The fantasy baseball season is now a couple of weeks old and it’s about that time to consider which struggling players are worth holding on to and which can be released onto waivers. For many managers, Drew Rasmussen falls right on the edge of both sides of that decision. Let’s take a closer look at the Tampa Bay Rays pitcher and what to do with him on your own teams.

 

Rasmussen was a late-round pick during fantasy draft season and offered plenty of intrigue based on last year’s strong numbers. After being traded from Milwaukee in May of 2021, the right-hander posted a 2.44 ERA, 2.86 FIP and 0.97 WHIP across 59 innings with the Rays. He was used as both a traditional starter and bulk reliever but ended the season firmly in the Tampa Bay rotation. Rasmussen’s 1.93 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over 10 starts last year were certainly impressive. 

Rasmussen's Subpar Start

Entering this season, fantasy baseball managers drafted Rasmussen hoping for continued success as a starting pitcher for Tampa Bay. Well, it’s been a shaky first few outings. The 26-year-old righty has a 5.25 ERA and 1.25 WHIP through his first three starts over 12 innings of work. Here’s how those three starts look in box score form:

DateOPPIPERHBBSO
4/9BAL42313
4/15CWS53502
4/20CHC32424

You’ll notice Rasmussen has given up at least two runs in every outing with more baserunners allowed than strikeouts each time as well. The numbers might not look as bad if the Rays let him pitch deeper into games, but that’s not the case. Tampa Bay seems perfectly content to pull Rasmussen before (or right after) opposing lineups face him a third time through the order. It’s hard to argue with the Rays’ logic, since they won two of his three starts with this strategy. 

Expectations Moving Forward

For fantasy, though, it seriously limits the upside and value of Rasmussen. If he can’t get through five innings on a consistent enough basis, you can forget about him helping you in the win column of your head-to-head or roto leagues. If you’re in a league that uses quality starts, forget about it! Rasmussen never lasted longer than five credited innings in any start last year after he came over to Tampa Bay. Early returns suggest that trend may continue this season. 

Plus, if he’s allowing two runs and five hits/walks in his limited innings, then your ERA and WHIP ratios are hurting as well. It would be one thing if Rasmussen was some high-strikeout guy, but he’s not. He had just an 8.64 K/9 rate last season and never recorded more than five strikeouts in any of his starts. The guy is simply a contact pitcher who doesn’t need the strikeout to be effective. 

 

The other worry for Rasmussen early on is the inefficient pitch count needed to even get through his limited work. He’s thrown 64, 68, and 79 pitches to get through three, five, and four innings, respectively, over his first three starts. If he wasn’t allowing so many hits or walks, then we might be more prone to get five innings out of Rasmussen. 

To get a sense of how Rasmussen was used last year as a starter, check out these game logs from his final eight starts of the 2021 season once he was firmly entrenched in the Tampa Bay rotation:

DateOPPIPPitchesERK
8/12/21BOS45014
8/17/21BAL45603
8/24/21PHI55811
9/1/21BOS47415
9/7/21BOS57112
9/14/21TOR55203
9/21/21TOR57023
9/29/21HOU55402

Notice how his pitch count never went above 75 and usually hovered below 60 in most of those starts. Plus, he was regularly out of the game before the sixth inning even started – even if he allowed just one run or less at that point. 

Maybe if Rasmussen was pitching for any other team, then we’d be more patient to hold on to him after a slow start to the 2022 campaign. However, he’s on a Rays pitching staff that’s arguably the most annoying to fantasy baseball managers. Whether it’s the openers, bulk relievers, multiple closers or starters that rarely go six-to-seven innings consistently – it’s impossible to trust on a weekly or daily basis. Rasmussen falls in that latter category of starting pitchers who inevitably get pulled a bit too early, limiting their fantasy value overall. 

Drop or Hold On?

So, now we come to the question of whether you should hold on to Rasmussen in fantasy or let him go. It’s worth noting that the Rays’ righty is among the most dropped players in ESPN leagues, with a 13.1% rostership decrease. On Yahoo, he’s now only rostered in 23% of leagues and is being dropped often as well. 

If you’re in a shallower league, it’s time to cut bait on Drew Rasmussen until one of two things starts happening. Either the Rays let him pitch deeper into games, which would make him more valuable in the strikeouts and wins/quality starts categories. Or, he starts putting together scoreless outings or limiting baserunners to contribute more in ERA and WHIP. In the near future, though, it’s unlikely to expect either of those outcomes on a consistent basis. 

If you’re in a deeper league, it may be worth holding on to Rasmussen for one or two more turns through the rotation to see if he bounces back. Be ready to look for better options on the waiver wire, though, if the above trends continue. 

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Fantasy Baseball 2022