The Tampa Bay Rays are well known for their ability to develop and get the most out of pitchers on the mound.

Time and time again, they have helped hurlers take their performance to another level. Whether it is a relief pitcher or a starter, they tinker with pitch mixes and arsenals, helping them coax as much production as possible out of the tools they possess.

Another area the team has excelled in is determining which role a pitcher should have. There are multiple cases of relief pitchers turning into starters and thriving, and vice versa. And it looks like they are about to succeed in doing a role change again, this time with a top prospect.

Brody Hopkins, who had been a starting pitcher throughout his professional career, looks like he is transitioning into a relief pitcher role. And the early results are fantastic, with his already impressive arsenal playing up even more as he lets loose in shorter outings.

Are Rays transitioning Brody Hokpins into relief pitcher?

As shared by TBRays Central on X, Hopkins was deployed as a relief pitcher with Triple-A Durham. It wasn’t his time pitching out of the bullpen, as he did so on May 29 and June 4, but in a bulk-inning role, throwing five innings in each outing.

This was only the second time he was called upon strictly as a relief pitcher, with his first appearance coming on June 24. He struggled that time, walking four batters and giving up one hit, leading to two earned runs.

In his most recent relief appearance on Aug. 15, Hopkins was electric. He averaged 100.6 mph on his fastball and registered as high as 101.5 on the radar gun. The improved velocity on his four-seam fastball led to his other offerings playing up even more, with a 95 mph cutter and 90 mph curveball both generating whiffs.

As shared by Pitch Profiler on X, his stuff was nasty during his one inning of work. He faced only three batters, striking out two of them and not issuing a walk in an appearance for the first time in 2026.

His proSTUFF+ score was an elite 123 overall. Hopkins’s four-seam fastball, which he threw eight times, had a score of 117. His curveball, which was used three times, had an eye-popping 139, and the single cutter he threw registered a 120.

Half of the 12 total pitches generated a whiff, as opponents had no hope of making contact against him with how well he was throwing the ball.

His progression as a relief pitcher will be something to keep an eye on down the stretch of the 2026 season. If the Big League team needs a relief pitcher and he continues producing like this, Hopkins can be an option for the club.

He has the arsenal to still be an effective starting pitcher, but he has to get his command under control, issuing 87 walks in 86 innings.