Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup: Brasso Of Truth

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.

Brady Basso (OAK) vs DET (ND) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 85 pitches.

The Athletics elected to skip Osvaldo Bido’s start and give Brady Basso an opportunity in the rotation against the Tigers and boy did he take advantage of it: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 85 pitches is a luscious outing for managers giving it a shot, and no, I was absolutely not one of them.

He’s a southpaw across four pitches, rarely featuring a mediocre changeup as he’s four-seamer + changeup + slider. The heater sat 92/93 without good shape, while the breakers did work. His curve has the classic Zito drop, and his slider has success gloveside, but the heater? It’s not a sharp offering and I don’t quite understand how it performed so well.

Maybe it’s just Blame it on the Tigers. Maybe it looks awfully similar to the slider (more like a cutter with 4 mph difference) that it kept batters off-balance as both found the zone over 50% of the time. It’s a little strange to me, but if he happens to get another start in the rotation, he’d get the White Sox and I’d say, sure. Go for it. Just because I don’t quite get it doesn’t mean I’m not seeing batters struggle against him. His three main offerings could coast to another productive outing if he gets the gift of Chicago. A deep dish? How dare you.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Saturday:

 

Bailey Ober (MIN) @ KCR (ND) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 83 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. What, were you afraid the Royals had Ober’s number? Of course they do, everyone does. It’s on the back of his jersey.

Kyle Gibson (STL) vs SEA (ND) – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 112 pitches.

Awwww yes. Thanks Gibson, I appreciate the stream as a proper Toby, feasting on poor offense. The cutter and sweeper did work gloveside, while the changeup, despite not having its best precision, recorded a whopping 8/21 whiffs. It’s a lovely thing and possibly enough to warrant a hold for the Jays + Pirates across his next two.

Jose Quintana (NYM) vs CIN (W) – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 100 pitches.

Yessss. We have accurate Quintana once again. The changeup was gorgeous down-and-gloveside, the heaters were up and at the edges, and the curveball was barely hung over the plate. WE GOT THE GOOD STUFF. Why does he have to give me confidence right before the Phillies start? It’s not fair y’all. At least he’ll get the Nationals after if he shows this ability again.

Jakob Junis (CIN) @ NYM (ND) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 73 pitches.

Hot dang, look at you! That’s a Gold Star for Junis as not only did I question his ability to produce against the Mets, I didn’t even think he’d pitch more than four frames. It was classic Dancing With The Disco at nearly 50% sliders, but that gives him little credit for his ability to split the slider East-West and sit exclusively gloveside or armside – no middle sliders in these parts. I absolutely don’t buy Junis as a sinker/slider arm for five frames in the future and it’s clear we weren’t invited to this Birthday Party.

DJ Herz (WSN) @ PIT (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 87 pitches.

It’s kinda wild how many starters are leaving games with zero hits and no one bats an eye anymore. We shouldn’t have in the past, but now it seems like everyone understands and accepts pitch counts these days. Anywho, Herz’s changeup was solid down low, even if Herz fought his four-seamer release point all game. I trust the heater to work more often than the changeup, making this a good sign for Herz moving forward with a start against the Marlins. I guess we’re going in.

Clarke Schmidt (NYY) @ CHC (ND) – 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 75 pitches.

Come on Boone, you couldn’t give him one more out for a potential Win? This wasn’t the best we’ve seen of Schmidty with plenty of pitches leaking over the middle of the plate, but we should be happy he was pushed to 75 pitches and now should be above 80 for the Red Sox in the Bronx. That should be fine.

Ryan Brasier (LAD) vs CLE (ND) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 19% CSW, 16 pitches.

Even though we eventually saw Justin Wrobleski, it was for two frames and 40 pitches. Soooo yeah. Wow, such pitching.

Brenan Hanifee (DET) @ OAK (ND) – 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 10 pitches.

I really have to hand it to Brant Hurter. He’s quietly continued to produce for trusting managers, stealing yet another Win as he went 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks in relief. He’s a Toby on a heater and nothing more, with a pair of games against the Orioles up ahead that we’re obviously avoiding.

