 28 games at Double-A this season, the 21-year-old has posted a strong .271/.466/.563 slash line with five home runs, nine stolen bases, and a 34:39 BB:K ratio. Last season, Rodriguez posted a pedestrian .240/.400/.463 line with 16 home runs. This is a great sign, as the number three prospect in the Minnesota system has been performing better against tougher competition. MLB Pipeline projects him to reach the major leagues sometime next season. However, as the 33rd-best prospect in all of baseball, he is worth paying close attention to and could even be worth stashing once he is prompted to Triple-A later this summer.
Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot (leg) could come off the injured list to rejoin the team's starting rotation on either Tuesday or Wednesday for a matchup at home against the visiting Boston Red Sox. Pepiot threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and will likely throw another one before the Rays clear him to come off the 15-day injured list early next week. The 26-year-old was put on the shelf after taking a line drive off his leg in his last outing on May 5 against the New York Mets, when he allowed three earned runs in two innings before being pulled early. Since giving up a season-high six earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in his first start of the year to the Texas Rangers, Pepiot has cleaned things up and currently sports a 3.68 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with 41 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings over seven starts. He's valuable at least as a back-end starter in most fantasy formats.
Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe (oblique) is restarting a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Saturday and could return from the injured list to rejoin the Rays on Monday against the Boston Red Sox. Lowe played in four rehab games with Durham before suffering a setback, but he's back on track and should be back in the big leagues unless he suffers another setback this weekend. The 29-year-old left-handed hitter originally landed on the injured list on April 12 with a strained right oblique. At least against right-handed pitching, Lowe will return to second base duties for the Rays when he's ready to be reinstated. The former third-round selection in 2015 out of Maryland was an All-Star in 2019 and had a career-high 39 dingers in 2021, but he's had trouble staying healthy and has played in over 100 games in two of his six MLB seasons.