Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Friday 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.
Colin Rea (CHC) vs PHI (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 92 pitches.
Look at this line from last night. 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 92 pitches (W) against the Phillies. That’s a fantastic imitation of Justin Steele, is it not? Instead, it’s the Cubs replacement for their injured workhorse, Colin Rea, who has Chicago fans suddenly accepting the terms of their deal as Steele’s representative. And there’s a chance he can keep being productive, too.
Not at this level, though. It’s worthy enough of a Gold Star given Rea’s low pitch counts prior, the absurd quality of the performance (even at five frames!), and the task of squaring up against the Phillies. He’s having success with a four-seamer that is atypical of a 41% CSW and 4/49 whiffs – 93+ mph, good extension, horrible vert, no run, average attack angle, and getting a whole lot of the plate. The sweeper mixed in well to RHB to keep them honest, but LHB? Not a whole lot going on with an unreliable splitter and curve + a cutter that is awfully detrimental.
You shouldn’t bank on this. Rea is a guy we’ve seen have some success when he’s spotting a large arsenal and can go on a Vargas Rule, which does make his next start against the Pirates more appealing than expected. Still, there’s risk even in that outing and I’d be reluctant to stake anything on Rea working out for my fantasy teams beyond his date in PNC Park.
Let’s see how every other SP did Friday:
Seth Lugo (KCR) vs HOU (W) – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 94 pitches.
Oh dang, are we doing this again? I’m cool with it, I’m just surprised you still had this in you. Savant has you down for nine different pitches, too, including a slurve and outlining that one of those was definitely a sweeper. Totally. Thanks for being dope, Lugo.
Shane Baz (TBR) @ SDP (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 97 pitches.
What, you were too scared to start Baz after the poor effort against the Yankees? Get that out of your head, his curve is legit and pairs super well with the 96/97 mph four-seamer for a BSB in most situations. Most? Well, he was pretty poor executing it against LHB here, especially with the changeup going just 4/13 strikes overall, but against RHB? Yeah, he killed it. Start the dude as he approaches AGA territory.
Paul Skenes (PIT) @ LAD (W) – 6.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 108 pitches.
Aces gonna ace for a Gallows Pole against the almighty Dodgers. Great to see the four-seamer earn whiffs here as the splinker returned to 70%+ strike rates. Atta boy Skenes.
Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) @ SFG (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 99 pitches.
Yesssss. While there was some shifty command here and there, the full four-pitch mix with splitters, four-seamers, cutters, and curve is cruisin’ along well. That new curve is so helpful.
José Berríos (TOR) @ NYY (ND) – 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 89 pitches.
You rascal! The curve was ole reliable but at just 24% usage and he had the good graces of Koufax getting him through this one against the Yankees. 5/89 whiffs is, uh, not good.
Michael King (SDP) vs TBR (L) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 90 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. An apropos King Cole for Michael with his sinker earning called strikes and four-seamers landing upstairs for all the whiffs (9/33!) at nearly 17″ of vert. Hey, that’s new. Pretty awesome to see King now showcase legit pitches to mow lineups. What a guy. Too bad he wasn’t more efficient, or this would have been an easy six frames.
Carlos Carrasco (NYY) vs TOR (ND) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 67 pitches.
Cookie, you went five innings of zero runs! That means…oh. As you bite into this glorious dessert, you realize it was gluten-free. Some people want that, and we’re still happy it’s dessert, but we really wanted that Win. Welp, maybe we’ll spin the wheel again in the future. Probably not.
Logan Gilbert (SEA) vs MIA (ND) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 29 pitches.
He was pulled with forearm tightness. Gilbert and Kirby are both out of the rotation at the moment and that feels wrong. So, utterly, wrong. No, you don’t want to pick up Casey Lawrence who came in after for…doesn’t matter. Don’t.
Tyler Gilbert (CHW) @ ATH (ND) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 50% CSW, 12 pitches.
He opened for Sean Burke, who returned 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 86 pitches. We’re still at 94 mph on the heater and I’ve given up hoping for more, while the slider and curve returned 4/36 whiffs between them. Sigh. We were given a double stuf oreo and now have to deal with regular reduced fat versions. This isn’t even worth the massive sugar intake. No, no it’s not.
Jake Irvin (WSN) vs NYM (ND) – 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 98 pitches.
LouiseCacklingInFire.gif. I’ve been telling y’all, Irvin has his curveball back and you should be running with this while it lasts. It’s just like last year – the dude gets seven feet of extension and when his curve is going 70% strikes and returning 38% CSW, the fastballs will fill in the rest. And the changeups and cutters. Sure, but I’m not sure we want those to be there. Yes, I’m starting him against the Phils. Just keep it going until the curve fails.
Matthew Liberatore (STL) vs MIL (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 89 pitches.
A few things. The fastball was pretty much the same at 94.4 mph, but the cutter was introduced to split with the slider and it was fantastic against LHB, but not so much RHB. However, the sinker and four-seamer were poorly spotted and it makes me a little annoyed. But fine, we keep riding this into Cincy next and hope his flyballs stay in the park.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD) vs PIT (L) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 94 pitches.
