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.
Shohei Ohtani (LAD) vs CIN (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 87 pitches.
It has been tough rostering Shohei Ohtani in a two-Ohtani league. Despite Yahoo! aiding managers by giving his SP-edition an IL tag before his first appearance this season, Ohtani has spent two months slowly ramping up toward five frames since his first “start” back on June 22nd. He wasn’t rosterable. But now he is.
We finally got the return of the former ace in full: 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 87 pitches (W) in a battle with the luxorious Reds Carpet. Five full frames. 87 pitches. 98 mph velocity. Curveballs, sweepers, splitters, cutters, sinkers, sliders. IT WAS ALL THERE.
There isn’t much more to say outside of Start Him and don’t look back. Sure, his heater has deadzone movement, but he knows that and tossed it just 17% of the time yesterday. The cutter, slider, and sweeper all combined for 75%+ strikes. The splitter was terrible and needs work, but that will come. The sinker was a great addition and will continue to be a focus against RHB instead of the four-seamer. And his schedule is simply unfair with @PIT and Rockie Road up next. Just auto-start the guy, alright? It’s time to harvest.
Let’s see how every other SP did Wednesday:
Nolan McLean (NYM) vs PHI (W) – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 39% CSW, 95 pitches.
Ohhhhh BAYBEE. McLean was able to address his LHB weakness by dividing and conquering, with all six pitches returning usage rates of 13-20%. That’s a beautiful solution. “I don’t have a single weapon, but I’ll make it so y’all don’t know which mistake to target.” It was vastly different to RHB, rooted in sweepers 40% of the time at a 41% CSW and the rest of his arsenal surprised batters along the edges. You can’t bench this man. Those breakers are filth and his four-seamer’s 1.5 HAVAA paired with a 20″ horizontal run sinker is just too dang good – six outs on twenty sinkers thrown in this game. He’s the ace the Mets have needed.
Luis Morales (ATH) vs DET (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 91 pitches.
Hot dang, LOOK AT YOU! Here’s your Gold Star for the day, though we already had some hype for Morales after his last start – it was just a question of consistency. And to be frank, the 97/98 mph four-seamer at 1.4 HAVAA and 16″ of vert was spouted down the pipe plenty against RHB (seven total hard hit balls on the heater with just two hits is kinda wild), but the changeup was glorious to LHB in a near BSB attack (12/14 strikes! That’s an 86% clip!), and the sweeper failed to hit a 50% strike rate overall. It’s a great schedule ahead away from Sacré Verde for two (@STL, @LAA), then back for the Reds Carpet, then away at PNC Park. I’m here for it.
Framber Valdez (HOU) vs COL (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 99 pitches.
Nothing quite like Rockie Road to get the confidence back, eh? If he didn’t win a Gallows Pole in this one, we should have been concerned.
Aaron Ashby (MIL) vs ARI (ND) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 28 pitches.
Ashby showedup and opened for 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 71 pitches (L) of, you guessed it, Erick Fedde. The Brewers wanted to give a little extra rest to Priester, so they signed Fedde for the outing and I’m not sure he gets another. After all, you know you shouldn’t Trust The Feddes.
Sonny Gray (STL) vs PIT (L) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 87 pitches.
There’s nothing like sitting down at your desk, sipping an early coffee, and taking in the Sonny skies. Stellar curveballs with precision armside on his fastballs and cutters were all the rage. He’s in a great place.
Max Fried (NYY) vs WSN (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 94 pitches.
It’s good to see Fried get back on track and nail his sinkers and cutters to RHB. The sweeper was solid to LHB, too, and just in time as he’ll get @HOU and TOR up next. It’s the last real gauntlet for Fried and you’re not benching him.
Joey Wentz (ATL) @ MIA (W) – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 97 pitches.
Wentz really is underrated. Sure, it was the Marlins n all, and yes, the waiver wire is where he belongs now with the Cubs ahead for two. That said, his cutter is deadly and he’s still earning strikeouts with 19″ of vert and seven feet of extension (though the arm angle doesn’t help the deceptiveness of its ride). Circle his pair of possible outings against the Nationals beginning on the 16th and consider him a deep league sleeper for next season. Imagine if he starts to sit 94/95 mph instead of 92/93 mph and finds a changeup…
Brayan Bello (BOS) @ BAL (ND) – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 94 pitches.
