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 Playback.tv weekday mornings from 10 am-12 pm ET.
Jeffrey Springs (TBR) vs BAL (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 39% CSW, 83 pitches.
I didn’t know what to make of Jeffrey Springs returning from TJS, but tonight’s Golden Goal against the Orioles certainly makes the short-term outlook clear – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 39% CSW, 83 pitches. He’s found the feel for the changeup.
The signature slowball went 10/22 whiffs as he spotted the pitch beautifully down-and-gloveside, while the four-seamer surprisingly kept the Orioles bats quiet, save for an 89 mph, 3-2 pitch to the scorching hot Santander, who sent it over the wall. I’m pretty shocked at the heater’s success given its ~90 mph velocity, middling pitch shape, and lack of top precision, and I have to believe Springs’ cross-body delivery is adding extra deception and forcing poor swings, like a 2-0 chase on an outside heater that returned an out. What was Eloy thinking…
Y’all know my thoughts about Springs the person, so do what you want here. It’s obvious to me he’s a solid fantasy baseball arm set to start against the Sneks (even if Arizona has been performing well across the last month – Ketel seems to be out for a moment), and even if the four-seamer doesn’t perform at this level (it really is a weird and strange pitch to me), his changeup will keep his floor high enough to stick on your rosters.
Let’s see how every other SP did Sunday:
Albert Suárez (BAL) @ TBR (ND) – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 94 pitches.
Atta boy Suárez. You took care of a poor offense with a ton of high heaters while filling up the zone with curves and cutters underneath. The Red Sox aren’t too scary on the road and I guess I’m down for the one too, hoping you can turn in a Win this time around. Stupid bullpen ruining everything.
MacKenzie Gore (WSN) vs LAA (L) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 6 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 17% CSW, 86 pitches.
Gore is sitting 94/95 mph. Yikes. His slider and curveball combined for 3/33 CSW. I already said Yikes, Nick. Okay, you get the point. I still have my foot in my mouth for expressing belief in Gore’s second half. It’s hard to think straight when the taste of rubber is burned into your tongue, you know?
James Paxton (BOS) vs HOU (ND) – 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks – 0 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 5 pitches.
Paxton left the game with a calf strain. This is your fault, Nick. You just HAD to put out this tweet and celebrate Paxton’s health. He deserved it! It was unreal! I guess Criswell or Keller will get a chance in the rotation now, though it doesn’t really matter with the Orioles up next.
Luis Castillo (SEA) vs NYM (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 96 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. He’s become so dang good at keeping that four-seamer upstairs while landing sliders and changeups below. That’s the–Yes, the BSB. And guess what? The hard slider is returning! We saw 87+ mph at times and sitting 86 mph for 30% CSW and 61% strikes. We’ll take it.
Tanner Bibee (CLE) @ MIN (W) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 84 pitches.
His shoulder is apparently hurting and he still produces for your fantasy squads. It does explain the wonky command each game, but the bottom line is what you’re looking for. We keep rolling.
Marcus Stroman (NYY) vs TEX (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 17% CSW, 89 pitches.
Stroman does what Stroman does. Serve up a HAISTBMBWT?! Sometimes, yeah. Earning a Win with just 1/89 whiffs is truly something.
David Festa (MIN) vs CLE (ND) – 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 70 pitches.
Blegh. He tossed a ton of non-competitive fastballs up and out of the zone and paired with just 17% sliders, which is a bit frustrating in my view. He’ll get the Rangers next and I’d prefer to hold off on that one, but the tools certainly are there for another strikeout explosion. Just throw more of that dang breaker. For the children.
Jack Kochanowicz (LAA) @ WSN (W) – 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 18% CSW, 93 pitches.
Ummmmm what. That’s a Gold Star as I had zero expectations for Kochanowicz to toss more than a handful of frames, let alone perform this well. Two strikeouts and four whiffs ain’t the biggest showcase of strength, though, and this was a game of 95 mph sinkers for strikes that the Nationals simply didn’t do enough against. We’re talking just two whiffs on 34 swings at sinkers and yet, look at that line once again. Now that’s a Birthday Party.
Tyler Glasnow (LAD) vs PIT (ND) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 98 pitches.
Aces gonna ace…with just four strikeouts and make us feel weird about it. And question how spoiled we are. Nah, we deserve more! Yeah! MORE!
Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL) @ COL (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 96 pitches.
Yeah, you should really like this kid. 96 mph heaters don’t steal the show (sadly, not with elite HAVAA any longer. Just slightly above average now at 1.2), but the secondaries do. Sliders, splitters, cutters, curveballs, IT’S ALL HERE. Mr. Crescendo is turning into the man we wanted him to be when he first appeared. Enjoy his next outing against the Angels.
Hunter Brown (HOU) @ BOS (W) – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 95 pitches.
