Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Friday 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.
Paul Skenes (PIT) @ CIN (ND) – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 100 pitches.
We’ve been telling ya’ll not to worry about Paul Skenes. The 2023 first overall pick, the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Award winner, and the 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner has done enough to deserve our trust and some leeway to work through struggles and misfortune.
He’s still throwing hard, with plenty of strikes, while racking up whiffs and punchouts, but after Friday’s disappointment in Cincinnati where he went 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 whiffs, 28% CSW, 100 pitches (ND), it’s time for a deep dive behind the scenes to figure out what’s wrong.
Maybe that disastrous Opening Day was a bad omen we should have heeded, as he’s pitched to a 5.18 ERA across his last 14 starts. He has seven starts with 4+ runs this year (including a career-worst seven earned runs on July 1st). Compare that to the mere five starts with 4+ runs in his first two seasons (55 starts), eclipsing four just once (something he’s done five times this year, and now in consecutive starts). That’s what’s happened, and it’s grabbing headlines, but what’s the cause?
Everyone has pointed to Skenes’ declining velocity. He averaged 98.2 mph with his four-seamer in 2024 and bumped that up to 98.8 in 2025, but has seen it fall to 96.9 mph this year, dipping as low as 96.3 mph. Is he injured, or is he taking something off to prevent injury and command more effectively? Has it even mattered?
His fastball has never had ideal shape, but it’s noticeably changed, adding a couple of inches of iVB at the cost of armside run. You’d think, based on the results, that the reduced velo and altered shape have impaired his heater. That’s not the case. Compared to its 2025 peak, it has the same strike rate (69%), the same ICR (43%), and a higher SwStr% (17%). It holds a lower called strike rate due to a significant drop in zone rate that’s a result of increased locations above the zone, and has given up a higher rate of homers due to an increase in its HR/FB%.
All of that is to say, while the fastball appears to be worse, it hasn’t performed worse, and thus, can’t alone be blamed for his struggles this year. On Friday, the pitch induced seven whiffs with 72% strikes, and would’ve performed better if not for a ridiculous 30% foul ball rate (15 foul balls). He did serve up a long ball on a first-pitch heater located upstairs, but it otherwise dominated.
So, if it’s not the fastball, it’s gotta be his secondaries. His sweeper hasn’t been nearly as effective. Batters aren’t chasing it, leading to fewer strikes and fewer whiffs. When he does come into the zone, it limits hard contact and hits, but it’s allowed three times as many homers as it did last year. It doesn’t stop there.
His changeup is missing fewer bats and serving up louder contact. His sinker is missing fewer bats and serving up louder contact. His splitter is missing fewer bats. His slider is serving up louder contact. As you can tell, there’s a common theme.
It could be a pitch movement problem. His offspeed pitches have lost depth and run, his sinker and fastball have become more similar, and the velo decline has led to less distinct velocity bands.
It could be a location problem. Sweepers aren’t landing low or gloveside as often as they should, while changeups, splitters, and sinkers aren’t landing low or armside as often as they should.
It’s obviously a confluence of factors. With secondaries declining in both their ability to miss bats and avoid loud contact due to diminished movement and command, there’s a heavier reliance on heaters with diminished velocity, making him more predictable and easier to square up as batters aren’t in between velocity bands or failing to decipher the difference between his fastball variants. More hits, more homers, more walks. That leads to less confidence. An unwillingness to fill up the zone for fear of teeing batters up. Nibbling around the edges, leading to more walks. Trying too hard to be perfect. A vicious, self-sustaining cycle that gets worse before it gets better.
The poor luck Skenes has faced only exacerbates the struggles. A higher rate of homers on fly balls. Unsustainable BABIPs. Inherited runners coming around to score. It all just adds to the madness, frustrating both the pitcher and fantasy managers who want someone to blame other than Koufax. Ultimately, the results have been too extreme to suggest it’s all the fault of the decline of Skenes’ stuff or command.
So, what can you do? It seems crazy to bench him. He’s still striking out north of 30% of the batters he’s faced. He’s still racking up whiffs with the best of them. He did both in his outing on Friday in Cincinnati. Everything suggests better times are on the horizon, and yet we’ve been saying that for two months and it’s only gotten worse.
It’s your call. It sucks drafting a highly-touted pitcher early just for him to underperform. If you want to give him a break until he looks like himself again, go for it. If you want to see him lowered on The List or into the Probably Start tier on the streamer rankings, I don’t blame you. If I rostered him, I’d be starting him everywhere. He’s a generational pitcher facing the first adversity of his young career. He’s disappointed thus far, but we’re in the business of looking towards the future. I expect him to come out of this stronger than ever. (View Game Card)
Let’s see how every other SP did Friday:
Will Warren (NYY) @ CHC (W) – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 88 pitches.
