Series Preview: Rays vs Rockies
Baseball is finally back!
This weekend, the Tampa Bay Rays will be taking on the Colorado Rockies in a three game set at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.
The Rays finished last season with a record of 80-82, under .500 for the first time since 2017. They’ll look to start the 2025 campaign off on the right note against the NL Western division Rockies.
Colorado finished in last place in the NL West, with a 61-101 record; the team’s best player was Ezequiel Tovar, who hit .269/.295/.469 with 26 HR, registering a 95 wRC+ and 3.7 fWAR. Other position players of note on the Rockies roster are OF Brenton Doyle and 3B Ryan McMahon, as well as veteran Kris Bryant who is looking to resurrect his career. Meanwhile, Ryan Feltner was the Rockies best pitcher, ending the year with a 3-10 record, but a 4.49 ERA | 4.16 FIP with a 19.9 K% & 7.5 BB% over 162 1⁄3 IP across 30 starts.
Frivolities
The players with the most career WAR between the Rays and Rockies:
- Vinny Castilla
- Greg Vaughn
- Charles Johnson
- Corey Dickerson
- C.J. Cron
The Rays all-time best hitter against Colorado (min. 10 PA).
Jonny Gomes: .636/.667/1.364 with 2 HR over 12 PA
GAME ONE
Friday, March 29th
4:10pm EDT
RHP Ryan Pepiot vs LHP Kyle Freeland
After one full year in the Rays organization, Ryan Pepiot will be the team’s Opening Day starting pitcher. Pepiot spent parts of two seasons in the big leagues with the Dodgers from 2022 through 2023, but was a full-time member of the Rays active roster in 2024 (although there was the incident with the spider bite). Over the course of the campaign, Pepiot compiled a 8-8 record with a 3.60 ERA | 3.95 FIP with a 26.3 K% & 8.9 BB% over 130 IP across 26 starts.
Kyle Freeland is a big league veteran entering his ninth season in the Majors, all of which have been spent with the Colorado Rockies. A former first round pick in 2014, Freeland has shown glimpses of being an ace and had a career year in 2018. Unfortunately, the southpaw has struggled since then. Most recently in 2024, Freeland compiled a 5-8 record with a 5.24 ERA | 5.11 FIP with a 17.3 K% & 5.3 BB% over 113 1⁄3 IP across 21 starts.
GAME TWO
Saturday, March 30th
4:10pm EDT
RHP Zack Littell vs RHP Antonio Senzatela
This season, 29-year old Zack Littell will enter his 8th season on a big league roster. The starter turned reliever turned starter has enjoyed success since joining the Rays organization early on during the 2023 campaign. Over that time, Littell has compiled a 11-16 record with a 3.74 ERA | 3.92 FIP with a 20.9 K% & 3.9 BB% over 55 appearances (43 starts). This past season, Littell finished with a 8-10 record, registering a 3.63 ERA | 4.34 FIP with a 21.5 K% & 4.7 BB% over 156 1⁄3 IP spread across 29 starts.
Anthony Senzatela is one of the longest tenured players in the Rockies organization. Originally signed in 2011, he has parts of eight big leagues season with Colorado; Senzatela had a breakout year in 2021 when he accrued 3.5 fWAR. However, injuries have significantly derailed the 30-year-old’s promising career as he only threw 20 innings in the big leagues over the past two seasons. In 2024, Senzatela pitched only 12 1⁄3 IP and compiled a 6.57 ERA | 7.14 FIP with a 13.0 K% & 14.8 BB% over 3 starts.
GAME THREE
Saturday, March 30th
1:40pm EDT
RHP Taj Bradley vs RHP Ryan Feltner
Over a span of 9 starts in 2024, Taj Bradley was among the best pitchers in franchise history as he compiled a 0.82 ERA over 55 IP. Unfortunately, Bradley could not sustain this over the full season and struggled over the second half of his sophomore season. Now the 24-year old enters his 3rd season in the big leagues; thus far he has compiled a 13-19 record with a 4.75 ERA | 4.40 FIP with a 27.3 K% & 8.3 BB% over 242 2⁄3 IP. Most recently in 2024, Bradley was 8-11 with a 4.11 ERA | 4.09 FIP with a 26.6 K% & 8.1 BB% over 138 IP across 25 starts.
Ryan Feltner was a 4th round draft pick in 2018 and made his big league debut in 2021. Feltner endured some struggles and spent plenty of time on the shuttle between the big leagues and Triple-A; worst of all was a skull fracture suffered after a line drive off the bat of Nick Castellanos struck Feltner on the mound during an outing in May, 2023. However, Feltner eventually recovered and as mentioned earlier, was the Rockies best pitcher during the 2024 season.