Former Aces starter Robbie Ray earns first career Cy Young

Former Aces starter Robbie Ray was named the American League Cy Young Award winner yesterday, capping the best season of his career with the highest honor for a major league pitcher. But before breaking through with the Blue Jays, Ray made 10 starts with the Aces in 2015 and 2018.

In 2015, Ray racked up 41.2 innings pitched with Reno in nine starts. In the stretch, the lefty went 2-3 with a 3.67 ERA and an eye-popping 57 strikeouts – good for 12.45 per nine innings. On April 20, Ray struck out 10 Isotopes in just five innings of work against Albuquerque. The native of Brentwood, Tennessee earned the win after allowing just one earned run.

On May 29, his final Triple-A start of the season, Ray went seven innings while striking out nine in an Aces win. Ray allowed just two runs, and was called up to Arizona shortly after. The call up would stick, as Ray has only made one more appearance in Triple-A since – a rehab start with Reno in 2018.

In a June game at Greater Nevada Field, Ray went 4.1 innings with just one earned run and nine strikeouts. Ray took the loss on the day, despite the strong outing. Only four Storm Chasers reached base safely in his 4.1 innings.

Ray went to Toronto in a 2020 trade, and was absolutely electric in 2021. In 193.1 innings across 32 starts, Ray went 13-7 with 248 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP. Opposing batters hit just .210 off of him, which was a career-best mark alongside the best WHIP, ERA and strikeout totals of his career. Ray struck out 10 or more batters 13 times, including 14 White Sox in seven innings on August 25.

The current free agent adds a major award to his resume, and will figure to be a key piece of a team’s rotation in 2022.