The Potomac Nationals announced today that LHP Robbie Ray has been promoted to the Harrisburg Senators.
This is a bit of surprise, given the hammering (7HR, .245OBA) he took in June (vs 2HR, .184OBA in April/May) but apparently the powers that be are satisfied that he has made enough progress to be challenged with the next level.
Indeed, compared to the pitcher he was a year ago (especially in the second half, when he would get hit early, often, and hard), the 21-year-old southpaw has improved by leaps and bounds, getting more ground balls overall and converting more of the long counts (which are still a little too frequent to not glaze over) into strikeouts.
For the season, Ray is 6-3 with a 3.11 ERA, 3.82 FIP, and a WHIP of 1.20 with 100 strikeouts and 41 walks in 84 innings. That’s 4.39 BB/9 and 10.71 K/9. The walk rate is actually a career high, while the home run rate is only down slightly (0.96 vs. 1.19).
While not officially confirmed yet by the Senators PR folks, it would appear that Ray is the “TBA” listed in yesterday’s media notes for the probable pitcher of first game in tomorrow’s doubleheader in Harrisburg.