Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Tuesday 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.
Chad Patrick (MIL) vs HOU (W) – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 91 pitches.
Here’s something wild. Brewers pitcher Chad Patrick just returned a Win against the Astros via 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 91 pitches, marking his seventh start of the season, all of which have been 3 ER or fewer. Wait, is this actually real? I see how it works, but no, I don’t think it is.
Patrick throws cutters. A whole lot of them to both RHB and LHB at 87/88 mph, with the same lack of drop as Burnes’ cutter and low CSW marks constantly. However, it once again allowed a bunch of weak contact and gave him a chance to go deeper into the game. That weak contact was made possible by his sinker mixed often over the plate, and with the Astros sitting cutter all night, the sinker went 12/24 called strikes. Yes, a 50% clip, leading to an 83% strike rate. That’s super fun and also super unsustainable.
There isn’t a big whiff pitch. There isn’t a plan for days when the cutter isn’t as effective. It’s simply “I’m throwing lots of cutters and maybe something else that can surprise you.” That’s not a recipe for 12-teamers you want to follow, but you can see how there’s a chance Patrick and his 23% CSW on the season can find 5+ frames of decency against the Guardians next time out. If that’s what you’re looking for, I wish you all the luck of the Patrick.
Let’s see how every other SP did Tuesday:
Chris Sale (ATL) vs CIN (ND) – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 112 pitches.
Make that two starts of Sale’s slider getting massive usage and destroying batters. This wasn’t as deadly with more sliders elevated than last time, but a 44% CSW across 62 thrown? Yeah, okay. Enjoy that co-share of the Gallows Pole with three others. You couldn’t earn one more whiff in those 112 pitches, eh? If you can do this two more times against the Pirates and in Fenway, then I’ll give you your AGA tag back.
Andrew Abbott (CIN) @ ATL (ND) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 91 pitches.
It was a night of four-seamers returning a 49% CSW and delicate sweepers to LHB + chaotic ones to RHB. Sure, the changeup was better against RHB, too, but the difference maker truly was that four-seamer running through at-bats at an 87% strike rate. No, I’m not sure why Atlanta didn’t do more with it, but at least Abbott is flirting with 93 mph instead of sitting just below 92 mph. But it’s still not a good four-seamer. No, it’s not, but tell that to Atlanta. I feel weird moving forward against Houston with few LHB to attack.
Zac Gallen (ARI) vs NYM (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 101 pitches.
Remember the Canibal McSanchez from his last game? Yeah that’s gone. 9% CSW and 46% strikes on the cutter. This was the day of the elite curveball at 61% CSW across 23 thrown. Everything else was meh, even the four-seamer and its paltry 16% called strike rate. Sure, it got outs, but the curveball induced that. IT WAS ALWAYS THE CURVEBALL.
Matthew Liberatore (STL) vs PIT (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 99 pitches.
Oh daaaang! Liberatore sat 95 mph (sweet) and had a trio of secondaries all working against the RHB-heavy squad. Changeups + cutters attacked the zone while sliders were held for whiffs + the four-seamer went 90% strikes and boasted a near 50% CSW. Sure, Blame it on the Pirates (take that PL Bot!), but the skills are clearly more refined. Go forth Liberatore, and prove it to the masses by taking down the Phillies up next.
Seth Lugo (KCR) vs CHW (ND) – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 98 pitches.
Well ain’t that a Dusty Donut. Come on Lugo, 10 baserunners? Three walks? Under a 4.50 K-per-nine?! I was just about to give you all the praise for being underrated and you’re not helping your case.
Sean Burke (CHW) @ KCR (ND) – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 78 pitches.
Annnnd we’re back to 93.6 mph with a chaotic curve and hung slider. Sigh. Don’t let the line fool you, the Royals failed to punish his hittable pitches. This isn’t the Burke we’re looking for.
Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) @ BOS (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 90 pitches.
Daaaang Eovaldi, a co-share of the Gallows Pole and another beautiful night with all of your pitches working? Look at you, dominating this late into your career, you wonderful vet. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Eovaldi boasting 16/17 strikes on the cutter, which makes it easy to tease splitters out of the zone.
Ben Lively (CLE) @ WSN (W) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 63 pitches.
He did his thing and the Nats rolled over. Those who chased a Win were rewarded and we move on. Not much more to it.
Pablo López (MIN) vs BAL (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 11 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 98 pitches.
