Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup 4/17: Canning Ballin’

Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Thursday game. I apologize for the jokes written in my delirium in advance. Have questions? Ask me during my office hours on Playback.tv weekday mornings from 10 am-12 pm ET.

Griffin Canning (NYM) vs STL (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 102 pitches.

I’ve seen many excited about Griffin Canning entering this year and I haven’t bought in. He looked like the same pitcher who recorded the third worst ERA among qualified starters in 2024, leaning on sliders and changeups well over the plate as he hoped to keep his four-seamer usage at 30% or lower. But then he returns 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 102 pitches (W) against the Cardinals and I can feel all the stares back at me, hoping I’m finally convinced and can approve of their decision to roster Canning.

Not today. I’M SORRY. I truly want to, and I’ll even tell you that this start was actually pretty cool! Yeah! Canning didn’t go Dancing With The Disco but instead kept his slider down to RHB while going BSB and thriving with the four-seamer upstairs with three extra inches of horizontal run compared to 2024. And for LHB? The changeup also stayed down and he even flexed a new cutter inside that returned 4/5 foul balls. That helps! So why are you not sold? Because this approach and command are atypical for Canning, and the four-seamer shouldn’t have this much success upstairs. 15/45 CSW with seven whiffs doesn’t compute for a fella who had routine destruction off his fastball.

Maybe the approach with his slider and changeup sets up the four-seamer better. Maybe. The BSB exists, after all. And yet, all I can think about is how Canning had some good outings last year, too. This is atypical, and unless he replicates this approach for a few starts, I’ll continue to be highly skeptical. Take a dip in the pool, I’m good hanging out over here. I wish I didn’t see Griffin as Canning fodder.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Thursday:

 

Andrew Heaney (PIT) vs WSN (W) – 7.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 95 pitches.

The dude is on a roll and I think it’s just a hot flash in the pan. I’m not seeing a stellar breaking ball, and the fastball/change combo is not at a peak to demand these results. You can ride it until it stops if you like (it is the Angels next, after all), though I can’t help but feel that disaster is looming around the corner. He’s sitting 89.8 mph, y’all.

JP Sears (ATH) @ CHW (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 100 pitches.

Sears didn’t face a single LHB and turned the strike zone into a flurry of four-seamers and sweepers in his outrage. Seriously, it’s just a blur of pitches mostly over the heart of the plate and despite returning a 1% SwStr rate, he survived. White Sox fans, I feel for y’all.

Reese Olson (DET) vs KCR (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 87 pitches.

Okay, we can exhale for a moment. The changeup was legit, and he was able to spot the sinker away to RHB at will. The slider has us wanting far more, though, and I just want a start where the change and slider are both cooking, you know? Is that so much to ask? I’d be a touch cautious against the Padres next, and if he’s the guy at the end of your roster who you need to drop in order to pick up a player you need, it’s okay. He’s no lock for dominance this year.

Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI) @ MIA (W) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 93 pitches.

Look at that, another super high strikeout game! Blame it on the Marlins. We also can’t ignore 10 Hits in 16 outs, which is pretty impressive when looking at just 1 ER on the board. I’m digging the cutter inside to RHB and the four-seamer becoming a weapon upstairs, though this start should have been worse. I’m not super confident against the Rays up next, even with the punchouts.

Trevor Williams (WSN) @ PIT (L) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 90 pitches.

Say it with me. #NeverTrevor.

Will Warren (NYY) @ TBR (ND) – 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 53 pitches.

Forget about this start. The line, the annoyance of it, everything. There’s only one thing that matters: Warren is still featuring a lower attack angle at 1.4 HAVAA. But it’s not 17″ of vert, it’s 15″+. Okay, fair. But the flat attack angle suddenly transforms Warren into a pitcher capable of getting LHB with his four-seamer in the future, and it’s what made me awfully curious about him in his last start. So forget this weird one and take a chance against the Guardians up next.

Cristopher Sánchez (PHI) vs SFG (W) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 12 Ks – 25 Whiffs, 41% CSW, 97 pitches.

An absurdly well-deserved Golden Goal for Sánchez as he threw up his hands and stopped serving incessant sinkers over the zone. Well, he actually still did plenty of that, but focused on his changeup, tossing it 50 times at 52% usage for…22 whiffs. On its own. A 44% SwStr rate changeup. HOT. DANG. That’s how you return just four hits through seven. NOW DO IT AGAIN.

Tomoyuki Sugano (BAL) vs CLE (W) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 87 pitches.

Ayyyy, you did it! The splitter and curve led the charge against LHB with sweepers and sinkers against RHB, and while none of these pitches are exciting or suggest sustainability, it’s nice for him to have a start like this and showcase that he could be a Toby in the future. Like, tomorrow? Like next month if we’re lucky. Awwww.

Emerson Hancock (SEA) @ CIN (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 73 pitches.

Oh daaaang, let me get on one knee and neatly assign this Gold Star to your lapel. The changeup was low and tempting, even at 50% strikes, and the sinker got to where it needed to be often for Hancock to survive five frames. That’s a major accomplishment for the fella, and let’s collectively give him a high five before we discreetly ensure he’s not added to our squads.

Brady Singer (CIN) vs SEA (ND) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 95 pitches.

