Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Wednesday 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.
Randy Dobnak (KCR) @ MIN (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 101 pitches.
You may think all I enjoy are these young flamethrowers with ridiculous stuff, but that would ignore that I was a sinkerballer who made his college career jamming RHB inside and off the plate. There’s an art to it, and I’ll always enjoy watching a pitcher attack batters with sinkers around the zone effectively, giving their team legit innings when no one else was picking up the phone. Randy Dobnak gave me a silly grin as I watched him casually hurl 90/91 mph sinkers incessantly to Twins batters like he was your friend’s uncle who claims he used to pitch in the minors but has a bad back, flip breakers (I think a sweeper, curve, and slider, but let’s just call it the breaker) for strikes, and find a trio of outs with changeups that rarely found the zone. It looked like he was done after six, but nay, at 86 pitches, he came back out for the seventh, and stamped 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 101 pitches (W) into the books. It’s so cool.
My favorite part of this start? He sat 91/92 mph for nearly the whole game, and reared back for 94.6 mph on the 1-2 pitch that ended his outing at pitch 101 – his hardest of the night. I still got it.
I’m going to tell you exactly what you already know. Blame it on the Twins with a hefty serving of Koufax. I’d say more than half of his outs in play came off incredibly hittable pitches and poor swings, such as two of his first three outs coming on 2-0 and 3-0 fastballs that had no business being swung at. They eventually got some wood on it and lifted balls to the outfield, but the infield vacuumed up everything with at least one hop to it in front of them and that’s your ballgame. I had to rush to the clubhouse and personally slap the Gold Star to his chest. Obviously.
He’ll get the Twins a second time and on one hand, it’s tempting to roll the dice again. On the other, Dobnak doesn’t have a whole lot else to show them and it sure looked like hitters were making the adjustment in the later innings. I truly love seeing a guy like Randy say “Hold My Beer” and sling seven shutout as struggling stuff-first pitchers look on, slack-jawed, but you know this isn’t something to trust. (View Game Card)
Let’s see how every other SP did Wednesday:
Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI) @ PIT (W) – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 105 pitches.
Remember that one start where he was a bit off with his command? I expressed concern and I was foolish. Yes, he was off, but it was so off and I should have outlined that it was a small adjustment away in a moment of recalibration after resetting the machine. Erod’s four-seamer and cutter were impeccable up-and-in to RHB, paired with textbook down-and-away changeups, and that’s really it. He was unable to close the door in two-strike counts despite getting there with more than half of the batters he faced, but they all still ended in outs, save for one flare single on a super high 1-2 heater. Baseball is so dumb. We keep riding this and yes, I’d consider the Dodgers next weekend on the menu at this point. (View Game Card)
Matthew Boyd (CHC) @ STL (ND) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 89 pitches.
Despite not quite getting the pitch separation we want to see, Boyd attacked with all the strikes and the Cardinals did little to damage it. Thanks, Busch Stadium. I get the sense that this would have been far worse in Wrigley, and guess what? He’s hosting the Dodgers on Monday. Noooooope. For those in a weekly league, I understand still starting him for the two-step that includes a date in Kansas City after, FWIW. (View Game Card)
Eric Lauer (LAD) vs SEA (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 18% CSW, 87 pitches.
Since joining the Dodgers, Lauer holds a 2.96 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 15% strikeout rate, and a 5-0 record in nine games. He’s seen the sixth in each of his last six games, going a full 6.0 IP all but once. And never fanning more than five batters. Very true, but for the price of free, Lauer has been a gold mine. Guess we gotta keep it going against the Cubs, right? He hasn’t allowed more than 3 ER with his new squad. (View Game Card)
Chris Sale (ATL) @ NYM (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 94 pitches.
Aces gonna ace for another King Cole. I dunno what you want me to say. He’s dope and makes us feel dope. Go team. Please don’t cut my uniform. (View Game Card)
Dustin May (STL) vs CHC (ND) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 70 pitches.
Was it the best Dustin start? Nah. Was it still productive with a legit cutter and command hovering the edges? Sure was. He gets a true test against the Yankees on Monday and while I’d be cautious there, he could still pull through, especially if Koufax is the slightest bit kind. (View Game Card)
Ian Seymour (TBR) vs TEX (W) – 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 71 pitches.
