With injuries to both Chris Archer and Michael Wacha to start the year, the opening left by the two has allowed Rays fans to see some spectacular replacements and possibly now the mainstays with the way they’ve performed. All the attention so far has been on Shane McClanahan because of the raw stuff and heat he possesses but the lesser talked about arm has been Josh Fleming.
When looking at some of the least talked about, quality players in the league, Fleming ranks high on the list. It speaks volumes about the Rays player development as it seems almost ridiculous that so many mid-ranked prospects from the system continue to find success. But we also shouldn’t be that surprised as Fleming is the perfect project pitcher the Rays love to tool around with and teach to make him the pitcher he is today. The two words I would use to describe Fleming are finesse and contact. Let’s see how he utilizes those elements to make him the master craftsman he is and will be for a while.
Start by just taking a look at Fleming’s WHIP this year. Through 34.2 innings, he’s been a master of limiting baserunners by having a chase rate that ranks within the top eight percent of all pitchers. He’s very similar to Ryan Yarbrough in a certain way as well because of the way that he limits hard contact and especially hitter’s launch angles. Hitters aren’t able to get as much lift on the ball giving Fleming an elite HR/9 rate of 0.78 — the same as Gerrit Cole. Another thing that’s been vital to his success is the Rays’ defense.
Since he gets hitters to make bad contact, the defense behind him has to be extremely alert. And lucky for Fleming, the Rays have one of the best defenses in the league. Fleming should be good for years to come because he’s a pitcher on one of the best teams that knows how to utilize him. The Rays don’t want him chasing strikeouts and trying to outsmart each hitter with “stuff,” rather they want him hitting favorable spots and locations with his mix of pitches that will deceive hitters and induce weak contact for the defense to gobble up. That is his bread and butter that will be a pathway to success in the future.
Next, is the pitches themselves and how he’s so creative within the zone when throws them. Fleming relies on finesse for his game to be on point. He’s as much of a painter as Da Vinci in the way he utilizes every corner and edge of the strike zone for strikes. Fleming doesn’t throw a true fastball, rather he throws a sinker.
The sinker is his favorite pitch when pitching on the outside corner against righties; a pitch that nets some of his highest chase rate stats. Each pitch Fleming has is for some purpose in a certain area of the zone when attacking hitters. His two secondary pitches are thrown in two spots. The cutter is used to go high and tight on right-handed hitters as well as get chases from lefties. Meanwhile, the changeup is his low and away put-out pitch that is especially deadly against righties because of how long it stays in the zone before bottoming out. When looking at Fleming’s heat maps for where he consistently is throwing in the zone, there are no pitches that are left out over the plate. Fleming refuses to give hitters easy offspeed pitches and paints the zone like a canvas when he’s truly on his game.
When Archer and Wacha return, the Rays should make them work for their spots. The rookies who have taken over in their stead have been fantastic, and if McClanahan will stay because of how good he looks, then Fleming should too. Fleming deserves the chance for more turns in the rotation because of the way he’s been pitching and I believe that with even more time to master his craft in the big leagues, the craftsman will be a mainstay in the Rays rotation for years to come.