Yonny Chirinos

Chirinos entered the 2020 campaign having maintained a 3.71 ERA across his first 223 innings in the big leagues. While he wasn't dominant with punchouts --- he struck out only 189 batters in that span -- Chirinos effectively limited opposing batters' hard contact and also displayed elite control by posting a 1.9 BB/9 across 133.1 innings in 2019. However, Chirinos was robbed of any chance to take another step forward, limited instead to only 11 innings prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery in late August. That procedure likely rules him out for all of the 2021 campaign. If his rehab goes as scheduled, Chirinos should be available for the entirety of the 2022 season, though workload may be a question as he has yet to surpass 133 innings in a single campaign. Given the Rays' propensity to limit their starters' workloads, it's not clear what can realistically be expected of Chirinos when he retakes the mound.

Chirinos' sophomore campaign was solid, albeit interrupted by a finger injury, costing him seven weeks from early August through late September. Chirinos started in 18 of 26 appearances, serving as the primary pitcher in the other eight outings. The righty was stingy with baserunners, in part due to improved control but also a result of a lucky .246 BABIP. Good defense and a favorable venue contributed, but Chirinos was also fortunate. He needed the luck as a 21.5 K% is subpar in today's landscape. Chirinos' swinging-strike rate doesn't portend a huge leap in dominance and the safe play is expecting ERA and WHIP regression as Chirinos' BABIP normalizes. The park and defense will soften the blow, but unless Chirinos ratchets up his strikeouts, he remains a streaming candidate, earmarked for home starts and some road affairs against lesser teams.

Chirinos made his debut in 2018, with a mixed bag of results. The righty was a heavy groundball pitcher in the advanced levels of the minors, but was more neutral in the major leagues with a 43% groundball rate. He began the season in the rotation but missed time with an injury early in the summer, and returned to the team after they'd transitioned to using "openers", which is why he only started seven games. Advanced metrics show his entire repertoire is better than average, but it is his sinker which is his best pitch. His command was as inconsistent as you would expect from a rookie pitcher, which led to some hard contact problems. The defense behind him bailed him out quite a bit as his expected contact outcomes were nearly 30 points higher than his actual mark last season. He's an interesting late-round play, but that is where he stays until he gets more consistent with his command.

The Rays named Chirinos the organization's top minor-league pitcher in 2017, over Brent Honeywell, as he had a bounce-back year while spending the bulk of his season in the rotation at Triple-A Durham as a 23-year-old . Throughout his time in the Rays' organization, Chirinos has demonstrated the ability to limit free passes, and with a combined 168.1 innings between Montgomery and Durham last season, he should be without workload restrictions if the Rays need him to contribute in their rotation in 2018 with Honeywell and Jose De Leon out for the season following Tommy John surgery. With a four-pitcher arsenal that he commands very well, Chirinos may exceed expectations relative to his lack of a prospect pedigree.

The Rays named Chirinos the organization's top minor-league pitcher in 2017, over Brent Honeywell, as he had a bounce-back year while spending the bulk of his season in the rotation at Triple-A Durham as a 23-year-old . Throughout his time in the Rays' organization, Chirinos has demonstrated the ability to limit free passes, and with a combined 168.1 innings between Montgomery and Durham last season, he should be without workload restrictions if the Rays need him to contribute in their rotation in 2018 with Honeywell and Jose De Leon out for the season following Tommy John surgery. With a four-pitcher arsenal that he commands very well, Chirinos may exceed expectations relative to his lack of a prospect pedigree.