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 Twitch.tv weekday mornings from 10 am-12 pm ET.
Drew Anderson (DET) @ MIN (ND) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 90 pitches.
I haven’t had much desire to word vomit at you about Drew Anderson yet, though it may be time after his 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 90 pitches against the Twins on Wednesday. Anderson came over from the NBP in the off-season and has only recently had an opportunity to toss 70+ pitches on a given night, extending right up to 90 in his last two now, and this game now marks just 1 ER allowed against the Dodgers and Twins in 10.1 IP. It’s an absurdly small sample size, but it’s not pure luck.
The approach is akin to Kevin Gausman’s. It’s a 94/95 mph four-seamer with an 89 mph split-changeup + a breaking ball that can sometimes befuddle, but should not be trusted as a reliable ally. If the split-change could work as well in this one every game (80% strike rate, 23% SwStr rate across 40% usage!), then I’m absolutely down, and would consider him as a stream against the Twins up next. However, the four-seamer isn’t strong enough to carry him on its own, and as y’all know, split-changeups are awfully volatile. It’s not the worst dart throw to kick off next week, and I wouldn’t rule out a possible date hosting Rockie Road if all goes well, marking a worthy two-step. (View Game Card)
Let’s see how every other SP did Wednesday:
Andrew Painter (PHI) @ ARI (ND) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 93 pitches.
Ohhh BAYBEEEE. Painter is on a roll at the moment and yes, you’re going to keep starting him. I have to mention that my hype around his four-seamer has dwindled, though. Its velocity has fann to 96 mph and it’s looking more like the pitch we saw originally. The difference between now and then is his changeup and sweeper, which each do a great job of taking down their respective opponent. That sweeper isn’t likely to return a 48% CSW again, and that doesn’t mean it won’t be strong against the RHB-heavy Astros. (View Game Card)
Hayden Wesneski (HOU) vs CHW (ND) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 90 pitches.
Jeez, a one-hitter?! Look, I wasn’t necessarily down on this start, but this level of dominance is a bit shocking given the lack of strikes on his changeup while facing mostly LHB. You can see the box score and recognize the kindness from Koufax – 16/17 outs on balls in play – though Wesneski returned more weak contact than your standard strike thrower by locating on the edges well with all five offerings (yes, even the 46% strike, 0% CSW changeup). This has Blame it on the White Sox all over it, though I still want to give him some props and I still consider him a back-up streamer option for the Phillies. He’s a 15-team Toby. (View Game Card)
Dylan Cease (TOR) @ CLE (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 83 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. Eno and I talked about Cease’s declining velocity on The Craft and while he kept it above 96 mph this time around, it’s awfully strange to see him with just four strikeouts to his name. I’m going to blame his insistence to throw fastballs in two-strike counts, leading to a poor 15% putaway rate on his pitches and a paltry 31% clip across all at-bats with two-strikes (nearly half of its normal rate). Yes, the four-seamer’s velocity dip is still a bit concerning (it certainly played its part in the pitch’s 6% SwStr rate), and what are we gonna do about it? Sit him? IN THIS ECONOMY?! (View Game Card)
Davis Martin (CHW) @ HOU (ND) – 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 80 pitches.
Hot dang, look at you! That’s a lovely Philly for Martin against the Astros. Lovely?! Couldn’t they just let Martin try for one more after a walk? Well, his velocity was down to 92 mph after sitting 93+ most of the game, but yeah, I kinda wish they trusted him to face Nelson Velásquez, but let’s be happy with what we got. (View Game Card)
Brad Lord (WSN) vs ATL (ND) – 3.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 55 pitches.
Wow, this was unfair to Lord. He finally gets a game to start properly and what happens? Why a rain delay that cuts the outing short. IT’S NOT FAIR. Anyway, six strikeouts are cool! I don’t think he’d have gotten a whole lot more if he stayed in, but hey, it’s cool! A ton of horizontal run on those heaters caused by his super low arm angle, and maybe if he gets more time as a proper starter we can find some Toby value here. I doubt it though. (View Game Card)
Grant Holmes (ATL) @ WSN (ND) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 26 pitches.