We keep talking about who’s going to stick in the Yankees’ rotation when Carlos Rodón returns, or a rotation addition arrives at the deadline. Will it be Warren or Ryan Weathers? Warren seemed to be lagging in the race, but he continued his trend of alternating helpful outings with disasters. He turned in his best since he fanned 11 in mid-April, the last time he recorded 20+ outs. With his job on the line, Warren switched things up, following the lead of his peer, Weathers. He cut back on his heaters (-14% usage on four-seamers to 24%, -17% on sinkers to 10%) to allow his secondaries to shine. That would’ve been a questionable approach throughout the year, as he’s struggled to command them effectively, but he locked in at just the right time. Changeups landed below the zone for five whiffs while sweepers snuck in the back door vs LHB and the front door vs RHB for six called strikes. The new approach allowed his previously overused heaters to avoid the wrath of his opponents’ bats. One start is an aberration, though. I need to see Warren do this again before I can buy into it being a sustainable approach. He needed help from Koufax via 12 outs on 16 balls in play despite 63% hard contact. He induced double-digit whiffs for just the second time in his last 13 starts (4.70 ERA, 18% K% during that stretch) after doing so six times in his first nine starts (3.42 ERA, 30% K%). If he’s still in the rotation come his next scheduled start against the Red Birds, feel free to give it a try in the hopes this noticeable change leads to amazing results again. (View Game Card)
Germán Márquez (SDP) vs SFG (SV) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit, 1 BB, 2 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 70 pitches.
Bradgley Rodriguez and Yuki Matsui combined to cover the first four innings, setting Márquez up to earn a rare five-inning save, the first of his career. If Mason Miller is traded ahead of the deadline, Márquez might have a career as an old-school closer. Sitting a tick down, he has the velocity to stay in character. On a side note, I’m disappointed to see that the career-best 17-18″ iVB from his last start was merely an outlier caused by the dome at LoanDepot Park. Sigh. There goes our last hope of excitement. (View Game Card)
Janson Junk (MIA) @ NYM (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 79 pitches.
No one wants Junk to succeed more than the site that continuously rates his stuff among the best in baseball. To be fair, it’s not just us. Stuff+ has him ranked 44th among pitchers with at least 70 innings pitched. Player card adoration aside, Junk still failed to parlay his awesome stuff into comparable results. The ratios are cool, but just two whiffs? How am I supposed to keep my house cool without the breeze of bats missing balls?! I don’t think that one’s sticking. Nor do I think Junk is sticking on our fantasy squads until he does something other than filling up the zone with a bunch of…junk. C’mon…Sometimes you gotta take the easy ones! (View Game Card)
Edgardo Henriquez (LAD) vs BOS (ND) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit, 0 BBs, 1 K – 4 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 21 pitches.
The flamethrowing Henriquez is an underrated reliever. Not underrated enough to deserve his own blurb on this article about starters, though. He and Will Klein combined to open for Cole Irvin. He’s still around?! My thought exactly! The former A’s Toby who last appeared in the Majors in 2024, spent 2025 in the KBO, and 2026 toiling away with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, got a bulk relief opportunity, tossing 6 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 whiffs, 22% CSW, 102 pitches (L). This was clearly the Dodgers throwing Irvin to the wolves in an effort to lighten the pitching staff’s workload. Expect him to be DFAd before the start of their game on Saturday. (View Game Card)
Tomoyuki Sugano (COL) vs KCR (W) – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 83 pitches.
If you dared to start Sugano at home, you should check your pulse. You’re either stone cold with nerves of steel and a permanent expressionless stare, or your heart is beating out of your chest with the excitement of pulling this one off. Either way, congrats to you and Sugano. We’re rooting for ya’ll! (View Game Card)
Dylan Cease (TOR) vs STL (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 96 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. The velo is still down 1-2 ticks (four ticks on his changeup!), but he’s still getting the job done. I really hope this is his way of ensuring he finishes the season healthy or controls his pitches more effectively and not a sign of an injury or imminent disaster. I try to avoid living in a state of worry. We call that California. Surfs up! (View Game Card)
Kyle Leahy (STL) @ TOR (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BB, 3 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 98 pitches.
