Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Saturday game. I apologize for the jokes written in my delirium in advance. Have questions? Ask me during my office hours on Twitch.tv weekday mornings from 10 am-12 pm ET.
Kai-Wei Teng (HOU) @ CHC (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 89 pitches.
It’s a strange feeling writing this roundup today after Jake did so well writing his debut SP Roundup. What if they realize I won’t be that good every day? Oh, I’m sorry, that wasn’t my internal monologue, that was Kai-Wei Teng’s thoughts after returning his second straight stellar outing – first against the Rangers, now against the Cubs with a King Cole via 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 89 pitches (W). I gave you a comp last week of Lance McCullers Jr. and I feel no need to change it now.
What does that mean? Well, that Teng is likely to carry a strikeout per inning at the cost of a high walk rate that is sure to inflate his WHIP once the sub 6 hits/9 runs out of coin to bribe Koufax and his goons. Goons? You don’t wanna meet them, let me tell ya.
The motor in this boat is clear – a sweeper Teng throws over the plate without fear at 85 mph to both LHB and RHB over 40% of the time, which returned a stark 50% CSW due to 33% called strikes, while none of his other pitches were reliable, featuring sub 60% strike rates. But he earned two strikeouts with his changeup! Sure, those two out of six thrown were cool. And so were the 3/7 called strikes on the curve. But his 93/94 mph fastballs are nothing to fear and hitters don’t need more than a third grade reading level to complete his book. It’s out on the shelves – just move up in the box to hit the sweeper – and this is sure to come crashing down soon. Be careful against the Brewers next. (View Game Card)
Let’s see how every other SP did Saturday:
Stephen Kolek (KCR) vs SEA (W) – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 108 pitches.
I said I was intrigued by Kolek in QS leagues, but a CGSHO?! That’s worthy of a proper HOT DANG, LOOK AT YOU! This is also a frontrunner for the Minimalist Score of the year, which could also be called Koufax’s Pet with 22/26 balls in play returning outs. That said, two-thirds of those balls in play were weak contact as Kolek did a great job with his changeup and stealing strikes with sinkers and four-seamers. This was some great fortune mixed with good-not-elite pitching, don’t get carried away. It’s unclear when we see Kolek next with Ragans pew pewining on Friday, which could move Kolek into a two-step a week from Tuesday, starting with Cincy and ending against the Twins. I don’t think that’s for me. (View Game Card)
Max Meyer (MIA) vs NYM (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 95 pitches.
I want to be thankful for the Mets, allowing Meyer to dominate despite holding a worse four-seamer (16.9″ vert, not 18-19″ in domed Miami) and parterning with the sweeper in failing hit 60% strikes. He persevered, of course, and I’m going to act like I didn’t see the lower vert and single tick dip on the gyro slider. He’ll get some love on The List tomorrow. (View Game Card)
Zack Wheeler (PHI) vs CLE (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 99 pitches.
Aces gonna ace…even if the four-seamer is at 94/95 mph. Why? Because it was rainy at 52 degrees. He also took down a ton of LHB, which is historically a difficult task for Wheeler. However, the BSB was alive and well with splitters down and “Cannibal McSanchez” cutters upstairs with the four-seamer and sinker. Wheeler is absolutely dominating through six games (1.67 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and 26% strikeouts) and I’ll hold out hope he can do it for the full year to give himself the Cy Young award he’s never had. I’ll never forgive Burnes for what he did. (View Game Card)
Brayan Bello (BOS) vs MIN (L) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 92 pitches.
He truly just needs an opener, hot dang. He had lovely touch on his sinker and changeup, with both falling to the bottom of the zone with ease, but is that really enough for us to believe this is real? After all, it was a Dusty Donut with two unearned runs leading to more hits across this one. I think you’re better off running another out there. (View Game Card)
Lucas Giolito (SDP) vs ATH (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 86 pitches.