As mentioned with Lord, a rain delay ended this one early. Tough noogies. Tough noogies for everyone. I am so glad that stopped happening when I turned 10. This was a perfect three frames, yes, and it also came with a tick down in velocity. I’m not interested y’all. (View Game Card)
Jose Cabrera (ARI) vs PHI (L) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 24 pitches.
Oh look, another bullpen game. And none rejoiced. Strikes are still hard to come by with Cabrera, too. Anyway, let’s move on.
Cam Schlittler (NYY) @ LAA (ND) – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 99 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. Yes, I do believe he should win the Cy Young over Cease. The innings matter. This wasn’t even his best ability, too. The curveball failed to do its job (1/15 whiffs) and so many pitches landed down the heart of the plate to RHB. Have fun with Rockie Road next. (View Game Card)
Reid Detmers (LAA) vs NYY (ND) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 99 pitches.
That slider is just so insanely good. It does appear that he’s throwing two versions of it – one harder at 87-89 mph as a gyro, then one with two-plane break as far as -7/-4, and I’m all for squeezing everything out his best pitch. Keep on keepin’ on, you rascal. (View Game Card)
Landen Roupp (SFG) @ PIT (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 75 pitches.
You know, that’s three of his last four with just 1 ER, but the strikeouts and whiffs have dwindled over the last two months. This was an incredibly strange one with just six (SIX!) changeups thrown in the whole outing, and instead, he gave all the light to his 90/91 mph cutter, which recorded a astounding 57% usage to LHB (40% overall). Yeah, that’s bonkers. And you know me, I kinda dig that, but at the cost of his changeup? I’m not sure. At least he’s trying things and hopefully changing his ways with an open mind. It really would be unfortunate if he just stuck to his guns without trying to be inclusive to all the ways he could be better. And hey, look at that line! You’ll take it all day. Maybe it’ll work against the Cardinals and Padres up next, too. (View Game Card)
Bryce Miller (SEA) @ BOS (ND) – 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 65 pitches.
Miller was sent to the pen, but quickly returned, like an Uber driver thinking they had a moment for a pit stop before their next ride. We had low expectations given how poorly his second half has gone annnnnd yeah. This isn’t a version of Bryce I want to hang my hat on. We saw 0/14 splitter whiffs, hittable 96 mph four-seamers, and just…meh. He’ll get another start against the Rangers on Tuesday and I’m still out. (View Game Card)
Justin Hagenman (NYM) @ TBR (ND) – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 46 pitches.
The Mets brought back Hagenmann and it was…not what you want. 90/91 mph fastballs from the left side (was 93 mph when we saw him in 2025) around the edges and off the plate are enough for y’all to run, though the cutter and changeup have promise and he was close to the zone with those four-seamers. I wonder if the Mets will give him any more runway and if he’ll be able to squeeze out a solid outing before the end of the year. I wouldn’t get my hopes up. (View Game Card)
Trevor Rogers (BAL) @ COL (ND) – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 11 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 94 pitches.
Ah yes, the ole “do poorly in a good matchup, and kill it in a terrible one.” CLASSIC. He was absurdly efficient in two-strike counts to get here, but 94 mph with fantastic four-seamer precision upstairs led the charge, per usual. Don’t you dare bench him. That’s a 3.01 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 25% strikeout rate across his last sixteen games. (View Game Card)
Jacob Lopez (ATH) @ TEX (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 102 pitches.
He allowed a HR on his third pitch and I could just feel all the “I told you! JLo ain’t it!”, so what does he do? Why, go one whiff shy of a Golden Goal, walking away with the consolation prize of a King Cole. ATTA BOY. He’s even do it while sitting under 90 mph now, but that doesn’t really matter, does it? Just execute the heater, change, slider the same as you have for six weeks now and we’re golden. (View Game Card)
Tomoyuki Sugano (COL) vs BAL (ND) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 90 pitches.
