Andy Sonnanstine

2013

There was no outlook written for Andy Sonnanstine.

2012

Sonnanstine once again turned in a disappointing season for the Rays after getting a shot as a starter in May for the injured Jeff Niemann. Sonnanstine made nothing of his opportunity finishing the season with 12:12 K:BB rate with 10 home runs that led to a 5.55 ERA over 35.2 innings. With having little success at Triple-A Durham and taking into account the glut of young pitching the Rays have at their disposal, he was non-tendered by Tampa Bay in December before inking a minor league deal with the Cubs.

2011

Sonnanstine started the year in the Rays' bullpen and then made four spot starts later in the season. A hamstring injury landed him on the DL and while his numbers improved last year (he shaved more than two runs from his ERA), nothing indicates much upside. Look for him to compete for a long- or middle-relief role in the spring.

2010

Sonnanstine began the season as the fourth starter, but his struggles eventually led to a demotion to Triple-A Durham. He returned to the rotation late in the season showing no improvement. For the season, he ended up with an ugly 6.77 ERA and a 1.656 WHIP. Wade Davis or Jeremy Hellickson will likely take his spot in the rotation and Sonnanstine will at best start the year as a long reliever with the Rays. Until he proves he's turned things around, it's hard to recommend him.

2009

Sonnanstine won the fifth starter role in spring training and pitched well enough all season to prove that was no fluke; he followed that up with big road wins at Chicago and at Boston in the playoffs. With Edwin Jackson traded to Detroit, creating the vacancy required to move David Price into the rotation without further moves, Sonnanstine likely comes back as no worse than the fifth starter for the Rays.

2008

Sonnanstine finished the season strong, going 4-1, 4.31 in his last seven starts, including a win at Yankee Stadium (34:8 K:BB ratio in 39.2 innings). He's got nice strikeout numbers, and after some understandable hiccups in his first few big-league starts, Sonnanstine also displayed the control with which he'd posted some awesome stats in the minors. He'll enter the spring as the Rays' fifth starter.

2007

Sonnanstine's progress continued at Double-A in 2006. He doesn't have the blazing fastball, but still posts high strikeout rates thanks to good control and great offspeed pitches. The Rays appear to view Sonnanstine as a one-level-a-year guy, so look for him to move to Triple-A in 2007 and then compete for a job in the bigs in 2008.

2006

Yes, Sonnanstine really did post strikeout-to-walk rates of better than 9-to-1 at both Single-A levels last year. We know there's no such thing as a pitching prospect, but still, this kid has looked good so far. One big risk is that the Devil Rays organization isn't deep at all in terms of rotation prospects, so they'll have to resist the urge to rush Sonnanstine up before he's ready. Still, if you have room to stash a pitcher in keeper leagues, consider this guy.