Giolito did a smart thing. His four-seamer is hovering 90 mph these days (not 93-95 mph, yikes) and instead of acting as if he could be his old self, he embraced the slowball and slider to RHB, while throwing just three competitive four-seamers. He had no choice but to feature them against LHB, and I wonder if he’ll figure something else out there to give himself a better chance. Anyway, this is so precarious and with the Nationals up next, you know this can’t be good. That’s all the lefties, making him four-seamer/change again. Oh dear. (View Game Card)
Jake Irvin (WSN) @ ATL (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 80 pitches.
Wow. Irvin was holding the extra velocity we saw last time out and pitching the game of his life before shoulder soreness forced him out of his no-hit bid after five. He’s now on the IL and I have all the sympathy for him. After pitching so many games in the majors, to pitch at your peak only for your body to tell you Nah, bro, is so brutal. And yes, I understand how his increased velocity may have led to the injury, thus we shouldn’t expect Irvin to pitch this well when he returns. He also located his curveball to perfection, while the fastballs knew how to get out of the way and sneak in for a strike. Sigh. Baseball can be such a cruel sport. (View Game Card)
Patrick Corbin (TOR) vs PIT (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 84 pitches.
The mad man! This is a Gold Star for Corbin’s obliteration of the Pirates, featuring stellar changeups, sliders, and cutters for a whole lot of whiffs + sinkers at a 27% called strike rate. His five hits all came on hittable fastballs over the plate (5/31 heaters), leaving the 53 secondaries untouched. Having the slowball on point is a big change here and makes me a touch tempted in 15-teamers to give it a try against the Orioles up next. Hard not to believe Corbin saw how effective limiting his fastballs can be, prompting Fishbourne to mutter, “He’s beginning to believe…” (View Game Card)
Andre Pallante (STL) @ CIN (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 93 pitches.
You may not believe me, but that’s Pallante’s four 1 ER game in his last seven starts. That harder 88 mph slider was great against LHB, the sinker avoided the heart of the plate with esae, and he jammed the four-seamer to LHB. We have another pitcher at their very best right now, and I’m kinda interested. There’s still some polish missing without a doubt (looking at you splitter and curveball), but after he gets the Cubs on Friday, it may be time…? At least in your 15-teamers. Just a thought. (View Game Card)
Walbert Ureña (LAA) vs TEX (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 93 pitches.
The quiet success of Ureña continues as he’s averaged 1 ER per game for five straight starts. No surprise to see changeups as the focus to at 51% usage, and his sinker 97 mph impressed me with its consistent inside-third locations for a whopping 53% CSW at 30% usage. That’s awesome. He was able to get a fair number of sweepers over the plate this time around, too, and the biggest issue is his four-seamer’s erratic nature. We can deal with that if the sinker and changeup are working this well, allowing me to give the green light for @TBR and Rockie Road up next. (View Game Card)
Taj Bradley (MIN) @ BOS (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 73 pitches.
It was a Still ILL and Bradley didn’t care, sitting 97/98 mph like his exciting April self and having brilliant cutter command to RHB, forcing an unreal 35% SwStr rate on 23 thrown. It’s truly hard to not love Bradley watching that cutter dominate at 90/91 mph and -5″ cut. His four-seamer wasn’t a shotgun blast of command, either. Alright, Bradley. You had a huge disruption and returned to look as good as ever. I’m in. Don’t make me regret it. (View Game Card)
Grant Holmes (ATL) vs WSN (L) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 87 pitches.
Whoa, I absolutely didn’t expect REB to earn a co-share of the Gallows Pole against a near-exclusive LHB lineup, but here we are. The curve and slider did the damage, boasting 16 whiffs between them, and props to everyone who started Holmes despite his two previous season-high strikeout totals of 6 and 5 Ks before this. Wait what. Yup. Holmes has had seven games of 4 strikeouts or fewer this season. This isn’t sustainable, is it. NOPE. (View Game Card)
Roki Sasaki (LAD) @ MIL (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 87 pitches.