Aces gonna give you a Dusty Donut. My favorite moment of the night? Watching Yamamoto throw a high four-seamer at 1-2 for the strikeout. One of two whiffs on the heater across the thirty-two he threw, but boy was it good. DO THAT.
Chris Sale (ATL) @ ARI (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 104 pitches.
Okay, we’ll take this. It’s the first sub 2 ER game for Sale all year as he still hasn’t gone more than 5.0 frames on the season. The slider feel was off for 57% strikes and his changeup did a whole lot of nothing to help. I have to think he’ll lock in at some point and his heater is doing what it needs to, creating the canvas for his secondaries to thrive. That said, removing his AGA status was the right call.
Justin Verlander (SFG) vs TEX (L) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 89 pitches.
Velocity is still u, slider command was…okay, four-seamer command was…okay, and he got through it. Not his best and it’s about time he got a touch of luck his way. Enjoy Rockie Road for those who’ve held on. You deserve it.
Kodai Senga (NYM) @ WSN (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 96 pitches.
This is pretty mid and I’m still shocked to see low cutter usage from Senga, even if he saw mostly LHB. That pitch should still act as the nullifier to the four-seamer and getting thrown 50% less than the fastball doesn’t quite compute in my mind. But alright, we keep plodding along.
Pablo López (MIN) vs LAA (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 101 pitches.
Jeeeeez, 101 pitches after two weeks off?! Works for me as you forced your way toward a Win, but there’s clearly some rust with his command. The four-seamer, curve, and changeup looked way off and fortunately, the RHB-heavy lineup could be served sweepers all day to get López clocking out at 5. With the return out of the way, now he’ll have to get his changeup warmed up for the Guardians and their LHB-lineup. The changeup is always there. Well except yesterday, but you get it.
Hayden Wesneski (HOU) @ KCR (L) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 80 pitches.
I’ve been a bit back-and-forth with Hayden this year and I’m settling into “I think I’m okay not rostering him” after this HAISTBMBWT?! but moreso that he isn’t displaying anything more than a sweeper to excite us. Sure, the extension sometimes reaches seven feet, but even then, the heater has dropped to 92/93 mph velocity and doesn’t have any other exciting attributes. The cutter + curve + change are pulling a Shania in the way they ain’t impressin’ me much and even with the good team context, he seems like a HIPSTER at best. There has to be a streamer to chase instead, no? I don’t think you have a choice but to hold in 15-teamers, sadly.
Chad Patrick (MIL) @ STL (L) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 70 pitches.
The cutter was back and not nearly as effective like the anomaly of his last outing. That’s what you get for having two first names. He didn’t choose his name. THAT’S WHAT YOU GET.
Taijuan Walker (PHI) @ CHC (L) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 86 pitches.
Unlike Logan who was dominating when pulled after three, Walker was already at 86 pitches because he sports 91 mph heaters and a highly suspect set of secondaries. And here’s the thing – with Cristopher Sánchez’s injury scare (I hope he’s okay…?), we may see Walker continue to start even when Ranger Suárez is healthy. This should have been Turnbull.
Luis Severino (ATH) vs CHW (ND) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 85 pitches.
A PQS with seven strikeouts and no Win? Ehhhhhh. That’s why you’re a Toby, Sev. Love to see the cutter showing up against RHB, which was very much needed as Sevy pulled so many sweepers terribly off the plate arm-side. I hope one day we see both working in tandem to both sides of the plate.
Zac Gallen (ARI) vs ATL (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 103 pitches.
He’s earning called strikes on his four-seamer like he does at his peak, and the curve returned 11/24 foul balls. 11/13 swings went outside the lines for just two whiffs and we can thank the slider finding the zone for Gallen to survive as well as he did through five. He’s not his best self and while there’s still hope he can get into that groove again (I can see the rare strands of light piercing through the intimidating bricks of age), this could be the story for Zac all season.
Cal Quantrill (MIA) @ SEA (W) – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 78 pitches.
Ayyyy a win! And you did so with four-seamers and cutters, going Canibal McSanchez to LHB! I guess that’s cool? Maybe? But 4 ER. Yeah yeah yeah, I know this isn’t real. LET CQ HAVE HIS DQ. Okay, I get it. Let him have his moment with a Blizzard. THANK YOU.
Andrew Abbott (CIN) @ COL (ND) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 84 pitches.
Ah dangit. Heading to Coors is actually okay this year given the horrid quality of that lineup, but you still need to throw strikes when you’re there. Both Abbott’s curve and changeup were a touch off and it set him back plenty. I don’t think this was nearly as poor of a performance as the line suggests, though, and you can still start him against the Cardinals.
Kyle Freeland (COL) vs CIN (ND) – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 89 pitches.
Remember that fun start to the year? COL story, bro.
Kyle Hendricks (LAA) @ MIN (L) – 3.0 IP, 7 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 90 pitches.
Once again, the two Kyles are hanging out down here, even if I had slight hope Hendricks could get away with his changeup against the lowly Twins. Wait, there’s an order to roundup?! Yes, it’s always by ER totals. WHAT. Seriously? After 11 years you didn’t pick up on this? TWIIIISSSSTTT!
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Game of the Day
Ryan Pepiot vs. Dylan Cease – Two Cherry Bomb arms that should be filled with excitement. What kind? No idea!
But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.
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