Tobias Myers (MIL) vs COL (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 11 Ks – 19 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 98 pitches.

Ohhh BABY. The rumors of Rockie Road were true…Dang right they were. A King Cole on the back of a 51% CSW four-seamer is the stuff of legend, while the slider and cutter deceived inside the zone. I’m digging this approach from Myers with his fastball/cutter looking similar out of the hand + a decent breaker to get outs. If only the changeup were better than 4/9 strikes…

José Berríos (TOR) @ ATL (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 90 pitches.

The Great Undulator is not only redeeming his poor season, he’s swinging too far with the pendulum, suddenly putting him in a position to record an ERA and WHIP below his normal 3.75 ERA/1.18 WHIP marks. Can he do it? He has three starts to go against mediocre lineups and for the sake of your fantasy teams, I sure hope he does.

Javier Assad (CHC) vs NYY (L) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 90 pitches.

That’s far better than I expected against the Yankees and anyone desperate enough to give this a twirl should be elated. Are you willing to take another dive into the pool of risk with a hike up the Rockies? Uhhh probably not. Me neither.

Ryan Pepiot (TBR) @ BAL (W) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 98 pitches.

We’ll take this all day. Pepiot has been a tough call given this rough matchup, his volatility, and a future schedule of @CLE, TOR, @BOS to end the year. I don’t believe this outing definitely made the case to hold Pepiot – it was mostly “Here’s my fastball, do something with it” – but I’d love to jump in for only the Toronto start if possible.

Tyler Anderson (LAA) @ TEX (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 92 pitches.

Well that’s a whole lot better. This wasn’t even Anderson’s best changeup with just a 53% strike rate, but the heater went 8/45 whiffs and lived upstairs well. I’m glad he’s looking better, I’m not going after this with the Astros up next for two. Nooooope.

Logan Gilbert (SEA) @ STL (L) – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 101 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. Once again, it was slider dominance with decent heaters and the rest of his secondaries doing whatever they wanted. His hook got great results at a 50% CSW (57% on seven splitters, too!), but I wouldn’t call them well-commanded, sadly. Same goes for that splitter. And the cutter. Whatever, we’re happy and will obviously continue to roll with Gilbert.

Mitch Keller (PIT) vs WSN (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 91 pitches.

Atta boy Keller. He had a rare BSB night with hard up, slow down, and yet the whiffs are still far lower than the approach suggests. That’s the Cherry Bomb life.

Cooper Criswell (BOS) vs CHW (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 79 pitches.

Wait, they let him go five innings? That’s awfully kind, though it’s still a Dusty Donut given the 1.60 WHIP and HAISTBMBWT?! Seriously, one whiff? ONE?! It was his fourth pitch and a gorgeous sweeper away. Ah, so 75 pitches followed without a whiff. Cool cool, Coop. I think I’m good.

Alec Marsh (KCR) vs MIN (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 84 pitches.

Ayyyy, that helps. His curve and sweeper did a whole lot of work in the lower half while his four-seamer returned a whopping 80% strike rate and got away with it. Don’t rely on 11/30 foul balls on that four-seamer again in the future. Marsh ain’t the guy.

Darren McCaughan (MIA) vs PHI (ND) – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 73 pitches.

Props to Darren for doing his best against the Phillies, but yeah, he’s not a guy to chase in any realm. It’s 88-91 mph heaters with a mediocre sweeper from the right side on a losing team. This isn’t it.

Logan Webb (SFG) @ SDP (W) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 84 pitches.

Are you happy with this? I got a Win. And a VVVVPQS. I’m not sure I’ve whipped that one out this year. Weird to see him go 57% sinker and just 17% changeup. Huh. Welp, I guess we have no choice but to roll with it, right? Good luck.

Luis L. Ortiz (PIT) vs WSN (L) – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 100 pitches.

He couldn’t close the door on the sixth frame, turning this into a Philly in a solid matchup. His slider and cutter were both erratic and he wasn’t able to separate his pitches quite as well as in other starts, but for the most part, it was standard Ortiz. He looks set to get the Marlins next week and I’d still go for that one.

