Spring Training has arrived and as I’ve been writing daily notes for myself to recap all spring training starting pitchers, 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
Not only is Eury Pérez enduring a fingernail issue, but now he’s also dealing with elbow soreness and will visit a surgeon. This is not great in the slightest and Pérez is sure to miss some time to start the year, if not a very significant amount. Pérez’s absence could mean the return of Max Meyer to the rotation while Braxton Garrett needs another week or two, though the Marlins could turn to their bulk relievers in the short term instead and preserve Meyer’s innings, especially with Edward Cabrera likely to return to the rotation before the end of April as he recovers from shoulder tightness
More great news for Yankee fans: Gerrit Cole could be back sooner than expected. He will take it easy for 3-4 weeks and then ramp up to returning to the field.
Anthony DeSclafani is still expected to be part of the opening day rotation for the Twins. Unfortunately, this means Louie Varland will not get his chance to start out of camp.
Domingo Germán has signed a minor league deal with the Pirates. In addition to the emotions of seeing a team want to roster Germán in the first place, it’s frustrating to see Jared Jones‘ fight for a rotation spot even tougher.
José Urquidy is dealing with elbow pain and returned to Houston to undergo further tests. Expect Ronel Blanco to take the fifth rotation spot with J.P. France as the SP #4 out of camp…
…or the Astros could sign Blake Snell instead as Ken Rosenthal reported that the Astros are heavily considering Snell to fill out their rotation. I’ll believe it when I see it, though it does make sense for the Astros to chase Snell given their lack of SP depth and their current run of injuries.
Cody Bradford is confirmed as the SP #5 for the Rangers. We assumed as much.
Even though Nick Lodolo is feeling better, he will be pushed back until April 10th to make his first start of the season. In addition, Nick Martinez’s ribs injury doesn’t seem to be too serious and will face hitters today. He’s expected to be in Lodolo’s spot to start the year.
Expected Rotations By Team
Statcast Games – TV
DET vs. TOR
MIA vs. STL
WSN vs. NYM
PIT vs. NYY
Keider Montero (DET) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. 2/52 whiffs with a hard fastball and nothing else. Seriously, 0/24 whiffs on secondaries ain’t it.
Ricky Tiedemann (TOR) – 2.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. I’m just not that impressed with Tiedemann as I still question if he has good enough command or a proper third offering. He’s more East-West than I like (West-East since he’s a southpaw?) and it doesn’t add up to a reliable arm who can remove himself from the Cherry Bomb tag when he does get the chance to start later this year.
Ryan Weathers (MIA) – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Four-seamer is still looking good, albeit a little slower at 95/96 mph instead of sitting 96/97. Sweeper was a little worse as well for just one whiff, but I dig the main heater still with good locations. There’s a major question of Weathers vs. Rogers, which I don’t think we can get to until we see more of Trevor on the bump, and I may not be able to decide until next week’s outing for Weathers. I’m slightly leaning Weathers still, but maybe both are great gets?
Yonny Chirinos (MIA) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. With Eury down, it’s most likely Chirinos getting the fifth spot until Braxton or Edward are ready to go. Yeah, sorry Max Meyer fans.
Steven Matz (STL) – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. After topping out at 97+ last time out, Matz failed to hit 96 mph here. HOWEVER, he finally got whiffs on a pitch, boasting 7/21 whiffs on his changeup. That could be something, right? Maybe? We wait.
Trevor Williams (WSN) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. #NeverTrevor.
Adrian Houser (NYM) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Chuck heaters, hope for the best. Not in my Houser.
Quinn Priester (PIT) – 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. 8/23 slider whiffs as it’s nearly four ticks harder than last year at this point, spotted stupid well, and featured 40% of the time. I wish there was something else to get excited about in Priester’s arsenal, but at the very least, it sure seems like Jared Jones isn’t getting the rotation spot. Sigh.
Luis L. Ortiz (PIT) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. This was far better than typical Ortiz. Sinkers were actually located armside consistently, changeups went over 60% strikes, and his slider was legit. Huh. Still don’t expect it each time he pitches but at least we’re making progress – a 65% strike changeup would be such a blessing for Ortiz.
Clarke Schmidt (NYY) – 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. He’s trying so hard to get that cutter inside to LHB and he still can’t quite do it with regularity. He’ll get the Astros + Jays to start the year and I want nothing to do with that.
