Ryan

Pepiot

Pepiot was solid in his second season in Tampa Bay, posting a 3.86 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 167/61 K/BB ratio across 167 2/3 innings over 31 starts. He does struggle with home runs, so playing his home games in a minor league ballpark wasn’t a great fit, but Pepiot should be a solid middle-round pick in fantasy leagues in 2026.

Pepiot was followed by lefty Ian Seymour, who was charged with three runs over four innings to close out the contest. It’s unclear whether either will make another appearance this season, but Rays manager Kevin Cash indicated that Seymour would make another appearance later this week. Pepiot is likely done since he’s been dealing with some fatigue lately. He closes the year with a pedestrian 3.86 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 167/61 K/BB ratio across 167 2/3 innings over 31 starts.

With nothing left to play for the Rays are going to re-shuffle their rotation with Seymour operating in a shorter relief stint at some point over the next couple days before making one final start later this week. The 25-year-old southpaw looked sharp last Wednesday against the Blue Jays when he tossed a seven-inning gem against the Blue Jays. It’ll be Ryan Pepiot taking the ball on Tuesday night against the Orioles in his place.

The 28-year-old right-hander walked three batters and punched out three in his abbreviated outing. The Blue Jays scratched out a run in the opening inning against Pepiot and then piled on with three more while chasing him in the second inning. Pepiot — who was scratched from his last start due to fatigue — threw 49 pitches (29 strikes) in the contest, getting seven swings and misses and posting a CSW of 31 percent. Now 11-11 on the season, he’ll carry a 3.77 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and a 164/60 K/BB ratio (164 2/3 innings) into Sunday’s matchup against the Red Sox.

Pepiot was scratched from Wednesday’s start due to general fatigue, so it’s an encouraging sign that he’s going to take the ball again early next week instead of being sent to the injured list.

The Rays have already been monitoring Pepiot’s workload, so any sort of real injury at this point is sure to end his season. As this is just supposed to be fatigue for now, perhaps he’ll pitch next week. Griffin Jax will start Wednesday as part of a bullpen game.

The only baserunners against him came on a pair of walks and a hit batsmen. Unfortunately, it took Pepiot 90 pitches to get through five innings, so he was never going to have a shot at completing the no-hit bid. The combined bid went awry in the sixth inning as Bryan Baker allowed a two-out single to Jose Ramirez. Pepiot got 15 whiffs in the contest — seven each on his fastball and changeup — while registering a CSW of 28 percent. He’ll look to replicate this fine performance as he carries a 3.59 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a 161/57 K/BB ratio (163 innings) into a premium matchup against the White Sox in Chicago on Wednesday.

Pepiot was excellent against the Nationals on Saturday, holding them scoreless over five innings. He allowed just one hit and walked three batters while collecting six strikeouts. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 3.70 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and a 155/55 K/BB ratio across 158 innings into a start against the Guardians in Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Pepiot came out after just 63 pitches following the rain-delayed start. The Rays likely will be watching his innings down the stretch here; he’s currently at 153 this season after finishing at 101, 128, 64, and 133 in his previous four years as a pro. One imagines the Rays won’t want him coming in much above 180, which could lead to a skipped start next month. Pepiot will be a decent option in mixed leagues next weekend against the Nationals.

On the plus side for fantasy managers, Pepiot piled up eight strikeouts on the day while issuing a pair of free passes. The 27-year-old hurler cruised through the first 5 2/3 innings unscathed before running into serious trouble. He allowed a pair of two-out singles, walked a batter to load the bases and then a bases-clearing single to Dominic Smith and an RBI double to Christian Koss chased the starter. Pepiot got 17 swings and misses on 93 pitches on the afternoon, posting a CSW of 32 percent. He’ll carry a 3.95 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 146/51 K/BB ratio (148 innings) into Sunday’s matchup against the Cardinals.