You know what’s hard to ignore? The incessant beeping of my apartment neighbor’s low-battery smoke detector! You know what’s harder to ignore? Leahy’s 1.21 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 23% strikeout rate across his last seven starts. He held a 4.63 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and 19% strikeout rate through his first 14 starts. So, what’s changed? Literally nothing. Same pitch mix. Same movement. Same amount of whiffs and strikes. It’s just been fortunate luck, manifesting in a .197 BABIP. What about the 9% decrease in hard contact? Sure. I don’t think that’s enough to warrant such a drastic shift in his results. Leahy is still a PEAS searching to find the command to break free from his HIPSTER label. (View Game Card)
Bryce Elder (ATL) vs WSN (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 93 pitches.
Not too shabby against the mighty Nats. That’s now three straight with two runs or fewer. Is he starting another Vargas Rule? Ugh, I hope n-I mean, I doubt it! Sub-60% strikes across his last two starts with a heavier reliance on fastballs suggests he doesn’t have command of his entire arsenal. By all means, feel free to ride the start of this potential hot streak with MIA, NYM, @MIN coming up, but the ceiling really isn’t worth your time in standard leagues. (View Game Card)
Michael Wacha (KCR) @ COL (L) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 99 pitches.
I gave Wacha space when he told me he was heading to Coors. The guy must be under a lot of pressure. Let’s not ask for too much. Maybe my lowered expectations allowed him to thrive in the tough environment. It’s more likely that the thin Denver air allowed him to get some ridiculous movement on his changeup, leading to a whopping 13 whiffs and 42% CSW. Too bad he’s signed through 2027. Otherwise I’d be imploring Jonah Hill Paul DePodesta to sign Wacha to a lifetime contract. He’s back on the streaming menu vs MIN before we give him some space to visit Hollywood afterward. (View Game Card)
Erick Fedde (CHW) @ TBR (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 91 pitches.
Don’t Trust the Feddes! I don’t know man, they’re getting pretty convincing. That’s a 2.89 ERA across Fedde’s last 12 outings, and the White Sox allowed him to eclipse 90 pitches for the first time since June. He also dangled a 92+ mph cutter (+1.4 ticks) in front of my face and promised me everlasting happiness if I entrusted him with the fate of my fantasy team. And you let him?! No no…but I’m considering it. Please, don’t yell at me, but it’s not the worst play in deeper leagues @BOS next. I know he’s induced double-digit whiffs just once this year, but he’s been super effective at inducing weak contact, and this Canibal McSanchez approach really works when that cutter is looking so dope. (View Game Card)
Mitch Bratt (ARI) @ CLE (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 82 pitches.
Arizona is becoming the SWATCH academy, with young southpaws Bratt and Kohl Drake getting a shot in the rotation simultaneously. Bratt isn’t my preference of the two, and starts like these where he walks twice as many batters as he strikes out are exactly why. He needs to review the lesson plan and realize that if he wants to graduate from the academy, he’ll need to throw more than nine changeups. Double digits is the minimum! (View Game Card)
Tyler Holton (DET) @ ATH (ND) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hit, 1 BB, 1 K – 2 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 24 pitches.
Holton opened for Ty Madden, who went 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 whiffs, 25% CSW, 56 pitches (W). Madden will want to blame this on Sacré Verde, but he won’t escape the wrath of my pointer finger. Look! Decreased velocity! And over there! 5.7 feet of extension! There’s a reason he’s not allowed to pitch more than a trio of frames. (View Game Card)
Tanner Bibee (CLE) vs ARI (L) – 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 100 pitches.
The increased horizontal movement that accompanied Bibee’s last start in the domed Tropicana Field expectedly disappeared. He headed to a different domed stadium at Chase Field and instead saw increased vertical movement across the board. I won’t read into either of those because he doesn’t usually find himself pitching indoors. What I will read into is the pitch usage changes that led to 62% weak contact and, albeit unsustainable, 18 outs on 21 balls in play. He relied heavily on cutters vs RHB, swapping them for fewer sinkers, while also tossing a few more sweepers. LHB saw an influx of curveballs at the expense of changeups and cutters. The erratic command, single-digit whiffs, and batted ball luck suggest this is an outlier start, but Bibee’s been doing this nonsense all year. Even if he seems like a coin flip each time out, it’s still produced a 3.81 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 19% strikeout rate. Those are great Toby numbers. Maybe his ability to sequence his pitches and trust his defense is something we should have more faith in. Not my cup of tea, but certainly a guy who deserves attention in points and quality starts leagues. (View Game Card)
Shota Imanaga (CHC) vs NYY (L) – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 101 pitches.