Statcast Games – No TV
ATL vs. DET
AJ Smith-Shawver (ATL) – 3.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. The velocity is still there, but the fastball approach needs to get better. Monitor it during his time in the minors and hopefully it clicks by his call-up later this year.
Matt Manning (DET) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. His heater is at 94 mph and located well upstairs while the slider is two ticks up, landing in the zone, and went 5/22 whiffs. With the great early schedule, I’m all for rostering Manning on my squads late in drafts, possibly above Olson in some cases.
No Statcast – TV
BAL vs. TBR
CHC vs. CHW
MIN vs. BOS
PHI vs. HOU
Dean Kremer (BAL) – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Yes, he has a rotation spot with a great opening schedule. I guess that’s enough, to stream him in deep leagues, right? Maybe?
Albert Suárez (BAL) – 2.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. It was a fun ride. I will try to never forget you.
Naoyuki Uwasawa (TBR) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Look, I know the Rays need a fifth starter now with Bradley’s injury, but Uwasawa just isn’t enough for me to focus on it. I honestly think it’s a collection of Uwasawa, Waguey, and T-Lex with three innings or so, and we can just move on.
Jacob Waguespack (TBR) – 3.2 IP, 1 ER, 0 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. See above. I just don’t want to deal with the Rays’ finickery (that’s totally a word) as none of these guys are actually legit starters to dominate games.
Jordan Wicks (CHC) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Meh. I still can’t decide if I’d want to start Wicks for his Wrigley start against Rockie Road or not. Won’t he get the Rangers if Taillon’s back keeps him out of the opening rotation? Oh snap, so now he gets the Rangers? Yeah, no thanks.
Chris Flexen (CHW) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. He has a spot in that rotation, if that means something to you.
Garrett Whitlock (BOS) – 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. A much better performance for Whitlock and it helps us feel more comfortable grabbing him in drafts and starting him for the Mariners + Angels matchups outside of Fenway to kick off the season.
Cristopher Sánchez (PHI) – 2.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Well dang, he was cruising early then grounders found holes and that’s your ball game. I’m not spooked by this and still want Sánchez as a late-round target.
Ronel Blanco (HOU) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. If the Astros don’t sign Snell or another SP, it’s Blanco taking Urquidy’s spot in the rotation until Verlander is ready to go and while I’d normally consider him as a sneaky play at the end of drafts, the bad news is the SP #5 in Houston gets the Jays + Rangers in his first two outings. Those are solid offenses. Sure are. Not worth it, sadly.
No Statcast – No TV
CLE vs. KCR
MIA vs. STL (Prospects)
WSN vs. NYM (Prospects)
Tyler Beede (CLE) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. With Gavin Williams needing more time, Carrasco should take his rotation spot and suddenly Beede makes the team as the long reliever. Wow, this is actually working out for Beede and even as one of his biggest cheerleaders, I’m shocked by it. I still don’t think it matters much for fantasy, though.
Brady Singer (KCR) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. That’s a decent bounceback for Singer, though so not enough for us to actual get on this train.
Thomas White (MIA) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Hey, that’s pretty fun. Won’t see him for a while.
Noble Meyer (MIA) – 1.10 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. Womp womp. You’ll get your shot soon enough, Meyer.
Tink Hence (STL) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Hence is one of the more legit prospect arms around and y’all and this was a fun one. He’s an auto-pickup when he arrives, which may be this summer if everything lines up.
Tekoah Roby (STL) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. A decent frame, earning his strikeout on a big curve in the dirt. If his early minor league starts go well, he may be one of the first to get the call. There’s some hope here if he finds his rhythm.
Dominic Hamel (NYM) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. He looked solid with a 96/97 mph heater that can earn whiffs. Like Christian Scott, Hamel could be a name to know on the Mets this year.
What To Watch on TV Today
SPs to watch on TV today #SpringSPnotes
Updates daily via Plus Pitch Podcast & SP Roundup article.
LUIS GIL DEMANDS THE #5 SP SPOT WATCHPARTY
Ryan Pepiot – Good command?
Pablo López – AGA
Trevor Rogers – CH getting whiffs? Good FB?
Tarik Skubal – LET'S GOOOOOO
Mitch…— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) March 16, 2024
It’s absolutely gross how much of a virtue signaler you are. Domingo German is not an “evil” man. He clearly has problems. Have some compassion even for those that don’t conform to your orthodoxy.
shut da f up