Last start was all about sinkers armside. This one? Just eight sinkers thrown as he went Canibal McSanchez paired with high four-seamers and secondaries underneath. The main story is that heater, though – the pitch sat 97.6 mph, hitting 99.5 mph on the gun. Yes, sat. That’s a new Hunter if he’s chilling 97/98 mph – all he needs to do is throw enough strikes with both the heater and secondaries and he very much did that. And now he gets the ChiSox? Hoooo boy, count me in.
Merrill Kelly (ARI) vs PHI (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 85 pitches.
Welcome back, Kelly. I labeled this as a Still ILL, especially against the Phillies, and Kelly, once again, defied me and stole a Win. Just 1/20 changeup whiffs should give you some hesitation, but his pitch separation was great, especially his slider and cutter as they hugged the gloveside corner. Alright Kelly, have a field day against the Rays later this week. I trust ya.
Dylan Cease (SDP) @ MIA (L) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 91 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. Are the Marlins actually kinda good? This was pretty dang tepid of a start, possibly even an unwelcome one, including three singles off Cease’s slider, two off painted high heaters, and one HR off a four-seamer up and out of the zone. Can’t beat the Burger with cheese, that’s what my Gramps used to say. Don’t forget the fried egg and avocado. MMMMM that’s the good stuff.
JP Sears (OAK) @ TOR (W) – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 97 pitches.
I’ll take this all day as Sears once again spotted his four-seamer stupid well at the top of the zone. The changeup helped, too, as it was consistently dotting the armside edge and I so badly want to believe that this is the version of Sears we’ll see every five days. We could take a chance against the Giants and see what we get…
Nick Lodolo (CIN) @ MIL (ND) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 79 pitches.
Ehhhh, four whiffs from Lodolo isn’t the world we’re looking to live in. I’m searching for something with more of an open feel…I guess we plod forward with the Royals up next, but I ain’t thrilled about it.
DL Hall (MIL) vs CIN (ND) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 92 pitches.
Whoa whoa whoa, nine strikeouts?! Fastball velocity back to 95 mph? AND YOUR OLD HAVAA AT 1.4?! Ohhhhhh we may have something here. 9/39 whiffs on changeups + sliders is all kinds of hype, too. Huh. I’m so glad to become a Hall Monitor once again. Thank you for getting healthy. As much as I want to chance it against the Guardians, I wouldn’t be shocked if he were back to 93 mph next start – this could easily have been adrenaline fielded as he returned from the IL. This really was the guy we dreamed about in March, though, and I wish it sticks.
Andrew Heaney (TEX) @ NYY (L) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 83 pitches.
I mean, the Yankees y’all. Good four-seamer command, for what it’s worth. Good enough for the Twins next? Ehhhhhh.
Kyle Freeland (COL) vs ATL (ND) – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 14% CSW, 65 pitches.
Yeaaaah, that’s a “COL story, Bro” if I ever saw one.
Max Meyer (MIA) vs SDP (W) – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 91 pitches.
Seriously y’all, stop leaning on Meyer until he gives us something new outside of the four-seamer/slider/change approach. Only the slider is plus and it’s not nearly good enough to carry the arsenal.
Keider Montero (DET) @ SFG (W) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 85 pitches.
Womp womp. Fastball fell down to 94 mph and he returned just 1/15 CSW on the slider. He’s not the guy you’re looking for.
Luis Severino (NYM) @ SEA (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 92 pitches.
The sweeper was looking filthy in Seattle, but he tossed some poor pitches and got burned by the longball. So it goes, at least you got eight strikeouts for it + you’ll be fine once Sevy dismantles the Marlins next time out.
Bailey Falter (PIT) @ LAD (ND) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 18% CSW, 93 pitches.
He’s had some rare moments against tough teams in the past, but yeah, this wasn’t a good spin of the wheel. Put your back into it next time.
Hayden Birdsong (SFG) vs DET (L) – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 85 pitches.
Ho boy was the command all over the place. Everything was hung upstairs and while he did feature more four-seamers in the zone this time around, the luscious hook and slider were not invited to this party. Nah, they sent their cousins in their place, and the rest of us all shot glances around the room in discomfort. Maybe he’s a Cherry Bomb, maybe this was just a blip, or maybe this is truly who he actually is. Who knows, good luck deciding if Birdsong can adjust for the Athletics next time out. I’m leaning AVOID.
Cristopher Sánchez (PHI) @ ARI (L) – 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 12 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 96 pitches.
Oh dear. The Diamondbacks are a legit offense these days and Sánchez has had some tough matchups as of late. He’s sure to get some respite against the Nationals next, so don’t do anything rash.
Chris Bassitt (TOR) vs OAK (L) – 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 86 pitches.
