Spring Training has arrived and as I’ve been writing daily notes for myself to recap all spring training starting pitchers for the Plus Pitch Podcast, I realized I should publish them on the site for quick access.
I’ll be livestreaming every morning 10am-12pm ET at playback.tv/pitcherlist as I watch all of the starts with y’all and answer all your fantasy baseball questions.
Major SP News To Know
Hayden Birdsong will pitch out of the bullpen after dealing with a cracked fingernail and Landen Roupp has earned the fifth spot for the Giants. Roupp is a solid early pickup to see if his spring success can carry into the season.
The Yankees have signed Ryan Yarbrough to a one year deal and Jake Woodford to a minor league deal. Look, they need depth, y’all. I get it.
Walker Buehler was scratched from his Sunday start with an illness and tossed 85 pitches in a minor league game on Monday. He’ll be good to for the start of the year.
The Pirates don’t have a clear SP #5 as Thomas Harrington and Carson Fulmer were sent to the minors. It’s Carmen Mlodzinski for now, but he may be acting as an opener. Bubba Chandler is a stash play, though he’ll likely be held back until May or so.
In a surprise move, the Angels have demoted Reid Detmers to the bullpen and slotted Jack Kochanowicz into the fifth spot of the rotation. I’m not interested in The Jack of One Trade outside of AL-Only leagues, setting managers up for a Grave Mistake in shallower leagues.
There is “no timetable” for Shane McClanahan returning to the mound. Yikes. Let’s just pencil in all-star break at this point…?
HUGE SITE NEWS
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Head to playback.tv/pitcherlist, follow the channel, and I’ll see you on Opening Day!
Expected Rotations By Team
Statcast Games – TV
PHI vs. TB
MIN vs. PIT
NYM vs. NYY
CWS vs. ATH
COL vs. MIL
TEX vs. KC
HOU vs. SUG
LAA vs. LAD
MTY vs. BOS
AZ vs. CLE
SF vs. DET
Taijuan Walker (PHI) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 K. He’ll likely start after Wheeler’s second start of the year (they have Friday and Monday off = regular rest for Wheeler) and I’ve already spent too many words on Walker.
Zack Littell (TB) – 1.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K. You’re absolutely in this rotation now and that’s an awfully small tune up. You also sat 90.2 mph (-2.2 mph) on your four-seamer. Are you okay? Do we need Joe Boyle to come save you? No? Are you sure???
Bailey Ober (MIN) – 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K. Why must you do this to me. I had to drop you massively down The List because your heater is getting worse. 89.4 mph (-2.3 mph) after showcasing 90/91 and not 91/92 this spring + the four-seamer isn’t painting the top of the zone red like it used to. It’s scary and I hate scary inside the Top 30 SP.
Thomas Harrington (PIT) – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 K. Harrington isn’t the SP #5 after all, or maybe he is after two weeks? Who knows, I’m going to avoid him and his 91 mph heater without filthy stuff. I hate relying on control and command for rookies.
Marcus Stroman (NYY) – 3.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K. Y’all know he’s sitting under 90 mph, right? Cool. Yes, there’s a chance he can steal a Win, but let’s be honest. The Yankees signed The Fratty Pirate for a reason – he’s a guy they can slot in after Stroman or Carrasco for the 5th inning and clean up before it gets messy. Wait, so Ryan Yarbrough has sneaky Win value? Oh. OH. He does.
Davis Martin (CWS) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K. I know there’s love for Martin and his kick change (2/14 whiffs here), but it’s not that incredible. The four-seamer is still blegh and he needs to land the cutter and slider better for him to be fantasy relevant. Also, 8/18 strikes on cutters + sliders is, um, not good. Considering the low Win chance already, I’m not seeing the ceiling here.
JP Sears (ATH) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 0 K. No BSB and his sweeper nor changeup are spotted. I can’t, y’all. Please trade him to a better team already.
Ryan Feltner (COL) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K. COL story, bro. Yeah, it’s time to bring that back in full.
