The Rays have bought the contract of right-hander Tyler Zuber from the unbiased Atlantic League’s Lengthy Island Geese, the Geese introduced yesterday. Zuber will head to Tampa Bay on a minor league contract and is headed to Triple-A Durham.
Zuber, who’ll flip 29 subsequent month, signed a minor league pact with the Guardians within the offseason and spent spring coaching with them however struggled in his transient look within the Cleveland group. He served up 10 runs on 10 hits and eight walks in 5 1/3 frames this spring and unsurprisingly didn’t land an Opening Day roster spot. He was launched and went on to signal with the Geese, hoping a powerful exhibiting would result in simply this sort of alternative with one other membership.
Temporary as his time with the Geese was, it’s not arduous to see why Zuber’s efficiency piqued some curiosity. The previous Royals righty pitched simply 5 2/3 innings of Atlantic League ball however held opponents to 1 run on 5 hits and one stroll. He confronted a complete of twenty-two opponents and set 10 of them down on strikes (45.4%).
Zuber beforehand pitched for the Royals in 2020-21, debuting throughout the pandemic-shortened season with 22 innings of 4.09 ERA ball. He posted a gaudy 30.3% strikeout price that 12 months however coupled it with an alarming 20.2% stroll price. General, he’s pitched 49 1/3 massive league innings with a 5.29 ERA, a 24.8% strikeout price and a 16.7% stroll price.
Command was by no means a problem for Zuber within the decrease minors, nonetheless. His total minor league ERA sits at a tidy 3.20, and he’s paired that with a terrific 31.3% strikeout price and a stable 8.5% stroll price. Zuber started to battle pronounced management struggles throughout that 2020 debut, and his penchant for walks carried over into subsequent seasons.
It’s doubtless that accidents performed a component within the abrupt erosion of Zuber’s command. He had shoulder accidents in each 2021 and 2022, lacking the complete ’22 season in consequence. He was with the D-backs’ Triple-A Reno affiliate in 2023 however nonetheless walked 11.1% of his opponents in 20 2/3 innings. Given his latest struggles to find the ball, Zuber’s spectacular command within the Atlantic League is all of the extra notable, however time will inform whether or not he can carry that over in his return to affiliated ball.
