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 Playback.tv weekday mornings from 10 am-12 pm ET.
Michael McGreevy (STL) vs TEX (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 99 pitches.
We have another MLB debut, this time on the Cardinals, who wanted to give another day of rest for their starters and elected to toss Michael McGreevy against the Rangers. Not a matchup you’d seek out for your premier outing in the bigs, but McGreevy had one of the more impressive lines of any debut this year as he sealed a Win: 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 99 pitches. It was a spot start with no expectations to see him regularly, but it’s important to establish an understanding before we see him again.
He’s a Toby at best. What. Yeaaah, the slider/cutter are cool but not filth, and he relies on sinkers in the low 90s to generate his outs – you likely predicted that seeing just three strikeouts and seven full frames (sinkers = quicker at-bats as they are hit into play more often = potential for efficiency). It’s the classic St. Louis philosophy and that may be worth something down the road in deeper leagues. For now? We take a look, nod, and ignore him until the rotation spot is locked, the matchups are strong, and the ability is confirmed after a start or two.
Let’s see how every other SP did Wednesday:
Logan Webb (SFG) vs OAK (W) – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 106 pitches.
Look at Webb go, tossing a shutout against an Oakland offense that has woken up across the summer. And guess what? THE CHANGEUP LOVE IS BACK. We’re talking 51% changeups for oh-so-many outs and a 68% strike rate + sinkers returning double-digit called strikes as a result. Sure, the slider ain’t what it used to be, but when you think of consistent Webb, this is the mold.
Jake Woodford (PIT) @ HOU (ND) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 71 pitches.
Uhhhh. Here’s your Gold Star, Amish Mustang. I have to give him credit for his sweeper locations around the edges, but that’s about it. This ain’t it.
Kyle Freeland (COL) @ LAA (ND) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 91 pitches.
Ayyyy, it worked! Even if I didn’t believe it! Blame it on the Angels, and the few skills that I’d latch onto mean he’s a clear sit with the Mets coming to Coors up next, but at least we can be happy for the guy and the handful of y’all who took the chance.
Zac Gallen (ARI) vs WSN (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 91 pitches.
Mmmmm, love it. Four-seamers were down like the good ole days + changeups & curves were clouding batters’ judgement down and in town. We even saw some effective sliders in there, too. I’m fine with 93/94 mph Gallen (I’d love 95+, but it’s not necessary) and we ride into battle with @CLE and PHI next on the docket.
Ross Stripling (OAK) @ SFG (L) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 78 pitches.
17/17 outs by way of the BIP is kinda hilarious. HAISTBMBWT?! You don’t need me to tell you that this isn’t the garden to plant your tomatoes.
Dylan Cease (SDP) vs LAD (W) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 101 pitches.
Yeah, alright. Aces gonna ace. That’s four starts of dominance + this was the Dodgers + he’s in such a good groove that I have to believe something has been tweaked or fixed that has brought him back to the golden age. He’ll likely be ranked around 14/15 on Monday? His slider feel is just too good.
Davis Daniel (LAA) vs COL (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 85 pitches.
It’s Rockie Road and Davis featured strong pitch separation to take full advantage. Now back to the wire as he heads to the Bronx.
Brayan Bello (BOS) vs SEA (ND) – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 98 pitches.
It’s all coming together as planned. Kinda. This is the Mariners, after all, and seeing him get Singled Out a bit is frustrating, though the slider/sinker/changeup feel is all there and has been for a few weeks now. You’re gonna like this Bello for the final two months so keep riding this train.
Freddy Peralta (MIL) vs ATL (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 101 pitches.
Muuuuuch better. A proper BSB from Peralta with his four-seamer up and sliders down. Still a heavy variety of wasted pitches, but much more precision outside of non-competitive offerings.
Pablo López (MIN) @ NYM (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 103 pitches.
The sweeper and changeup cooked. We’re so back.
Chris Sale (ATL) @ MIL (ND) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 100 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. The WHIP is dumb and his changeup command is suddenly also on point. What a phenomenal season that too few are talking about. It’s a 2.71 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 13-3 record, 32% strikeout rate without a single day on the IL. What a stud.
George Kirby (SEA) @ BOS (ND) – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 95 pitches.
You have to love Kirby throwing a knuckleball on his first pitch of the game to honor Tim Wakefield. You don’t have to love this pedestrian line as he didn’t have the new approach that made me enamored: breakers for strikes, heaters up for whiffs and surprising outs. So it goes, Fenway isn’t the most fun place to pitch. We move on.
Roddery Muñoz (MIA) @ TBR (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 78 pitches.
Well now. Sure, Blame it on the Rays, and his sinker isn’t destined to survive in the zone nearly as well moving forward, but the slider did return a 42% CSW and he’s hurling 95/96 mph four-seamers. He’ll host the Reds next and who knows, maybe the slider takes off and he can continue to excel with his fastballs. He’s not at a level of legit Spice Girl arm, though. At least not until I fall for a second pitch inside his arsenal.
Brady Singer (KCR) @ CHW (W) – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 89 pitches.
Thanks, White Sox. You’ll make a breakout season continue on a night where he doesn’t have his best stuff. And no, I don’t think Singer will hold onto a sub 3.00 ERA for the remaining two months, thanks for asking. He’s the same guy he has always been.
