NEW YORK - Brody Hopkins and Ty Johnson have barely gotten their feet under them in the big leagues, and already the Rays are weighing them as possible October pieces.
That’s the jump these two rookies have made in a hurry. Johnson has appeared seven times since his Sept. 5 promotion, while Hopkins logged his fifth outing Thursday after being called up Sept.
- And in a short stretch, both have given the Rays enough to think hard about whether they belong on the club’s likely 12-man pitching staff for the American League Division Series, which opens Oct. 3 at Tropicana Field.
The stuff is impossible to ignore. Johnson has drawn a comparison from pitching coach Kyle Snyder to “very much” a right-handed, slightly less powerful, version of Josh Hader, the Astros’ six-time All-Star reliever. Hopkins, meanwhile, has flashed a 100-plus-mph fastball and a curveball Snyder described as so nasty it is literally off the charts by standard measures and metrics.
“Stuff-wise, it’s tough to argue that it’s not the best in the game,” Snyder said. “It’s really tough to argue that it’s not.”
The Rays still have decisions to make, but both pitchers have already done enough to get into the conversation. Snyder said the club has “very preliminary conversations” about the roster, and the next few days should serve as more auditions. The team expects more looks at both rookies this weekend in Philadelphia, where the Phillies are fighting for better wild-card seeding, after both pitched in the loud setting of Yankee Stadium during the week.
“These guys have definitely opened our eyes, and I think they understand that they have the stuff that can compete at this level and belong at this level and get big outs in some pretty key spots,” Snyder said. “We kind of have a little bit of a script here over the next few days, just to continue to get looks at them in these environments, Philly is going to be a good environment.
… It’s going to be similar to the (Division Series). “So, yes, they have definitely performed in a way that they’re certainly not just in the conversation, but likely a large part of the conversation.”
Hopkins’ effectiveness has come from a nasty blend of triple-digit velocity, movement and the deception created by his arm slot and extension. Snyder said that, based on publicly available data, Hopkins has thrown “two or three of the best single offerings that any major-league pitcher has thrown (this season).” The internal numbers impressed him even more.
Snyder said Hopkins fired one fastball that “on a 20-80 scale came out to about a 140 grade. So it’s not only off the scale, it’s two X off the scale.”
Johnson’s edge comes from a different place. At 6 feet 6, he works with a “funky” delivery and a low arm slot that help create plenty of swing-and-miss, a skill that matters most when the games tighten in the postseason.
The Rays’ bullpen picture is not fully settled, though several spots appear spoken for. Closer Bryan Baker, primary setup man Kevin Kelly and top lefty Cam Booser are expected to be included, and the rotation group likely will all be on the postseason roster as well: Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martinez, Freddy Peralta, Griffin Jax and Ian Seymour. The best-of-five series is spread across eight days, so the Rays need only three starters, but Jax and Seymour both have relief experience from earlier in the season.
That leaves four open spots, and the Rays have some familiar names in the mix. Garrett Cleavinger and Tyler Wells are working back from injury and trying to make it in time for the ALDS bullpen. Wells is viewed as the closest to ready, and both he and Cleavinger will get chances to face hitters and work in simulated games during the five-day break between Sunday’s regular-season finale and the playoff opener.
If there is room after that, the Rays can also consider Casey Legumina, Steven Matz, Manny Rodriguez and Cole Sulser, along with Hopkins and Johnson.
For Johnson, the recent outings have helped steady his case. He said his last appearance, when he worked two 1-2-3 innings Tuesday and struck out four, felt like a step forward.
“My last outing (two 1-2-3 innings Tuesday with four strikeouts) was much better, a much better step in the right direction,” said Johnson. “Before that I wasn’t pitching to my standard, wasn’t as consistent as I would want to be. But I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I need to do to be successful.”
Hopkins, who carries a 6.23 ERA after a rough Thursday outing, said he is not spending much time thinking about whether his name will make the roster. He is focused on settling into the relief role and getting more comfortable with his pitches. Strike throwing remains a work in progress; Thursday he issued two wild pitches that led to a run and walked two of four batters.
“Obviously that’d be sick,” Hopkins said of making the roster. “It’s been my stuff the whole time, it’s just my mentality going into it now - it’s just straight at ’em,” Hopkins said.
“I feel like that I can’t really get beat whenever I’m at my best. So like I just try and take that into every outing and just go from there.”
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