Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Sunday 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.
Noah Cameron (KCR) @ MIN (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 104 pitches.
It was incredibly easy to write off Noah Cameron’s rookie season as a product of luck, outlining clear regression ahead for a 92 mph southpaw, and after his first eight games, it was justified: 5.40 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and a 19% strikeout rate in 41.2 IP. However, Cameron’s 2025 success wasn’t purely luck. His ability to command a wide arsenal effectively allowed him to get through lineups more effectively than most, and we began seeing that command appear on May 16th. Since then, he’s allowed just three runs in four starts, with a 31% strikeout rate, 1.13 ERA, and 0.63 WHIP, while averaging six frames in that time, including Sunday’s brilliant 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 104 pitches (W) against the Twins. Small sample, yes. Luck? Some, but mostly not.
The man is a SWATCH. His changeup woke up in this one, befuddling Minnesota with 30 slowballs at a 73% strike rate and 37% CSW, while the cutter deftly landed on the inner half to deal with hitters hoping for velocity. Think of it this way: When looking for speed, Cameron teased batters with a 92/93 mph four-seamer just away, and then gave them a strike inside, but as a cutter at 90/91. The same worked with his changeup and curve: Curveballs fell out of the zone, while the changeups stayed inside. It worked last year and it’s working now.
I cannot tell you this is here to stay. I can tell you it’s four (five?) starts of it and he’ll face another RHB-focused lineup in a start against the Astros next, followed by STL and @TBR after. That looks like the right schedule to take a chance on Cameron coasting in QS leagues for a long while. (View Game Card)
Let’s see how every other SP did Sunday:
Gage Jump (ATH) @ HOU (W) – 6.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 96 pitches.
Ayyyy that’s awesome. Now he’ll get Rockie Road and a start against the Angels, but it comes with the wrinkle that his home park is Sacré Verde. Oh. Right. I was hoping to get a little more from his secondaries in this one, too, and unfortunately, this was a four-seamer bombardment at 74% strikes and a 17% SwStr rate. Why is that bad? It’s a great heater! Definitely! I want to believe his secondaries can be the backup plan on the days the fastball isn’t working as well, and going 4/49 whiffs on sliders, changeups, sweepers, and curveballs does not inspire confidence. All of them have good enough stuff to make it work, it’s just about feel at this point. (View Game Card)
Jacob deGrom (TEX) vs CLE (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 87 pitches.
Aces gonna ace against 100% LHB. He didn’t elevate the four-seamer as much as we normally see, nor did the slider go back-foot as often, but who cares. This is great. (View Game Card)
Griffin Jax (TBR) @ MIA (ND) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 62 pitches.
The stuff is so good. The short leash is not. Come on Tampa, LET HIM LOOSE. I wonder if they would have pulled him if it were a 5-0 game instead of 1-0. Maybe they’ll learn their lesson as the pen allowed 2 ER in each of the next two frames. Also, I’m blown away that Jax is still heavily limiting his four-seamer and cutter (five each), despite having the dream Ras Pack available to him. Sure, use the changeup and sweeper too, but why are you just leaving those on the shelf? Don’t you see what Rasmussen is doing with them? (View Game Card)
Rhett Lowder (CIN) @ STL (ND) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 70 pitches.
Ayyyy, he’s back! And clearly rusty in this Still ILL! That third frame went Walk, Strikeout, Strikeout, Walk, Strikeout, as his outfielders found grass that needed picking, and infielders ran out of pebbles to kick. Obviously hold off on Lowder until we see it, but there’s a dark horse chance for decency vs. ARI next if you’re grasping at grass straws. (View Game Card)
Michael Soroka (ARI) vs WSN (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 100 pitches.
What a weird one. Soroka’s curveball feel was missing and his changeup returned just 50% strikes, but Soroka nailed a trio of fastballs down-and-gloveside for three strikeouts, while Koufax was as kind as ever. No reason to stop this now. (View Game Card)
Sandy Alcantara (MIA) vs TBR (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 90 pitches.
Whiffs hath returned on the four-seamer! And changeups! They are…oh wait. Not great. Low strike rate + 3/6 hits on BIP. Welp, the rest earned outs as the sinker, cutter, four-seamer did work, and we’re happy we got good Sandy here. Still a HIPSTER, sadly. (View Game Card)
Ranger Suarez (BOS) @ NYY (ND) – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 90 pitches.
Whoaaaa a Golden Goal from Suarez?! Against the Yankes?! Hot dang, look at you! He got away with many heaters to LHB, but jammed the cutter inside to RHB effectively, and earned whiffs across all his main offerings, suggesting his sequencing was on point as they whiffed guessing the wrong offering. I’m buying that Ranger is in a great rhythm and letting this ride. I’m kinda amazed that he holds a 3.18 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 24% strikeout rate. Then again, he hasn’t had a single game with 2 ER or 3 ER all year. Is he The Great Undulator of modern times? (View Game Card)
Cam Schlittler (NYY) vs BOS (ND) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 92 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. The velocity is 97/98 mph again and his real issue last time out was the four-seamer command down the pipe, which was corrected by locating the four-seamer way above the strikezone. A lot. It propelled a poor 50% strike rate, but just one hit came off the pitch (a heater down the pipe to a LHB, proving his point), and I’ll take it. If only the other two pitches he tossed down the middle (a pair of cutters to RHB) weren’t also hit. (View Game Card)
Shane Baz (BAL) @ TOR (L) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 81 pitches.