Zach Eflin (BAL) vs TBR (L) – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 91 pitches.

A slightly worse than VPQS outing against the Rays after you cruised in Coors? It’s almost like pitchers are humans and not robots. Eflin, why must you be so human?! He has two more fantastic matchups ahead and I imagine he won’t set up camp inside the heart of the zone for those, too.

Jack Leiter (TEX) vs LAA (ND) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 20 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 86 pitches.

That heater is so dang good. If the curve and/or slider were reliable, this dude could explode. Probably the slider instead of the curve, but I’ll take either as that fastball is obviously that one kid on his rec basketball team who was drafted first and can’t believe there’s no one else on his team to pass to. He can drop 30 and the team loses 40-36. Enjoy the Gallows Pole, #1 pick (fine, Leiter was second), you’ll find more help in the future. I promise. If Leiter is still in the rotation for his next start, I’d be tempted to give it a spin against the Mariners in Seattle. That heater is gonna COOK once again.

Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL) vs TOR (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 72 pitches.

Bleeeeegh. That’s the second straight start of failing to earn whiffs across his arsenal, missing with many of his pitches and that dang Horowitz nearly hitting three home runs off him. At least the cutter was good? I can’t believe we’re in this position, but now he gets the Dodgers and @CLE next and that’s cause for consideration to drop the fella. After all, I don’t want to start him in Los Angeles, which means we’re saving him for a rugged start in Cleveland. He could rebound next time out and make you feel comfortable, so if you want to give it some time before making the decision, I fully understand. This marks two straight of looking a bit off.

Yusei Kikuchi (HOU) vs ARI (W) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 99 pitches.

Kikuchi didn’t have his best command here with what felt like half his pitches in the heart of the zone with both four-seamers and sliders. No, that’s not what the game plan should be. However, I have good news. You just saved a bunch of— Stop that. He should get the Angels twice in a row moving forward and that’s lovely.

Dylan Cease (SDP) vs SFG (L) – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 102 pitches.

Aces gonna…still struggle against LHB. Where. Is. The. Cutter. You’re frustrated and I’m totally with you. At least he still gets good matchups ahead and we’re still going for it, even if he hasn’t recorded eight strikeouts in any of his last seven games.

Aaron Nola (PHI) @ MIA (L) – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 101 pitches.

Aces gonna…stumble against the Marlins. He did get a bit Singled Out at times, but two HRs are two HRs. Whatareyagonnado. The curve looked so filthy for most of this game.

Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI) @ HOU (L) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 88 pitches.

Yeaaaah. He had to be his best self to come through against the Astros. Narrator: He was not. It wasn’t for lack of trying – the Neckbeard approach is the way to go – but changeups and heaters missed just off the edges too often. It could be better across two starts against Milwaukee for those in QS leagues, but in your standard 12-teamers, I think you can find something safer.

Mitchell Parker (WSN) @ PIT (ND) – 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 78 pitches.

Womp womp. I wrestled this one all week and while I’m glad I ultimately made the right decision of favoring Gibson (and probably Heaney, too), I’m still awfully sad about this result. Simply put, his heater was terrible and his command was all over the place. That’s not the Parker we know and I’d bank on a return to form against the Marlins.

Garrett Crochet (CHW) @ BOS (L) – 2.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 51 pitches.

Ahhhh right. There’s no lock that Crochet will always be able to go all four frames – he has to not run into any trouble at all as he doesn’t have any time to make up for a rough first or second frame. This really isn’t worth it.

Ty Blach (COL) @ MIL (L) – 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 57 pitches.

Blach.

Gavin Williams (CLE) @ LAD (L) – 0.2 IP, 5 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 16% CSW, 37 pitches.

He was throwing gas but was just missing the plate and it’s tough to see five runs on two hits. I’m blaming the sudden change of routine, pitching today instead of tomorrow, and, you know, the Dodgers. This is a rough one, I feel for y’all. I do have good news – he gets the Rays next. That should be far better.

 

Game of the Day

 

Patrick Corbin vs. Jared Jones – Corbin is performing far better than we’ve seen all year with his harder cutter and Jared should be the great destroyer of lineups.

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)