The Tampa Bay Rays have spent the 2026 season leaning hard on their pitching depth, and that has opened the door for Brody Hopkins to force his way into the picture.
Tampa Bay’s rotation and bullpen have taken hit after hit. Ryan Pepiot, who made 31 starts last season, has been out from the start and won’t pitch this year.
Edwin Uceta, who became a real weapon out of the bullpen, also couldn’t get healthy. More recently, Shane McClanahan, Garrett Cleavinger and Tyler Wells all landed on the injured list with forearm tightness, and Manuel Rodriguez joined them there too.
That string of injuries pushed the Rays to make a move and call up Hopkins, their top pitching prospect. He opened the season as a starter before shifting to the bullpen in August, and that change has paid off quickly.
The 24-year-old has only thrown two big league innings so far, but his latest outing against the Athletics made people take notice. He worked one inning, faced four batters, walked one and struck out one.
The eye-popping part was the quality of the stuff. According to Pitch Profiler on X, Hopkins turned in the best single-game reliever proStuff+ of the season at 129.
Brody Hopkins just posted the best single-game reliever proStuff+ of the season at 129, and he backed it with a clean inning: 1 K, no runs allowed. Ben Joyce graded next at 118, Yoendrys Gomez at 115. pic.twitter.com/pGTFNOUbIL
That came with a clean inning and no runs allowed, and the pitch mix was loud from top to bottom. His curveball graded as the best offering in proSTUFF+, checking in at 134. It came in at 88.2 mph, which is a ridiculous number for a breaking ball.
If hitters were looking curveball, the heater was waiting for them. Hopkins’s four-seamer graded at 131 in proSTUFF+ and averaged 99.9 mph. He has been touching big velocity all year, so that part of the package is already established.
Brody Hopkins's curveball was the filthiest pitch in baseball last night, an 88.2 mph hammer grading out at 134 proStuff+. His own four-seamer backed it up at 131, with Grant Taylor's slider next at 130. Clean inning, one punchout, nasty stuff all around. pic.twitter.com/dPoAwQ7GOT
His cutter was thrown three times and still graded well, posting a proSTUFF+ of 115 with a 75 grade. The bigger takeaway is the raw arm talent Hopkins is showing this early in his major league career. If he can pair that stuff with consistent strikes, he has a chance to be a nightmare for opposing hitters.
That command piece is the one thing still hanging over him. As a starter this season, walks were an issue. In relief, though, he has done a much better job of throwing strikes.
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