I sounded the air raid sirens with Imanaga displaying sub-91 mph velocity while heading to the home of the Bronx Bombers. He not only survived the attack, but he pitched into the seventh and earned the Gallows Pole as his splitter dominated for 10 whiffs. I think we can count ourselves lucky, though. He was still barely north of 91 mph while returning just 56% strikes on four-seamers. Koufax was also watching over, leading to 13 outs on 15 balls in play, allowing both of his long balls to leave the yard with nobody on base. Now, he gets the Dodgers. What is that sound?! I still haven’t turned off the sirens. (View Game Card)
Shane Drohan (MIL) @ LAA (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 86 pitches.
Drohan failed to come through against Rockie Road, but he made up for it by getting the job done in an equally favorable matchup. He tied his career-high with seven Ks, executing the BSB to perfection. Sliders shined as bright as Chip Skylark’s teeth, inducing seven whiffs with 50% CSW. The Pirates up next and the Padres afterward aren’t great against southpaws, so you’re safe streaming him a couple more times before he heads to Hollywood. (View Game Card)
Andrew Painter (PHI) @ BAL (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 82 pitches.
In his return from the minors, Andrew painted a completely different pitcher. Behind beautiful brush strokes of breakers returning 47% CSW emerged the shape of a crown. The King Cole! What a sight it is to behold! This was as promising as it gets for Painter. He went to the lab, as sweepers added two inches of sweep, four-seamers added an inch of rise, sliders added an inch of sweep and three inches of drop, and splitters added two inches of drop and three inches of run (and three mph of velo). He leaned heavily on the improved sweeper, and everything else fell into place. There’s some polish left to prevent a trio of walks on a night where none of his pitches fell below 60% strikes, but this is enough to get me excited to see the results of his encore against the Nationals. If that goes well, we’re all in @STL afterward. (View Game Card)
Hunter Brown (HOU) vs TEX (W) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 104 pitches.
Quelling our fears about the decline of his heaters by not only throwing sinkers and four-seamers for 76% strikes, but also recovering his four-seamer shape and velocity, Brown inspired a new fear – the loss of his curveball feel. AHHH! I know, I know. Spooky! The hook returned just 40% strikes and 5% CSW as it failed to coax the chases that make it such a lethal secondary. With his heaters intact, I have faith that the curve will thrive out of the zone and return Brown to his former glory. With TOR, @SFG, LAA up next, the schedule is primed for his resurgence. (View Game Card)
Bryce Miller (SEA) vs MIN (ND) – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 87 pitches.
Speaking of declining fastballs, Miller is still failing to sit north of 96 mph (97-98 in his season debut) or north of the zone. He’s aware of it too, as he pulled back on the pitch to feature splitters as his primary offering. The splitter kept him afloat, with eight whiffs, but this is Bryce Miller we’re talking about! He used to be the pitcher we talked about as having an elite fastball with nothing to support it! It returned 83% strikes, but it needs to be the pitch leading the charge. We don’t need another Kevin Gausman in the American League. (View Game Card)
Jeffrey Springs (ATH) vs DET (L) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 86 pitches.
The sunshine and rainbows were obscured by a season-high five free passes. Across his last seven starts, Springs has a 9.00 ERA. Say the other part. He also has more walks than strikeouts. Yikes. (View Game Card)
Zebby Matthews (MIN) @ SEA (ND) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 101 pitches.
@TEA is a great place in which to pitch. Matthews racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts with a season-high 15 whiffs, the majority of which came via four-seamers and sliders, which were effectively separated high and armside and low and gloveside, respectively. This start comes on the heels of a one-strikeout outing. I’m getting the sense Matthew’s is pretty volatile. You got that right! I don’t have confidence that he’ll carry over this command or whiffability into his next start @KCR. (View Game Card)
Ranger Suarez (BOS) @ LAD (ND) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 65 pitches.
The Red Sox are really ramping up Suarez slowly. He threw 64 pitches in his return from the IL and got to throw just one more on Friday. By the end of the year, he might exceed 75 pitches! The combination of the workload restraint and facing the Dodgers prevented Suarez from getting into a groove. Brayan Bello followed Suarez with four scoreless frames, failing to maintain the added velo that made his last outing somewhat exciting. We won’t know if there’s something behind his 0.66 ERA in three starts since returning from the minors until we see him toss more than 60 pitches in consecutive starts. (View Game Card)
Kodai Senga (NYM) vs MIA (L) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 49 pitches.
