ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Bryan Baker was an inconsistent reliever in Baltimore. He became a dominant closer in his first full season in Tampa Bay.
Drew Rasmussen had a 5.01 ERA in 1 1/2 seasons in Milwaukee. He developed into an elite ace with the Rays.
Freddy Peralta struggled with the Mets before he was traded to Tampa Bay in August, turned his season around and was MVP of the AL Champions Series.
Nick Martinez signed with the Rays a couple days before spring training and made his first All-Star team in July.
Cam Booser had a 5.52 ERA last season, came to Tampa Bay and cut it to 1.98.
The common theme for those reclamation projects is pitching coach Kyle Snyder.
Under Snyder’s direction since 2018, the Rays have consistently had one of the best pitching staffs in the majors.
That stellar staff helped Tampa Bay become American League champions for the third time in the franchise’s 29 seasons. The World Series begins Friday night in Milwaukee.
The Rays led the league in WHIP (1.14), were fourth in batting average against (.229) and seventh in ERA (3.70) this season. Snyder has earned a reputation for consistently developing pitchers.
“I don’t know if I could put into words right now the impact and importance he’s had to the pitchers here at the major league level, the entire pitching department throughout the organization,” manager Kevin Cash said. “I’m certainly biased, but I think he’s the best in baseball at what he does, the care that he shows each individual pitcher, whether it’s in the offseason, spring training and obviously during the season — the way that he builds relationships and creates that trust within each individual pitcher.
“And I think the way he’s evolved. I mean, we’ve seen pitching — there’s a lot of information out there right now about pitching. There has been for quite some time. I think Kyle’s always at the forefront of being very curious to try to understand what that information is providing or saying. And he’s the best at implementing it with individual pitchers.”
The 49-year-old Snyder spent less than a decade pitching in the majors, posting a 5.57 ERA in 93 games with the Royals and Red Sox between 2003-08. He won a World Series with Boston in 2007 and began his coaching career with the Rays in 2012 as the pitching coach for Low-A Hudson Valley.
With Snyder leading the way, the Rays have embraced new technology. They began using markerless motion capture technology before other teams, helped introduce the opener concept and have emphasized the value of catcher pitch framing.
Snyder goes out of his way to build relationships with his pitchers and has prioritized face-to-face conversations instead of texting since he became a coach.
“You build the relationship strong enough so that it can bear the weight of trust, but if you show them enough that you care and you happen to be in their living room let’s say in January, it’s a lot easier to deliver a hard and direct message in May because they know the care factor is there,” Snyder told MLB Network recently.
Peralta said Snyder helped him learn to trust himself again after his midseason trade to Tampa Bay.
“The information and the way he communicated to me, it was the right way to do it,” Peralta said. “When I got here, everything changed.”
Baker had moments of success with the Orioles. The Rays saw his potential and figured Snyder could get the best out of him. He did. Baker had a 1.44 ERA in 65 appearances this season and has been nearly unhittable in the playoffs, allowing one hit in seven innings.
“It’s been awesome to get to work with such a good baseball mind and somebody who has got a lot of feel for the game, especially pitching side, that you don’t see too often,” Baker said of Snyder. “So I’ve enjoyed every second of it.”
The Rays throw more change-ups than other teams because of Snyder’s influence. Baker said learning to throw a change-up in the strike zone is the biggest factor that has led to his success.
Catcher Liam Hicks, who was traded to the Rays in August, said Snyder helped him transition smoothly to handling a new pitching staff.
“I think he does a really good job of just keeping things simple,” Hicks said. “He does a really good job of giving you enough information but not overwhelming you with it as well. I feel like back there, every game, I’m completely prepared for what to call. He helps me between innings, planning for the next few hitters. And then just seeing the way all the pitchers respect him as well, it’s really cool. And I feel like I’ve learned a ton this year with him.”
All that’s missing from Snyder’s coaching resume is a World Series ring. The Rays are four wins away from securing it.