He had an opener and everyone was happy. And despite the changeup failing to be in its ideal spot to RHB, it still returned a whopping 47% CSW at 30% usage to RHB. I still got it. I wonder if the Rays will shift his usage/trade him away at the deadline, given how much they’ve displayed their lack of faith in Seymour as a long-term option. Update: McShane was pulled early from his start with a back injury. Seymour could be the #4 starter now. (View Game Card)
Zack Littell (WSN) vs TOR (ND) – 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 81 pitches.
Look at Littell, casting a steel glare at Seymour when they both returned 4.2 IP shutout but Seymour gets a dub and Littell not only didn’t have an opener, but was pulled one out away from leaving the game with the potential Win. He walked two of his last three. That last one was a ten-pitch at-bat! Don’t end a man’s night like that! Anyway, it’s the same ole Dancing With The Disco bit with splitters and sliders/sweepers and I’m not interested save for a desperate dub chance. (View Game Card)
Brady Singer (CIN) vs CLE (L) – 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 100 pitches.
He keeps doing what Singer has always done – low sliders, high(er) sinkers, which are actually truly high now for some reason – and if not for an error, then a misplayed fielder’s choice for two baserunners instead of zero to kick off the fifth, he may have gone a full five without a blemish. Instead, it led to Singer walking in two runs off the books, with a single and three walks after the error. Oh, he’s also throwing more cutters inside to LHB these days, so that’s cool. I wonder if this was his last start with the Reds… (View Game Card)
Joey Cantillo (CLE) @ CIN (ND) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 89 pitches.
Why was this just four innings? Because the fourth frame took 31 pitches and included a 10-pitch walk, and each of his other four batters averaged more than five pitches apiece to get through. The good news? He’s still sitting 92/93 mph and leaning curve. The bad news? 1/11 changeup whiffs. Can’t do that, Cantillo, gotta have the money maker or you get bounced before you can plead for a Win. (View Game Card)
Griffin Canning (SDP) vs COL (W) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 40% CSW, 40 pitches.
Oh hey! A cheap Win against Rockie Road with Kyle Hart pitching well to open the game for 2.2 innings! It really gets the blood flowing, you know? (View Game Card)
Trey Yesavage (TOR) @ WSN (W) – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 97 pitches.
I’m sorry, it took a while for me to get this out because my hands were stuck up in the air after watching this out. He doesn’t know where his pitches are going, y’all. Is the stuff that nasty? I don’t think so…? You know the floor, you know the 3.68 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 23% strikeout rate across his last eight games (that includes his seven walk game in 1.2 IP!) and you can do whatever you like. Me? I like not having pitchers on my roster who are pure chaos. (View Game Card)
Cam Schlittler (NYY) @ CHW (ND) – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 93 pitches.
Aces gonna ace with an 88 mph curveball. He spiked it a ton and ended with just 47% strikes, but it returned seven whiffs on eight swings, y’all. It’s nasty. (View Game Card)
Christian Scott (NYM) vs ATL (L) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 98 pitches.
On paper, this looks like the outing that I should be stoked about. However, I’m not convinced he’s found it. This was the first game of six frames for Scott and I’m honestly surprised he got there after allowing three hits with a strikeout to lead the sixth frame, including surrendering the go-ahead run. He stuck in the game, earned an out, a walk to load the bases, and even at 93 pitches, he was left in to tough it out against Dubón, who flew out to center. Props to the Mets for giving him the experience many young arms need, and not as many props to Scott for returning a 22% CSW on 18 sweepers and a heavy reliance on four-seamer success that doesn’t add up to a pitcher we can trust consistently in the second half. There’s an argument to be made that this was a huge confidence booster and propels him forward + a start against the Guardians looks great at first glance. Then again, his LHB approach is awfully wonky, and he may see only those lefties next week. I’m holding my breath, y’all. (View Game Card)
Jacob Lopez (ATH) vs BOS (ND) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 97 pitches.
Hot dang, look at you! A Gallows Pole for Lopez, who showcased his August 2025 approach for the third straight start. We’re talking cutters up-and-away and coming back over the plate to RHB + four-seamers falling off the plate in the same upper corner, and breakers careening over the plate for a 31% CSW and 76% strikes. Don’t forget, this was Sacré Verde and the hot-hitting Red Sox are far better against LHP than RHP. It makes you tempted for a pick-up, doesn’t it? The bad news: He gets a poor park in his next three games. First, it’s @CIN, then home twice vs. TBR and TEX. It could work. It could. You’re desperate for something, I can feel it. JLo may be it. (View Game Card)
Sean Manaea (NYM) vs ATL (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 89 pitches.