Grayson Rodriguez (BAL) vs TOR (W) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 96 pitches.
Aces gonna get a Dusty Donut. He’s doing it! HE HAS PITCH SEPARATION! Then why was this a VPQS? Because life is dumb and the pitch separation wasn’t all the time. We’re seeing the signs of Rodriguez taking those next steps and I’m here for it…but I may be too high on Rodriguez on The List, assuming that a full breakout will happen across the next two months. His ratios haven’t been as stellar as others and while he’s still an ace, he’s likely not flirting with the Top 10.
Nestor Cortes (NYY) @ PHI (W) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 99 pitches.
Nestor sat a tick up here and performed well given the elite Phillies offense. He’s a Toby who hopes to return back into a Holly and if his sweeper and cutter can return 10 whiffs between them consistently moving forward, I’m sure he will.
MacKenzie Gore (WSN) @ ARI (L) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 98 pitches.
His four-seamer shape is still great, the velocity is not (94/95 mph, not 96/97) and his secondaries aren’t doing enough to support it. Sigh. I have such high hopes for Gore, but he’s not taking that step forward or even redeeming the gains he already had this year. I’m absolutely putting my foot in my mouth for suggesting he’d be a player to break out in the second half. It’s not over yet! Very true, but you don’t need to hold Gore at the moment, unless you have to chase a high ceiling.
Kyle Hendricks (CHC) @ CIN (W) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 73 pitches.
He got the Win but at what cost? Don’t do this to yourselves.
Clayton Kershaw (LAD) @ SDP (L) – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 83 pitches.
Our fears have been realized. Kershaw is not the stable Holly arm we want. His slider isn’t the vicious nullifier it once was, the heater still has 17-18″ of iVB on it, but doesn’t have the precision or zip it once did, and even the curve doesn’t have the same spin we saw pre-2022 (sticky stuff?). He can be a Toby, absolutely, but a day without a single punchout (“HAISTBMBWT?!”) should go a long way to tell you how the name is all that’s left of TATIAGA.
Framber Valdez (HOU) vs PIT (W) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 10 Ks – 21 Whiffs, 43% CSW, 92 pitches.
That’s a Golden Goal for Valdez and his curve, change, and sinker look so good…except for his sinker in the second inning. All four hits in that frame came off hittable sinkers (one off a good changeup for a single), displaying, for a small window of time, Framber’s largest weakness. That dang sinker can be such a gift when left up and over the plate. Why are you the way you are?
Taj Bradley (TBR) vs MIA (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 94 pitches.
The Marlins? Seriously?! Three pitches dealt most of the damage, one of each pitch Bradley throws. A high heater that I can’t believe was launched over the fence, a floated 3-2 splitter for a double, and a terrible 1-2 cutter over the plate to Burger who made it a double-patty slam. The splitter wasn’t as devastating early, nor was the four-seamer mowing down batters, and I didn’t get the same sense of overwhelming obliteration from Bradley in the other at-bats, either, which does bring a touch of concern. But we can’t forget that SP performances can often be determined by a few pitches and this was one of those nights.
Paolo Espino (TOR) @ BAL (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 16% CSW, 75 pitches.
Did you expect anything different? Why?
Cristopher Sánchez (PHI) vs NYY (L) – 5.2 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 94 pitches.
The Yankees happened. He also didn’t have his best precision with changeups and sinkers and it was a questionable start given the circumstances. Now it’s the Dodgers and ugggggh that’s tough. I’d personally play it conservatively, but he did earn 19 whiffs and could add a touch of precision here to make that one serviceable, too. Stupid DJ and his six RBI…
Drew Thorpe (CHW) vs KCR (L) – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 79 pitches.
So at least the four-seamer wasn’t the culprit here. Nay, it was his slider & cutter. You know, the pitches that intrigued me in Thorpe and that I want him to throw more instead of the four-seamer. NICK, WHAT DID YOU DO? Nothing! I promise! He just threw them terribly, going 2/25 CSW, while the changeup was still a great pitch. Maybe give this a pause for a moment?
Andrew Heaney (TEX) @ STL (L) – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 86 pitches.
Bleeeeegh. I danced with Heaney twice in a row and got burned both times. The heater got hit over the plate and the slider wasn’t as vicious. Sigh. Welp, no reason to hold for Houston and beyond at this point.
Luis Severino (NYM) vs MIN (L) – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 62 pitches.
Velocity fell to 94/95 (not 97), secondaries were blegh, and I’m eating ice cream for breakfast. Because of Severino? Pfffft, nah I needed some more Ben & Jerry’s in my life. I’M AN ADULT.
Nick Lodolo (CIN) vs CHC (L) – 5.2 IP, 8 ER, 11 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 103 pitches.
The secondaries allowed a ton of doubles over the plate + the fastball got tagged and you could say he was Singled Out a bit in this one. Put your emotions aside, though. It’s the Marlins next. We can all have our theories about what’s really going on, but the odds are very much in your favor to start Lodolo there. We can talk after.
Game of the Day
Sonny Gray vs. Shota Imanaga – I would love to see the rebound tour begin for Gray + I want more vert on that Imanaga heater.
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)
Maybe we post the roundup before noon, hmm?