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.
Michael Soroka (ARI) @ CIN (ND) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 93 pitches.
Once a top prospect who debuted at 20 years old and broke out at just 21 for a 2.68 ERA across 174.2 innings in 2019, it’s been a long road for Michael Soroka to return to his previous heights. Not only has 2026 brought with it a resurgence, but there’s plenty to suggest that he’s surpassed his former glory with similar ratios and improved strikeout numbers.
Soroka continued his renaissance, surviving Great American Small Park via 7.0 IP, 2 Hits, 1 ER, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 whiffs, 29% CSW, 93 pitches (ND). Four-seamers and curveballs were the stars of the show once again, combining for 72% usage. It’s a lethal combo, as heaters outperform their poor shape with excellent precision upstairs, tunneling perfectly with curves landing downstairs. While the hook is the signature offering driving his success, finishing off six of the seven strikeouts on Saturday, there have been minor changes that provide additional support for Soroka’s ascension.
The most visible one has been his ditching of a slider in favor of a cutter. The breaker wasn’t an ideal neutralizer to LHB, but was awesome at earning strikes and inducing whiffs vs RHB. The cutter bridges the gap between those two needs, constantly landing gloveside to jam LHB for strikes while maintaining the same swinging strike success away to RHB.
Cutters weren’t commanded exceptionally on Saturday, but that’s where the improved sinker steps in. The pitch’s attributes haven’t changed at all, but his feel for the pitch has improved dramatically. It’s found the zone more consistently, forcing batters to respect it, leading to more strikes, whiffs, and weak contact. It’s a great pitch to support an arsenal that sometimes experiences waning strike rates and is a perfect pairing for his poorly-shaped four-seamer, taking a lot of pressure off it to live in the zone vs RHB.
There’s also something to be said about his more consistent feel for changeups, which have seen a drastic uptick in strikes from 2025. The reliable slowball gives him even more weapons with which to attack LHB and hide his hittable heater. It rounds out an arsenal that has four pitches with which to attack both handedness effectively. That arsenal depth means success is more often guaranteed, and when his feel for the entire repertoire isn’t present, he has the backup means to prevent the floor from bottoming out.
The Soroka revival is real, and it’s not stopping anytime soon, as his schedule remains easy with MIN, @STL, SFG across the next two weeks. Enjoy the sweetness of Soroka, the pitcher that travels. (View Game Card)
Let’s see how every other SP did Saturday:
José Soriano (LAA) vs TBR (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 76 pitches.
Soriano returned to the coop to find his first goose egg since April. It came with 95 mph fastball velo for the second straight start, sub-60% strike rates on four-seamers and breakers, and reduced sinker usage. It’s a noticeable departure from his path to success in April, making it difficult to buy into. This was a start driven by splitter success at the bottom of the zone and good fortune from Koufax that may have subsided had the Angels allowed him to surpass 76 pitches and pitch into the sixth frame. Is it a conscious effort from the club to limit him as they witness his struggles? Regardless, a start in which he couldn’t command his diminished arsenal and relied on a volatile splitter that should produce higher WHIP marks in the future isn’t enough to convince me that Soriano’s not reverting to his 2025 self. (View Game Card)
Griffin Jax (TBR) @ LAA (L) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 63 pitches.
Please let him loose! I want to get PUMPED! Jax is ready to ascend, but has been allowed to surpass 70 pitches just once. The reduced workload prevents him from qualifying for wins and limits his ceiling. I’m hoping this is just a case of the Rays taking his transition slowly, not a concerted effort or strategy to get five good innings out of Jax before calling upon the bullpen. He has the stuff to be a stud, and I want to be wowed. Set him free! (View Game Card)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD) @ CHW (W) – 8.1 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 109 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. Yoshi carried a Mario a perfect game into the eighth, but lost it on a Mookie Betts error with two outs. His no-hitter disappeared the following frame on a leadoff homer. It just wasn’t meant to be. Those high four-seamers are making all the difference. It certainly doesn’t hurt to be throwing a tick harder across the board, either. (View Game Card)
Kevin Gausman (TOR) vs NYY (ND) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 20 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 105 pitches.
