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 Playback.tv weekday mornings from 10 am-12 pm ET.
Casey Mize (DET) vs PHI (L) – 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 10 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 101 pitches.
What a weird start today from Casey Mize. The Detroit right-hander returned 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 10 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 101 pitches against the Phillies and it makes sense when you grasp that all three runs came in the first, beginning with an error, then seemingly foul ball-turned-double, and capped by a three-run shot. Once the dust settled, Mize was able to cook with his four-seamer and slider, even earning some whiffs on his splitter like the old days.
It may be the time that Casey can become the good guy again, armed with a hockey stick and a sleeveless shirt. With the Angels up next, Mize could surprise with a legit outing, free of the difficult at-bats and quality BABIP the Phillies carry day-to-day. Don’t give up right before salvation.
Let’s see how every other SP did Monday:
Garrett Crochet (CHW) vs LAD (ND) – 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 91 pitches.
Aces gonna ace and earn a King Cole. This is why you’re an ace – the opponent simply doesn’t matter.
James Paxton (LAD) @ CHW (ND) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 91 pitches.
Paxton went extreme BSB, nailing four-seamers at the very top of the zone, while his curve was absurdly low. Like TOO low, and yet it still earned 8/34 whiffs. Paxton is having a moment right now and it’s so awesome to see. What a time to be alive.
Justin Steele (CHC) @ SFG (ND) – 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 106 pitches.
The Giants tied it in the ninth and there goes our Win. This was another start of four-seamer dominance with the slider helping but not overwhelming. The real test comes next against the Brewers and I’m awfully curious to see what we get there.
Erik Miller (SFG) vs CHC (ND) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 13% CSW, 16 pitches.
Annnnd another bullpen game. At least we got some strikeouts from Spencer Howard? Yay?
Aaron Nola (PHI) @ DET (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 90 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. This was as pristine of a curveball as I’ve ever seen from Nola. Don’t question the man, just keep starting him.
Lance Lynn (STL) vs ATL (W) – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 88 pitches.
Here’s your Gold Star for the night as Lynn normally adds a third L. He succeeded this time by not earning whiffs. Nay, those pitches instead turned into contact that found gloves – why get a whiff that could lead to a strikeout when you can get contact that gives you an out right away? BASEBALL IS EASY. Please don’t try this at home. Or at the office. Or in any fantasy league.
Cole Ragans (KCR) vs MIA (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 11 Ks – 27 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 108 pitches.
Aces gonna PEW PEW PEW for a Gallows Pole. A few of those walks were frustrating and that final at-bat was tough, but he got that final punchout and you’re dang right I shouted in my apartment when he did. That’s one of the highest whiff marks of the season by any starter. What a stud.
Tanner Bibee (CLE) @ BAL (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 96 pitches.
Ummm the curveball came back for another start and now I’m actually believing in Bibee. That’s a 67% strike offering across 27 thrown and it makes his heater and slider that much better as he has another offering to keep batters honest. H*ck, he didn’t even need to go to his changeup much, a pitch that was effective on its own with 7/8 strikes. He’s making a Bibeeliever out of me.
Taj Bradley (TBR) vs SEA (ND) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 88 pitches.
So here’s the thing. Bradley did go back to four-seamers + splitters as his plan of attack, relying on the cutter down-and-away for, um, 31% strikes, while the splitter went…55% strikes, leaving the heater to do the heavy lifting. That obviously worked out fine against the Mariners, but if that splitter were actually consistent and not hit-and-miss, then you’d have yourself a brilliant ballgame. So is this approach for real now? If Bradley faced a tougher offense, we’d be all infuriated by this game. So who does he get next? The Nationals. GAME ON, GARTH.
Matt Waldron (SDP) vs WSN (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 107 pitches.
Just 22/46 strikes on the knuckler (hint: that’s under 50%), forcing the four-seamer and sweeper to step up, and boy did they. 45%+ CSW on 46 thrown between them. That’s dope. Kinda awesome and part of the reason why I’m sold on chasing Waldron. He can take down poor lineups even when the knuckleball fails to be a consistent pitch. And hey, it still earned whiffs along the way – it wasn’t all bad.
Griffin Canning (LAA) vs OAK (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 97 pitches.
Atta boy Canning! Making good on your first of two solid streaming plays this week. This was all about the changeup going 68% strikes as it lived inside the zone with his slider, allowing the four-seamer to earn outs by being a surprise pitch one-third of the time. That’s the Canning way. Now do it one more time against the Tigers.
