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.
Statcast Games – TV
BAL vs. PIT
HOU vs. NYM
DET vs. NYY
Grayson Rodriguez (BAL) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Wasn’t impressed watching this one. Struggled to find his release points for both his heater and breakers. Sinker appeared briefly and can be effective, but didn’t get a chance to show up as Grayson struggled to find a rhythm. Looking forward to the next one.
Cade Povich (BAL) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. He’s a four-seamer, cutter, change guy with a big hook that he can’t quite locate yet. I see a little bit of Max Fried here, though I think there’s more polish needed to locate his full arsenal, while the cutter failed to come inside to RHB (my guess is a mental approach of backdoor instead of inside). Someone to monitor if he gets a proper shot in the rotation moving forward, but not as a potential Grayson type until the precision comes.
Martín Pérez (PIT) – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Oh hey, it’s Pérez, who is 1-2 ticks down currently on his sinker and will likely ramp up. Carry on.
José Urquidy (HOU) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. Yep, that’s a kitchen-sink guy. Not as many heaters at the very top of the zone (nor above) as I’d want given its shape, but he threw strikes with secondaries and that plays as the #4/5 SP for the Astros.
Adrian Houser (NYM) – 1.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. ROBOT HOOOOUUUUSSSSER!
Matt Manning (DET) – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hit, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. It’s apparently a battle for two rotation spots between Manning, Mize, and Olson, and I’d be floored if Manning is sent to the pen. His four-seamer is far better now at 95+ mph instead of hovering 93 mph, with plenty of slider strikes. Still a touch of polish on command left to add, but he’s incredibly sneaky as a starter if he can keep that heater at 95+ and upstairs as we saw here.
Casey Mize (DET) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Mize is throwing two ticks harder as well, with talks about absurd iVB on his four-seamer, a pitch that was previously trumped by his sinker before TJS. I absolutely adored his ability to locate it upstairs, though his slider, curve, and splitter all failed to land underneath it effectively. If that four-seamer holds and he finds his split + slider again, there’s fantastic potential as a solid play every five days.
Nestor Cortes (NYY) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Cortes is looking back to normal and that’s a wonderful thing. The breaker allowed a solo shot and everything else was gravy. I still have anxiety that we’ll see a tweet at any moment outlining Cortes’ “barking shoulder” but if he’s still healthy by the final week of March, I’m very much in.
Statcast Games – No TV
TBR vs. MIN
MIL vs. ARI
Zack Littell (TBR) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Not great. 1.5+ ticks down on his heater, two ticks on the slider, and just 3/43 whiffs in total. Couldn’t get pitch separation either, but hey, it’s spring, right? He still has a rotation spot, of course.
Simeon Woods Richardson (MIN) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. He’s sitting nearly three ticks up this spring, and with his super over-the-top release point, it makes for a terrible angle at the top of the zone…but excellent iVB and near elite extension that could be explosive at 93 mph instead of 90 mph. I’m not sold yet, though, and with his command seemingly questionable here, I’m still out on SWR. Need more data and video first.
Freddy Peralta (MIL) – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Blegh. Low fastballs burned him, but the velocity is still there and I’ll take 10/16 slider strikes all day. We move on.
DL Hall (MIL) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. I WANT TO SEE HIM ON TV. 60% strikes isn’t ideal as he didn’t find a great feel for his changeup, but give the kid a little time to get settled in. It’s a legit heater and slider with the slow ball looking like a legit pitch last season. With Wade Miley possibly missing opening day, it could mean that Hall is the Looks at clipboard SP #2 for the Brewers. Okay fine, they won’t put him there (likely Colin Rea or whoever), but you get my point.
Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI) – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Rodriguez was a close to a tick down on everything and earned just 3/55 whiffs as he lived plenty in the zone and was pummeled for it. That’s not his game and you should expect some refinement before opening day.
No Statcast – TV
TOR vs. BOS
PHI vs. ATL
CLE vs. CHC
COL vs. LAD
SEA vs. SDP
CHW vs. LAA
Kutter Crawford (BOS) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Hit 97 mph on the gun after sitting 93/94 mph last year. I can’t see a world where he doesn’t enter the year in the rotation and I’m grabbing him everywhere I can. It’s a great fastball shape with legit whiffability in his secondaries merged with a (k)utter he learned to earn effective strikes with in the second half of 2023.
