Mt. Spokane grad Drew Rasmussen named AL Pitcher of the Month, earns second All-Star selection

July 4, 2026 Updated Sat., July 4, 2026 at 8:01 p.m.

From wire services

Drew Rasmussen’s June was about precision and execution

The Mt. Spokane grad and Tampa Bay right-hander led American League pitchers with a 0.82 ERA, .142 opponents average and a 0.61 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) while posting a 3-2 record in five starts.

He also went through the entire month allowing only three runs in 33 innings, joining Blake Snell (August of his 2018 Cy Young season) and Rich Hill (May 2021) as the best in franchise history for any month (minimum 25 innings).

Rasmussen was rewarded for his dominant performance, earning the AL Pitcher of the Month.

Rasmussen was also named to the American League All-Star team for the second time in his career.

Rasmussen, who started for the Rays on Saturday against the Astros, will join teammate Junior Caminero for their second straight All-Star experience.

Overall, he went into his Saturday’s start 7-4 with a league-best 0.87 WHIP and a 2.45 ERA that is second best.

Rasmussen allowed five runs over five innings with two strikeouts against a potent Houston lineup on Saturday.

“He’s a stud,” Cash said.

Asked Friday about the possibility of being named to the team, Rasmussen said, “Oh yeah, it’s a really cool honor. But it is only the halfway point. You wouldn’t celebrate winning a marathon at Mile 13, and so it’s just one of those things that, similar to being named pitcher of the month, it’s a really cool acknowledgement of what you’ve accomplished to this point, but it’s definitely not the finish line.”

Rasmussen threw a scoreless fifth inning for the AL in last year’s game, but the AL went on to lose to the National League on a swing-off after being tied at 6 through nine innings.

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