Tampa Bay Rays star pitcher Drew Rasmussen is set to start Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday. Rasmussen has been one of the best starting pitchers in the league throughout the season, and former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy recently shared an intriguing admission about Rasmussen's changeup.

“This year, in 2026, what do the Rays do the best? They develop the changeup,” Peavy said on MLB Network. “They got Freddy Peralta back throwing his changeup right. This (changeup) has been the difference (for Rasmussen). This (changeup) usage is up in the teens and it has absolutely allowed him to take another step to an elite fastball.

“… Drew Rasmussen knows how to pitch. He's got every shape and every look, he's throwing the changeup more than ever along with the three different fastballs. He's as good as we've got going in the game right now.”

Rasmussen technically throws six total pitches, but he uses four of them the most. He throws each of his “three different fastballs” — being a cutter, four-seamer and sinker — between 20-30 percent of the time. His cutter is his most used pitch at 28.9 percent, while the four-seamer isn't far behind at 28 percent. Rasmussen turns to his sinker 23.8 percent of the time.

His changeup allows him to not just change angles of the heater, but also change speeds. He now throws it 13.3 percent of the time. Additionally, Rasmussen has a curveball and sweeper, but he only mixes those offerings in under four percent of the time.

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The 31-year-old doesn't always receive as much attention as other star pitchers. He is a star, though. Tampa Bay's ace finished the regular season with a 2.67 ERA while striking out 174 hitters across 30 starts. He earned the second All-Star selection of his big league career as well.

Drew Rasmussen will look to give the Rays a chance to win at home in Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday night.