No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on their career while playing for that club. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only.
Here is the ranking of the top five left-handed pitchers in Rays history.
1) David Price, 2008-14
Key fact: Won the American League Cy Young Award in '12
No. 1 overall picks in the MLB Draft don’t always pan out, but Price certainly lived up to the hype, becoming the best left-handed starting pitcher in franchise history -- and there really isn’t much to debate.
Just a year removed from Vanderbilt, Price helped the Rays reach the World Series in 2008, albeit as a reliever. He joined the starting rotation after that season and never looked back.
In 2012, Price became the first pitcher in franchise history to win the Cy Young Award, while simultaneously becoming the first Rays pitcher to win 20 games in a single season.
Price's 3.18 ERA is the lowest among pitchers with at least 300 innings as a member of the Rays. He also ranks second in franchise history with 82 wins, third in strikeouts (1,065) and owns the best winning percentage (.636) among pitchers with at least 50 decisions.
2) Scott Kazmir, 2004-09
Key fact: 55 wins ranks third in franchise history
While Kazmir was never really considered a true ace of a pitching staff, the left-hander is one of the best pitchers in franchise history due to his consistency.
Kazmir made two All-Star appearances with the Rays, but one of his best seasons came in '07, a year in which he was left off the roster for the Midsummer Classic.
Throughout his Rays career, Kazmir never won more than 13 games, but he finished with at least 10 victories in all of his four full seasons with Tampa Bay. His highest season ERA was 3.77, and that came during his rookie year.
Kazmir represented consistency, contributing to his placement as fourth in franchise history in games started (144), innings pitched (834) and strikeouts (874), as well as ninth in winning percentage (.556)
3) Blake Snell, 2016-20
Key fact: Won the AL Cy Young Award in ‘18
Snell always possessed the talent to be the best left-hander in club history, and he might have been just that on a per-inning basis. The only reason he’s not higher on this list is that he didn’t pitch as many innings, because he was as dominant as they come in a Rays uniform.
Snell became the second pitcher in franchise history to win the Cy Young Award with a superb 2018 season. He set the single-season wins record during that year, raising the bar to 21. He also had the lowest qualified ERA (1.89) in club history.
Snell’s time with the Rays was abbreviated by injuries, short starts and, of course, the shortened 2020 season. He only threw more than 130 innings for the Rays once -- during his Cy Young campaign -- although he averaged more than a strikeout per inning in that time.
4) Matt Moore, 2011-16
Key fact: All-Star in '13
Moore’s 2013 season is one of the best campaigns in Rays history. The left-hander made his lone All-Star appearance, going 17-4 and posting a career-high 3.29 ERA in 27 starts.
But the left-hander was never able to stay healthy and find consistency. He made just 35 starts over his last three seasons with Tampa Bay before being traded to the Giants in August 2016.
- Shane McClanahan, 2021-present
Key fact: Two-time All-Star went 33-16 with a 3.02 ERA in 74 starts before injuries struck
McClanahan could very well have been second on this list by this point if not for two seasons lost to significant injuries, namely his second Tommy John surgery (which cut short his 2023 campaign and cost him all of ’24) and a freak nerve issue in his left triceps (which sidelined him throughout ’25). He’s been that good when he’s on the mound.
The 31st overall pick in the 2018 Draft, McClanahan made his MLB debut as a reliever in the 2020 postseason then overhauled his mechanics and arsenal that winter. He joined the rotation in ’21 and reached another level when Tyler Glasnow was lost to a season-ending injury and wound up starting (and winning) Game 1 of the ALDS.
He was even better in 2022, going 12-8 with a 2.54 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 166 1/3 innings over 28 starts while starting the All-Star Game for the AL. And he was off to a nice start in ’23, recording a 3.29 ERA in 21 starts around another All-Star nod.
Honorable mentions
Ryan Yarbrough wasn’t always a traditional starter and likely benefitted from the opener strategy as much as anyone, but he covered a lot of innings and went 40-31 with a 4.33 ERA while pitching 579 2/3 innings. ... Wilson Alvarez was in the inaugural Rays rotation and made a pretty decent case to finish in the top five on this list. ...Jeffrey Springs, Tony Saunders and Mark Hendrickson also get an honorable mention.