The dude is on a heater and you can’t stop this now. The cutter is helping plenty, the sweeper is sweeping to RHB, and his sinker has attacked the zone better than ever. I don’t care if it’s in Fenway, Bello should be in your lineup against the Jays.
Ryne Nelson (ARI) @ MIL (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 98 pitches.
Remember how Nelson was featuring his slider a ton against RHB in his last three starts? Well, that fell to 15% usage with just nine thrown and 16 combined cutters and curves getting plenty of attention. Soooo, we’re back to square one? Yeaaaaah. But it was still good! Sure was! That four-seamer is still dope and makes us feel dope, even when it’s not spotted upstairs as it should. He’ll host the Rangers and Sawx up next and waiting foldin’ em, NO SIR, we’re holdin’ em.
Ryan Bergert (KCR) @ CHW (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 98 pitches.
Mmmmmm that’s some good Bergert. His slider has a little polish left to add, but the sweeper has woken up and returned a whopping 40% CSW on 20% usage, mixing well with sinkers inside to RHB for 80% strikes and zero hits combined. His command to LHB is a little worrisome, though. The aforementioned sweeper allowed a solo shot, while the heater surrendered a trio of hits as it loitered in the heart of the plate. There’s still work to be done. The good news is the short-term schedule, with a date in Kauffman against the Angels + @CLE after. It’ll be a drop after @PHI and TOR, and be ready for it.
Chase Dollander (COL) @ HOU (L) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 98 pitches.
Oh dang, you flexed your upside! We saw 98/99 mph four-seamers return a 16% SwStr rate while the cutter was deadly at 91 mph and landing over the plate constantly. The last piece is flipping the curve over the plate more often than 29% of the time (just 35% strikes, yuck). And the other thing. Oh, right. The last last piece is finding a way to get out of Colorado. Not sure what to do about that one, Chase.
Carmen Mlodzinski (PIT) @ STL (ND) – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 46 pitches.
One day we’ll see Carmen with a proper leash start consistently and I’m curious what we’ll get. That 84 mph curveball has legit movement and could be a major weapon in time, paired with 96/97 mph at a flat attack angle (and terrible movement). The real story, though, was Bubba Chandler appearing in this game, not Thursday’s with Ashcraft. It was another productive game as a follower – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit, 1 BB, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 53 pitches (W) – and the skills are still fantastic…except for the secondary command. The changeup was all over the place to LHB, while he nailed two of his six sliders to RHB, failing to return a whiff. It’s a bit of a headache rostering Bubba at the moment, given their intent to piggy-back him, and while I believe he’ll properly start at some point this year, who knows how long the leash will be. I think you’re better off streaming instead.
Dietrich Enns (BAL) vs BOS (ND) – 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 34 pitches.
In the Enns, it was Roansy Contreras who the Orioles relied upon for bulk innings on Wednesday and he had himself a day: 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 71 pitches (ND). We saw 96 mph fastballs with 18″ of vert and a decent slider and curve in the mix, too. Sadly, they are 79-84 mph, not mid-to-upper 90s and his command is still suspect. But hey, that’s pretty great for a guy bouncing around teams all year. Soooo, what do we do with this information? Absolutely nothing, of course. Tyler Wells is expected back next week to commence a six-man rotation for the Orioles and Contreras has already been DFA’d after this one. Wait, seriously?! Yep. What a run he had as an Oriole, eh? BIRDS FOR LIFE.
Drew Rasmussen (TBR) @ CLE (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 85 pitches.
Hey you, yeah, you. I’ve got a secret to tell you. Yeah? Rasmussen has recorded six innings in each of his last four starts. NO WAY.
Bryan Woo (SEA) vs SDP (W) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 95 pitches.
Aces gonna allow a few too many hits in the sixth for both runs and end the day with a Philly in a Careful, Icarus. In case you were wondering, yes, we’re back to 83% fastball usage.
Jacob Latz (TEX) vs LAA (ND) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 66 pitches.
