Alex Good

Alex Wood vs TEX (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 99 pitches.

I think it’s time we had a proper conversation about Alex Wood after going 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks with 13 whiffs and 34% CSW against the Rangers. Way better than heading into Coors, isn’t it? He’s now boasting a 1.80 ERA across five starts with a near strikeout per inning and a sparkling 0.83 WHIP, and here’s the kicker — he gets the Pirates next. The Pirates!

But after that, he gets the Dodgers twice, and we have to look at his repertoire to decide if we’re going to hold him through the gauntlet. The quick takeaway: He’s throwing his hardest since his steller 2017 (92.0 mph velocity tonight) while featuring a new slider that has returned a 49% O-Swing, 47% Zone rate, and 26% SwStr rate in 2021 — that’s a Money Pitch. Including today? Well, I don’t have the numbers, but 10/33 whiffs and 42% CSW will likely keep the narrative alive. Just a guess.

Sadly, his changeup is a bit of a wild card. It wasn’t very effective in this one and is sitting at an 18% CSW for the season. If you want to keep the 2017 comparisons alive, that slowball was the reason for his All-Star appearance, and with its ethereal presence thus far, it’s hard to believe Wood will suddenly grasp the pitch in time for the Dodgers. I’m not saying he can’t keep rolling as a two-pitch man (look at Gausman and Ynoa, for example!), but it does make his margin of error in those two starts awfully small. He’s succeeded this far with it, here’s to hoping he can survive another three more, too.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Monday:

 

Luke Weaver vs MIA (W) – 6.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 75 pitches.

Weaver had his fastball command in this one, with a changeup that returned great results, even if he missed well over the plate at times, helping him bring home a Gallows Pole. The cutter made its brief appearance with just seven thrown, and we’re still in purgatory as Weaver can’t be trusted to have elite command on any given night. Even here, it came with a sense of Blame it on the Marlins, and it’s simply not what you want.

Kyle Gibson @ SF (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 103 pitches.

It doesn’t matter what you do, you can’t stop the Gibson train. Another stellar performance with his sinker — 42% CSW! — as it earned called strikes galore, while his slider got whiffs and his four-seamer earned outs. Gibson’s previous two outings were a bit more impressive on the fastball command side, but even his changeup was consistently spotted arm-side and sliders sat low. The man is still in a groove, and you have to wonder if he can pull off a pair of starts now against Houston. Good luck telling a manager with Gibson on his team to stop letting the man eat.

Tyler Mahle @ PIT (W) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 96 pitches.

Another solid effort here from Mahle as he did his part against the Pirates. Mostly. It’s a bit annoying to see him grant four passes — it’s the Pirates, Tyler, let them try to hit the dang ball. But seriously, his fastball was good as always (even though it was about a tick slower today) and his slider worked well in the zone. Now we all clutch our pearls as he heads into Coors and hope for the best. Good luck Tyler, we’re all counting on you.

Martín Pérez @ BAL (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 74 pitches.

Wait, this worked?! Streaming Recor—No no no, stop the announcement, I just feel like I can’t accept thi—-STREAMING RECORD: 24-13. Jeeeeez FINE, I’ll take it. His changeup was solid, cutters got strikes and his fastball was horrendous but that’s two out of three and apparently that takes down the Orioles these days. Y’all know this ain’t a man to trust.

Jorge López vs BOS (ND) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 71 pitches.

I won’t forget Eno Sarris talking at First Pitch Arizona about his in-season toolkit for researching players, in which he featured leaderboards for specific stats. Jorge López would randomly appear on some of these tables, and each time Eno would say “And there’s that dang López again.” JorLó has some innate ability that will wow you at times, but he’s simply too inconsistent, and let’s all be happy it worked on this one day. Good for him.

Jordan Holloway @ ARI (L) – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 68 pitches.

Holloway made his first career start, and while it wasn’t exceptional, he’s better than three walks and one strikeout — HAISTFMFWT?! — as it’s a 94 mph heater with a solid slider that he relied on heavily. I don’t love the break of it as it seems to lack the aggressive late break of other sweepers, but it’s his best offering, returning 38% CSW here. I don’t have interest in 12-teamers but if he gets the #5 spot as the Marlins wait for Sixto to return in June, there could be some deep league value if the stars align for a decent matchup.

Junior Guerra @ HOU (ND) – 1.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 29 pitches.

Guerra opened for José Suárez, who tossed 72 pitches across four frames, allowing 1 ER and fanning just one — HAISTFMFWT?! — making no one regret their lack of attention to today’s pitching plan for the Angels.

Luis García vs LAA (ND) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 92 pitches.

Look at García go, here earning a King Cole as he earned 26 called strikes in this one, hitting the glove-side edge with sliders and pounding the zone with four-seamers. I’ve been undervaluing his stuff a decent amount in previous weeks, but the main question still remains: How much longer is he going to start for? Jake Odorizzi should be taking over his rotation spot once he’s healthy, but that may be another week or two. If that’s the case, I’d be grabbing García for his start against Texas over the weekend as his fastball/slider combo should produce for your team. Weird to see his changeup take a day off today, here, too. I’d expect it to return next time out.

Mitch Keller vs CIN (L) – 3.1 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 65 pitches.

Oh Keller. You’re in a rough place right now. Your slider is nothing like we’ve seen in the past (0/14 whiffs) and your curveball returned 0/7 CSW. So you have to rely on a hittable fastball and it’s just pain. Paaaaaiiiiin. 

 

Game of the Day 

 

Kenta Maeda vs Dylan Cease – It’s the game of “Please be good,” as we all hold our breath on ace day.

 

But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)