It was a doubleheader against Atlanta and Manaea was stellar with four-seamers sitting 92 mph (not 90/91!) and upstairs to RHB, while the sinker and sweeper helped as much as they could. I’m still super weirded out by his approach and hittability, but it’s possible the velo sticks and has success against the Guardians up next. Fine, PL Bot. I GET IT. A little. (View Game Card)
Logan Webb (SFG) vs MIL (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 96 pitches.
Ayyyy, more successful changeups and sinker down + Canibal McSanchez up top against LHB. This is Webb, alright. (View Game Card)
Grayson Rodriguez (LAA) vs HOU (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 98 pitches.
Whoa, that’s a season high in both strikeouts and whiffs for Grayson, upping his changeup usage again, boasting 96/97 mph at 7.2 feet extension and 16/17″ of vert (up an inch!), and still failing massively to wrangle his breakers. We’re getting closer, y’all. If he can consistently locate one of his slider or curveball, we’re in business. I wonder if he’ll try out a harder version of the 84/85 mph slider….like a, oh, I don’t know, a CUTTER. (View Game Card)
Patrick Sandoval (BOS) @ ATH (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 92 pitches.
Wow, this kinda worked…? All four of his main offerings – slider, sinker, four-seamer, and changeup – returned at least a 19% SwStr rate, while he blasted that heater into the zone for 94% strikes and avoided LHB as much as possible with his slider at a poor 52% strike rate. He’s usually a slider/changeup guy who does everything he can to avoid batters making contact on his fastballs, but now they are having some success and it’s…weird. Let’s wait one more in a start against the White Sox, alright? (View Game Card)
AJ Smith-Shawver (ATL) @ NYM (ND) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 69 pitches.
I was excited to watch AJSS in his long-awaited return from TJS and this was…disappointing. But he sat 97.2 mph on his fastball! His slider is now a 90/91 mph cutter! And how many whiffs did he earn? …Two. Yeaaaah. This was 60% four-seamers with 1/40 whiffs at that high velocity and his other offerings did little to complement the fastball across the season debut. Sure, you could have called this a rehab start n all, but what are we to expect next time to be much different? His fastball? You’re right! It should be slower since he’ll be without the adrenaline of making his return, and he’ll have a longer leash. Well that’s not what I meant. Does it matter? …No. (View Game Card)
Thomas Pannone (MIL) @ SFG (L) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 56 pitches.
It was a bullpen game with Chad Patrick following up with 2.0 IP of 2 ER ball, with both runs scoring in his third inning after a HBP and walk before his hook, kicking off a 7-run frame for the Giants. Yikes. The team wanted to give their starters an extra day of rest, that’s all. We move on. (View Game Card)
MacKenzie Gore (TEX) @ TBR (L) – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 95 pitches.
I know I’m a nerd, but I chuckled when I noticed that this was Gore’s second 9+ strikeout game since April 14th, yet he’s earned more whiffs in over half the games he’s played. To me, that highlights the luck factors of strikeouts – two-strike rate and putaway rate – and the latter was elevated in this one, with three called strikeouts on pitches right on the edges, and on four changeups to RHB, three of which I’d normally call waste pitches away. That slowball was his most effective offering of the game (his curve, slider, and cutter were highly suspect) and his foundational four-seamer went 2/50 whiffs. That’s, um, not encouraging. (View Game Card)
Tarik Skubal (DET) vs BAL (ND) – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 92 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. He left this game after an RBI single with the score of 7-1 and two men on (Careful, Icarus), and the Orioles returned five in the frame – all with two outs – and two more in the eighth to tie it, preventing Skubal from earning a Win in his final game as a Tiger (this year, at least). Baseball is a cruel sport. (View Game Card)
Jared Jones (PIT) vs ARI (L) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 77 pitches.
The real damage here was a two-run blast on a blegh slider over the plate in the fourth, and the rest was easy peasy. I’m not as in love with this as I want to be – he’s not dominating with the four-seamer, nor painting the top of the zone red as he used to – but it’s still far better than the early tumbles that saw him return five innings just once in his first seven games back. The bad news? He threw 73-81 pitches in six of those seven games and has stuck in that exact range since, even during his five-inning outing + three six-inning games since. It could be where he’s anchored all year. (View Game Card)
Hayden Wesneski (HOU) @ LAA (W) – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 79 pitches.
