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
Jordan Montgomery has signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a 1-year $25M deal, with a vesting option for 2025. Montgomery can opt-out of his contract if he makes 10 starts this season, or earn $20/22.5/25M on a one-year deal in 2025 if he makes 10/18/23 starts, respectively.
Shane Baz has been officially moved to the IL by the Tampa Bay Rays. If you have open IL spots, Baz is a great stash for the first month of the season.
Tommy Henry is starting the third game of the season for the Diamondbacks. This is terrible news for Ryne Nelson, who was originally slated to face Rockie Road and will now face the Yankees. That’s an avoid. Womp womp.
Expected Rotations By Team
Statcast Games – TV
HOU vs. HOU (Minors)
BOS vs. TEX
MIL vs. COL
SEA vs. SDP
OAK vs. SFG
LAD vs. LAA
J.P. France (HOU) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Just 21% cutters after flirting with 40% last time out, but still limited in fastballs and that’s generally good. What isn’t generally good is France’s command as so many of his pitches landed in the heart of the zone and he worked the edges poorly. Not ideal for a tough matchup against the Yankees to start the year.
Ronel Blanco (HOU) – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Hot dang, look at you! Both his slider and curve were cooking at 11/31 whiffs, but 4/13 whiffs on the changeup is more than welcome, and the heater, despite sitting 1-2 ticks down, was difficult to hit…because it was the minor league lineup. This wasn’t the best commanded game for his fastball and changeup, h*ck, even his curve and slider were a bit wild at times. Don’t let this game validate starting Blanco despite a tough early schedule.
Dane Dunning (TEX) – 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. It was 70% sinker/slider and it was meh. The best version of Dunning I’ve seen is when the slider and cutter take over games and with just four cutters thrown here, it doesn’t seem like we’re getting that guy in early April.
Aaron Ashby (MIL) – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. We have some data on Ashby for the first time since 2022 after missing all of 2023 with shoulder surgery. Sadly, he’s down to just 93 mph on the heater and still without command of his arsenal. Surely he’s just ramping up and getting his footing after so much time and we’ll be monitoring his progress in the minors. He’ll inevitably get the call to start for the Brewers this year, I hope we have more to latch onto when that time comes.
Ryan Feltner (COL) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Hmmmm. The slider is more of a cutter for called strikes, but he is throwing harder at 95/96 mph with a super flat four-seamer…nah. It’s the Rockies, he doesn’t have a reliable #2 for whiffs and after boasting a sub 10% SwStr on the four-seamer last year, I’m not convinced he’s suddenly making it a dope offering this year, especially in Coors. But he’s in Wrigley for his first start! DON’T CARE. You care a little. DON’T CARE A LOT.
Casey Lawrence (SEA) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. He’s the SP #6 for the Mariners, who has an 88 mph sinker and is your Ryan Yarbrough type with changeups and cutters featured more than said sinker. This ain’t it, chief.
Michael King (SDP) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. He’s a command freak who can pull off the Neckbeard approach with whiffable sweepers and changeups. Don’t let the 3 ER deter you here, I dig King a lot this year.
Paul Blackburn (OAK) – 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. It’s cool to see him go 30% cutters in recognition of a poor 92/93 mph four-seamer, but that isn’t enough to justify rostering Blackburn. We need more, dangit.
Spencer Howard (SFG) – 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. He’s a depth piece for the Giants and still doesn’t have a repertoire worth chasing. I feel like I’ve waited four years for Howard to earn a whiff on his slider or changeup. WHERE IS IT.
James Paxton (LAD) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. We finally have some data on Paxton as I’ve felt he’s been overlooked this pre-season as a great April arm to stabilize your team until he inevitably gets hurt in May/June, though he may not be so appealing right now. He was sitting 95 mph last year on his heater and that pitch was a measly 93 mph in this game, maxing under 95 at 94.8 mph. Ther is good news, though: His curve was well commanded and he was executing the BSB effectively. Maybe that’s enough? Maybe Paxton was saving a few bullets before his first start of the year? He’ll get the Giants in what seems to be a great Win chance and he may still be worth your time there. I just wish we saw 95 mph again.
Chase Silseth (LAA) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 10 Ks. Silseth spotted his four-seamers well in this one, allowing him to keep the ball out of play and returning 11/1 fouls to BIP on four-seamers. That set up his sliders and splitters, which he spotted incredibly well here. I worry that the heater is simply too detrimental while we don’t always see this pristine location for his full array often. That said, he clearly deserves some attention as he fanned ten in five frames against a legit Dodgers crew. At least he has this potential, right?
Statcast Games – No TV
DET vs. TBR
ATL vs. MIN
CLE vs. ARI
Casey Mize (DET) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. This is the Mize we want. Four-seamer precision upstairs, sliders for strikes (and some whiffs!), and splitters + curves underneath. Strap in y’all. Le Mize is the summer blockbuster you’re looking for.
