Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup: Harrison Dealer

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.

Kyle Harrison (SFG) @ BOS (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 95 pitches.

It’s another SP Roundup from Lake Wobegon and Kyle Harrison is our story today. The young southpaw’s 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 95 pitches gave the Giants a chance in a claustrophobic Fenway Park, returning a lovely 1.80 ERA through the fog and mist, paired with a 1.60 WHIP. And sadly, it means we’re in the same place we were last week.

Harrison is a HIPSTER. You see seven strikeouts and a low ERA and think this is a foundation for Harrison to build upon. He can lower those walks! However, he displayed the same skills we’ve seen: a breaker and changeup that battle to earn enough strikes, merged with a four-seamer that has whiff potential but doesn’t always come through.

The 22-year-old is sure to flirt with a 25% strikeout rate with his solid extension and lower arm-action that squeezes the most out of his 93 mph four-seamer. Is that enough? It held a sub 11% SwStr for the year prior to this day at the park, while neither his curve nor changeup have managed to return an 11% SwStr on their own. There is value in Harrison’s low ICR rate on his signature heater, and that may be enough with his improved command in the upper third of the zone this season. I see a capped ceiling based on a lack of electricity in his secondaries, with a terrifying floor that masks any allure of his peak. It’s not for me.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Thursday:

 

Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) vs WSN (W) – 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 92 pitches.

That’s a King Cole for Eovaldi, propelled by his dope splitter with 7/26 whiffs, while the rest of his arsenal did their job stealing strikes. It’s a little scary seeing Eovaldi dip down to 94.6 mph on the heater (you better not go sub 94…), but it’s Oakland next. Just start him there and we’ll talk later.

Spencer Arrighetti (HOU) vs CLE (ND) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 94 pitches.

He served us a Philly, and ultimately, this wasn’t quite good enough for me to pump my fist. Truly, one more out may have been all I needed, but at the very least, Arrighetti allowed just three hard hit balls, fanned six, and had a much better cutter and curve this time around. His four-seamer is still super flat with elite extension and I absolutely love his ability to keep it upstairs. He’s really close to being legit if he can command that cutter and curve just a bit better. Oh, and the Astros actually winning him games, too.

Logan Allen (CLE) @ HOU (L) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 98 pitches.

Allen is still embracing the high heater with a decently flat attack angle + over 16 inches of iVB, and I applaud him for keeping the pitch in the upper third with ease. His sweeper, cutter, and changeup? Not that great. Allen gets the Tigers next and I’m all for giving that a spin – we’ve seen those secondaries come through before and this could be a lovely stream.

Kyle Bradish (BAL) vs NYY (ND) – 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 84 pitches.

Welcome back, fella. This was a Still ILL and while he doesn’t have his curveball quite yet, Bradish’s fastballs and sliders were delicately spotted. Get amped, Bradish looks ready to soar.

Josh Winckowski (BOS) vs SFG (ND) – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 53 pitches.

We didn’t anticipate Josh to go long here, but just 53 pitches? You really couldn’t get two more outs to at least give you a chance for a Win? Nick, he held a sub 4% SwStr rate and had zero strikeouts. Yeah, alright. HAISTBMBWT?!

Ben Brown (CHC) @ NYM (ND) – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 89 pitches.

I really think Ben needs a cutter. He’s still four-seamer + curve and experimented with a pair of sweepers today, returning a whiff, but he doesn’t need more whiffs (shocking, I know). He needs a comfortable pitch to throw for a strike that isn’t a fastball or a curveball hoping to scrape the bottom of the zone. I see it as something that could come for 2025, but for now, I’d keep a distant eye on Brown.

Mitchell Parker (WSN) @ TEX (L) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 83 pitches.

In traditional Parker fashion, he had yet another new offering in his fourth start – a slider. However, unlike games prior, Parker barely altered his approach, featuring just three sliders and like a cannonball in a lake, its impact was barely felt. I wasn’t too impressed with Parker’s stuff here – curves landed a bit too high for my liking, while his four-seamer returned just 2 whiffs on 19 swings. It’s that bad? Yeah, it’s bad. Next up are the Orioles and I’d pass on that.

Adrian Houser (NYM) vs CHC (ND) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 82 pitches.

It’s almost like Houser’s approach of chucking 70% mediocre fastballs and hoping for the best isn’t the wisest choice. Almost.

Edward Cabrera (MIA) vs COL (ND) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 9 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 91 pitches.

Ugggggh. Cabrera tossed a meatball changeup down the pipe for a 3-run shot and it ruined what could have been a decent game with a ton of strikeouts. He’ll get the Dodgers + Tigers + Mets across his next three starts and I’d personally hold for it. His changeup was off in this one and while the Dodgers offer a low chance of success, Cabrera has the stuff to produce if he is his better self + the two matchups afterward are absolutely lovely. It’s worth it to me, especially with the upside of all of this clicking.

Peter Lambert (COL) @ MIA (ND) – 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 67 pitches.

COL story, Bro. It was a classic donut: Pitches either landed right outside the zone or dead-center. You can thank some lovely changeups and sliders for those whiffs…and the Marlins offense. Always the Marlins offense.

Carlos Rodón (NYY) @ BAL (L) – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 80 pitches.

Womp womp. The Orioles are better against LHP and even with a 40% CSW four-seamer and 7/34 slider whiffs, Rodon allowed three longballs. I’m leaning start against the Astros, believe it or not. They aren’t the orange birds of Baltimore.

 

Game of the Day 

George Kirby vs. Ronel Blanco – Yeah, this is all kinds of fun.

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

Have Questions? – Join my morning Playback.tv livestream! I answer all questions there for free: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET Monday through Friday.

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)