Predicting the Mariners' September call-ups thanks to MLB expanded rosters in 2024

#3. RP Chris Devenski

A controversial name among Rays fans, Devenski has struggled to find consistency after his first two stellar seasons with the Astros in 2016 and 2017. After bouncing around the league, he signed a major league with the Mariners in July but was sent outright to the Rainiers at the end of the month. After an ugly 6.75 ERA over 26.2 innings with the Rays this year, he's shown some major progress over his 13.2 innings with the Rainiers. He has a 1.98 ERA, 2.74 FIP, 0.80 WHIP, and 11.2 K/9. So what changed?

For those that don't know, the Rays pitching staff has the philosophy that the more strikes you throw, the better your life will be. They've been vocal about the importance of attacking the zone early in at-bats which is a great strategy for pitchers with immense talent and stuff like Tyler Glasnow and Shane McClanahan. However, for players like Chris Devenski who don't have the spin or velocity to keep up, it ends up with lots of hard contact and bad outings.

Since coming to the Mariners, he's moved the four-seam fastball to the upper portion of the zone allowing him to get by with velocity in the low 90's. Opposing hitters are averaging just .118 against the pitch while striking out 26.3% of the time.

His changeup, which has been a great pitch throughout his career, has continued to be effective with a strikeout rate of 35.0%.

Devenski could be an option to bolster the bullpen and take over innings in low or medium-leverage situations. A nine-year veteran at the major league level, he should have an easy time re-adjusting to the level of competition. While far from a lights-out presence on the mound, he's still got some use left in that right arm of his.