Rays' Ryan Yarbrough: Projected to slide into starting rotation

Yarbrough (2-1), who struck out four over five scoreless innings in a win over the Blue Jays on Friday, is likely to serve as the No. 4 starter in the rotation while Yonny Chirinos (elbow) is on the disabled list, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

Yarbrough was dominant in Friday's "bullpen day" outing, eating up five critical innings after starter Andrew Kittredge threw 36 pitches over just two frames. Chirinos' absence projects to last about a month, which would presumably afford Yarbrough 3-4 starts at a minimum. Manager Kevin Cash has yet to provide definitive confirmation of the 24-year-old right-hander's move to the starting rotation, but he did concede prior to Friday's game that Yarbrough is the "frontrunner" for the job. If Cash holds true to his word, Yarbrough lines up to start next Wednesday against the Braves at Tropicana Field.