This would have been better if Latz were stretched out further as a 93/94 mph four-seamer southpaw at 19″ of vert (and flat…?!) with a changeup underneath, though the matchups aren’t great until he gets a possible start against the Marlins on the 20th. I think he’s mostly a Young Gun at this point, especially if the velocity jumps to 95 mph. I’m pretty stoked for that potential and can’t wait for this year’s sequel to come out: Latz Dance 2.
Slade Cecconi (CLE) vs TBR (ND) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 99 pitches.
A PQS is fine. If that’s what you wanted, I’m happy for you, and hey, a 1.00 WHIP! I feel like this a victorious night for Cecconi, though, which makes me question if it’s worth your time.
Carson Whisenhunt (SFG) vs CHC (W) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 82 pitches.
He’s trying to be the latest southpaw with a changeup to succeed, but he needs to do better with sinker command to get there. The changeup is doing its part, down-and-away from RHB, though, and the slider shocked me with a 47% CSW and 94% strikes. Gotta locate that sinker and then we’re good.
Taijuan Walker (PHI) @ NYM (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 102 pitches.
It finally makes sense. The splitter wasn’t productive with four hits and 45% strikes across 20 thrown, while the cutter added another trio and that’s your ballgame. Seriously, it’s all about those two pitches and if they don’t thrive, he dives. Y’all know I’m out against the Brewers, but the Marlins after that…ugh. Maybe.
Nick Lodolo (CIN) @ LAD (L) – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 76 pitches.
He got Singled Out in the fourth and returned a poor line despite pitching far better than you’d expect against the Dodgers and in a Still ILL. I’d say stick with him, though it’s going to take some brass to do so with TOR, @SDP, @ATH, and CHC up next. OH COME ON. I know, y’all. I know.
Yu Darvish (SDP) @ SEA (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 69 pitches.
Blegh. A three-run shot to Eugenio was the sole pain point here and I’m not exactly sure why he wasn’t trusted for another frame. His schedule is just too dang good to deny – BAL, Reds Carpet, Rockie Road – and I’m holding despite all the frustrations.
Aaron Civale (CHW) vs KCR (L) – 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 86 pitches.
Yeaaaaah, you don’t want Civale just like you don’t want the batting gloves during White Elephant when a Pro-Preferred glove is in the pile.
Simeon Woods Richardson (MIN) @ TOR (ND) – 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 69 pitches.
Hey, don’t roll with SWR, alright? While he might not be out yet, please tell me you are out of the Woods.
Casey Mize (DET) @ ATH (L) – 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 78 pitches.
Sacré Verde strikes again. Not a fun time for Mize and this doesn’t seem worthwhile until he gets the Marlins on the 14th. Pick up someone else instead.
Eric Lauer (TOR) vs MIN (ND) – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 98 pitches.
Oh, so it wasn’t going to last forever. Despite routinely taking down RHB with four-seamers this season, they managed to hit four solo shots off the southpaw in this one. Yikes. @CIN is next and I’m out personally, which doesn’t include the possibility that the six-man in Toronto is coming to an end.
Colin Rea (CHC) @ SFG (L) – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 88 pitches.
I should have streamed Wentz. The matchup, the park, the team defense, the offense behind him…it all lined up for Rea and he didn’t come through. He’s still an option moving forward against Atlanta, but this one stung.
Cade Cavalli (WSN) @ NYY (L) – 2.1 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 76 pitches.
You should listen to Eno talk about Cade without realizing this start already happened and we’re on the same page that there is promise to consider for streams ahead. You knew not to start him here, though.
Ryan Gusto (MIA) vs ATL (L) – 3.2 IP, 9 ER, 7 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 96 pitches.
He’s getting his reps now. Let him settle in and hopefully he’s a Young Gun.
Jack Kochanowicz (LAA) @ TEX (L) – 3.1 IP, 10 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 79 pitches.
Oh Jack. Jack Jack Jack. When will you get out of this box you’re in?
Game of the Day
Garrett Crochet vs. Cade Povich – It’s always fun watching Crochet and there’s a chance Povich comes into 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 Playback.tv livestream! I answer all questions there for free: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET Monday through Friday.
Photo by Trinity Machan/Icon Sportswire and Clark Young/Unsplash | Featured Image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)
