McClanahan lighting up AL with deadly repertoire

This story was excerpted from Adam Berry's Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

You probably already know all about the elite stuff Shane McClanahan throws. The firm fastball that maxes out in triple-digit territory. The curveball just about nobody can square up. The swing-and-miss slider. The changeup that’s given him a true four-pitch mix this season.

It’s all impressive. But so, too, is the conviction behind each pitch the Rays’ ace throws. As much as anything, his willingness to pound the zone with everything in his arsenal has helped him become arguably the best starter in baseball.

It was once again on display Sunday afternoon, when McClanahan held the Pirates to one run on four hits over seven innings. He struck out 10 without a walk. It was his third start with double-digit strikeouts and already his MLB-leading sixth (out of 15 total) this year with at least seven strikeouts and no walks. The only Rays pitcher with more such starts in one season was David Price, who had seven within a 16-start stretch in 2014.

This wasn’t McClanahan’s reputation as a prospect. In college, the lefty walked 13.1 percent of the hitters he faced. In the Minors, his walk rate was 8.7 percent. If he couldn’t repeat his delivery consistently enough to throw more strikes, the thinking went, he carried some risk of becoming a reliever. Even last year, he walked 7.2 percent of batters. So far this season? It’s down to 4.6 percent, the eighth-best mark among all qualified pitchers in the Majors.

Earlier this season, I asked McClanahan what helped him cut down on his walks so dramatically.

“You just get really tired of walking people, to be blunt with you,” he answered. “I was really sick of the notion -- 'Doesn't throw strikes; he's going to be a bullpen arm' -- and it makes you work a little harder. Luckily, I have the opportunity to work with [pitching coach] Kyle Snyder and everybody in this Rays organization, and they've given me the opportunities to prove myself and I'm very thankful for that.”

When asked what that mentality shift entailed, McClanahan repeated a mantra you’ll hear from pitchers throughout the Rays organization: “Strike one, strike two and expand.” When you have his stuff, maybe it should be that simple. It’s helped him become remarkably efficient, as he began the week ranked ninth in MLB with 14.76 pitches thrown per inning.

That efficiency and his overall effectiveness have given McClanahan plenty of chances to pitch deeper into games. He entered the week leading MLB with 123 strikeouts, and he was also either the Major League or American League leader in the following categories: ERA (1.77), innings pitched (91 1/3), WHIP (0.83), opponents’ batting average (.183) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.69). He’s an early American League Cy Young Award favorite for a reason, you know.

Sunday was McClanahan’s ninth straight start of at least six innings with two earned runs or fewer allowed. He surpassed Paul Wilson (Aug. 28, 2001-April 10, 2002) for the longest such streak in club history. He’s putting together a special season, and the Rays know what to expect every time he takes the mound.

“He’s evolving, but he’s staying consistent,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters on Sunday. “I think that’s what we like the most is the consistency, that he’s backing it up every outing.”