Joe Boyle is starting to look like more than a power arm with a big fastball and a relief ceiling.
The Rays got the towering right-hander from the Athletics in the Jeffrey Springs-Jacob Lopez deal, and since then Boyle has logged a little more than 70 innings in the organization, with most of that work coming in Durham. The raw stuff has never been the question. What’s changed is the way he’s pairing that stuff with a much better feel for the strike zone.
Boyle’s command has taken a real step forward since he arrived in Tampa Bay’s system. Before the trade, he carried a 15.7% walk rate in the majors and an 18.9% walk rate in the minors. Those numbers have dropped to 12.1% and 14.4% with the Rays, and that improvement is tied to mechanical tweaks, usage changes, and some pitch-shape evolution.
The most obvious physical adjustment has been his slot. Boyle has moved from a high three-quarter delivery in 2024 to a low three-quarter slot in 2025 and 2026. That lower slot appears to have made his motion more repeatable, and the results back that up: his zone rate climbed from 44.2% in AAA in 2024 to 46.9% in AAA so far in 2026, even as he leaned more heavily on secondary pitches that have historically been tougher to keep in the strike zone.
That matters because Boyle doesn’t just have one standout pitch. He’s now working with a wider mix of shapes, most of them relatively new since the slot change, and he’s throwing them in the zone at a higher clip than before.
The command gains are one thing. The expanding arsenal is another.
Put them together, and the profile gets a lot more interesting.
The biggest shift in 2026 has been how Boyle is deploying that arsenal against righties and lefties. His fastball usage has dipped below 50% against both sides of the plate for the first time in his pro career, and his cut-slider has become his most-used pitch.
That’s no accident. It’s the pitch he locates best.
Boyle’s cut-slider has gone through a steady transformation since he joined the Rays. Before the move, it had the look of a more traditional two-plane slider, sitting in the mid-to-upper 80s.
By April of 2025, it had tightened into more of a gyro shape. Then, after his August major-league call-up this season, it shifted again into something harder and more cutter-like, now living in the low 90s and showing a more vertical orientation for the first time.
The pitch’s zone rate has jumped from 52.5% to 60.6% with the new shape, while its whiff rate has stayed in the 35-40% range. In other words, he’s throwing it in the zone more often without giving up much of its swing-and-miss bite.
The usage table tells the story of the new mix. Against right-handed hitters, Boyle went from 42.3% four-seam usage from April to July to 30.3% from August to September, while the cut-slider stayed steady around one-third of the mix and his two-seam and breaking ball climbed. Against lefties, the four-seam dropped from 47.3% to 34.3%, while the cut-slider rose from 33.4% to 38.2% and the offspeed stayed in the teens.
Since going back to Durham with that updated cut-slider shape, Boyle has cut his walk rate to 7.3% across 19.1 innings in four appearances. His strike rate has also risen from 57.7% to 64.1%, which is a move from below average to roughly league average. It’s a small sample, sure, but the trend is clear: he’s throwing more strikes.
That’s why the outlook looks so much better now than it did when he first arrived. Boyle still has the kind of stuff that can play in a major-league rotation, and now the command is catching up enough to let that stuff work more consistently.
The Rays could simplify things and use him in relief, where the fastball-cut-slider combination would give him a clean path to success. But their continued work with his broader arsenal suggests they’re thinking bigger.
Boyle’s growth this season - the improved zone rate, the heavier secondary usage, the in-season cut-slider tweak - makes him a real candidate to stay in a rotation. Whether that chance comes late in 2026 or later on, he’s moved himself into the conversation.
In Other News...
Rays Move On From Pitcher Still Trying To Rebound From Surgery
The Rays have made another roster move involving a pitcher still working his way back from surgery, with right-hander Michael Grove claimed off waivers by Atlanta and sent to Triple-A Gwinnett. Tampa Bay had designated Grove for assignment earlier, and he had spent time pitching in both the majors and minors this season as he tried to regain his footing after the operation.
Atlantas interest was practical as much as anything else, coming as the Braves look for extra pitching depth amid injuries in their rotation. For Tampa Bay, it is another reminder of how quickly the back end of a roster can turn over, especially with pitchers who are still in the middle of a recovery and trying to prove they can hold up again at the big-league level. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Have One Clear Weak Spot In A Tight AL East Race
With 13 games left, the Rays are still in control of a tight AL East race, and the broader picture looks good enough that they can afford to focus on one nagging issue rather than panic over the standings. Junior Caminero has helped steady the lineup with his strong play, giving Tampa Bay a source of impact production as the club tries to close out the regular season with its division lead intact.
Cedric Mullins, though, has remained the obvious weak spot in an otherwise competitive group. The outfielder has not provided much offensively this season, sitting at .202 with a .626 OPS, and that kind of drag stands out more now that every game carries extra weight. Even with the Rays in a strong position, how much they can live with that production down the stretch could shape the final push. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Quietly Added A New Arm And The Bullpen Implications Matter
The Rays were busy shuffling the board before their three-game series against the Athletics, and one of the more notable moves came on the pitching side with right-hander Michael Grove being claimed off waivers by Atlanta. Tampa Bay also had to adjust its own bullpen depth, placing Tyler Wells on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tightness, a move that closes the book on his regular season and forces the club to lean on the next layer of arms.
Alex Cook was recalled from Triple-A Durham to fill Wells spot, while Jake Fraley was activated from the 60-day injured list and catcher Kenny Piper was optioned to Durham. For a team that has long valued flexibility and depth, the sequence matters because every late-season pitching move can ripple forward, and the Rays now have to manage one more bullpen absence as they try to keep things steady over the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]