MLB.com took a look at some of the rotations around the league and compared their fastballs. They discovered that the Tampa Bay Rays front three of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Charlie Morton were the hardest throwing in the entire league, as the three of them averaged just under 96 miles per hour consistently.

Now, this is without the opener, so they’re comparing three pitchers in the rotation to the usual five in opposing rotations, but nonetheless, it’s impressive stat for the Rays pitching staff.

The Rays get a big asterisk in this spot, with only three true starters included due to their use of the opener. Counting Ryan Yarbrough (89.2 mph), who pitched 147 1/3 innings last year despite making just six starts, would bring down that average. On the other hand, the live-armed Glasnow has a shot to play a bigger role in Tampa Bay’s rotation after coming over from Pittsburgh last summer.

Rays News and Links

• A prospects only team? These four teams would fare the best - Jonathan Mayo, MLB Pipeline
• These teams have had sneaky good offseasons (Rays featured 3rd on the list) - Richard Justice, MLB
• Keith Law’s 2019 top prospects: Nos. 50-1 (Wander Franco came in at number three, plus three more Rays prospects were ranked) - Keith Law, ESPN
• How Jack Labosky Rolls (Why buying a school bus was the only way for a minor leaguer to keep moving forward.) - Aram Leighton, Fish Stripes

Around the League

• Bryce Harper is still unsigned
• Manny Machado is still unsigned
• A lot of high quality free agents are still unsigned