Ah, it looks like Savant is nearly giving up on the whole “forkball and a splitter” idea for Sasaki, labeling just one splitter as a fork. It’s almost as if something else was the root cause of his success last week… What, the slider? Yup. So it was dope again? Actually, no. It wasn’t. Just a 45% strike rate with 2/22 whiffs on the pitch and far worse command. Wait, so if it wasn’t the splitter, and it wasn’t the slider…it can’t be. It is. Sasaki finally threw an elite four-seamer. I DON’T BELIEVE IT. The heater got upstairs at 97 mph and 7+ feet of extension, but instead of deadzone movement, it returned 17″ of vert, earning two more inches than his typical fastball. I wonder if this was the dome or something else making that impact, but if Sasaki can hold this heater and its ability to land upstairs to LHB, there’s actual promise here. After all, the slider shouldn’t be such a bad strike rate all the time, right? It’s one game, and with one skill arriving and disappearing already (slider command), I’m highly skeptical this one will be different. At least there’s a path now. (View Game Card)
J.T. Ginn (ATH) @ SDP (L) – 2.1 IP, 2 ER, 0 Hits, 6 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 73 pitches.
Jeeeez, I’m getting whiplash from Ginn’s harsh swing to the other side of the extreme. Come to think of it, I’m generally cautious after starting pitchers the next start after a high pitch count or an abnormally long start (Ginn pitched into the eighth last time), due to the extra strain of the outing that likely requires more rest than usual. Ginn’s command was hard to watch after his brilliance last time out and it makes for an easy pass against the Yankees. (View Game Card)
Colin Rea (CHC) vs HOU (L) – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 98 pitches.
This looked terrible at first with a two-run shot in the first, and I can’t express how often I’ve been tagged with pitcher lamentations after just one inning, only for them to go 6+ strong and rectify the outing. Thanks for that, Rea. It’s a close call against the Pirates up next, and I’m leaning in favor of it given the wide arsenal + Win chance. (View Game Card)
Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) @ LAA (L) – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 97 pitches.
Our trusted Holly earned a co-share of the Gallows Pole across seven elite frames…well, after he allowed a walk and HR to kick off his night. Then it was seven innings of 1 ER and five baserunners. Mind axing the intro next time? Don’t bore us, get to the chorus. By the way, LHB didn’t see a single fastball in this one – Evoaldi featured 34 splitters, cutters, and curveballs instead – leading to three strikeouts, zero walks, and two hits on six in play. That’s hot. Yes it is. What a dude. (View Game Card)
George Kirby (SEA) @ KCR (L) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 92 pitches.
What was that?! Oh, I’m sorry, that was me emitting a reverberating SIIIIGH. A VPQS with three strikeouts is just so disappointing for a guy as talented as Kirby. Why is the four-seamer in the same spot as the sweeper to RHB? Why are you throwing sinkers to LHB? Why was there just one fastball inside to RHB and it was a four-seamer? Will I ever see the approach I want from Kirby? (View Game Card)
Zac Gallen (ARI) vs COL (W) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 82 pitches.
Ehhhhh, alright. I wish the Sneks had let Gallen try to finish the sixth, leaving the game with a man on third and one out in a 5-2 game at just 82 pitches. The runner scored on the very next batter, anyway, just let him continue with his absurdly high slider usage (45% to RHB?!), even if had just a 52% strike rate. He went back to the BSB approach, not the low fastball/breaker approach, and I’m not super into that, but fine, he’ll get @TEA next and that’s okay. At least he’s 93/94 mph again. (View Game Card)
Chris Paddack (CIN) vs STL (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 84 pitches.
Props to Paddack for going BSB with four-seamers and changeups to LHB, but the 48% changeup strike rate, mistakes over the plate, and lack of reliable options to RHB while pitching for the Reds (half his games in Cincy) = zero interest. (View Game Card)
Slade Cecconi (CLE) @ PHI (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 86 pitches.