Bryan Woo (SEA) @ TBR (ND) – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 60 pitches.
Woo came out firing with a stupid good heater at two ticks harder velocity (nearly 97 mph heaters!) and just as we were starting to really love the new Woo, he left the game with a leg injury. Not a forearm injury, a leg injury. BASEBALL. WHY?! It was hamstring tightness and he’ll undergo an MRI. Fun.
Chris Bassitt (TOR) @ BOS (ND) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 102 pitches.
Just because you didn’t have your best secondaries doesn’t mean you had to only earn two strikeouts, Bassitt. Uh, Nick, I’m pretty sure that it does. Oh, right. Well then good on ya for giving us some value while not having your best.
Tanner Houck (BOS) vs TOR (ND) – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 101 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. A bit of Careful, Icarus here as the Jays got to Houck in the seventh and ruined a potential Win. He also sat 1-2 ticks harder on the heater as well, though the splitter wasn’t quite as dominant as we’ve seen. Should be all good against the Padres.
Freddy Peralta (MIL) vs TEX (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 104 pitches.
The four-seamer refused to be anywhere but UP and barely in the zone, returning just a 56% strike rate, though I expected that number to be even worse given its 34% zone rate (yikes). Thank the secondaries for doing enough to get Peralta through five frames in just over 100 pitches. It sure does feel like Professor Chaos is itching to be unleashed and Peralta is containing him just enough. Stay strong, Peralta. For us.
Michael Lorenzen (TEX) @ MIL (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 91 pitches.
Hey, that’s solid. This helps, even if it’s not a dub or QS. Cool cool cool, I’m so bored and I need to be excited to start you if I’m going after this against the Orioles. Next, please.
Carson Spiers (CIN) vs PIT (W) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 93 pitches.
You’re gonna take this PQS and a dub all day. The command wasn’t nearly as precise as we saw last game, though, and if it weren’t the Cardinals next, I’d be avoiding it completely. With that matchup, he’s a desperate weekend streamer in the Questionable Start tier – don’t get too enamored here. The stuff isn’t that good.
Cade Povich (BAL) vs CLE (L) – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 95 pitches.
A Philly isn’t so bad, but the lack of a Win and inability to nail the edges with heaters sure is. I’m not a fan of chasing his next start against the Rangers and would wait for a better time to jump in.
Patrick Corbin (WSN) @ SDP (ND) – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 97 pitches.
Remember that BSB approach last time out? Yeah?! Did he do it again?! Absolutely. Not. Oh. Just a ton of sliders, some cutters, and a fair number of sinkers hanging out around the zone. At least this was a pretty solid outing regardless…?
Luis Medina (OAK) @ LAA (L) – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 79 pitches.
Let’s not chase Medina, okay? Also, Aaron Brooks came in afterward for 5.0 IP of one-run ball and I’d rather chase streams than Brooks.
Roddery Muñoz (MIA) @ KCR (L) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 93 pitches.
Those four walks make it look like his arsenal was unwieldy, but I actually think Muñoz generally executed his plan, with some small misses and the occasional major misses. He has the ability to go those six frames often with his sinker + cutter/slider approach, though I’d only chase this against the worst of lineups, which certainly does not include the Phillies up next.
Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL) @ STL (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 86 pitches.
Blegh. I flew too close to the sun choosing Spencer as the streamer over Canning. Thing is, that third was dumb. He was Singled Out in the inning, then the final run came on an 0-2 pitch double-steal, where the pitch was a strike. Anyway, Schwellenbach’s four-seamer has such apparent cut action on it in this one that I’m starting to think of him as a Sonny Gray type, and I wonder if he shouldn’t be putting his four-seamers upstairs as he has been – he’s been helping batters out by locating the pitch upstairs, especially when it falls down into y-mLoc (middle height). Anyway, his slider and cutter and curve and splitter are all great, making me a fan of his next start against the Pirates. Just that dang four-seamer approach needs to change to embrace its natural drop.
Bailey Falter (PIT) @ CIN (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 79 pitches.
JUST TRADE HIM TO THE RAYS ALREADY. Yeesh.
Game of the Day
Ranger Suárez vs. Tarik Skubal – OH BABY. Two completely different southpaws, two aces.
But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.
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Photo courtesy of Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Aaron Polcare (@bearydoesgfx on X)
“Pew pew pew!” – Ragans