Open your eyes! The short rough patch is over. Gausman is back to dominating with splitters, earning a Gallows Pole via a whopping 15 whiffs on his secondary offering below the zone. It’s like a game of wack-a-mole for hitters where the mole steals your money, but instead of money, it’s strikes, and instead of moles, it’s four-seamers stealing strikes and splitters inducing chases. The gopher-like tunneling effect between the two pitches is as difficult to pick up as a vole covered in mud. The backyard-burrowing Gausman should’ve been awarded the Gophers Vole for his cheeky performance against the Bronx Bombers. (View Game Card)
Cam Schlittler (NYY) @ TOR (ND) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 101 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. Stop worrying about his velo. It’s not going anywhere. Maybe worry a little about his inconsistent four-seamer command that has returned 55% strikes across his past two starts. Should we still be trying to sell high? It really depends on your starting pitching depth, but I think he’ll be worth the hold the entire year. His Ras Pack is too elite. (View Game Card)
Rhett Lowder (CIN) vs ARI (ND) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 96 pitches.
Lowder really locked it in quickly after a truly uninspiring Still ILL outing last time, in which he couldn’t command anything. Everything was commanded in this Philly, as sinkers found the zone, four-seamers landed upstairs, sliders stayed low, and changeups locked in armside. Like a water-type move against a fire-type Pokémon, his secondaries were super effective against the Sneks, combining for 12 whiffs and 37% CSW to produce his first double-digit whiff game since his season debut in March. Lowder is back on the menu as a streamer. Not @NYY next, but definitely against MIL x2 afterward. (View Game Card)
Martín Pérez (ATL) @ NYM (W) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 71 pitches.
I’m going to be sad when this ends. It’ll be the same feeling as when you say goodbye to an out-of-state friend that you visited for a weekend. Pérez has defied expectations with a 2.90 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 21% strikeout rate across 62 frames this year. The Vargas Rule lives on! (View Game Card)
Joey Cantillo (CLE) vs DET (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 79 pitches.
Stop messing with me, Joey. You displayed your lowest fastball velo at 90.5 mph last time out, then showed up on Saturday with your fastest four-seamer of the year, sitting 93.8 mph. Good thing the velo increase was arsenal-wide, as he couldn’t command his heaters, forcing him to lean on…curveballs and cutters?! I thought it would be the signature changeup, but nope, we’ve got big hooks avoiding damage in the zone with brand-new cutters that he debuted in his last start. That cutter is pretty dope as a near gyro slider at 88 mph, giving him a new look that completely caught batters off guard for 50% CSW and 72% strikes. It’s clearly not a game-changer by itself, given the poor results from his last start, but if it sticks in concert with the velo increase, we might be able to start trusting Cantillo again. Stop messing with us, Joey. Don’t get us all excited, then let us down @HOU next. (View Game Card)
Ben Brown (CHC) @ SFG (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 86 pitches.
What’s that sour taste? It’s the unsustainability in the air. Why does it taste like…what is that? Grapes? I haven’t figured out an explanation for that. Sounds like a job for The Doctor. Brown’s curve has lost its consistency in recent weeks, as its SwStr% has fallen to 13% after being at 32% through his first four starts. It was all over the place in SF, forcing him to throw Empty Velocity fastballs 74% of the time. Of course, he got away with it, stranding 9/10 baserunners. This Vargas Rule is bound to end before June concludes. (View Game Card)
Lake Bachar (MIA) @ PIT (ND) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 42 pitches.
Bachar opened for a Marlins bullpen game. Sounds fun! You would say that. (View Game Card)
Jacob deGrom (TEX) @ BOS (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 90 pitches.
Aces gonna get Singled Out in the fourth, allowing four singles to produce the only two runs he allowed. His command vs LHB hasn’t been as pristine as usual, as he’s lived armside instead of the typical gloveside. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, just something to monitor. (View Game Card)
Sean Manaea (NYM) vs ATL (L) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 84 pitches.
Is the Atlanta lineup really that diminished right now, or does Manaea’s increased velo really make that much of a difference? Both? Hotlanta is without Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr., meaning their riding just two bats (Matt Olson and Michael Harris II) projected for a wRC+ better than 10% above league-average for the rest of the season. It’s not the lethal lineup it is at full strength. Manaea took advantage of that, sitting 91 mph with four-seamers spotted perfectly up and armside to RHB, while inducing eight whiffs with sweepers landing low. It also helped that he deployed a cutter that lived on the edges, giving him a pitch with movement in between the one-two punch to keep batters guessing. One of the two runs against him came on a solo homer off the cutter, so maybe just stick to the classics. Manaea’s velo has been too inconsistent to trust as a consistent streamer, but if he faces offenses susceptible to soft-tossing southpaws, he can be worth the stream. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs in eight straight outings, so maybe he can take down the LHB-heavy Phillies next. (View Game Card)
Luis Castillo (SEA) @ WSN (L) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 84 pitches.