A PQS for Sugano normally means a dub, but alas, he’s still stuck at twelve. The man was 11-4 on July 31st, dangit! Pretty cool to see him get a fair number of whiffs and boast 93/94 mph velocity (normally 92+), though that may have been due to his former squad coming into his neighborhood. How dare they. (View Game Card)
Brandon Williamson (CIN) vs SDP (W) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 87 pitches.
It’s the return of Williamson, who I was a little interested in at the beginning of the year, but he quickly fell apart and has been on the IL since the end of April. Now with Burns’ shut down and Greene out, Williamson should regularly start across September. There’s some hope for his cutter and changeup to land properly to RHB for a lovely night of the Toby lifestyle (two outs away from a VPQS…which I realize is kinda terrible as I type this out), and I’d be patient to see him come through first, let alone get the opportunities in the first place. (View Game Card)
Bubba Chandler (PIT) vs SFG (ND) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 18% CSW, 88 pitches.
I talked to Eno about Chandler and his “curve” that’s really a gyro slider and how he should throw more of them. So he did! By throwing fewer sliders! Wait, that’s not good. No, it’s not! Just one whiff on 88 pitches for a guy with his stuff is just BANANAS. Truly. Chandler is the perfect exhibition that “control is not command”, and I just hope I can get excited about him again this season. (View Game Card)
Patrick Sandoval (BOS) vs SEA (L) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 80 pitches.
Yeaaaah, that’s the Irish Panda, alright. He’ll get a revenge game next time out and do whatever you want there, but I cannot endorse rostering him at all. He was even 1-2 ticks down in this one to 92+ mph. Blegh. I should also mention that we saw Brayan Bello toss three innings in relief and it didn’t go so hot – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 2 BBs, 0 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 69 pitches. He threw strikes overall, but ran into trouble in his second frame and I guess we can mostly ignore Bello now too. (View Game Card)
Griffin Jax (TBR) vs NYM (L) – 2.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 63 pitches.
Oh no. This Still ILL was a one to avoid simply due to a limited pitch count, but a HAISTBMBWT?! in a ratio-destructive 2.2 frames? AGAINST THE METS?! He was singled out in both the first and second, and I’m not really worried about this one. His stuff was still there and he didn’t command nearly as badly as the line looks. He’ll be better against Atlanta and Houston. (View Game Card)
Brycen Mautz (STL) @ LAD (ND) – 1.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 36 pitches.
This was a bullpen game with a sprinkle of Gordon Graceffo going three shutout and six strikeouts out of nowhere. Yes, that was all 86 mph gyro sliders all the time for those familiar with Graceffo, and it’s not something to bank on. You could say it’s not in the…cards.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD) vs STL (ND) – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 93 pitches.
Aces gonna ace for a Gallows Pole as I don’t think I’ve had to truly worry about The Inquister all year. I guess maybe for a moment in the middle of May after allowing 3 HR in one game…? Nah, no one was actually worried, right? (View Game Card)
Joey Cantillo (CLE) vs TOR (L) – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 102 pitches.
Oh no. After such a poor outing last time, I didn’t want to write off Cantillo. He’ll get his changeup feel back, that was an extreme night – Me, a week ago, as a naive fool. That slowball returned jsut one whiff on twnety thrown while the curveball was hung. Ohhhh boy was it chilling inside the zone. So much so, Vladdy Jr. looked like a 50 HR slugger with the charge he put into one to send it to the bleachers. Now, that wouldn’t have happened if not for an error a few players earlier, but still, this was not the good version of Cantillo. I think we take a break with Camden ahead and jump back in @MIN or hosting the Athletics if he’s back on track. At least the fastball is still up at 93 mph. (View Game Card)
Noah Cameron (KCR) vs MIA (ND) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 86 pitches.