Nestor Cortes (MIL) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K. He was down to 90.7 mph (-1.7 mph) and I hope that’s just the tune up talking. It might not be and it’s cool to see more changeups than usual with 19% usage and decently spotted to RHB. He nailed the down-and-away quadrant of the zone consistently, but didn’t get under the zone at all with them, leading to just 2/14 whiffs. I dig the precision, though, and if that can actually be a part of his game, Cortes could be awfully sneaky. Huh. If only Cortes didn’t have to head to the Bronx for his first start of the year. If the changeup is still there, I may love jumping in after given he’s getting drafted at pick 266 and possibly on your waiver wire.
Tyler Mahle (TEX) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K. He’s at 92.4 mph on the heater. Not 93/94 mph, but at least it’s not 90/91. That’s okay for the Red Sox and it could also be him holding back a little more until he turns on the jets over the weekend. The Jets? Football isn’t until the Fall. THANKFULLY.
Michael Wacha (KC) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 K. The changeup is still fantastic and that’s all that matters here. He’s a solid play against the Guardians this weekend.
Ronel Blanco (HOU) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 10 K. This was against their minor league club and I’m still a little worried about Blanco entering the year…but at least he’s feeling better now. Let’s give it a shot in his first start and see how it goes, cool?
Tyler Glasnow (LAD) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 9 K. Aces gonna ace. He’s at 96 mph with 7.6 feet of extension. lol.
Richard Fitts (BOS) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K. HE’S STILL AT 96 MPH. That’s not 97+, fine, but it’s sure not 94 and change. He’s doing it with 17-18″ of vert and 7.2 feet of extension, which is glorious, and he’s generally keeping the pitch upstairs. There isn’t a secondary flirting with 90 mph, though, which I was expecting the slider to become or a cutter, but seeing at least two whiffs on all but his four sinkers is glorious. THAT SAID, he faced a Mexican league team, which could have influenced these results a bit. Whatever, the extension + velocity + vert + array of pitches = Must draft.
Eduardo Rodriguez (AZ) – 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K. Not an exciting one at all at 91 mph on the heater. I can see Eduardo squeaking out value with the Arizona defense behind him, but I don’t love going for it. There’s a reason he was #99 on The List – it’s possible for an early stream but I don’t like it.
Gavin Williams (CLE) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K. No cutter and under seven feet of extension is a little annoying, but we love the stuff on his 87 mph slider (just six thrown). Can you just show us the cutter already?
Robbie Ray (SF) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K. Our new PL Pro Live Feed app has our plvStuff+ and it loves Ray’s changeup from this game with a 118 plvStuff+. That’s hot. I wish he weren’t at 92/93 mph in this one (instead of 94+ mph), but the new changeup should work wonders.
Statcast Games – No TV
SD vs. SEA
MEM vs. STL
Stephen Kolek (SD) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 4 K. The Padres elected to go with Vásquez over Kolek. Poor fella. He wasn’t of consideration before and definitely shouldn’t be now.
Bryan Woo (SEA) – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 2 K. Ouch. Velocity is totally fine, he just didn’t spot as well as he has + the slider was terrible over the plate. Don’t think anything of it.
Andre Pallante (STL) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 1 K. His velocity was slightly better at 93.3 (-1.2) instead of 92+ mph, though its movement was still worse. I’m really not interested in this.
No Statcast – TV
CHC vs. ATL
Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL) – 2.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K. A pedestrian outing, likely just a tune up. Don’t think about it.
What To Watch Today On TV
Thanks, Nick. I’ve looked forward to these roundup reports every day this spring, and your effort is truly appreciated!
I’d imagine Ober remembers last season very well, the major mar on a magnificent season early, and is tinkering and saving bullets for the beginning of games that count. I feel that way about Ober in particular, but I never take ST performance for guys that are a lock for the roster, and a specific job they’re comfortable with, very seriously. They know their craft, they know how to prepare, they know what they need to work on, and they know when the flag drops.