Jake McGee

2013

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2012

McGee headed into 2011 as a possible darkhorse for the closer's role but early season struggles not only kept him out of that picture it led to a demotion to Triple-A Durham. There he struggled during May before righting the ship in June and earning a recall in mid-July. While he pitched better after the recall (25:9 K:BB ratio over 21 innings) he continued to have problems as a flyball pitcher (48.8 percent) and ended up giving up four home runs during that stretch. Not surprisingly, McGee had some pretty drastic splits in the majors, owning a 9.35 K/9IP and holding right-handed batters to a .510 OPS while left-handed batters had a 1.143 OPS and had a 6.75 BB/9IP mark. While there is still room for growth with the youngster, a role as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen looks to be the likely scenario to start out the season.

2011

McGee returned in 2010 after losing the entire 2009 season to Tommy John surgery. He opened last season at Double-A Montgomery where he started 19 games. After posting a 3.57 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 88.1 innings, he was promoted to Triple-A Durham where he was used as a reliever. There, he allowed only one run over 17.1 innings while striking out 27. This season, McGee should lock up a spot in the bullpen, with so many key pieces (Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit) gone. He's got some nice upside and while it's rare to find a left-handed closer, he could be a dark horse for the spot.

2010

McGee was lost for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July of 2008. He should be 100 percent come spring training and claims to be throwing around 95 mph. With the glut of starting pitching, he's expected to get a look in the bullpen. Although it's gone unmentioned thus far, he's a good dark-horse candidate for the closer's job somewhere down the line. He could earn a spot in the bullpen to start the season, but he'll likely start at Triple-A Durham to get some work in.

2009

McGee will miss most of the 2009 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July, but he's still one of Tampa Bay's most promising pitching prospects. Presuming a normal recovery cycle, the Rays will hope that McGee can make a few rehab appearances somewhere at Class A late this season, and the organization will then re-set his development clock in earnest starting in the spring of 2010.

2008

While McGee got in just five starts at Double-A before yearend, that's not a bad transition from a High-A level where McGee dominated, and he still averaged more than 11 strikeouts per nine innings in a small sample size at the next level up. McGee is one of the better pitching prospects in a deep pool of talent in the Rays' organization. McGee, just 21, will probably start 2008 back at Double-A; while he could reach the majors next season, 2009 is a more likely ETA. He's good enough for the Rays to wait on.

2007

McGee, Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson combined to make up perhaps the best low-A rotation in baseball last season. The lefty certainly impressed, holding hitters to a .211 average with a 92-94 mph fastball and a plus curve. He still has three more levels to go before the bigs, and the new Rays won't make McGee whiz through all three in one season. Still, lefties with heat are the best type of pitchers to have at Tropicana Field, so McGee is one to watch.