Soooo are we happy or sad? Sad, 4 ER! Yeah, but a 1.20 WHIP is a wash and seven strikeouts without a Loss! Sixteen whiffs! Sure, he’s at 92/93 mph, not flirting with 94 mph, but he’s around the edges to RHB still and that slide piece is getting all the whiffs. I’m going for it against the Sneks, personally. (View Game Card)
Casey Mize (SDP) @ CIN (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 85 pitches.
Good news: The four-seamer is back to 93/94 mph. The bad news: He allowed two longballs in a terrible second frame and things feel pretty meh. That said, he gets the Nationals on Monday and with three strong innings and 93/94 mph velocity under his belt, he may finally feel ready to be the guy the Padres traded for him to be. It’s a better chance than his recent lines would make you think. (View Game Card)
Dean Kremer (MIN) vs DET (ND) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 79 pitches.
Bleeeegh. It feels so weird to be defending Kremer so often, but again, I don’t think he pitched poorly. All of his pitches earned whiffs (20% combined on his splitter and cutter!), and he got burned on timing with a single + back-to-back doubles in one inning scoring a pair, then a walk, wild pitch, single knocked in a third run and knocked him to the showers, where he heard his fourth and final earned run hit the books on the radio. It’s just one start next week when he faces the Tigers and consider that a Toby play in 15-teamers. (View Game Card)
Cody Bradford (TEX) vs ATH (L) – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 86 pitches.
Welp, this ain’t working out. Bradford, you can’t leak your heaters down like that. But the higher heaters are the ones that got hit. Oh. Huh. Yeah. That’s a problem. That’s a biiiiiig problem. (View Game Card)
Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) @ CHC (ND) – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 92 pitches.
Aces gonna allow more than 3 ER for the first time all season. In fact, he had an eleven-game stretch that combined for the same number of ER he surrendered on Wednesday. So you’re saying… It’s an anomaly. But his whiffs have disappeared over the last three starts! Okay, that’s very true. 13/game is much lower than the 18/game he averaged prior, with a 6-point dip in SwStr Rate to a mortal 14% from 20%. The problem is absurdly obvious. His four-seamer held a 71% Strike rate across his first 23 games. In his last three? A 54% clip. It’s just you feared…Jay Mis’ ability to suddenly earn strikes on his four-seamer this season has been the nitro boost for his Cy Young campaign, and it was the biggest question mark we had when he was in the minors. Sure, it’s the best stuff fastball you’ve ever seen, but can he throw it for strikes? At least he’s back to averaging 101 mph on the pitch and not 98/99 mph (what a world that would be, yeeeesh) and I can’t imagine us acting on this at all. Just. Throw. Strikes. How hard can it be? It’s incredibly hard. Thanks Wash. (View Game Card)
Eury Pérez (MIA) @ KCR (ND) – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 102 pitches.
That’s two straight games of 5+ ER in two blissful matchups. Eury, what is this?! He’s leaving too many secondaries over the plate to LHB and doing a terrible job putting away batters, let alone getting to two-strikes in the process, but really this was a bamboolzlin’ in the first with a pair of longballs making up most of a 5-ER bombardment. I think I’m still starting him next time out despite this. I know, I. Know. The whiffs are still there and his four-seamer (when it’s not low to Salvy) is still elite. (View Game Card)
David Peterson (CHC) vs MIL (L) – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 96 pitches.
Womp womp. After a few super impressive games of stellar overall command, Peterson simply didn’t have it here. At all. This is the classic Peterson story and it doesn’t rule out success in a repeat against the Brewers on Monday or hosting the Pirates next Sunday, which means he should still be considered for the two-step. Man, that changeup was just so much better last game. And the fastball command…where does it all go? (View Game Card)
Game of the Day
Quinn Mathews vs. Tarik Skubal – It’s Skubs + I want Quinn to come ALIVE.
But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.
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Photo by Wesley Tingey/Unsplash | Featured image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)
