Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup – Lynn-n-Out Burger

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.  

Lance Lynn (LAD) @ MIA (L) – 4.2 IP, 8 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 90 pitches.

Soooo we have to drop Lance Lynn now, right? He just went 4.2 IP, 8 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 90 pitches against the Marlins after finally reintroducing his cutter (26% usage), which allowed just one of his seven hits (albeit one of his three surrendered longballs) but the dude is throwing too many mistakes and this isn’t looking pretty.

The Padres + Mariners are on the docket and that’s too dang risky for me. If you’re Win hunting, then I understand holding on for dear life (and hey, the Giants matchups are coming eventually!), but hot dang, sometimes you gotta be willing to try something else and not regret it, regardless of the outcome. We got back in, now it’s time to be out.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Wednesday:

 

Zack Wheeler (PHI) @ SD (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 105 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. THAT’S what makes an ace. I know we talk a lot about Strider’s four-seamer, but Wheeler’s is 99th percentile in PLV and a major reason why Wheeler is the #1 PLV starting pitcher in the majors. It creates such a high floor. And the sinker? It’s slacking, just a 35% O-Swing today. Wow, get it together. I know.

JT Chargois (MIA) vs LAD (ND) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 25 pitches.

We eventually saw 72 pitches of Edward Cabrera, who was filthy – 4 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – as he actually had a high four-seamer strike rate and located it around the edges, while the curve landed in the zone and his changeup sat just under it often. In fact, his sole hit was a solid low changeup that generally doesn’t allow that kind of result. Wait, so Cabrera has good command suddenly? Yeah, he might. With Los Angeles out of the way now and three cushy matchups ahead, you may want to jump in now. Suitman whispers in my ear SANDY ALCANTARA?! NOOOOOOO. Okay, maybe it reverts to a five-man rotation, forcing Cabrera to get Atlanta in two starts. At the very least, I’d give him the green light for the Brewers next time out and take it from there.

Matt Manning (DET) @ NYY (ND) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 21 pitches.

Manning took a near 120 mph comebacker to the foot and will not play the rest of the season. Baseball can be the worst. Poor guy.

Justin Verlander (HOU) @ TEX (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 100 pitches.

Ayyyy great work Verlander. The aged veteran tossed a ton of his sliders into the zone with his curveball not far behind while the heater lived in the top half. We often see that approach get taken advantage of a bit, but not tonight. Wonderful.

Tyler Glasnow (TB) vs BOS (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 14 Ks – 22 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 103 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. That’s 22 whiffs for a Gallows Pole and pure dominance as his slider went 11/30 whiffs alone with a whopping 53% CSW. This is the good stuff, y’all. It’s nice to have Glasnow pitching properly.

JP Sears (OAK) vs TOR (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 75 pitches.

This was a mediocre outing that somehow turned into a Win. Don’t get any silly ideas about starting him now against Houston. Surely this can’t happen again…I should also mention we saw the return of Mason Miller, who was magnificent for two frames of perfect ball and three strikeouts in just 27 pitches. Sigh. I love this guy. I don’t think he’ll be stretched out enough by the end, but hey, you never know.

Gavin Williams (CLE) vs MIN (W) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 89 pitches.

Gavin was flirting with 100 early in the game, then fell to low-to-mid 90s by the end due to an hour-long rain delay. Stupid rain, doing something to my parades. Adding a wicked breeze? Yeah, something like that.

Jordan Wicks (CHC) vs SF (W) – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 87 pitches.

Uhhhh, that was a ton of hard contact and he squirmed out of jams to find himself a Win. H*ck, he tossed six shutout before the seventh (Careful, Icarus). I still love that changeup, though he did feature a few too many pitches in the heart of the zone here. This doesn’t make me completely out on Wicks, but I’d avoid Coors next time out.

José Butto (NYM) @ WSH (ND) – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 81 pitches.

He showed up chucking 95 mph heaters instead of 93 mph paired with a solid changeup and decent slider, good enough to take down the Nats. You may be tempted with the Diamondbacks and Reds up next and I’d personally avoid it – I don’t think this was that exciting – but at least he’s getting the opportunity and there are worse arsenals out there.

Touki Toussaint (CWS) @ KC (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 91 pitches.

This was a dart throw for some strikeouts and let’s be thankful it landed on the triple-20 with a Gold Star accidentally. Touki elected to go 27% splitter (barely over a 50% strike rate and just 16% CSW) and 45% fastballs (1/41 whiffs) instead of leaning into his curveball (25 thrown), but that’s likely because he struggled to find strikes with it in this one. Weird, everything found gloves instead of grass on a night when I don’t think he was at his best. His best asset? Despite failing to find the zone often, he avoided making major mistakes over the plate. Miss out, not in.

Hyun Jin Ryu (TOR) @ OAK (L) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 77 pitches.

Stupid not-actually-sexy Sears had to ruin the Win here for Ryu, who did everything you could ask for with the most reluctant teenage uggggh FINE imaginable. Give him a rest against the Rangers but start him as a Toby for the rest of the way.

Joan Adon (WSH) vs NYM (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 80 pitches.

He’ll get the Pirates next and you’re playing a dangerous game here. The WHIP hurts plenty and is that ERA even worth it? But the six strikeouts! He has a 19% strikeout rate this year. FINE.