Oh hey! Baz located his curveball beautifully for a second straight start + his cutter to RHB was more accurate and he kept his heater up to both LHB and RHB. Okay, then why was it a bad game? Because his pitches are generally too hittable. Meanwhile, he’s at 95 mph on his fastball and features less extension. I’m still out. (View Game Card)
Luis Castillo (SEA) @ DET (ND) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 100 pitches.
Is this a full-on six-man rotation now for the Mariners? It will be for at least one more as the team is without an off-day until next Monday, allowing Castillo to face the Nationals on Saturday. You’ve seen Castillo allow just two ER total in his last three appearances (twice piggybacking with Bryce), and he’s also sporting 96 mph these days (not the 94/95 that we all hated), locating that heater in the upper third with ease. The changeup filled up the zone for strikes against LHB with 2/22 whiffs (meh), and he may have some trouble against the LHB-heavy Nats, so I’d be a little careful leaning into the recent stretch. Not impossible, of course, but don’t forget the horrible floor. (View Game Card)
Trevor McDonald (SFG) @ CHC (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 87 pitches.
We’re getting closer to the pitch mix we’re looking for, stealing 10% sinker usage for 10% slider usage, though that may not always work when the slider is as loose around the plate as it was here. I’d be cautious in a repeat matchup against the Cubs next weekend. (View Game Card)
Jameson Taillon (CHC) vs SFG (ND) – 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 35 pitches.
Taillon left this one with a hamstring strain (he’s IL bound) and that’s all kinds of frustrating. Javier Assad got a surprise pearl and performed admirably acorss 6.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 72 pitches. Did I say admirably? I meant like a stud. It was a combination of high groundball rates in Wrigley + the worst offense in the majors, allowing him to go nearly 60% fastballs at a hilarious 80%+ strike rate combined, and I simply cannot endorse this against proper offenses if he sticks in the rotation. Suitman whispers into my ear Ah, right. Matthew Boyd is on the verge of returning, conveniently slotting into Taillon’s spot. Sorry, Assad. No repeat outing against the Giants or Rockie Road for you. (View Game Card)
Michael McGreevy (STL) vs CIN (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 83 pitches.
That’s his fourth-highest strikeout total of the season. Is McGreevy making a run at this year’s Spider-Man? Up to you if that’s good enough for @MIn, KCR, MIA next. I think the ratios are not destined to live at 3.00 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. (View Game Card)
Bryce Elder (ATL) vs PIT (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 88 pitches.
Ah, so we’re just going to act like that Fenway start never happened. Got it. All we can do is shake our heads and continue with this Vargas Rule despite sinkers, sliders, and four-seamers combining for 55% strikes on 66 thrown. HOW. (View Game Card)
Bubba Chandler (PIT) @ ATL (L) – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 88 pitches.
Whoaaaaa, Bubba gets the Gold Star with a beautiful line against one of the best offenses around. You may believe having an opener solved his problems (1 hit, 0 walks through five frames! Yes, a Careful, Icarus in the seventh following back-to-back walks with both inherited runners scoring), though I’m not so inclined. His command is still terrible. His fastball is unruly, the slider isn’t globbing down-and-gloveside, and the changeup never hit the spot it wanted to land against LHB. Watch, he’s going to face the Marlins next and it’ll be a far worse outing than this one. I hope not, but this isn’t the TIARA removing outing it looks like. (View Game Card)
Connor Prielipp (MIN) vs KCR (L) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 77 pitches.
I was hoping for more. Yes, he was chased from this game in a tough fifth frame, and those strikeouts are lucious, but the changeup and slider were not the pitches we want them to be. Those strikeouts were a product of his 82/83 mph curveball stepping up in two-strike counts, and while I think that pitch can be legit, I’m not sold that Prielipp will suddenly favor it over the other two, nor that it can be a consistent weapon start-to-start. There’s still hope given his strong four-seamer command upstairs at 95 mph, and it could be a turnaround vs. STL and/or @TEX, though I wouldn’t base that off this outing. (View Game Card)
Sean Manaea (NYM) @ SDP (W) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 66 pitches.
If you leaned into San Diego’s failures against LHP and Manaea’s Win opportunity as an opener, you were rewarded. If you did this for the ratios or strikeouts, this ain’t it. A classic Dusty Donut and I have some bad news for you: Manaea’s 92 mph velocity has fallen back down to 89+ mph. Oh no. Yuuuup. No need to chase this with Hotlanata up next. (View Game Card)
Emmet Sheehan (LAD) vs LAA (L) – 1.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 49 pitches.
