Just How Important Has Robbie Ray Been for Giants This Season?

The San Francisco Giants are off to a great start to the season despite some mediocrity in May so far.

With the Giants off to a good start, there is hope that the franchise can sustain this success and be a contender in the National League. Unfortunately, their division is shaping up to be one of the most challenging in baseball this year, as expected.

Coming into the campaign, San Francisco was expected to be led by their starting rotation, which has been somewhat of the case this season.

While the rotation has been good, the team's greatest strength has clearly been the bullpen.

However, there have been starters that have performed well, but overall, the unit has had mixed results.

One pitcher who has done well has been former American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray.

The left-hander came into the year as an X-Factor for the Giants with his ability to be a front-end starter, but also came with some concern after missing time last season.

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However, despite 2024 not being the best campaign back, Ray has looked much closer to the Cy Young version of himself than anything else.

So far in 2025, he has totaled a 6-0 record with a 3.04 ERA.

With Logan Webb as the ace of the staff, Ray has stepped up as the clear-cut number two pitcher in the rotation.

This is critical for San Francisco, which saw southpaw Blake Snell leave in free agency this past winter. Snell had a great second half of the season with the Giants in 2024, and that production needed to be replaced.

Ray has certainly helped fill that hole, giving San Francisco a second ace at the top of the rotation.

With a strong one-two leading the unit, the Giants are now looking for some help in the rest of the unit. Justin Verlander has been just mediocre so far this year, but the back-end of the rotation has struggled for the most part.

If San Francisco is going to sustain success and be a contender in the NL West, every game is important. That means that the back-end of the rotation must be effective, which hasn’t been the case most of the campaign.

Fortunately, the performance of Ray and Webb has helped carry the team to a strong start, and the bullpen behind them has been excellent.

The talented southpaw came into the year as an X-Factor for the team, and with Ray pitching well, the Giants are winning games.