Seymour continues strong run as starter

Seymour has struggled to find much consistency either as a reliever or, more recently, as a starter/bulk guy, but he showed tonight why he remains pretty intriguing. Unfortunately, as a result of the Freddy Peralta acquisition, he might go back to being a true reliever once Shane McClanahan returns. First, he should be in line for at least one more start Sunday against the Mariners.

This is certainly one of the best-case scenarios for those rostering Peralta, as he’ll get to try to turn things around in a very good situation for pitchers in Tampa Bay. A 17-game winner in Milwaukee last year, Peralta is just 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts this year. His elevated .313 BABIP seems rather fluky, given that he’s remained pretty good at limiting hard contract. However, it is a significant concern that his strikeout rate has dropped from 28 percent to 22 percent. The Rays will plug him into Shane McClanahan’s rotation spot for now and probably start him at some point against the Rockies in the series starting Monday. Eventually, Ian Seymour could be bumped back to the pen once McClanahan comes off the IL.

Seymour entered the contest after Tampa Bay got five outs from opener Casey Legumina. He finished with four punchouts and allowed just three baserunners while keeping Texas off the scoreboard into the seventh inning. The 27-year-old southpaw has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of 10 outings since moving into the rotation back in early June. He’ll face a tough test on the road against the Rockies in high-octane Coors Field on Monday to open a two-start week. It’s tough to trust any pitcher in that environment, but Seymour has earned the benefit of the doubt with his recent performance.

Seymour’s whiff rate remained about what it was in his start against the Red Sox last week, but he allowed just six hard-hit balls in 87 pitches after giving up five in 61 against the Sox. The left-hander’s fastball remains one of the slowest in the league at 91.2 mph but as long as all his offspeed stuff is going this well, he can remain a usable mixed-league starter. Seymour draws the Rangers at home in his next scheduled appearance.

The Jays lack threatening left-handed hitters right now, so the Rays will let Legumina deal with Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first. Seymour pitched just three innings and gave up three runs in his last start Saturday against the Red Sox. Working in the bulk role makes him a better bet to get a win today.

It was a surprisingly quick hook for Seymour today, though that might have had something to do with the start of the game being pushed back by rain. Seymour gave up two homers, but he wasn’t exactly stressed in throwing 61 pitches over three innings and he struck out four. He’s due to face the Blue Jays on Thursday.

The Rays are expected to go with Mason Englert, either as a traditional starter or behind an opener for the second game of Friday’s doubleheader. Ian Seymour will then get the ball on Saturday and Shane McClanahan will start in Friday’s series finale.

It’s fair to say that Seymour probably should’ve been in Tampa Bay’s season-opening rotation instead of pitching out of the bullpen. The 27-year-old southpaw isn’t overpowering, instead relying on command and pitch sequencing, mixing his sweeper, four-seamer and changeup to keep hitters off balance. He did that to near perfection against a suddenly struggling Yankees lineup in this one, generating an eye-popping 17 swinging strikes and allowing just four batted balls with exit velocities over 95 mph. His lone mistake was a sinker that he left over the plate that Ben Rice took the opposite way for a three-run shot in the third inning. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in six consecutive outings since June 8. He’ll get the ball for Sunday’s first-half finale against the Mariners. Needless to say, Seymour should be rostered in all fantasy formats until further notice.

The 27-year-old southpaw racked up eight strikeouts on the night while allowing one base on balls. The lone tally against him came on a leadoff home run off the bat of Carter Jensen. After that, Seymour locked in and completely dominated. He got 15 swings and misses on 83 pitches in the ballgame — seven on his sweeper — while registering a strong CSW of 34 percent. Now 5-1 on the season, he’ll bring a 4.02 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 60/21 K/BB ratio (56 innings) into Tuesday’s matchup against the Yankees.

Seymour will work without an opener when he faces Kansas City for the second consecutive outing in another favorable road matchup. He tossed 6 2/3 hitless innings in a bulk relief outing against the Royals last week. The 27-year-old lefty has been magnificent recently, posting a pristine 3.86 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 20/8 K/BB ratio across 21 innings over five outings since the start of June. He’s an extremely attractive streaming option for fantasy managers, even in shallow mixed leagues.