Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Saturday 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.
Aaron Nola (PHI) @ MIL (L) – 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 97 pitches.
It was another day on the giant I don’t even know season that is 2023 Aaron Nola in Milwaukee: 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 97 pitches. And, once again, I don’t know.
Y’all understand why you should start him. We also understand that he simply isn’t getting the results he should with the arsenal he wields and now that you’re in your fantasy playoffs, it feels too risky to endure any longer. But he allowed just 3 ER in three of his last four! Well, that’s also true. And he gets Miami next! Double true. But you know what happens after? TWO STARTS AGAINST ATLANTA.
In other words, you can take his next start against the Marlins, then you won’t be starting him again until September 23rd. Yikes. Really consider how much you want to chase that Miami start. If it’s on the fence, you may want to re-think holding Nola in your 12-teamers. Your playoffs may be over when he’d get the Mets and be worth your time again.
Let’s see how every other SP did Saturday:
Javier Assad (CHC) @ CIN (ND) – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 98 pitches.
Hot dang, look at you! I’ve dug what Assad has done, but this dominance inside Great American Small Park? Now that’s a Gold Star worthy performance. He danced around the corners with cutters and sinkers per usual, failing to do a whole lot more than that as the Reds often got themselves out or just let the ball nestle into the zone. Sure looks like we’re gonna Vargas Rule this one. Not like we have a choice.
Reese Olson (DET) @ CWS (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 79 pitches.
21 outs with just one strikeout. HAISTBMBWT?! Y’all know you can’t trust this man, but he gets the White Sox again and that seems like a decent shot. Surely his changeup and slider perform better, right?
Blake Snell (SD) vs SF (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks – 21 Whiffs, 39% CSW, 113 pitches.
Aces gonna ace and earn a Golden Goal. I wonder, is he the AL Cy Young? But the FIP! Stop, that over-corrects for walk rate, ignoring how effective Snell is at avoiding hits. There’s a legit skill here.
Andrew Abbott (CIN) vs CHC (ND) – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 97 pitches.
Yep, we take those. Better heater command here, though I still am weirded out by the curve and sweeper, with the former doing most of the work here. He still has some kinks to iron out but is generally worth your time down the stretch. And hey, maybe we get one of those magical strikeout games along the way.
Bryce Elder (ATL) @ LAD (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 92 pitches.
The dude killed it. He avoided the heart of the plate, creating a lovely ring of sliders, sinkers, four-seamers, and changeups to not give in and instead walk batter when needed. And now he’s rewarded with the Pirates and you’re obviously going with him there. Respect your Elder.
Paul Blackburn (OAK) vs LAA (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 86 pitches.
Gotta love the slider precision in this one and the stolen Win by Paulie Punchouts. Sadly, it likely marks the last start of this year that we roster Blackburn with the Rangers and Astros up next. What a ride it has been.
Emmet Sheehan (LAD) vs ATL (ND) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 76 pitches.
Whoa, 18 whiffs?! Emmet went BSB with high heaters and low changeups, getting away with a fair number of fastballs over the plate. Well, not all of them. At 76 pitches, you’d think he’s safe for 80+ against the Marlins next week and with this effort against a team like Atlanta, you’d think he could make it work. That slowball was legit.
Griffin Canning (LAA) @ OAK (L) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 89 pitches.
Atta boy Canning. It has some Blame it on the Athletics, sure, but now he gets the Guardians and Tigers for the next two weeks. Blame ’em all if you like, you’re still holding onto Canning and his lovely BSB execution.
Kyle Bradish (BAL) @ ARI (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 107 pitches.
The man just keeps on doing it. You love to see it and don’t you dare take him out of your lineup – he doesn’t have a schedule to fear.
Yusei Kikuchi (TOR) @ COL (L) – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 100 pitches.
Blegh. You can’t blame Coors for his four walks. Yes you can, breaking balls spin differently in the thinner air. STOP WITH YOUR LOGIC. Ignore this and keep starting him, of course.
Colin Rea (MIL) vs PHI (ND) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 66 pitches.
Six strikeouts are a bit interesting and this is solid for a pitcher on a limited pitch count. Sadly, I don’t expect Rea to earn seven whiffs on his four-seamer again, which means we’re likely out against the Yankees as he’ll be limited to about five frames.
Johnny Cueto (MIA) @ WSH (W) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 77 pitches.
You got enough Cueto magic for a Dusty Donut of a Win. Yay. Now please don’t risk this again.