Blegh. What a weird one. High sinkers from Singer are not his M.O., but he commanded the pitch well to RHB and returned a whopping 17 called strikes as he terrorized LHB inside with the lively heater. Sadly, the slider didn’t score whiffs as much as we normally see (likely due to facing far more LHB than RHB), and he couldn’t pull it together. The cutter and four-seamer did very little to help, too, and don’t mind me, I’m just taking inventory of my sadness and ensuring I don’t take it out on people. Why must they sniff tease us like this?

Kumar Rocker (TEX) vs LAA (W) – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 78 pitches.

It’s almost like he saw my anger and flicked the switch. Remember that curve I was so shocked to see? It’s gone. Instead, Rocker went 58% sliders which got 12/45 whiffs and 47% CSW. What. Yuuuuup. He also split his fastballs between four-seamers and sinkers, the former effectively earning strikes upstairs and the latter flailing over the plate. Sadly, he’s not eclipsing 96 mph often, but the slider focus with a larger embrace of four-seamers is a very good thing. Also pretty fortunate to face mostly RHB as Rocker’s LHB approach is pretty dang erratic. When he sees a batter step into the opposite batter’s box, he’s like a fish staring at a glove. I don’t know how to do this. You just gotta wiggle your way through it. I don’t like his next start against the Athletics, but if you want to try him out with that slider for another game, I don’t blame you.

Andre Pallante (STL) @ NYM (L) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 95 pitches.

You gained nothing and in fact, Pallante lost something. The game, we see it. No no no, he lost over two ticks on his four-seamer as he had in spring. Ohhh. Yeah, that’s not good y’all. When was it ever good? Uhhhhh. Fair.

Davis Martin (CHW) vs ATH (L) – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 90 pitches.

I’m asking nicely. Please stop chasing a man with two first and two last names. So he’s the fourmanman? PLEASE. STOP.

Michael Lorenzen (KCR) @ DET (L) – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 102 pitches.

I look at all those 4s and 3s with a sprinkle of 7 and ask myself, “Do I ever want to see these numbers?” I see their true nature, their intent. Pain. All I see is pain.

Jack Kochanowicz (LAA) @ TEX (L) – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 14% CSW, 72 pitches.

Womp womp. The sinker command is fading, and the slider + four-seamer were not pitches to fall for. HAISTBMBWT?! I guess we’re looking at The Jack of No Trade these days. That’s rough.

Edward Cabrera (MIA) vs ARI (L) – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 88 pitches.

The good news? His curve was fantastic and he featured 46% sliders to RHB. The bad? 42% strikes on the pitch and, uh, everything else. He saw far more LHB (just 12 sliders thrown) and the changeup got beat up a ton while the rare four-seamer was cruuuushed. You can see how this can work (33% CSW!) but this is going to hurt. Sigh. He’s back, alright.

Jordan Hicks (SFG) @ PHI (L) – 7.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 105 pitches.

Bleeeeeegh. I can feel that you’re upset. I am too. Hicks is traditionally great with his sinker, with his sweeper and splitter earning lectures of disappointment after poor evenings. But nay, this time the sinker drove the blade through our backs, returning a 52% strike rate and a paltry 15% CSW. So I can drop him? Wait! You may want to know something else. What. Remember when you thought Hicks would stop sitting 97 mph and become bad again? Yeah, he likely did here. Nah. He didn’t sit 95 or 96. Not 97. Okay, he sat 98 mph. NOPE. The dude was at 99 mph. He had a horrific first inning where all five runs scored, then silenced the Phils for six shutout afterwards. While sitting 99 mph and featuring a 62% strike rate sweeper. Sure, go ahead, DROP THE MAN! BE FREE! And let the fleeting happiness become envoloped by dread once you see the Hicks seed flourish in the sunlight of the spring. The water of your tears will satiate the flowers of our future. Dude, this is too much. Hicks’ petals will burst with chlorophyll–DUDE. Hicks will face the Brewers and I think he’s a must hold. Okay. Thanks.

Tanner Bibee (CLE) @ BAL (L) – 5.2 IP, 6 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 99 pitches.

Soooo this is a problem. I’ve given Bibee a lot of slack in the early starts, but this is #4 and he still doesn’t have the cutter of old. Just a 58% strike rate with 3/26 whiffs is not the hero pitch it’s supposed to be, and the rest of his arsenal ain’t doing much to help. The changeup held a great CSW but had too many mistakes, the four-seamer went 45% strikes (what?!) and we’re all tired of listening to me tell you it’ll be fine in time. That cutter (it’s really his slider) should be doing far better than this, and I’d hold for better days, but the Yankees are next. Maybe stash for one start?

Taj Bradley (TBR) vs NYY (L) – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 90 pitches.

No, the cutter was not good. He did locate the heater upstairs well, though. The splitter, too. That’s not “well,” that’s “unintentionally and not ideal.” It looked graceful. Then I enjoy your subjectivity. Bradley is a textbook HIPSTER and we try to avoid those on our rosters.

 

Game of the Day

 

Cole Ragans vs. Jackson Jobe – Orrrrr Sandy vs. Wheeler. ENJOY BASEBALL.

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

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Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)