German Marquez vs PIT (W) – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 92 pitches.
We all know how frustrating Germán Márquez is to roster in fantasy leagues. Coors is undefeated, Márquez has had a pair of legit terrible blowups this year (one at home, one in Cincy), and you just can’t get yourself to start him with confidence on a given night. Well, I hope you did on Tuesday as he hosted the Pirates in Coors as he flirted with a no-hitter, finishing with a Maddux via 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks (14 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 92 pitches) and the man was simply glorious. Sliders for 41% CSW, curveballs earning strikes, and a fastball that pounded the zone easily. What. Do. We. Do.
You keep starting him. It’s the Cardinals in Coors next (they’re atrocious right now) and while he gets the Padres after, it is on the road and there’s hope Márquez can carry his excellent breakers for more production. You may be shocked to know Marquez has now allowed just four ER total (one ER at most!) across six of his last seven starts (the outlier being his eight-ER disaster in Cincy), all because of how good that slider (23% SwStr) and curveball (21% SwStr) have been. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Let’s see how every other SP did Tuesday:
Vince Velasquez vs MIA (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 97 pitches.
Ayyy, Velasquez elected to do the thing. That’s two starts against the Marlins with a lovely total of zero earned runs allowed. Miami’s offense is poor, more at eleven. It was four-seamer dominance with a sprinkle of hooks and sadly it won’t hold up against the Padres + Red Sox next.
Walker Buehler vs SF (W) – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 113 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. Despite all hoopla about Buehler losing nearly 250 rpm on his heater, the man continues to be effective. His cutter, slider, and changeup stepped up to combine for 11 whiffs, and his curveball landed beautiful for plenty of called strikes. You really don’t have to worry about Buehler.
Craig Stammen @ CIN (ND) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 29 pitches.
Blake Snell was scratched before the start of this one with an illness, resulting in a bullpen game. Carry on.
José Urquidy vs BAL (ND) – 1.1 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 21 pitches.
Urquidy was pulled with shoulder soreness and I’m so sad. He arguably deserved more love on The List than I gave him on Monday and I wanted him so badly to dominate once again, solidifying a large bump next week. I guess we just can’t have it all. I hope he’s okay.
Travis Lakins Sr. @ HOU (ND) – 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 40 pitches.
If you’re wondering who this man is, don’t worry. Let me call for the men in sunglasses and black suits as they say “Bullpen game. Bullpen game,” and issue you away from Lakins. Nothing to see here.
Brandon Woodruff vs CHC (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 104 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. Yep, that’s a stud.
Carlos Martínez vs ARI (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 87 pitches.
I’m very glad for CarMart that he could pull this off. That doesn’t mean I need to add him on my fantasy teams, though. 8/17 CSW on sliders is great, for what it’s worth.
Joe Ross vs TB (W) – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 88 pitches.
The Ross train keeps on chugging, earning a 35% CSW on sliders and 6/33 whiffs on four-seamers. Streaming Record: 49-38. Not the most prolific of outings, but hey, the fella did it. He likely won’t next time against the Padres, so don’t hold too tight. I’d feel fine letting him go back to the wire, honestly, despite how well he’s done. The repertoire just doesn’t speak to long-term excellence.
Zach Davies @ MIL (L) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 84 pitches.
Ehhhhh, those ratios are meh and while I’m happy about six strikeouts, it’s just not enough. I’m still out on Davies. Great changeup tonight, though.
Tony Santillan vs SD (L) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 75 pitches.
75 pitches for nine outs? Yikes. I was letting Santiallan off the hook for the Padres before this one and hey, he could turn it around against the Cubs and Brewers next. The slider was decent in this one, after all. Something to consider.
Trevor Rogers @ PHI (L) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 9 Ks – 20 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 99 pitches.
Aces gonna ace and earn a Golden Goal, taking all the glory for himself. Odd to see him earned the coveted award with four walks, and even weirder to see him do a near even 45/44 split of changeups and fastballs while flipping 5/10 sliders for called strikes as well. Fantastic pitch separation with four-seamers glove-side and changeups arm-side and the “inevitable” decline of Rogers hasn’t arrived three months into the season. Wild.
Mike Foltynewicz @ OAK (W) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 95 pitches.
Hot dang! Folty strikes again as he leaned on his slider to get the job done. Curveballs even earned effective strikes as well and while his heater isn’t what it used to be, as long as the breakers get strikes, he can survive. Can’t say I’d want to bet on that with any consistency, though.
Caleb Smith @ STL (L) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 98 pitches.
Ohhhhhh, he had secondaries working! 10/26 CSW on changeups + curveballs is lovely (about 38%!) and his slider did a decent job mixing in with heaters. Still hovering 91 mph, though, and we’re not quite at the point of making Caleb a must-add, let alone how he’s fluctuated plenty during his recent opportunity in the rotation. Keep monitoring Caleb from afar as he gets the Giants + Dodgers next. Maybe post-All-Star break will be the time to snatch him.
Tylor Megill @ ATL (ND) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 85 pitches.
