Major League Baseball

Gray's consistency placing him in exclusive company all time

Published May. 12, 2015 10:03 a.m. ET

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Oakland A's right-hander Sonny Gray is one of the most talented starting pitchers in the American League — if not the whole MLB.

That point is driven home by Jayson Stark of ESPN.com in his new notes column, in which he contextualizes Gray's remarkable consistency on the mound.

You see, with his six-inning start last Friday night, Gray picked up his 38th quality start in his first 50 official starts as a major leaguer. 

According to Stark (and Hans Van Slooten of Baseball-Reference.com), that means that Gray is the first pitcher to have that many quality starts since Dwight Gooden had 39 out of his first 50 back in the early 1980s.

Even more impressive is that only six other pitchers have (on record) thrown 38 or more quality starts out of their first 50. The list, provided by Stark:

That's ... some pretty noteworthy company that Gray is placing himself in thanks to his effectiveness as the A's ace. 

So far in 2015, Gray is 4-0 with a 1.65 ERA in 49 innings spread across seven starts. The A's may be having a really tough time out there in the win/loss column, but it hasn't affected Gray whatsoever. That's the mark of a solid pitcher.

(h/t ESPN.com)

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