Ryan Pepiot (TBR) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. The biggest note from this game was his leash: The Rays let him toss 88 pitches in this one, suggesting that Pepiot may not be babied as we’ve seen in the past from Tampa Bay’s helicoptering parental style of their young arms. I still adore how Pepiot is actually elevating his four-seamer (IT CAME TRUE), though even with 11 whiffs on his slider and changeup combined, I still worry that he’s struggling to keep both pitches down, and more specifically, out of the zone. This is obviously good enough, but it may not be against the tough opponents he faces early in the year. I like him for the long term, it just may be a little painful early.
Jake Odorizzi (TBR) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. It’s important to note Odorizzi, who the Rays signed to become their fifth starter while Taj Bradley and Shane Baz recover and hopefully return to the rotation in May. He’s still the same Odorizzi with four-seamers upstairs, now pairing it with cutters on the same plane but with horizontal bend + splitters underneath. It isn’t terrible, but it is slower and likely not enough to chase. But hey, let’s keep an eye on it if he has a great matchup and still carries this command.
Charlie Morton (ATL) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. He’s 1-2 ticks down his heater still and that’s a bit worrisome. At least his curveball is still ole reliable? Nah, I’m too terrified of Morton, who many anticipate will carry an ERA north of 4.00 and a WHIP you can’t get yourself to look at. But the Wins! Sure, you do you.
Louie Varland (MIN) – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. The line is rough, but the skills were not. Well, his sinker and changeup need a lot of work and the slider wasn’t doing what he wanted it to, but the core of Varland – high 95 mph four-seamers and cutters for strikes – was very much intact. Just two hits on those two pitches (70% of all offerings) and he kept them separate and even earned 10/38 whiffs on the heater, while the cutter went 10/17 strikes with just one hit. We take that all day. The Atlanta lineup messed him up here and hopefully this final tuneup showcases how he can’t rely on the sinker/change as much moving forward.
Triston McKenzie (CLE) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. The velocity is down a tick, but the locations are generally great on both his four-seamer and curve, the latter of which returning a glorious 7/27 whiffs and looking like its 2022 self. Also looking like it’s high school photo is his slider, unfortunately, as he threw just one in the zone that result in a hit, going 3/11 strikes overall. Yikes. That was never his strong suit, though, and as long as McKenzie executes the BSB with his fastball and curve, he’ll be a lovely arm on your squad.
Brandon Pfaadt (ARI) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. I’m not seeing anything that has me adjusting me take on Pfaadt – he has a great sweeper and a deadzone four-seamer that needs to be elevated to prevent HRs again. He has good enough extensions and HAVAA to make it work higher, but he continues to live mostly in ym-Loc (middle height) and I see another season of sub 10% SwStr rates on the pitch with a 40-45% ICR because of it. Sigh. The changeup was well spotted here, though, so maybe I’m overlooking the sweeper/change combo too much? Ehhhh? He only threw nine slowballs across 71 pitches, though, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
No Statcast – TV
WSN vs. WSN (Minors)
STL vs. CHC
MacKenzie Gore (WSN) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. This was a game against the minor league squad, making him look better than he actually is, but to see him earn strikeouts on four different pitches, including 95 & 97 mph heaters, a lovely 1-2 changeup, and two breakers inside to RHB (Slider and Curve), well that’s just good pitchin’. I was completely wrong about Gore’s spot in the rotation and now that he’s the SP #4, I have some great news: HE GETS THE PIRATES. And then the Phillies. AND THEN THE ATHLETICS. And then an absolutely atrocious schedule for about a month. So let’s do this. Draft him at the end, see how he does against the Pirates, and if it’s stellar, we test the Phils to keep for the Athletics, then sell high. Sound good? Great.
Kyle Gibson (STL) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks. Hot dang, look at you! So we’re going to trust him now? Absolutely not! But his slider was soooo good! Okay fine, there’s a chance that pitch has found another gear and Gibson will be using it a ton more this year, though it’s mostly a putaway offering, forcing Gibson to get to two-strikes against a RHB for the opportunity in the first place. That’s not for me as it’s a chase pitch, not a strike pitch.
Shota Imanaga (CHC) – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. I have to admit, I’m a little scared that Shōta will become an ICR jester as he does make mistakes that do get punished often inside the zone. Batters have been awfully aggressive against him, abiding to pitches out of the zone for whiffs, but also ready to sway any mistakes over the plate. There may be an adjustment period here for Imanaga after the NPB’s lower level of contact that encouraged more pitches in the zone to earn quick outs. He has the stuff to soar, that’s for sure, and I’m excited to get proper in-season data and video. BASEBALL IS HERE Y’ALL.
What To Watch on TV Today
NOTHING. Opening day is tomorrow y’all and I’m livestreaming ALL DAY on playback.tv/pitcherlist. Stream starts at 1:00pm ET and runs through midnight. I’ll have many guests join us throughout the day as we jump between games. Come on through!