Peter Don’t Grabbit

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.  

David Peterson (NYM) vs MIA (W) – 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 100 pitches.

The Mets have been served a whole lot of bad news this year in their pitching staff, opening the door for David Peterson to get more opportunities in the rotation. He hasn’t come through in many of them, but he excelled today against the Marlins via 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 100 pitches, and I know that look in your eye.

Those whiffs were a product of his slider falling inside to right-handers effectively, while he was able to blow 93/94 mph heaters past bats. The changeup wasn’t a major tool here, but chipped in as well, while he flipped in some curveballs. It’s great to see the sweeper at its best, but to cut to the chase, he faces the Astros next. I don’t buy this enough as a legit breakout to start him there, meaning you leave Peterson on the wire for another day. But hey, if that start returns the same dominance with his slider, he’ll have my attention.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Monday:

 

Corbin Burnes (MIL) vs STL (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks – 20 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 108 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. That cutter went 41% CSW with 12 whiffs across 64% usage. Because of course it did.

JT Brubaker (PIT) vs CHC (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 105 pitches.

Ayyyy it worked! Coffee Cakes’ slider and curveball returned a combined 33% CSW and he pumped the zone with sinkers that the Cubs failed to crush. There’s a chance he repeats against the Rays, but at its heart, nothing’s new here with Brubaker.

Gerrit Cole (NYY) @ TB (ND) – 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 12 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 111 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. If you don’t enjoy prime Cole, I don’t know what joy you find in this world.

Max Fried (ATL) vs SF (ND) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 102 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. I feel like we underappreciate Fried as he holds a 2.77 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a strikeout per inning through nearly 88 frames this season. He’s an absolute rock.

Logan Webb (SF) @ ATL (ND) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 107 pitches.

Yessssss. Webb’s slider and changeup were effective once again, while the sinker earned a whopping 41% CSW. I had been considering Webb as a lower strikeout arm with good ratios but this may be a stretch that warrants him entering the Top 15 with an AGA label in the near future. H*ck, he’s nearly been what Fried has done, save for a severely worse WHIP. I hope he forces me to do so soon. What, does he know your address? …yes, but that’s beside the point.

Shane McClanahan (TB) vs NYY (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 39% CSW, 92 pitches.

Aces gonna ace as McShane returned a King Cole. I know some of y’all had both Cole and McClanahan and I hope you made the right call to start them both. This was such a fantastic duel. Fun fact: McShane tossed just 15% fastballs in this one. 85% secondary pitches. Amazing.

Yu Darvish (SD) vs ARI (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 104 pitches.

Five of Darvish’s last six starts have tallied just 4 ER total with at least seven frames each. It’s a great run on the back of his cutter and it should continue against the Phils next…remember, Darvish’s performance is irrespective of opponent.

Josh Winckowski (BOS) vs DET (W) – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 92 pitches.

I bet some of you went for this simply because it was the Tigers against an unknown arm. Winckowski returned 14/36 called strikes on his sinker and boasted a 73% strike rate on sliders. Congrats, you won the game of BABIP. We’re so proud. The Guardians are next and I won’t rule out another successful spin of the wheel, but do you really want to spin it if you don’t have to?

Miles Mikolas (STL) @ MIL (L) – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 100 pitches.

Phew. I was worried his 129 pitch effort last week would linger into this one, but he was allowed to go 100 pitches and even pitch into the seventh. We’re going to look back and marvel at Mikolas’ 2022 season in a “how did that happen?!” way but for now, we keep on riding.

Noah Syndergaard (LAA) vs KC (L) – 7.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 91 pitches.

That’s a Careful, Icarus for Thor as he allowed three runs in the seventh and eighth frames and it’s okay to be upset by it. The man is a still a Toby in my eyes, given the lack of any overwhelming offerings (is it the changeup? 31% CSW here with five whiffs is good but not…it, you know?) and starts like these are simply going to happen.

Kris Bubic (KC) @ LAA (E) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 95 pitches.

Hot dang, look at you! I was upset it was Bubic instead of Mengden, but this was the best I’ve seen Bubic in ages. His four-seamer sat 92 mph (YES!), his changeup returned six whiffs, and his curveball earned a fantastic 44% CSW. He still isn’t getting his changeup quite as low as we want it to be, but Bubic sitting 92 mph is the best version of the man. Unfortunately, I’m not sure he gets another start with Zack Greinke returning on Friday, but if he does find a way to start on Sunday against the Athletics, boy that’s an interesting gamble to end your week. I sure hope that velocity returns the next time he starts.

Trevor Rogers (MIA) @ NYM (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 24 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 93 pitches.

Just when I thought I was completely out on Rogers, he earned himself a Gallows Pole in wondrous fashion: seven whiffs on the slider, eight on the changeup, and nine on the four-seamer. It was the first start all year he executed the BSB and had both secondaries working, and while the ratios didn’t pan out, this is a performance that would spell success far more times than not. It could very well just be a Dennis and he fails to replicate this elegant arsenal display, but at the very least watch carefully as he faces the Mets a second time. It could be real.

Lance Lynn (CWS) vs TOR (W) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 99 pitches.

Ehhhhh, it’s better, but the fastball velocity didn’t improve at all, sitting 92.5 mph instead of last year’s 94 mph clip. I’ll let him off the hook with it being the Jays and he should feast on the Orioles next.

Zach Davies (ARI) @ SD (L) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 96 pitches.

Womp womp. Davies allowed a few mistakes and got burned by the Padres, leading to early trouble and ultimately a tough stream. I accidentally left him off the very end of The List this week, as I would have considered running with him for his two-start week, ending with the Tigers on Sunday. I’d still consider that one after this, but really, he likely would have been off it next week. So it goes.

Alex Faedo (DET) @ BOS (L) – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 93 pitches.

We didn’t expect success here with Faedo fresh from a disastrous start, but maybe he can rebound against the Sneks next. This slider wasn’t so bad here, after all. That’s a desperate AL-Only stream if you want to take the shot.

Caleb Kilian (CHC) @ PIT (L) – 2.1 IP, 5 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 17% CSW, 66 pitches.

I was holding out hope Kilian would adjust to the majors by his third outing and…nope. Not even against the Pirates. Time to give this a rest.

José Berríos (TOR) @ CWS (L) – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 72 pitches.

Oh no. The Great Undulator was getting too comfortable and had a setback, allowing a trio of longballs against the White Sox. Sigh. He was right on course until this one, he’ll rebound n whatnot, but I was just beginning to get everyone on board. WE WERE SO CLOSE, BERRÍOS.

 

Game of the Day 

Kevin Gausman vs. Dylan Cease – I expect Gausman to recover shortly and I’m excited to see whether Cease can handle the Jays.

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 Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)