It looks like the Rays are at in again in terms of setting records with young pitching:
Rays have started 200 consecutive games w/ a pitcher they drafted and 931 consecutive games w/ a pitcher age 30 or younger, both ML records.
— Jonathan Gantt (@Jonathan_Gantt) May 14, 2012
James Shields is, of course, the “old man” of the staff at 30 years old, drafted way back in Y2K, but still a pitcher drafted and developed by Tampa. Like Jonah Keri talks about in his book The Extra 2%, the Rays take the long view regarding their franchise and the starting rotation is a product of that.
With Wade Davis working out of the bullpen and Alex Cobb in the minors, the Rays have young pitching depth that any team would envy.