I thought Castillo might be worth the stream after displaying increased velo, his best slider feel, and more trust in his changeup in recent outings, but that was misguided. He fell back down to 95 mph and threw just seven changeups against a LHB-heavy lineup. Good thing his ability to pull off an effective BSB with four-seamers and sliders is still present. If you remove the three hits that occurred after a first-inning throwing error that led to three unearned runs, Castillo’s Philly looks much better. He’s a decent deep league stream vs BOS next. (View Game Card)
Bubba Chandler (PIT) vs MIA (ND) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 84 pitches.
Good thing it’s Coors up next, otherwise we’d have way too many fantasy managers getting back in on Chandler after consecutive starts of two earned runs and 6+ strikeouts, something he hasn’t done all year. We haven’t seen anything different from him in these two starts other than the results, though. Sliders were a little more consistent here, with eight whiffs and 72% strikes, but it was donut command across his entire arsenal, as pitches either landed in the heart or way outside the zone. This Philly is missing its cheesesteak, and I need to see more toppings on this sandwich before I dig in. (View Game Card)
Randy Vásquez (SDP) @ BAL (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 100 pitches.
This is the first game with more than three punchouts or double-digit whiffs in over a month. Cutters came in a tick harder at 92 mph, and dominated for 41% CSW and 74% strikes. Is one outlier night of pristine cutters enough for us to ignore his return to his low-ceiling, 2025 self over the last month-plus? I don’t think so. Do it again, then we can talk. (View Game Card)
Ranger Suarez (BOS) vs TEX (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 97 pitches.
I’ll continue to point out that Suarez has been missing his changeup all year, and it will continue to not matter. Cutters and curveballs go north-south, while four-seamers and sinkers work east-west. He’s four-quadrant living. I’ve found comfort living in just half of my quadrants, but Suarez is maximizing his potential for leisure. There’s just so much more room for activities when you use the space you’re given. (View Game Card)
Tarik Skubal (DET) @ CLE (L) – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 80 pitches.
Skubal made his remarkably quick return from arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, missing just five weeks before this Still ILL. He was limited to 80 pitches and was clearly not feeling his signature changeup, but the stuff is still there. He even bumped his fastball velo up to 98 just to make us feel better about his health. He’ll be back to doing ace-like things as soon as his next start vs CHW. (View Game Card)
Cade Cavalli (WSN) vs SEA (W) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 81 pitches.
I hung out with Cade’s uncle today. He’s a great guy, but he doesn’t throw 97 mph with devastating hammer curves. Cade does that. I wish he threw his hook more often, because the Empty Velocity four-seamer always returns all the damage. It allowed three of the four hits against him and the lone homer that accounted for 2/3 of the runs. I think he could get away with the 30%+ usage we see from guys like Ben Brown, Shane Baz, Michael Soroka, Aaron Nola, and Spencer Arrighetti. It’s not the greatest group to be gunning for, but he needs to mask his heater and deploy it more often as a surprise pitch upstairs to maximize his potential. (View Game Card)
Aaron Nola (PHI) @ MIL (ND) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 85 pitches.
Look who it is! A fellow curveball lover. It bit him in this one, serving up two dingers to account for all of the damage against him. 4/85 whiffs is concerning, making him ultra-reliant on contact. The fact that his signature curve wasn’t fooling anyone, and this wasn’t just a product of poor command on hittable heaters, has me losing hope he’ll ever pull off a string of successful outings worth paying attention to. Let’s hope the Mets can get him right in his next start. (View Game Card)
Connor Prielipp (MIN) vs STL (ND) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 98 pitches.
We’re certainly getting somewhere with Prielipp. I’m not sure where, but we’re travelling. Better than being stagnant! He threw a tick harder, found 81% strikes with sliders, and displayed the best curveball command I’ve seen from him. It wasn’t overwhelming, though, as he returned single-digit whiffs with too many hittable four-seamers and sliders. A 17% PAR is the main culprit for limiting him to just a pair of punchouts, but the lack of swing and miss certainly contributed. Are we there yet? I don’t think so. We may need to see him survive @ARI and LAD across his next two starts before we can say we’ve arrived. (View Game Card)
Mike Burrows (HOU) @ KCR (ND) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 92 pitches.
Burrows went changeup-heavy last time despite it returning just 51% strikes. So, what did he do this time? Turn to sliders as his primary pitch despite them earning a mere 46% strikes. There hasn’t been a discernible approach all year, and his command doesn’t lend itself to being manipulated. To put it more simply, I don’t know what he’s trying to do or if he even gets to choose. (View Game Card)
Shane Drohan (MIL) vs PHI (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 78 pitches.