Drew Rom (STL) vs PIT (ND) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 84 pitches.
Womp womp. No, let’s not call him a Rom hack, but we have to give him a C or D grade for this one. He’s an easy eject with a date in Cincy next.
Hunter Brown (HOU) vs NYY (L) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 94 pitches.
Womp womp. Hung breakers, wasted pitches, and a long Judge shot did Brown in. There are many signs of potential here, still, but he’s not putting it together quite yet. In due time, y’all.
Thomas Hatch (PIT) @ STL (ND) – 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 33 pitches.
The Hatch is the opener. I’m shocked Bailey Falter was allowed to chuck just 43 pitches and 3.2 innings of relief, despite performing well. Not cool, Pittsburgh. Not cool.
Logan Allen (CLE) vs TB (ND) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 94 pitches.
Blegh. He’s a Toby and it’s debatable if the Rays are a team worthy of a Toby start. The Angels and Giants up next are far easier decisions, though, so we’re all good.
Tanner Houck (BOS) @ KC (W) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 95 pitches.
I dig the slider focus and stealing a Win, but the sinker and splitty need to do more. I don’t feel great taking the chance against the Orioles next, but there’s a shot.
Zack Littell (TB) @ CLE (ND) – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 85 pitches.
Save for the ridiculousness of C.B. Bucknor, Littell didn’t deserve a whole lot of love for this one today. Or maybe he needs it now more than ever. Okay, fine, YES, but if you haven’t moved on from him yet, now is clearly the time to do so.
David Peterson (NYM) vs SEA (ND) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 77 pitches.
Yeaaaaah, his stuff just ain’t that good, y’all. Tylord is the guy to star right now, not David, despite what you may have heard growing up.
Luis Severino (NYY) @ HOU (ND) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 104 pitches.
The velocity is up again, but the pitch locations aren’t with plenty in the middle of the zone – not a great recipe against the mighty Astros offense. It gets a little easier now against the Brewers + Red Sox, but I wouldn’t be too encouraged by this outing to believe he’s on the verge of redemption. Sigh.
Ty Blach (COL) vs TOR (W) – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 93 pitches.
I wonder if there was a fresh analyst who was in on Ty this year. You know, the new kid of the Blach. ANYWAY, this was such a clear avoid, yet he starts in Oracle Park and that seems like an awfully sneaky stream. Just saying.
Luis Castillo (SEA) @ NYM (ND) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 89 pitches.
Aces gonna…Wat. His heater was either down the pipe or out of the zone and it was infuriating. His changeup and slider did their parts, it was just that dang heater and it happens. A clear One Night Bland.
Dallas Keuchel (MIN) @ TEX (ND) – 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 57 pitches.
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Kyle Harrison (SF) @ SD (L) – 5.2 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 91 pitches.
Annnnnd there’s the Cherry Bomb. It was a tough matchup against the Padres, but his best pitch (his four-seamer) can’t hold a 57% strike rate if he expects to soar each outing. Throw in an inconsistent curve that fails to land low and you have yourself a new Andrew Heaney type. He gets Rockie Road next and the floor gets raised enough to consider him there, but be careful. He’ll still need to throw strikes, after all.
Jordan Montgomery (TEX) vs MIN (ND) – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 68 pitches.
Blegh. Come on The Bear, it’s not time to hibernate yet. You have a lovely start against the Athletics up next, we need ya. You can’t be serving up HAISTBMBWT?! at a time like this. Get that changeup in order like books on my shelf. Arranged by color? No, alphabetically, jeez, I don’t have that much drip.
Slade Cecconi (ARI) vs BAL (L) – 3.1 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 71 pitches.
The best Slade plans often go awry. But my plan was to sit Cecconi. WELL THEN NEVERMIND.
Alec Marsh (KC) vs BOS (L) – 2.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 60 pitches.
For those of y’all who chased Marsh after his odd nine strikeout games, I feel for you. The rest of y’all, I’m proud you wore your boots to avoid the dangers of the Marsh.
Mike Clevinger (CWS) vs DET (L) – 4.0 IP, 8 ER, 12 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 71 pitches.
Ah. Well alright then. I don’t think there’s much else to do but point at the line and give that face.
Trevor Williams (WSH) vs MIA (L) – 4.0 IP, 8 ER, 12 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 82 pitches.
I hope you’re on team #NeverTrevor.
Game of the Day
George Kirby vs. Tylor Megill – Kirby is killing it + I hope it’s the return of TyLord.
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)