This was a little bit of a Careful, Icarus like Gallen as he came out for the sixth, allowed two baserunners, and got the hook, lucky to have just one score as he watched from the dugout. This wasn’t prime Cecconi, sadly, and I’m very much out. (View Game Card)
Adrian Houser (SFG) vs CHW (ND) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 79 pitches.
After watching McDonald get shellacked by the White Sox, Houser took his foot off the pedal for a moment, believing he was safe in the rotation. Whoops. This was an easy outing until the cracks started to appear in the fourth, then burst through for all three runs and the showers in the fifth. There’s nothing exceptional here for me to endorse, and you definitely want to avoid Coors up next. (View Game Card)
Freddy Peralta (NYM) @ MIA (L) – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 108 pitches.
Yes, there were two terrible pitches over the plate to LHB for HRs, but he was unlucky for a few others and he induced a ton of whiffs out of the zone + two fun changeups to RHB. He’s the Cherry Bomb of old with a poor 1.27 WHIP that just this moment made me realize Peralta is Robbie Ray from the right side. How have I never noticed that before? (View Game Card)
Chase Petty (CIN) vs STL (ND) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 16% CSW, 62 pitches.
Relative to what we’ve seen from Petty, he should be proud of a 65% strike with only one free pass in five innings (albeit across 62 pitches). However, a HAISTBMBWT?! with a worse slider than last year and consistent middle-middle offerings has me wondering why I’ve spent so much time writing this blurb. I think it’s because you hold a grudge against yourself. Nah, I’m not a Petty person, I swear. (View Game Card)
Paul Skenes (PIT) @ TOR (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 98 pitches.
That first at-bat was wild. Skenes elevated a pair of heaters to George Springer, challenging a hitter known for aggressively swatting fastballs in the first at-bats of ball games, and after getting 0-2, Skenes went a third time to the same spot…and it left the park. Okay, sure, but that’s one run. Yeah, it’s really disheartening to see 9 ER and 17 baserunners in two starts from Skenes (and two strikeouts?!), but this start was totally fine until he got Singled Out in the sixth, with four straight hits without an out, ruining his line for the night. (View Game Card)
Robert Gasser (MIL) vs LAD (L) – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 89 pitches.
Wow, so close to a full Jedi outing as the fours were clearly with him. Is that good? No, it’s not good at all. Gasser was mauled by the Dodgers in the fourth after quietly surviving the first three, and the arsenal hints of legitimacy (a flat with good vert high heater RHB with good precision upstairs that will likely improve, for example), but the cutter and sinker are not the leaders they need to be. I’m not sure we see a whole lot more of Gasser after his next start against Houston and it’s a very clear wait-and-see. (View Game Card)
Kyle Leahy (STL) @ CIN (ND) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 87 pitches.
It’s a clear disappointment, but I have to note that Leahy looked incredible through his first four innings. Seven strikeouts, four baserunners, and zero runs, making me wonder if it was time for us to swoop to the wire. Then the fifth arrived with a pair of HRs, first a questionable middle-high heater to Elly, the second a terrible changeup over the plate to Lowe. Not great, Bob. I think it’s best to wait another outing against the Cubs before considering the hazardous “Red Carpet” and lowly Mets. (View Game Card)
Michael Lorenzen (COL) @ ARI (L) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 94 pitches.
Even away from Coors, Strongbad deserves no change to his name. It’s not for lack of trying – his velocity is up roughly 1-3 ticks on everything, but there’s more than that needed here. (View Game Card)
Erick Fedde (CHW) @ SFG (L) – 3.1 IP, 8 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 85 pitches.
Like carrying a bowling ball in a trash bag, you knew you couldn’t trust this to hold. (View Game Card)
Game of the Day
Noah Schultz vs. Robbie Ray – I’m hoping Schultz can continue using his slowball to RHB and pair it effectively with his sinker, while Ray is coming off his worst performance in ages.
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/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)