Hot dang! Eight strikeouts! It was a bit of a BSB as mentioned by a reader on Twitter with four-seamers in the top third of the zone and sliders falling down, even if out of the zone a little too much. I wouldn’t say this calls for dominance from Megill consistently, but it has shades of Tyler Mahle in it. He’s at 85 pitches as well and if he gets the Yankees on Sunday, I can imagine him as a desperate stream. It is a 95 mph four-seamer elevated effectively, after all.
Charlie Morton vs NYM (ND) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 96 pitches.
Yeah, I’ll take a PQS with 7 Ks and a 1.00 WHIP. It’s a slightly worse Robbie Ray and that’s cool with me. That curveball was filthy tonight.
Chris Flexen @ TOR (ND) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 89 pitches.
After earning 19 whiffs, today brought us just five as the Jays aren’t going to allow four-seamer whiffs. Nay, a 0/31 whiff count of heaters is more up their alley. Flexen may…flex that ability another time, but good luck guessing when.
Kevin Gausman @ LAD (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 90 pitches.
Yikes, this isn’t the Gausman we’re used to. His splitter saw a 236 rpm drop today, but that doesn’t really matter (it’s actually a solid thing as less spin generally = more drop!). It’s the locations that matter most, and too many of them got away from him here. Meanwhile, the heater went 0/51 on whiffs and did little to save the splitty. He did get squeezed a little, but it’s not like he deserved one walk instead. This just wasn’t Gausman’s night and let’s be honest, he was bound to have one eventually. Brush off this One Night Bland.
Robbie Ray vs SEA (W) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 90 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. I know, we all wanted more than a PQS, but that WHIP and ten strikeouts? Yeah, that’s cool with me. I saw something about Ray being affected by gloopgate and all after his previous start against Miami and it’s not the case — in fact, his spin rate was slightly higher today on both his four-seamer and slider.
James Kaprielian vs TEX (L) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 105 pitches.
That’s two starts for Kap against the Rangers and both have been somewhat underwhelming. I mean, sure, I dig the WHIP and strikeouts, and a PQS is cool, I just expected one of them to be dope across the board, you know? But whatever, I’m okay with this from Morton & Ray, and Kap doesn’t have the same accolades. Good job fella…just have better than a 7% CSW on 15 sliders moving forward.
Lucas Giolito vs MIN (W) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 97 pitches.
Whoa. Giolito has lost 175 rpm on his four-seamer (i.e. anything over ~50 is significant, the 100-150+ = Spider Tack was used, for the most part), and it’s clearly affecting him. I mean seriously? Just one strikeout?! HAISTFMFWT?! The good news here is the upcoming schedule — @DET + @BAL — and Giolito should recover. The changeup is still great, you know.
Rich Hill @ WSH (L) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 82 pitches.
Okay okay, I know Hill hasn’t had it for three starts before this, but fine, he really doesn’t have it anymore. He is a victim of gloopgate as well and I simply can’t believe he earned just two whiffs — one coming off a sub-70 mph breaker as a last resort. Why does he have to get Cleveland next and some legit offense to make this an easier decision? I’m leaning avoid but we all know that can still work out in his favor.
Chase De Jong @ COL (L) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 69 pitches.
Blegh. I mean it’s Coors, but it’s also Chase. It’s a Double-Dammy.
Jameson Taillon vs LAA (W) – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 83 pitches.
Ohtani happened as the slider went 0/12 CSW. Curveball landed for strikes, but Taillon is still missing that pitch — the one to get chases out of the zone and make some truly uncomfortable at-bats. It was supposed to be the slider and it’s simply too hittable.
Nick Pivetta vs KC (ND) – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 89 pitches.
It was hot in this outing and Pivetta did his very best to grind it out, but it ultimately failed. Makes me wonder if his heavy velocity drop down to 93.3 mph can really be trusted. Regardless, Pivetta is a volatile arm and he’s likely a sit against the Athletics next. The conditions should be better, though.
Brad Keller @ BOS (ND) – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 5 BBs, 0 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 102 pitches.
Oh my. Keller talked afterward about how hard it was to get a grip on the ball, so I guess we just ignore this one completely? There’s always upside for 95+ mph heaters and a wicked slider on a given night. That hasn’t changed.
Kenta Maeda @ CWS (L) – 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 92 pitches.
Sigh. While I had expressed my hesitations for this start, I can’t help but be sad. It’s just not the man we know he can be, you know? If you’re still hanging on to this, it could come around any day, but yeah, likely not soon.
Andrew Heaney @ NYY (L) – 3.0 IP, 7 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 77 pitches.
There really isn’t a Cherry Bomb quite like Heaney, who has now allowed 12 ER across two outings after allowing just five ER in his previous three. At least the man is who we think he is. Our very own Popeye among us. Don’t you dare start calling Heaney “Popeye”. I wouldn’t dream of it.
Game of the Day
Shohei Ohtani vs Domingo Germán – Shohei is must-watch TV at this point and hey, maybe Domingo puts it together.
But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.
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