Every baseball team needs good pitching if they want to have any form of success. That's why my 9-year old baseball team lost every game; we couldn't pitch to save our lives. We threw no-hitters, but it was just walks until the other team mercy-ruled us.

Childhood nightmares aside, pitchers are one of the positions you can never have too many of in the minors. The others are catcher, shortstop, and center field for those wondering. The Rays play in a division with a lot of teams that have a ton of hitting (Blue Jays, Yankees, and even Red Sox). If they want to succeed, they'll need to be able to pitch through these teams and get some hitting. For now, we'll just try to build a rotation that can get the team 2 of three wins in a series with playoff chances on the line. These are some of the guys I think have a chance, organized more or less by the likelihood of their chance.

Not a whole lot we need to say here. Archer has been the best pitcher on the team this year, not even a close call. I think Archer gets beat out for the Cy Young by Dallas Keuchel of the Astros, but Archer should finish top 3 in voting and at worst will be top 5. Either way, Archer is making his case to be the ace of this team long-term. Even if he isn't, he'll be the number 2. You can't doubt his ability to pitch well.

Odorizzi is another arm to like. Just a year after losing his prospect eligibility, Odorizzi is looking quite impressive. He was ranked the best prospect in the system before 2014, and he has kept on rolling. Him and Snell could be of equal skill level, but Odorizzi is making a case for himself as a 3-WAR starter per year. He can be a solid 3-starter no question, and the way this possible rotation is looking he might even be in the 4-hole just because of depth. Cole Hamels was the #4 guy in the Phillies infamous 2011 "4 Aces" rotation, but by no means does that mean he was or is a bad pitcher. He's gotten a lot better and added pitches as his career went on. I'm not saying Odorizzi is Cole Hamels-level, but I'm just showing how where you are in the rotation isn't the entire indication of the kind of pitcher you are.

Cobb is Archer's competition for the ace spot on this team. Cobb led the team in bWAR in 2013 and 2014. If he comes back from his injury next year looking the same, then there definitely could be a chance he becomes the ace again. We can't guarantee that as you see with Matt Moore, but Cobb is still a relatively safe pick to put in this rotation of the future.

Blake Snell

Snell can start next year in the pros if the team likes where he is after spring training. His control is an obvious issue, but it has shown signs of improvement this year with a 10.2 BB% and an opposing average of just .180. Hell his FIP was 2.71 for the season, and that is considered "excellent" by Fangraphs's standards. There is a reason he jumped up both the minor league levels and prospect rankings; he's showing a lot of potential this year. He had a FV of 45 heading into this season; now it's 60. With 2 above average and 2 average pitches, that's still enough for a 3-4 starter. I don't mind Snell starting the year in the pros and I don't mind him starting the year in AAA and getting called up if/when an injury happens. Either way, he should comfortably slide into the middle of this rotation behind Cobb and Archer.

Brent Honeywell

Honeywell isn't pro-ready or in the pros like a lot of these other guys, but he is still showing signs of potential. Danny and Scott both put him at #3 on their midseason prospect rankings, and for good reason. Honeywell, like Snell, has a lot to like about him after putting up good numbers this season. While Honeywell doesn't strike out as many guys as Snell (even though it's still a lot) he already shows a lot more control walking half as many batters. I like Honeywell's upside a bit more, but Snell is obviously closer to the pros and has an extra pitch to work with. I like a 3-4 pairing of them by mid-2017, but again, that's almost 2 years from now and a lot can happen in that time. Honeywell and the following guys are all toss-ups in the future in the rotation.

Nate Karns

Karns has been doing a lot to keep the rotation afloat this season through the injuries. The team moved Karns to the bullpen in part because they're trying to work Matt Moore back to his full potential and also to alleviate some stamina issues. He has only made one appearance out of the bullpen, but the September call-ups have eased the bullpen's workload. Karns's 2.2 bWAR is good for 3rd among pitchers after Archer and Odorizzi and 6th on the team overall. Karns's stamina issues are obviously concerning for a starter, but he's flashed 3 major-league pitches this year. Plus he hits dingers. The bullpen could be in his future just because of the numbers game, but he has shown the ability to be a starter should the need arise.

Guerrieri isn't much of a jumper in rankings, but he is still worth taking a look at for the rotation of the future. His fastball is a plus and his curve is above average, but his changeup is developing. Honeywell gets more strikeouts but him and Guerrieri get similar walk rates. Guerrieri is also closer to the pros. He could see Tampa by the end of next year if things go well for him. He could play into the back of the rotation here and depth in this regard is never a bad thing to have.

Jacob Faria

Faria is a pitcher that could easily slide up this list a lot if I wrote it this time next year. He's just really good at constantly improving. AA has given him a bit more walks than usual, but besides that everything else has been looking better year by year. AA has also given Faria a lot of strikeouts; he's second in the Southern League in K/9. If he keeps striking out guys like this, he has quite the chance in the pros. We can hope for a 4-5 starter, and that's all he really needs to be with the top 3 the team has already.

Chih-Wei Hu

Just acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline for Kevin Jepsen, Hu isn't a flashy guy but he has bottom of the rotation potential. If one of the top 5 doesn't work out, Hu can slide in about the same time Honeywell would as he is in High-A Charlotte with him. Pretty much he doesn't have anything to love but nothing to hate either. Three solid average pitches and average control certainly isn't bad. He doesn't have a high ceiling but he can easily be a 5 guy, and the team will need those too.

Jose Mujica

Mujica, made his full-season ball debut at low-A this season, and for a 19-year old, that's certainly something special. His K% wasn't good at all frankly, but his walk rate was actually quite good. I feel that control is a lot harder to come by than a strikeout pitch, so the fact that he has the low walk rate combined with a 3.46 FIP is nothing to scoff at. Even then, the lack of the ability to strike guys out is a big hurtle. Even then, seeing him come from the GCL to full-season Bowling Green with only the strikeout problem is promising. We could see him make his bonus worth it in a few years, but if he can't strike guys out then he won't make it.

There are a couple other guys who have a chance, but who I think aren't quite as up there as the ones listed. German Marquez has improved his walk rate, but a lot of his other stats have slipped or plateaued. He is 20 years old at the Florida State League, so that could be the explanation. For now I'll wait on him. Garret Fulenchek was acquired from the Braves for slot money, but Fulenchek has regressed mightily this year and has been unable to keep the ball in the zone. He has an above average fastball and slider and a decent changeup, but the command is miles away from being anything good. Thank goodness he's in the GCL and has time to work. Matt Moore has a high ceiling as we all know but he has really struggled to come back from injury. I sure hope he can come back strong, but until then it's really hard to argue for him in the rotation over guys who are performing well. Per suggestion of /u/scharms, I'll also mention Hunter Wood. He's put up impressive number in his first year in a full-season league, with a 2.26 ERA and 28% strikeout rate. He's been mixed between the bullpen and rotation, and his numbers are pretty good starting even with the occasional bad outing.

Some combination of the guys above will end up being the rotation barring trades or free agency signings, but it's always nice to hope for a homegrown pitching staff. The less you have to give up in players and money the better. There's a couple locks in Archer and Odorizzi, and some whose odds are pretty good in Cobb, Snell, and Honeywell. The best-case scenario is those 5, but if that group doesn't work out, Karns, Guerrieri, Faria, Hu, and Mujica all have pretty decent chances of sliding into the back of that group. (Giggity)