This wasn’t an injury, but a product of inefficiency. The Dodgers didn’t want to overwork Sheehan after Madrigal forced him to throw fourteen pitches only to walk him on a close slider up-and-away. It didn’t help that three other batters averaged six pitches to end their PA, and we’re best to flat-out ignore this one with a huff. Whatareyagonnado. (View Game Card)
Shane Drohan (MIL) @ COL (W) – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 83 pitches.
Oh snap, then let him go 83 pitches! Huge thanks to Coors for allowing the Brewers to grab an 8-3 lead and make it an easy decision to leave in Drohan as long as possible. It makes me inclined to believe he’s sticking around and I’m kinda down for the start against the Phillies. I wish it weren’t Hotlanata after, in addition to still being hazy about his rotation spot after. Hard to glean much more from this being Colorado n all, but I am happy to see him embrace breakers as much as possible, and that pitch count is the most significant part. (View Game Card)
Kyle Freeland (COL) vs MIL (ND) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 89 pitches.
A bit of a Careful, Icarus for Freeland with 1 ER after five frames and two hits with an RBI led to a hook. Why are we still hanging out here, let’s move on. (View Game Card)
Jack Flaherty (DET) vs SEA (ND) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 87 pitches.
I gotta hand it to Flaherty – he’s returned 29 strikeouts across his last four starts now, and this outing boasted his second-highest whiff total of the season. He’s getting a few more whiffs than expected on his four-seamer, which was exceptional at 76% strikes, and an even split of CSW for a 35% clip. They also allowed a trio of hits, and continue to be the biggest pain point, especially without his curve and slider returning the high number of strikes they need to (5/15 on curveballs is terrible). The slider was much better, though, with two ticks more velo without losing much movement at all + stellar precision gloveside and down to RHB. Is it enough to hold? Not for me, as @CLE follows, where that slider is less effective and Flaherty will require the hook to thrive. (View Game Card)
David Sandlin (CHW) @ PHI (ND) – 3.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 81 pitches.
The White Sox gave us the gift of an opener for Sandlin, and while the strikeouts flowed via an incredibly high two-strike rate (81% of the batters he faced!), he was a volatile arm batter-to-batter. It was painful to see a curveball with heavily reduced bite at the cost of zero velocity gains, and I don’t love seeing his extension lose 2-3 clicks (is that the new norm or just one weird game?). Now it’s the Dodgers and I don’t see a reason to hold. Sigh. (View Game Card)
José Soriano (LAA) @ LAD (W) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 88 pitches.
It’s not fair getting the Dodgers twice in five starts and after all the ruckus since the end of April, he nearly pulled this one off after just 1 ER through five frames. Careful, Icarus. I’m glad the four-seamer is returning a high strike rate again (67%), though it’s a bit concerning to see him down to 95/96 mph instead of flirting with 98 mph routinely. He’s just not as effective without high velocity. I’d say we give it a shot against the Rays as our last hope. (View Game Card)
Cade Cavalli (WSN) @ ARI (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 88 pitches.
Womp womp. He didn’t get the breakers down enough, leading to four hits on pitches over the plate, a pair in 0-2 counts, one of which left the park off Corbin’s bat in the first. He really struggled to put batters away overall, and it wasn’t his game. Not to say that he demands success each time – remember, the fastballs are Empty Velocity, evidenced by 2/43 whiffs between them at 96+ mph – and even with SEA + @TBR up next, you shouldn’t treat Cavalli as a lock to perform. (View Game Card)
Mike Burrows (HOU) vs ATH (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 97 pitches.
We’ve gotten two starts from Burrows we can definitively label as “helpful.” What really would have been helpful is avoiding him entirely this year. We’re thirteen starts in and his feel for both his changeup and slider returned a 50% strike rate. Yikes. (View Game Card)
Kevin Gausman (TOR) vs BAL (ND) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 93 pitches.
Everything was gravy until the fifth, where he allowed a pair of HRs. That’s how you have a 1.00 WHIP on a bad ER day. It would have helped if his splitter performed better, sure, but sometimes it’s just a simple case of not today. (View Game Card)
Randy Vásquez (SDP) vs NYM (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 75 pitches.
That marks his seventh in eight games without reaching ten whiffs, after doing so in all of his first five. And this was the Mets! It was a fun moment, Randy. (View Game Card)
Aaron Nola (PHI) vs CHW (ND) – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 98 pitches.
Welp, the 93/94 mph dream is dead. He’s back around 91 mph and change on the sinker and 92 mph on the four-seamer, while the much-improved fastball command wasn’t there. I will blame it a bit on facing a LHB-heavy lineup (thanks for NOTHING, Chicago), and yet, Nola should be able to handle that far better. I’m out. (View Game Card)
Joey Cantillo (CLE) @ TEX (L) – 5.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 97 pitches.
Cantillo’s velocity was down 1-2 ticks and his changeup returned just a 52% strike rate, though it did come through in a trio of two-strike counts. This puts him a 4.57 ERA and 1.51 WHIP for the year, fueled by his 12% walk rate. You can do better. (View Game Card)
Game of the Day
Will Warren vs. Gavin Williams – I wonder if Gavin will go sinker-heavy again.
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 WJ/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)
