Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Friday 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.
Frankie Montas (MIL) vs COL (L) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 10 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 94 pitches.
You’re looking ahead at the calendar and now that Frankie Montas has continued his run against the lovely gift of Rockie Road – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 10 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 94 pitches. – his next start against the Giants looks awfully appealing.
I think I’m okay with it. Surprisingly, despite the ten strikeouts (Blame it on the Rockies), Montas sat just 95 mph, electing to hold off his flirtations with 97 mph for an evening. Still, his recent affinity for the BSB was alive, keeping his cutter, splitter, and slider consistently down, while peppering most of his heaters in the top half of the zone. That works at 95+ and hopefully next week brings a touch more heat to secure the stream. Don’t get too cushy, though – Philadelphia and Arizona follow and those starts are too risky, even if he comes through against San Francisco.
Let’s see how every other SP did Friday:
Framber Valdez (HOU) vs ARI (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 96 pitches.
The man has saved his season and it’s awesome to watch. We even saw three sliders! All strikes out of the zone! YOU TEASE ME. Keep rolling, obviously.
Max Fried (ATL) vs TOR (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 104 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. See? He always needs like 3-4 starts after a long break to get back into the groove. The changeup? Oh. Ummmm 0/6 CSW. Yeah, I want that back, too, but his fastball command and curveball feel are legit and that’s good enough.
Dean Kremer (BAL) vs TBR (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 88 pitches.
Ohhhh dang. Kremer’s status was up in the air after taking a massive comebacker to the hand, but he had his splitter and cutter working, while racking up 34% CSW and six whiffs with his four-seamer. Blame it on the Rays, sure, and definitely avoid for Fenway next. This does make me more optimistic about the Tigers after, though. Cool to see him execute arm-side and under the zone away.
Luis Gil (NYY) @ CHC (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 89 pitches.
This was far better than expected with nearly 90 pitches and a shimmering line. However, the heater was way down in velocity at just 95 mph, not the glimmer of ~97 mph we typically see. In addition, the changeup was poor and I’m not convinced we’ll see premium Gil ahead. That said, he’ll get the BOS and @SEA in his next two and we should be happy Gil was able to go Dancing With The Disco. We let it ride with his long leash.
Cole Ragans (KCR) vs MIN (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 95 pitches.
Aces gonna PEW PEW PEW. The changeup wasn’t as precise as we normally see, forcing more curves and sliders – the former going just 50% strikes, while the slider went 1/12 whiffs. But the heater is still a rock (95 mph is cool with me and he pushed it toward 98 mph at the end) and we’re smooth sailing.
Bryce Miller (SEA) @ STL (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 94 pitches.
Way to produce on the road. He was 62% heaters in this one, with his splitter returning the most strikes among his unreliable secondaries. Him and Woo are going the Wheeler method of four-seamer/sinker split against RHB, but need to figure out their approach against LHB over the off-season to truly take the next step. And, you know, have Wheeler’s command with 85th percentile sinker horizontal movement.
Nick Pivetta (BOS) vs CHW (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 97 pitches.
We’ve seen better from Pivetta, but we’ve certainly seen worse. The slider and cutter weren’t there as the curve and sweeper did a whole lot of work here, holding the fort for a sprinkling of four-seamers here and there, returning a ton of foul balls. You now have a tough choice with Baltimore coming to town next week, but given the cushy schedule after @TBR, MIN, TBR), I think you gotta go for it.
Davis Martin (CHW) @ BOS (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 86 pitches.
Yooooo THIS DUDE. In Fenway, too! The changeup was back in full force and did its part armside, but I was also impressed with his cutter and four-seamer dancing around the edges. I still don’t want to chance it against the Guardians, but I’m starting to heavily consider both streams against the Angels after that.
Matthew Boyd (CLE) @ LAD (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 87 pitches.
BOYD BOYZZZZZ, ASSEMBLE. The slider was stupid good against LHB, the changeup worked well against RHB, and the four-seamer & sinker didn’t get in the way. I was hesitant to believe he’d have both on point for a second start (let alone against the Dodgers) and after seeing this, y’all know I’m jumping in hard for the start against the White Sox. Here we GOOOOoooooo….!
Ryan Feltner (COL) @ MIL (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 95 pitches.
Hey, that’s a Gold Star! Feltner’s sweeper had a field day at 47% CW while the heaters combined for seventeen called strikes in a start away from his difficult home park. We’re all happy for you, Feltner.
Samuel Aldegheri (LAA) @ TEX (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 90 pitches.
Whoa whoa whoa, seven strikeouts?! 10/52 four-seamer whiffs?! Huh. His fastball shape is atrocious, ranking 29th of all 30 starters yesterday in Fan 4+ (velo, extension, iVB, HAVAA smushed into one). Watching it didn’t feel great, either, and yeah, sorry. I just can’t do this. It’s 92 mph with a 5.6 extension and 58% heaters. No way.
Zack Wheeler (PHI) @ MIA (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 84 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. Of course he did.
Shane Baz (TBR) @ BAL (L) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 103 pitches.
He got through it y’all. With 1-2 ticks down on everything. His heater was roughly 60th percentile across the board, but he kept the pitch upstairs away from the secondaries and that did wonders. If he can survive @CLE, then he hosts the Sawx and heads to Detroit…this could work out y’all.
Michael King (SDP) vs SFG (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 100 pitches.
Aces gonna ace. The King earning you a crown.
Erick Fedde (STL) vs SEA (L) – 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 18% CSW, 95 pitches.
It’s the Jays and Pirates next and I’m gonna try other things. A HAISTBMBWT?! under five innings and 95 pitches burns our trust to a crisp. Like a french fry? That’s tasty. Oh hey, one of the ten UK readers we have. Sup. You know I don’t mean that. I know. I just want to be seen. I SEE YOU.
