Joe

Boyle

Boyle landed on the injured list on April 11th with an elbow strain, but the imaging revealed no structural damage. He’s begun playing catch from distance and hopes to throw a bullpen by the end of April. That could have him on a rehab assignment by the middle of May, which would be good news for the Rays since it sounds like Ryan Pepiot (hip) is nowhere near a return to the mound.

Boyle’s MRI came back negative. “I think we caught this early enough,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We’ll shut him down from throwing for a week...and hopefully we caught it early enough where we can start building back up.” The Rays could piece together Boyle’s scheduled start Wednesday with Jesse Scholtens leading a bullpen game. After that, Ryan Pepiot could return from the IL and fill the open spot.

Elbow issues are never a great sign and Boyle is going to wind up missing some time, even if this is a relatively minor concern. The 26-year-old is extremely talented, but has had trouble consistently throwing strikes in the majors over the past couple years. There should be a rough timeline on his outlook at some point in the near future.

Boyle was all over the place, serving up a leadoff homer to Nico Hoerner, in addition to handing out three free passes and throwing just 46 of 84 pitches for strikes. The bigger concern is that he generated only three punchouts. Fantasy managers in deeper formats would be willing to stomach some of the volatility in exchange for big-time strikeout upside, but it hasn’t really been there his last few outings at the highest level. He’s not a recommended streaming option despite an extremely favorable matchup against the White Sox on Wednesday.

All of the runs came in the fourth. With one run in and the bases loaded, Royce Lewis hit a double-play ball to shortstop Carson Williams, but Williams had it deflect off his glove and got no outs. That resulted in one of the runs being unearned, but Boyle still deserved better. He struck out nine and threw 67 of his 104 pitches for strikes. With Ryan Pepiot close to returning, Boyle could soon head back to Triple-A. Still, he’s throwing like someone who would offer mixed-league value.

Boyle struck out four and walked none, throwing 52 of his 75 pitches for strikes. It’s just the second time in 23 starts as a major leaguer that Boyle has gone without a walk. As tough as he is to hit, Boyle would likely be a useful mixed-league SP with a league-average walk rate. That’s probably still too much to ask for at this point, and he might be bumped from the rotation when Pepiot returns from the IL. Still, he’s one to keep an eye on.

Boyle will get a shot in Tampa Bay’s season-opening rotation with Ryan Pepiot (hip) unexpectedly requiring a trip to the injured list. The 26-year-old’s omnipresent control issues led to an inflated 4.67 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 58/28 K/BB ratio across 52 innings for the Rays last year. He misses enough bats to be interesting for fantasy purposes but he’s far too risky to trust in shallow mixed leagues right away. He’ll take the ball on Saturday against the Cardinals to open the year.

The move is now official. Pepiot’s unexpected season-opening trip to the injured list creates an opportunity for effectively wild poster candidate Joe Boyle to enter Tampa Bay’s rotation. The 28-year-old righty isn’t expected to require an extended absence, but fantasy managers should anticipate him missing at least a few weeks given the nature of the injury. It’s unlikely the Rays will rush him back and risk any setbacks.

Boyle had been optioned to Triple-A on Friday, but with the news that Ryan Pepiot will land on the injured list with hip inflammation, Boyle is back up. He will start game two against the Cardinals, with Nick Martinez starting game four against the Brewers. Boyle is a high-risk fantasy option, but the Cardinals figure to be one of the worst offenses in baseball, so he may not be a bad option if you want to stream for strikeouts and a win.

Well, this comes out of nowhere. Pepiot threw five shutout innings in his last start and just posted a 0.90 ERA in spring training. The Rays have suggested they don’t expect Pepiot to be out long, which means Joe Boyle will begin the season in the Rays’ rotation and start game two against the Cardinals. Ian Seymour will likely serve as his piggyback if Boyle is unable to go deep into games due to command issues.