Taj Bradley DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley received his fifth loss of the season on Sunday against the Astros despite striking out 10 and allowing only one unearned run over seven innings. He gave up three hits and walked two. This is the second straight outing where he's gone seven strong innings and still gotten stuck with the loss. The 24-year-old has been much more efficient this season than in past years with eight quality starts in 12 tries. In 2024, he achieved that in only 10 of his 25 starts. However, the efficiency seems to have come at the cost of getting fewer strikeouts, as the 26.6% K rate he posted last season is down to 21.9% this year. The youngster will carry a 3.95 ERA into his next start, which is set to be against the Marlins.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley turned in a solid start but took the loss in Tuesday's 4-2 game against the Twins. Bradley pitched seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits (including a solo home run) and two walks with six strikeouts. He also hit a batter. Bradley's effort was overmatched by Joe Ryan, who turned in a quality start and earned a win. The 24-year-old has been decent overall this season, going 4-4 with a 4.38 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a 7.63 K/9 rate in 11 starts and 63 2/3 IP. Bradley's low strikeout mark is worth noting from a fantasy perspective, although he has provided improved numbers in his last three starts. His next scheduled start will be a tougher matchup at the Astros, a lineup that does not strike out much. Bradley is worth starting in points leagues, but fantasy managers may consider sitting him in roto leagues.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five over six innings of work, but did not factor into the decision in the 3-2 victory over the Brewers on Saturday. The 24-year-old seems to have righted the ship after a six-run blowup against the Yankees a few weeks ago, posting three quality starts in his last four outings, now with five quality starts on the year (out of eight). The righty owns a 4.24 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and an 8.4 percent K-BB% so far in 2025. With an 18.3 percent strikeout rate that is well below his 25.9 percent career rate, hopefully he can start striking out a few more batters in these quality starts, which would make the former fifth-round draft pick much more serviceable for fantasy, and he'll get that opportunity against the Marlins next week, a team with the sixth-highest strikeouts-per-game average in the majors.