If you’re looking to get in early on the new fun starter, Drohan is it. The southpaw earned the King Cole in an outing that could’ve resulted in a Golden Goal had he been afforded a leash beyond 80 pitches. Maybe that leash was the right length, as he allowed a hit to the first batter he faced in the sixth and was lifted immediately, only to watch the inherited runner score. Careful, Icarus. His slider was dope against LHB, inducing five whiffs and 43% CSW, while fastballs sat on the outer edge. The RHB approach is a little more precarious, as it relied heavily on fastballs stealing called strikes, as sliders couldn’t find the zone. Maybe the stabilization comes from a heavier reliance on the curve that went 3/5 whiffs against RHB. He’ll be tested with @ATL and @CIN next, but if he comes out of it unscathed, you can bet he won’t be available on waiver wires anymore. (View Game Card)
Noah Cameron (KCR) vs HOU (ND) – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 86 pitches.
Cameron’s command wasn’t as pristine as it has been in recent starts, as changeups, curveballs, sliders, and sinkers combined for 51% strikes. With the rest of the arsenal faltering, cutters and four-seamers were forced to step up in the zone to avoid walks, making strikeouts difficult to come by. HAISTBMBWT?! All of the damage against him came on a pair of two-run homers, but I don’t think that’s a good enough excuse. He’s been adept at avoiding the long ball all year, but the disappearance of his command is inexcusable. Let’s give him a mulligan vs STL next before reassessing. (View Game Card)
Joey Estes (ATH) vs COL (ND) – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 71 pitches.
Estes made his season debut for the A’s, and while he got Rockie Road, he was cursed with having to start in Las Vegas. The elevation makes it difficult to read into the results or his pitch movement profiles. However, he made some notable changes that could make him worth paying attention to if the A’s give him another chance to start next week. He sat more than two ticks up at 93-94 mph on four-seamers and showcased a brand-new cutter at 88-89 mph. There was some intent to go Canibal McSanchez, but it’s not worth spending too much time on Estes until we see him do something worthy of our attention. (View Game Card)
Matthew Liberatore (STL) @ MIN (ND) – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 70 pitches.
The BSB intent didn’t work for Liberatore as he failed to pull off one of its core concepts – secondaries down. I did get them down! Yeah, down the pipe! Four-seamers were tagged for a pair of homers while curveballs and changeups hung around the heart of the zone. Get crushed! I don’t see the path to success without massively improved command or stuff. (View Game Card)
Sean Burke (CHW) vs LAD (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 6 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 92 pitches.
Without the foundation laid by his elite four-seamer, Burke had nothing to stand on. He couldn’t spot it upstairs like he usually does, returning sub-60% strikes on the heater, forcing his secondaries to step up. The thing about Burke is that his secondaries rarely step up, squandering the potential of his four-seamer. We see glimpses of success, but we didn’t expect to catch that sparkle against the Dodgers. The schedule eases up with @DET, CLE, @BAL next, and he could be worth the stream in one of those starts in the off chance his secondaries show up. (View Game Card)
Trevor McDonald (SFG) vs CHC (L) – 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 92 pitches.
When you can’t control your best pitch, you’re gonna have a bad time. McDonald has been struggling with his slider recently, and it continued here, returning just 45% strikes. It forces him to lean heavily on a sinker that’s pretty hittable, especially when it’s sitting a tick down. He walked the yard and was Singled Out, but without his slider showing up, it’s misleading to say he was unlucky. With Tyler Mahle due back this week, we might’ve seen the last of McDonald for a while. (View Game Card)
Kyle Freeland (COL) @ ATH (L) – 5.2 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 95 pitches.
COL story, bro. You can’t even escape the elevation outside of Coors. (View Game Card)
Trey Gibson (BAL) vs SDP (L) – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 7 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 93 pitches.
Gibson fanned just five batters in his first four outings, totalling eight runs allowed. The lack of whiffability made him a clear avoid, despite the cromulent ERA. So, it makes total sense that he’d blow up when he received the luck of a 50% putaway rate, propelling a career-high seven punchouts. His breakers are his best pitches, but he’s reticent to throw them, forcing him to chuck a mediocre Ras Pack up there and pray he doesn’t get destroyed. Koufax left those prayers unanswered, and I’d expect the Orioles to turn to someone else in Gibson’s spot next time through the rotation. (View Game Card)
Game of the Day
Cristopher Sánchez vs. Kyle Harrison – Two of the game’s best southpaws square off at the top of their game. Can they surpass 20 combined strikeouts?
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)
