Robbie Ray Fantasy News and Statistics

Pitching wins. The Arizona Diamondbacks made that clear reversing their 69-93 record from 2016 to 93-69 in 2017 thanks to a much-improved pitching staff. For the D-Backs, the rotation was at the heart of that turnaround, and one of the biggest improvements on the staff came from Robbie Ray. A 15-game loser in 2016, Ray found more consistency in 2017, delivering 15 wins and being a much better Dober Fantasy Points producer even while making four fewer starts.

2017: In 2017, Ray lowered his ERA by two runs from 4.90 to 2.89 and reversed his record from 8-15 to 15-5. While pitching nearly the same number of innings—12.1 fewer in four less starts—he walked and struck out the exact same number of batters and allowed one fewer home run. He also posted nearly the same FIP in 2016 and 2017 going from 3.76 to 3.72. Despite the nearly identical peripheral numbers, the standard metrics show Ray having a vastly different year in 2017 than he had previously. Much of that is luck, but it illustrates that he is a quality southpaw. In the end, the lefty led the NL with a 12.1 strikeout per nine inning ratio and produced a 166 ERA+, making him—at least by that metric—66 percent better than the average starter.