After a month in the bullpen, Senga returned to the rotation. It went well until he issued back-to-back walks to leadoff the fifth before serving up a double and getting pulled, only to watch all the inherited runners come around to score. He’s not throwing 97+ like we saw in April, forkballs ate dirt (27% strikes), and sweepers were favored over cutters. It’s not looking promising, but he could stick in the rotation if Freddy Peralta is dealt at the deadline. (View Game Card)
Hunter Greene (CIN) vs PIT (ND) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 91 pitches.
Greene isn’t displaying the 99-100 mph velo (sub-98 here) he needs to hide the dead zone movement of his heater, nor is he finding the strikes on his slider to keep him efficient and allow his fastball to hunt chases out of the zone. Dude, what did I do? Sorry, Mr. Silseth, I guess he’s got a vendetta against guys who just got traded. Greene should be considered a Cherry Bomb and will be closer to fastball-slider maestro Jared Jones than fastball-slider ace Chase Burns until he recovers his velo and his slider feel. (View Game Card)
Brandon Young (BAL) vs PHI (ND) – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 94 pitches.
Young had a PQS in the bag before J.T. Realmuto took him deep on a sixth-inning, two-out, 0-2 slider. His heater is living up to its name with an extra tick of velo (95+ mph), and he’s leaning more heavily on sliders, but the whole arsenal just feels like it’s missing pizzaz. He’s been a reliable Toby this year, but I don’t think these changes will lead to a title change. (View Game Card)
Ryan Johnson (LAA) vs MIL (L) – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 88 pitches.
There was a while there where Ryan was looking a little like Randy, parlaying the potential of his first-round selection into big league success. However, he’s returned back to mediocrity, allowing a combined 13 runs across his past two starts to put an end to any interest in him. Maybe he can learn a thing or two from the Hall-of-Fame southpaw and start throwing harder than 91 mph. Maybe he needs to throw left-handed! (View Game Card)
Nick Martinez (TBR) vs CHW (L) – 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 77 pitches.
The Vargas Rule has come to an end. Didn’t he allow six runs to open June? He did. Didn’t he pitch to a 2.70 ERA and 0.96 WHIP across his subsequent eight starts? He did. Soooooo. Fine! I guess he deserves a mulligan, but beware, as he gets The Green Mile. (View Game Card)
Foster Griffin (WSN) @ ATL (L) – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 78 pitches.
Not another hot streak coming to an end! Griffin allowed more than three earned runs for the first time since May 19th, ending a stretch of 11 starts during which he pitched to a 1.72 ERA. It was going well until the sixth, which opened with a double, single, and a three-run homer. They stopped it there. I wish. They left him in to serve up a single and strike out a batter before removing him and forcing him to sit on the bench and watch the inherited runner score like that scene from A Clockwork Orange. Careful, Icarus. He too deserves a mulligan, but this feels more like a consistent and expected decline, as he’s induced single-digit whiffs in four of his last five starts while failing to find the same success with his signature cutter. (View Game Card)
Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) @ HOU (L) – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BB, 5 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 94 pitches.
Eovaldi seemed to get back on track with seven innings of one-run ball last time, but he instead floundered with one of his worst starts of the year in the encore. Curveballs missed bats, but four-seamers failed to take the slack off of splitters that lacked command. He either bounced them or left them center-cut, leading to 59% strikes, five hits, and a pair of gopher balls. With SFG and @LAA upcoming, we should give Eovalid another chance to figure his stuff out, but it’s getting difficult to keep sending him out there when he has a 4.93 ERA across his last 11 starts. (View Game Card)
Carson Whisenhunt (SFG) @ SDP (L) – 3.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 74 pitches.
I was really excited about the potential of Whisenhunt after he dominated with his changeup in his last start, pulling off the BSB and looking like a legit SWATCH. His command wasn’t as exceptional here, as slowballs and heaters combined for just 54% strikes. It was promising to see sliders show up for four whiffs, 45% CSW, and 75% strikes, and that pitch will come in handy in future starts when one of his two primary pitches comes through in concert with it. However, it’s clear the double-digit walk rates he recorded in the minors were no fluke. He’s got some work to do in the command department before we can trust him in standard leagues. (View Game Card)
Game of the Day
Quinn Mathews vs. Kevin Gausman – Mathews makes his MLB debut, and we’re hoping Gausman continues to return to form.
But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.
Have Questions? – Join my morning Twitch.tv livestream! I answer all questions there for free: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET Monday through Friday.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
