Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Monday 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.
River Ryan (DET) vs WSN (ND) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 43 pitches.
I’ve been excited about River Ryan for a while. His 2024 MLB debut was short-lived with only four games before getting hit with the stamp of sadness Needs Tommy John Surgery, and his 2026 return was delayed by both Dodgeritis and hamstring issues before making his first start in two years on Monday. I sat down, starry-eyed to watch his debut for the Detroit Tigers and even though it was brief (as expected), it was everything I wanted: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 43 pitches (ND).
No, you shouldn’t be picking up River in your redraft leagues. With Troy Melton on the IL, Ryan is expected to start in his place on Sunday, which is sure to be limited for a second time. This was an audition for 2027, where the Tigers are expected to let the 28-year-old pitch to his heart’s content and I’m simply hoping he doesn’t fly too high up the draft board.
Why would he do that? Because he’s filthy, duh. The fella used to feature 15″ of vert, now it’s almost 19″ on his four-seamer (consistently, too) with a good arm angle at 96/97 mph and a flat 1.6 HAVAA + average extension. He didn’t use it a ton in a situation to get a whiff (just a few chances, one was a foul tip that wasn’t secured), while the changeup looked great, the 89/90 mph gyro slider was nasty (actual gyro! Not this 6″ vert version others feature), and there’s also a 93 mph cutter he throws for strikes + a big 82/83 mph curveball at -16″ drop and -10″ sweep. This is absolutely stupid. It sure is, Bob. It sure is.
Two hits were stolen from Abimelec Oritz, both lined to right and needed excellent plays to snag them before they landed, while Koufax was cruel on a flared jam shot for a single and a chopper for a double on two separate well-spotted, poorly-hit inside sinkers. That’s Baseball, Suzyn. It’s all to say, he commands well, has legit stuff, and I just want him to stay healthy. That’s it. Well, and maintain the skills next season. Right, that is an actual question, of course. Guys have their peaks and valleys and many times they are one thing to end a season and need a whole lot of time revving the engine to find it again in the next. Given his age, I think this is his time. Circle him for 2027. (View Game Card)
Let’s see how every other SP did Monday:
Keider Montero (DET) vs WSN (W) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 58 pitches.
All the focus was on River, but Montero was the real prize of Detroit’s Monday affair, taking the pearl in the fourth and knocking out four shutout frames with ease for an easy dub. There’s the guy we loved in the first half. If he’s still out there, yes, I’d grab him for Sunday’s matchup against the Pirates, where we expect he’ll be the bulk follower for River once again. It’s the little things that can turn a season at the last moment.
Blade Tidwell (SFG) vs MIN (ND) – 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 57 pitches.
Tidwell left this one early with elbow discomfort, which is obviously terrible for, you know, elbow discomfort, but it was amplified by Tidwell’s stellar performance until the hook. Now, it wasn’t Tidwell pitching like a stud or anything (he got away with so much over the plate), but he had a pretty changeup and slider for a pair of strikeouts among the floated sweeper that somehow worked to Sabato and the huge mistake front-hip sweeper that landed for a called strike three to Jeffers, reminding me of when I’d throw my curveball in 7th grade and get away with landing it down the pipe each time. Those were the days, when my center fielder would shout MATRIX! whenever the batter’s back would bend, thinking it would land near their head. Whoever replaces Tidwell is not worth focusing on given the Dodgers are closing out their season on Sunday, and I hope Tidwell is alright. Wait, you’re in on him for 2027? Heavens, no. I just wish the kid well. Yeesh. Injuries like these really wear on a person. (View Game Card)
Trey Yesavage (TOR) @ BAL (ND) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 40 pitches.
He’s back! And needed 40 pitches for seven batters because it’s Yesavage. I’m a little surprised to see him down -1.2 mph to 93.2 mph on his four-seamer given A) It was just two innings and B) The adrenaline factor of returning to the bigs we normally see. Anyway, he’s not going to get stretched out much more than this on Sunday, and you can cross him off your options for 2026. Who followed? The bullpen. Oh. Yeaaaah. Chad Dallas did come in for two frames starting in the fifth and maybe that happens on Sunday? I dunno, read Rick Graham’s daily RP articles and he’ll take care of you. Insanely valuable this time of year. (View Game Card)
Shane Baz (BAL) vs TOR (ND) – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 92 pitches.
We’ll take a PQS from Baz these days and, especially on a day where he’s lost a tick on his curveball and can’t bribe for a whiff. The Yankees are left and I really don’t encourage you to run him out there. It’s not enough upside. (View Game Card)
DJ Herz (WSN) @ DET (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 63 pitches.
I was all ready to go with a Discount Herz Rental headline, but DJ didn’t spin it like we wanted him to. Actually, not much at all, given he’s a SWATCH type and big breaker fella. We saw 93 mph four-seamers generally spotted well upstairs + changeups that he struggled to get down, 11 of those sliders that are really cutters at 87/88 mph and 10/11″ of vert, and an 80 mph “gyro curve”. Not impressive enough to test this against the Mets on Sunday, but it’s a dart throw if you need one. If he can go BSB with four-seamers and changeups + keep the slide piece (cutter) down-and-away to LHB, it could work. (View Game Card)
Zebby Matthews (MIN) @ SFG (L) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 100 pitches.
It’s a Golden Goal for Zebby, who came through for strikeouts, but Koufax was cruel and propelled four runs in the first two frames on five singles and a double. Blegh. Okay, not totally fair. Four of his eight allowed hits were on terrible low fastballs + one hung cutter for a solo shot, and it’s the classic Zebby issue of being too dang hittable. but at least his slider was peak with a 39% CSW and plenty of strikeouts + a fair number of decently executed changeups. He’ll get the Rangers for one last game and that’s up to you. He’s a HIPSTER and we don’t know what comes next. (View Game Card)
Game of the Day
Dustin May vs. Zack Wheeler – I always enjoy Wheeler + I’m rooting for Dustin.
But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.
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Photo courtesy of respective owners | Adapted by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X)
