Ryne Stanek pitched his way to a strong 2018 campaign, thanks large-in-part to the role he played in the Rays’ pitching revolution.
In a season that had a bumpy start, a newfound role would be the key to Stanek’s success throughout the year, and would even have him break an MLB record.
Stanek’s 2018 started off in Durham, where he was fantastic in ten appearances and 9.2 innings of work. A 1.86 ERA and .147 opposing batting average earned Stanek a call-up at the beginning of May — but those first few appearances at the beginning of May would not be forgiving to Stanek, with the long haired reliever allowing a .