It sure feels like the AGA tag is coming soon. A co-share of the Gallows Pole brought to you by a 11/47 whiffs on the four-seamer, the only pitch that the Orioles were able to put in play this entire game. That may have been due to a 35% strike rate changeup, but it’s pretty dang wild to see. We saw some solid curves in the mix as well (when they were executed) and overall, if PabLó has his four-seamer missing bats, you know it’s a good day.
Cal Quantrill (MIA) vs LAD (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 79 pitches.
Uhhhh, that’s a Gold Star. It’s Quantrill against the Dodgers. He went BSB to LHB with cutters upstairs and splitters down, with the former returning 41% CSW and the latter earning 5/24 whiffs and lots of outs. There’s really not much else to it, and this is as much of a Birthday Party as you’ll get with Quantrill.
Zack Wheeler (PHI) @ TBR (W) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 39% CSW, 84 pitches.
Aces gonna ace for a King Cole. The four-seamer was dope per usual, but 53% CSW cutters?! Now that’s a lovely sight.
Tyler Anderson (LAA) vs TOR (ND) – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 93 pitches.
The Jays are struggling, sure, but like a theater assistant, you need to give props to the man on stage. His changeup and cutter were fantastic while the four-seamer was able to earn strike-after-strike to put the Jays on their heels. Anderson is once again acting like a legit streamer and it’s so fun. Maybe worth it against the Orioles next…?
Paul Skenes (PIT) @ STL (L) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 102 pitches.
Aces gonna walk way more batters than he should against the Cardinals. I’m going to blame the sweeper and sinker command, mixed with too many tugged four-seamers to RHB. Whatever, still a productive start and we move on.
Emerson Hancock (SEA) @ ATH (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 71 pitches.
Ayyyy another decent outing for Hancock! He’s trying to go more inside with his sinker to RHB, which still needs some work (along with the slider, yeeeesh), and the changeup looked better to LHB. You shouldn’t trust those ratios, though. You can feel the presence of Koufax with 16/18 outs coming from balls in play. Not a chance you’re chasing him against the Yankees.
Clarke Schmidt (NYY) vs SDP (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 85 pitches.
This is a step in the right direction for Schmidt. The sweeper was competitive even if it failed to earn its normal strike rate, but the cutter was a machine while the curve had massive two-plane break and served as the consistent #2 to LHB. This is more like what we want to see from Schmidt and I’m encouraged for his start against the Athletics up next. For us to really feel good about this, we need to see the sweeper and curve begin to obliterate, but just having that cutter work is a huge step forward.
Michael King (SDP) @ NYY (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 90 pitches.
Aces gonna squirm his way through a difficult lineup and regret a four-seamer down the pipe to Judge. The changeup did a ton of work to LHB, forcing outs galore as the sinker was poorly spotted and the aforementioned four-seamer failed to earn a single whiff across 24 thrown. His sweeper didn’t help a whole lot either and this really was a stud arm doing whatever he could to keep runs off the board. It’s what makes an ace an ace.
Jake Irvin (WSN) vs CLE (ND) – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 95 pitches.
I have some good news and some bad news. What’s the bad? The curve got a whole lot of the plate and the four-seamer had a 7% CSW leading to a HAISTBMBWT?!. What’s the good? The heater is back to 92/93 mph and the curve is still a strike machine. I feel more encouraged than last week after we saw 90 mph from the fella, but I think we still take a backseat with Atlanta next.
Tony Gonsolin (LAD) @ MIA (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 82 pitches.
On one hand, that’s a co-share of the Gallows Pole with a solid outing against a poor offense. On the other, his slider went 42% strikes and the splitter can’t be trusted for 45% CSW moving forward. Yes, the splitter had a better CSW than his slider’s strike rate. I’m not one to fully trust Gonsolin for the full year, but he’s good enough to chase against the Athletics up next.
Jeffrey Springs (ATH) vs SEA (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 98 pitches.
Despite the 1.40 WHIP, this feels like the colorful sky and warm rays glistening for Springs. But the changeup went 4/25 whiffs. Yeah, that’s pretty strange. And the slider was the breadwinner at 46% CSW and 34% usage. Okay that’s really strange, especially for a slider that barely landed in loLoc. What a strange day of flipping sliders over the plate for 11/33 called strikes. That doesn’t seem sustainable.
José Ureña (TOR) @ LAA (ND) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 74 pitches.
Remember kids, If you roster José, Ureña boatload of trouble.
Brad Lord (WSN) vs CLE (L) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 17% CSW, 93 pitches.