Mitch Spence (OAK) vs DET (ND) – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 70 pitches.
I heavily debated this start all week and in the end, it looked like it should have worked if not for getting pulled in the fifth at just 70 pitches. Weird. He was Singled Out and didn’t have his best cutter, but we did see a curve appear and do some legit work at 44% CSW and 13/16 strikes (81% clip!). Too bad he gets the Astros and Cubs with a possible start against the Rangers and @ Seattle to close out the year. We’ll talk then.
Landon Knack (LAD) vs CLE (L) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 91 pitches.
It’s interesting with Knack. He can spot his four-seamer well, but the gameplan is to go away against both LHB and RHB, though he’s embracing its elite iVB to stay upstairs. That allows the slider, curve, and changeup to land low effectively (when executed) and it can absolutely work. I think the slider didn’t even have its best day here if you can believe it. With Stone and Kershaw out, we may see Knack stick around, which would be the Cubs then Marlins. I’m okay for both, but would ideally be conservative against the Cubs and lean into the Marlins start…if he gets it. Consider Knack an option.
Tarik Skubal (DET) @ OAK (ND) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 96 pitches.
Aces gonna ace with a King Cole, though he was Singled Out enough to return a Philly. He also didn’t have the best precision I’ve seen, to be fair, with a whole lot of pitches smattered in the middle of the plate. And it was still a solid ERA with seven strikeouts.
Gerson Garabito (TEX) vs LAA (L) – 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 51 pitches.
We saw José Ureña by the end and 5.2 IP of 2 ER and five baserunners with a few strikeouts is pretty solid for the vet. That’s the ceiling, though. Nooooope.
Fernando Cruz (CIN) @ NYM (ND) – 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 20 pitches.
He opened for Brandon Williamson, who tossed just sixty pitches of 1 ER ball across four innings. The changeup is still lacking and the cutter is fine. I’m out against the Cardinals unless you’re Win hunting in a possible vulture situation.
Kevin Gausman (TOR) @ ATL (L) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 109 pitches.
A VPQS is kinda standard affair for Gausman these days, isn’t it. But guess what? 10/40 splitter whiffs! 25% SWINING STRIKE RATE! Yup. I haven’t seen him above 20% in a single game since…oh my. June 8th. In fact, it’s just the fourth time all year above 20% after he averaged a 22%+ SwStr rate on his splitter every season since 2018. Yuuuup. ANYWAY, maybe this sticks around now? Wouldn’t that be awesome.
Jordan Wicks (CHC) vs NYY (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 95 pitches.
We expected a line like this, but if there’s one silver lining, it’s Wicks getting up to 17″ of vert on his heater. I don’t care, I don’t trust the dip in velocity and sub 50% changeup strikes. I know, that’s why it’s a silver lining. You know, when it’s bad and there’s at least something positive. And hey, he was BSB. If he can wrangle the changeup (and hopefully breaker, too), with the velo coming back, then he’s a proper Toby if not more. I’m curious what Coors brings with and innate -3.0″ dip of iVB.
Sean Manaea (NYM) vs CIN (ND) – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks – 20 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 97 pitches.
He started a day early and a pair of two-run shots ruined this Gallows Pole. Don’t watch them, you’ll reel in pain seeing the meatball heater to Elly and floated sweeper to Friedl. Shudders. They were the few major mistakes of the game, though, and 14 whiffs across sweepers and changeups is gorgeous – especially the changeup’s consistency to RHB. Maybe the best change I’ve seen all year from Manaea.
Zebby Matthews (MIN) @ KCR (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 89 pitches.
He’s cooked Nick! Yeah, I totally get that thought. His heater isn’t overwhelming batters (1/34 whiffs = blegh) and we’re seeing him go pretty much just three-pitch, even if he has five in the tank. However, he nearly went 5.0 IP and 2 ER if not for a 1-2 slider at 88mph off the plate that was fought off the end of the bat barely enough to land in shallow left field for his final two runs allowed. The WHIP would still have been poor, but you’d have been fine with it. The skill set speaks to a solid Toby with 23%+ strikeout ability, but the five inning cap + lack of overwhelming ceiling is lowering his appeal. I’d start him against the Angels or Reds next (six-man or five-man rotation?) but would be fine swapping for something else if needed.
Brandon Pfaadt (ARI) @ HOU (L) – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 88 pitches.
Yeah. Let’s not push it with Pfaadt in poor matchups, including Coors in the near future. He gets the Brewers next, which is fine, but not enough to hold as it’s the only value you’d get for the next two weeks until he gets the Giants. Totally possible that’s a solid outing, I just feel like you can do more with the roster spot.
Mason Black (SFG) @ SDP (L) – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 93 pitches.
Seven feet of extension with a flat 1.5 HAVAA does keep me a little intrigued on Black, but he needs to throw harder than 92/93 and do a little more with his slider to get me latched onto him. Not the worst heater command, but this isn’t an Ober/Bradford level of precision that he needs. I think this is the last we see of Mason this year and he’s on my radar with that extension/attack angle and a slider that can miss bats.
Austin Kitchen (MIA) vs PHI (L) – 2.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 55 pitches.
I can’t be the only one disappointed that Kitchen mostly throws just two pitches. We were promised a sink! Well, he throws a sinker…NOT WHAT I MEANT. Cabrera was scratched so the Marlins did what they could. We move on.
Game of the Day
Tyler Anderson vs. Jack Leiter – I’m curious if Anderson finds his groove again and I have a deep hope for Leiter to have his first breakout start. Just execute the BSB with fastball/slider…
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 Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X)
Have a hunch we could see more of Mason Black considering he’s one of four healthy Giants SP at the moment.