But it was a revenge game! Bassitt was able to get called strikes on his sinker and boast a 44% CSW on his curve, but two longballs really messed him up in the first, accounting for five runs in a hurry. That’s Baseball, Suzyn. You still start him against the Cubs and you better like it. Seriously, this is rough but the man ain’t washed up.
Game of the Day
Chris Sale vs. Blake Snell – Oh hot DANG.
But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.
Have Questions? – Join my morning Playback.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)
Oof, thanks for the offhand comment about Springs as a person. I didn’t know and looked it up.
Nick, Clark (and probably others),
So, is it all about him and 4-5+ other players choosing not to wear the pride patches in 2022? If so, have you gone back and read what any of them said about it? In particular it seems like Jason Adam was the main spokesman for the group and he made it clear that LGBTQ+ individuals are and should be welcome at the Trop and should be treated with love and consideration like anyone else. But for that group of players they could not in good conscience wear a symbol of a lifestyle they do not agree with for personal, religious reasons. In fact he clearly made the comparison to how he also could not support wearing a symbol or message that promoted sex outside of heterosexual marriage (even if it was consensual adults and between a man and a woman). The example fits because both restrictions are clearly taught in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptures and therefore would be the position held by most of their combined 4.3 billion adherents (as of 2020). Not to mention their past adherents going back 4000, 2000, and 1400 years respectively.
So, while you can definitely think they are wrong, and maybe even idiots, I think it is important to consider why they believe what they do and where they are coming from and, especially, how they communicated this. Instead it seems like they are being grouped in with people who are just bigoted and inconsiderate – only hating because they see people who are different than them and expressing that in crude and vulgar ways.
It’s also worth considering how hard it likely was for them to make that decision – how much thought, discussion, and prayer went into it. They knew they would stand out on their team and get ridiculed by most of the media (like Keith Olbermann, who I wonder if he has taken his own advice based on both the tone and content of numerous comments over the years). They knew a spot light would be on them and that they would receive more negativity than support so we can assume they did it because they truly believed it was the right thing and would give them the chance to say that they believe Christians should be able to be welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community in a lot of ways, especially in the public sphere, while still being able to communicate the truths about human sexuality expressed in the teachings of Christianity.
I expect my opinion on this will also be in the minority, but I do not ask that you agree with me, only that you take the time to consider these points and whether it helps you to understand Jeffrey Springs, et. al. better and with more compassion – even if you still think they are 100% wrong in their thinking.
@ek 👏
The same Jason Adam who said “it’s just that maybe we don’t want to encourage it if we believe in Jesus, who’s encouraged us to live a lifestyle that would abstain from that behavior?” Yeah, I’m good, thanks. It’s the same as saying, “No offense, but [insert incredibly offensive statement here].”
Correct. Though your reply shows you have made no effort to try to understand these men and where they are coming from. The sincere and deeply held beliefs behind their words and actions. Think about if you were being asked to not just be considerate towards, but promote something you sincerely could not? Actually, a reasonable example might be if tomorrow night, 8/17/2024, when the Rays host their annual Faith Night, if they expected all of their players to wear patches to support one particular belief, even the cross that is often used to symbolize Christianity. That would be wrong and any players who are not Christians would have every right to not wear that patch and in fact they should not wear it unless they sincerely wanted to – weather because they are Christians or wanted to freely support Christianity for their own reasons. To not do so doesn’t mean they hate Christians or do not welcome they at games. It doesn’t mean they don’t have both Christian and non-Christian friends. But it likely means that they cannot support all that is taught in the Bible and all that Christians believe and day and do and therefore want to exercise their first amendment right to “speak” through the action of not wearing the patch. In this hypothetical maybe Taj Bradley uses the ensuing interview to point out many of the same concerns you too have, Clark, with Christianity’s historic teachings on sexuality, marriage, and other related topics? But if so, I bet he wouldn’t be branded as a bigot, or worse.
At the same time, I can’t say I’m surprised though. Getting people to really consider the positions of those with whom they disagree is getting harder and harder (and though it is partially a technology and attention span issue that isn’t the main problem). As this world, and the United States in particular, leans harder and harder into post-modernist thinking, “anti-culture” activities masked as “new, progressive culture”, continues to feed Hegelian self-determination (in millions of people who are ignorant of Hagel and his follies), and worships the modern concept of utter individualism and private choice, it should not be surprising that most people can’t smell what they are constantly breathing and have lose the ability to feel what they have so long been swimming in as the current carries them along.
Again, I don’t expect agreement, but it takes a substantial act of the will and serious intentionality to try and really understand those with whom you disagree. As big of an ask as that is, I was still hopeful. Now I’ve probably said too much and, apart from a miracle, have probably hardened your heart all the more towards these players and myself. Nevertheless, I will continue to hope and trust that such efforts will not be put to shame in the end.