A PQS is totally fine for those who went after this, especially with that low WHIP. No, he’s not someone we can suddenly trust now. This is a Birthday Party, even with a 4.50 ERA. And a Loss. And four strikeouts in six innings. YOU GET IT.
Justin Verlander (SFG) @ CHC (ND) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 82 pitches.
Ayyyy, not terrible! The velocity was back to 95 mph and the slider returned a 44% CSW. Unfortunately, this was the Cubs and his four-seamer command wasn’t peak, but I’m more interested in Verlander once again. Probably not enough to start him against the Diamondbacks, but I’m in after that if the velocity and slider don’t fade again.
Drew Rasmussen (TBR) vs PHI (L) – 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 86 pitches.
Dang, Drew. That’s the third disappointment in a row, even if this was a tough matchup against the Phillies. It also wasn’t a major disaster that warrants a shift in our love for him, but I understand if some will react that way after the recent stretch. He’s still inducing plenty of weak contact, but the biggest issue is the losses of two ticks of velocity and two inches of iVB on the four-seamer that made it return a .625 3D xwOBAcon (that includes 3D spray angle). Here’s hoping that the dips in velocity and rise aren’t sticking around.
David Peterson (NYM) @ ARI (L) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 104 pitches.
Blegh. The four-seamer was excellent upstairs at 93 mph, but he threw too many terrible changeups and curves over the plate. His walks were a bit frustrating as well, losing a few batters instead of being chaotic the entire night. He’s pitching well, and you should be excited about his next start against the Pirates.
Colin Rea (CHC) vs SFG (ND) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 92 pitches.
Womp womp. I incorrectly noted that Rea was taking advantage of weak offenses, when in fact he’d faced the Dodgers, Sneks, and Phillies. So here he is, facing an actual weak offense and of course this is the outing where he crumbles. The real reason for his success? A large dosage of Koufax with a sprinkle of precision. This had neither and that’s the world of fantasy baseball. I’m still holding Rea for his next outing against the Marlins, though. The Marlins, y’all.
Hayden Wesneski (HOU) @ MIL (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 80 pitches.
The sweeper is still great to RHB, but the four-seamer should not be thrown 39% of the time to LHB. It’s that simple, really. What else is there for him to do? Okay, fair. The cutter wasn’t a strike earner at 36% strikes and the curve can’t be trusted, but at least the changeup went 7/13 called strikes and maybe dancing with cutters, changeups, and four-seamers that often miss up-and-out of the zone are the way to go? It’s the biggest issue I have with Hayden. I just want him to be a reliable streamer like Tyler so he can become Wes Anderson.
Cade Povich (BAL) @ MIN (L) – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 103 pitches.
No, we didn’t see the cutter inside to RHB. Hopefully he can get to a point where he feels comfortable testing that again. Meanwhile, the curve was fairly consistent over the plate, the four-seamer was up, and the changeup + sweeper were…rough. 8% CSW with few strikes on the former, while the latter was not a reliable breaker, making this mostly a heater + curve affair, and these pitches needed something else with Povich facing few LHB (who saw just 9% of his pitches). It’s a process, y’all. He needs a bit more time.
Luis L. Ortiz (CLE) @ WSN (ND) – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 85 pitches.
Sigh. No, we cannot expect the command to improve enough where we regularly start Ortiz. Even if the slider was pretty legit, and his four-seamer was kinda upstairs as we wanted it to be. The real failure was the changeup returning just 44% strikes and getting crushed when it actually landed in the zone, while the sinker and cutter failed to add much of anything. I wonder what would happen if he just went with a four-seamer + slider approach…
Lucas Giolito (BOS) vs TEX (L) – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 74 pitches.
Oh no. Oh no no no no. His changeup returned just 15% CSW and was floated over the plate the LHB, while the four-seamer clocked in at 91.6 mph. Ugggh, I was really bamboozled to believe Giolito would be sitting 93 mph consistently after ramping up after the first few pitches and holding 93 mph the rest of the way. What about the #3 pitch? Which one? The single curve or the single slider? Oh no. Yeah, this was rough. The silver lining is the extension and vert are still very much here, while he’s pumping strikes. Even at 91/92 mph, Giolito can make this work if the changeup lands properly and another pitch shows up. He deserved to get wrecked here and it stings. A lot. Drop him for…X? Probably not? I’d give him at least one more with the Royals on the docket, though if that’s terrible, he’ll get Atlanta after and that will be a super tough call. Fun.
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