Oh hey! Den! If you recall, Wesneski had a ridiculous breaker on the Cubs, was traded to the Astros, had a brief moment, then got hurt. Now he’s back and throwing 81 mph sweepers with the same wicked -18″ horizontal sweep, but not a whole lot else to get hyped about. Well, the 88 mph cutter is cool, but 92-94 mph fastballs with deadzone movement is not. I’m not interested here. (View Game Card)
Emerson Hancock (SEA) @ LAD (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 92 pitches.
We may not see another game from Hancock in a Mariner uniform and I wonder if it’ll mean his confounding nature of strange four-seamers and ultra-sink sinkers gets tweaked. Nick, he’s already tweaking things! Ohhhhh look at that curveball! 20% usage (not 3%), favored 29% of the time to LHB with a 61% strike rate! It’s not the sweeper (this has -7″ drop) and at 76/77 mph, it’s not the greatest breaker to suddenly restore your faith in a smooth conclusion to the season. Back to the point: If he gets dealt, I wonder if the low 8″ vert four-seamer continues or if the arm angle comes back to be the guy we adored so much in April. Why? He’s allowed 6 ER in his last five games! Just three games all year above 3 ER! True. Because he’s averaging fewer than nine whiffs per game since May 20th in eleven starts after beating that mark in all but one of his first ten outings. (View Game Card)
Gabriel Hughes (COL) @ SDP (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 18% CSW, 76 pitches.
Awwww, I was really pulling for you here. He was Singled Out with a HBP for all three runs in the fourth, but this also came with a worse cut-fastball at just 91.5 mph – not 93 mph – and failed to get the pitch inside to LHB. Sigh. It’s not the toughest opponents with vs. TBR, @ARI, @SFG up next, but that includes a start in Coors and a dude who has very little track record of making this work. FINE. (View Game Card)
Joe Ryan (MIN) vs KCR (L) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 93 pitches.
Aces gonna get back to 93.6 mph. Phew. He didn’t spot the four-seamer as well as we’ve seen and he got Singled Out a touch, but all I really care about is that the man is healthy. Let it ride. (View Game Card)
Davis Martin (CHW) vs NYY (ND) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 106 pitches.
He’s been a menace to the roster for a while, so why would you think this one would be better? To his credit, after a bamboozlin’ in the first that included a Jones three-run oppo-taco off a hanging changeup, Martin pitched five shutout frames to keep his crew in the game, and it was just enough for them to win in extras. Not to his credit, that’s his third 4 ER game in his last four. Let him go. (View Game Card)
Trevor Rogers (BAL) @ DET (ND) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 94 pitches.
Rogers fell down to 93 mph (not 94 mph) and failed to get his four-seamer upstairs per usual, while the sweeper jumped ship and left him stranded with just 47% strikes on the night. How dare he. I’m expecting the Orioles to trade the fella (they are just 2.5 games back in the Wild Card as I type this, though…), but if they don’t, he’ll get LAA, @MIN, @TBR to get his mojo back. I’m banking that he will. (View Game Card)
Jesús Luzardo (PHI) @ MIA (ND) – 6.1 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 100 pitches.
Aces gonna hate me for jinxing them. Luzardo was great through four, then lofted a terrible 3-2 changeup with two outs in the fifth for a three-run blast. I was physically in pain when he threw it. But hey, he got the final out, escaped the sixth on a strike-em out, throw-em out, and got the PQS–oh right. They sent him out there at 83 pitches for the seventh (understandably). Welp, he allowed two singles and a walk, and of course all of them scored. That’s Baseball, Suzyn. Yeah, that’s also PAIN. (View Game Card)
Ryan Gusto (MIA) vs PHI (ND) – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 79 pitches.
To make matters the same because it can’t really get worse, Gusto gets @ATL, LAA, @CIN up next, and let’s be honest – there’s no way you’re starting him for that Angels start. (View Game Card)
Game of the Day
Eury Pérez vs. Nolan McLean – You’re gonna see a whole lot of heaters and plenty of strikeouts. Enjoy.
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 Zhifei Zhou/Unsplash | Featured image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)
