Checking Lynn

Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Monday game. I apologize for the jokes written in my delirium in advance. Have questions? Ask me during my office hours on Twitch weekday mornings from 9 am-11 am ET.  

Lance Lynn (CWS) @ DET (ND) – 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 88 pitches.

We’ve waited a while for Lance Lynn to make his 2022 debut and it wasn’t quite what we were hoping for in Detroit as he went 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 88 pitches. His heater was 1.4 ticks down from last year, he made a few mistakes down the middle of the plate, and he was overall walloped by the Tigers. Womp womp.

It’s not a death sentence — far from it. Sure, Lynn had a poor time in his rehab start as well and the velocity is down, but I see this more as another rehab start than a “this is who he is.” Give him a start or two to get the velocity back and I’d be surprised if he’s still struggling in July. It may be a decent time to buy low if a manager wants to cash out now, if you’re up for it.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Monday:

 

Alek Manoah (TOR) vs BAL (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 86 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. Interesting to see Manoah feature sinkers heavily inside the zone instead of jammed arm-side exclusively, but it worked tremendously well as the slider and four-seamer cleaned up. Hard not to love Manoah right now.

Chris Archer (MIN) @ SEA (ND) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 67 pitches.

This is why you don’t roster Archer: He may hit the target ERA, but it’s not for very long. It’s the biggest knock against him and I’d draw another instead. He’s not one to make you quiver.

Justin Steele (CHC) vs SD (ND) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 77 pitches.

Oh look, it’s Steele coming through in an outing. This was four-seamer-city with 70% usage and nothing else doing a whole lot and I’m glad it worked for him. I guess. You’d be best not trying to steal a gaze at Justin.

Yu Darvish (SD) @ CHC (W) – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 107 pitches.

Hey that’s a Gallows Pole for Darvish as he did exactly what he should do against the Cubs. It’s good to see his four-seamer cooking at 41% CSW as the cutter held the fort, rarely turning to the slider. The man kept it pretty dang simple. Next up is Coors and that always brings hesitation — I look to you to decide if you want to flip the coin on a Sunday.

Sandy Alcantara (MIA) @ PHI (ND) – 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 113 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. That’s not the WHIP you want as his four-seamer command wasn’t as pristine as we’ve seen, but he still strolled through nearly eight frames against a dangerous Phillies offense. I’m so proud of you.

Aaron Nola (PHI) vs MIA (ND) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 107 pitches.

Of course the battle of Nola vs. Sandy would end with neither losing and both succeeding — because how they try to make me choose between them. Everything worked here and I’m just thrilled Nola could go two straight dominant starts instead of the ridiculous yo-yoing he’s been doing all year. Give me two more and you have your AGA.

Cristian Javier (HOU) @ TEX (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 91 pitches.

Ayyyy he did it! If you’re curious what Javier’s best four-seamer command looks like, here’s the plot from this game. This is what we’re chasing. And hey, 67% breaking ball strikes is all kinds of wonderful, too. Don’t worry about the WHIP, this is a great sign that can hopefully continue against the White Sox on Sunday.

Mitch Keller (PIT) @ STL (ND) – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 97 pitches.

Sigh. I know it’s a decent ERA but he went 10/30 slider whiffs last start and here it was…0/16. ZERO FOR SIXTEEN. It can be really hard having a taste of honey and having to live the rest of your life without it. But the curveball had a 35% CSW! Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. I don’t want to chase Keller.

Alex Wood (SF) vs KC (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 80 pitches.

Yup, that’s Wood coming through once again. He has two more solid matchups left for you — Pirates and Reds — and with everything working, you better lean on him for it.

Brady Singer (KC) @ SF (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 89 pitches.

Ehhhhh, I’ll take it. The sinker had enough called strikes, but the slider failed to come through on its side of the bargain, earning just 5/31 whiffs, leading to far too many free passes. He’s still a 50/50 play and I’d pass against the Angels next, even if he’ll be a Questionable Start.

Chris Flexen (SEA) vs MIN (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 89 pitches.

That’s a mighty fine Dusty Donut if you’re into that sort of thing, featuring a 1.80 WHIP to go with a solid ERA and strikeouts. I guess I’m proud of him for doing it against the strong Minnesota offense and it makes the Angels a little more digestible next time. I’d prefer to not have to rely on it, but I guess that’s okay…?

Taylor Hearn (TEX) vs HOU (ND) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 91 pitches.

Yeaaaah, there isn’t a Hearnal of truth in those who tell you to pick up Taylor.

Merrill Kelly (ARI) vs CIN (ND) – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 102 pitches.

That’s a King Cole but a poor evening at the park for Kelly. It’s good to see both 93/94 mph and a decent changeup present, he just got Singled Out a bit. Tough luck. I wouldn’t start him against the Twins.

Ian Anderson (ATL) @ WSH (ND) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 82 pitches.

Bleeeegh. Even with his changeup earning a ton of strikes, Anderson didn’t have his best fastball and the curveball (despite its decent location under the zone) didn’t make the impact we wanted. I know this makes us want to move on from Anderson, but he faces the Cubs on Sunday. Surely he’ll be serviceable then, right?

Rony García (DET) vs CWS (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 75 pitches.

There really isn’t much here to consider. Oh, my little Rony, you don’t deserve such trouble.

Mike Minor (CIN) @ ARI (ND) – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 98 pitches.

Okay okay, I’ll stop wondering if Minor is anything major for a while. At least the slider looked good, sadly the fastball is baaaad.

Zack Thompson (STL) vs PIT (ND) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 92 pitches.

No, this one has a K. No he had two Ks. Oh lord, this Thompson is 93/94 mph on four-seamers with a meh curveball and changeup. Stick with the other one, if you must.

Kyle Bradish (BAL) @ TOR (L) – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 90 pitches.

A struggling Orioles starter against the mighty Jays lineup? Pretty cheesy for the scriptwriters to print that stat line — come up with something original, JEEZ.

Erasmo Ramírez (WSH) vs ATL (L) – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 54 pitches.

Whoa, it’s Erasmo! I really didn’t want us to see each other again in this kind of circumstance. There were days you were shockingly good, remember? I miss those days.

 

Game of the Day 

Joe Ryan vs. Logan Gilbert – Ryan is expected to return from the COVID-IL and I don’t care what he’s done so far, I’ll still hold out hope Gilbert figures out a legit secondary pitch.

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

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Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)