Joe Ryan (MIN) @ CLE (L) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 89 pitches.

Ryan’s velocity was falling to sub 90 mph levels and it was a little scary to see. I hope he’s alright (he sat a tick down overall) and if he’s good to go next time out, I’d still let him fly.

Clarke Schmidt (NYY) vs DET (W) – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 99 pitches.

Yeah that works. That third ER is annoying, but everything else is mighty acceptable for yet another streaming victory on the back of Schmidt. He’s been gold.

Kyle Gibson (BAL) @ LAA (W) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 87 pitches.

But it was the Angels! I know, but this is Gibson. He’s gonna give you blegh ratios whenever he feels like it. At least you got the Win and PQS (if that matters to you). The dude is still a Cherry Bomb, of course.

Logan Gilbert (SEA) @ CIN (W) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 39% CSW, 96 pitches.

The Reds let his four-seamer live inside the zone at 14/45 called strikes, allowing it to carry a 40% CSW…the third-best mark of his arsenal as both his slider and splitter boasted 41% clips. Simply lovely. Uhhhhh, Nick. Hi. Those ratios stink. Okay fair, sometimes life is just dumb, okay? Cool, I’m sorry your teams didn’t get the results you wanted, be happy that Gilbert is in a much better place than he was at the start of August.

Freddy Peralta (MIL) @ PIT (ND) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 93 pitches.

Aces gonna…be mortal. Well that ain’t fun. Freddy has as good of a schedule as you’ll find the rest of the way and we’re obviously not changing anything but yeah, not cool. I wore this party hat FOR NOTHING. Yaaaay PFFFFFFFFFT. PUT IT AWAY JOAN. No celebrations tonight. Awwwww man.

Jordan Lyles (KC) vs CWS (L) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 91 pitches.

After going eight strong, he returned without a single strikeout (HAISTBMBWT?!) and poor ratios, literally giving you nothing in standard leagues. That’s why he’s a Werewolf.

Nick Pivetta (BOS) @ TB (L) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 85 pitches.

Womp womp. Let’s not play this game, okay? Cool.

Michael Wacha (SD) vs PHI (L) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 94 pitches.

Yeah, the Phils are tough. He also floated a few too many changeups + three other mistakes down the pipe got pummeled for 100+ mph exit velocities. That’ll do it. Sadly, he has the Dodgers next and I’d sit him there, though he has a better chance than others to navigate around those elite bats. Wacha is a command guy, after all. We’ve seen him defuse top offenses before when he’s on point.

Colin Selby (PIT) vs MIL (ND) – 1.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 35 pitches.

Huh. I thought we’d see Mitch Keller following Selby, but he was nowhere to be seen. Not really sure what happened there and we move on.

Patrick Sandoval (LAA) vs BAL (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 107 pitches.

Sigh. One day he’ll have it all again. One day.

Dakota Hudson (STL) @ ATL (W) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 88 pitches.

This was 2 ER through five until he returned for the sixth…and still got the Win. Okay, whatever Hudson.

Zach Davies (ARI) vs COL (ND) – 3.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 72 pitches.

Blegh. There’s a spin of the wheel to be made against the Mets, but I wouldn’t go for it. This guy Davies feels like a spy for your opponents. What, a Zach-a-mole? AYYYYYY. You get to stay on the couch for another week. Two weeks? I TAKE IT BACK. Awwww.

Alex Wood (SF) @ CHC (L) – 2.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 52 pitches.

Ah, it was you today. I wonder how excited he is to go to a team that will actually let him start next year.

Spencer Strider (ATL) vs STL (L) – 2.2 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 65 pitches.

Aces gonna…yooooooo what. Welp, there goes the Cy Young hopes unless he has a miraculous final month, which is unlikely given how Atlanta will likely limit him in some fashion down the stretch to ease him into October. He’ll get his chances to correct it, still, and all we can do is wait, index fingers mirrored under our nose with our utmost focus. We have to focus or else it won’t work out. Hey, I get it. This is a very serious time of the year.

Chris Flexen (COL) @ ARI (L) – 2.1 IP, 6 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 63 pitches.

Nick, you said all of these Rockie pitchers could perform well this week. WELL I’M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT. Nah, y’all know it was more of a hope than a proclamation, though I’m still sad I had to scroll so far down to see Flexen’s name (yes, the roundups are ordered by ER allowed if you haven’t picked that up yet). Welp, that’s all the consideration we had for Flexen, enjoy the fall. Well that’s rude. Like the season, ya dingus. Ohhhhhh. Still rude. Okay fair.

Lyon Richardson (CIN) vs SEA (L) – 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 95 pitches.

Sometimes you’d rather just have the wardrobe.

Max Scherzer (TEX) vs HOU (L) – 3.0 IP, 7 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 60 pitches.

Aces gon-oh. Welp, it’s not like you’re gonna drop the guy. Whatareyagonnado. Velocity was the same, but his curveball and slider spins were massively down – we’re talking 140-200 rpm drop. Spin drops can be an indication of Scherzer failing to get a good grip on the ball, especially if there wasn’t a velo dip with it. Here’s to hoping it was just a One Night Bland.

 

Game of the Day 

Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Carlos Rodón – Rodón is heating up y’all. And Erod is there, too.

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.

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