Paolo Espino (TOR) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. With horrid early spring of Alek Manoah, the SP #5 in Toronto is up for grabs. It seems like Bowden Francis is the guy to step into the role, but Espino has starting experience with the Jays and may force his way if Francis doesn’t look sharp (this is assuming Ricky Tiedemann heads back to the minors after camp to continue stretching out). They really should sign Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell.
Chris Sale (BOS) – 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Looked great. Still had 95/96 mph in the third. ALL ABOOOOOARD.
Logan Allen (CLE) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. He has a rotation spot and he’s a legit sleeper for 15-teamers as many have hand-waved him. He doesn’t have enough upside to grab your attention in shallower leagues, but he can be a proper Toby that provides value in those deeper formats.
Xzavion Curry (CLE) – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. I have to mention how Curry could sneak into a starter’s role again after three innings here and I also need to mention that you should ignore it.
Kyle Hendricks (CHC) – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. I wonder if there’s still enough in the tank to hold the rotation spot. Let Caleb Kilian start…
Austin Gomber (COL) – 1.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. Oh dear.
Gavin Stone (LAD) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. There was some hype about Stone in First Pitch Florida, with James Anderson making the great point that the Dodgers are unlikely to turn him into a one-inning reliever. That said, I don’t see him regularly making starts for 5-6 frames, while his changeup-first approach without an overwhelming heater doesn’t make him something to focus on inside 12-teamers. Maybe the slider is better…? Meh.
Michael Grove (LAD) – 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Grove may find some innings here and there, but he’s not doing enough new to make you care.
Luis Castillo (SEA) – 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s the spring, don’t worry about this.
Yu Darvish (SDP) – 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Absolutely ADORE his secondary focus and feel like the velocity readings were off (92 mph?!). He’s leaning into his pitches better than before and I hope it’s what we see more of moving forward. This is good Darvish, y’all.
Erick Fedde (CHW) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Terrible camera angle and I can’t find a velocity reading, but seemed good? Mentioned he wants to be better at jamming LHB with cutters and I get the sense Fedde is going to be sneaky good with the White Sox. Pay attention.
Garrett Crochet (CHW) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Wasn’t able to land off-speed pitches, but felt great with his heater. Looking forward to a better camera angle. Seems like he’s still working on becoming a starter and not in the running at the moment.
Deivi García (CHW) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Sadly, not a rotation arm. Maybe one day.
No Statcast – No TV
CIN vs. KCR
SFG vs. CLE
TEX vs. OAK
Frankie Montas (CIN) – 2.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Well that’s not fun. I’d rather not chase Montas given the team context and his innate volatility, though there has been some hope he can hold better floor than his contemporaries in Cincy with his heavy sinker and splitter to keep the ball in the yard. He’s a pretty clear “wait and see” in-season instead of a late round flier as I wouldn’t trust him in his first start.
Rhett Lowder (CIN) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. AND YOU DIDN’T PUT IT ON TV?! I don’t expect Rhett in 2024, but let me see the dang kid.
Michael Wacha (KCR) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Yep, things look normal here.
Daniel Lynch IV (KCR) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Until I see reports of Lynch sitting 95/96, I’m simply not going to go near this. He’s a high extension fella and needs that velocity.
Jordan Hicks (SFG) – 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. The experiment is still sloshing between Erlenmeyer flasks and the Giants have too few options to abandon ship now. Let’s wait until something obvious clicks.
Daulton Jefferies (SFG) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Wait, why are you mentioning him? Because the Giants are in dire need of a starter and Jeffries was somewhat promising on the Athletics in 2022. He has starter experience and a line like this suggests he could be making a push. The other option is Mason Black, y’all. Not the highest bar, even if Black is an interesting prospect.
Tanner Bibee (CLE) – 1.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. So he allowed a HR in his first start of the year. Welcome to the spring.
Dane Dunning (TEX) – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. The five strikeouts are hopefully a suggestion of some approach/pitch development. Still not it, of course.
JP Sears (OAK) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Ummmmmm WHAT. Sears is a four-seamer guy with a flat arm angle who doesn’t elevate it as much as he should, while often battling his command to execute the true BSB with his slider. He’s added a sinker this off-season as well, and I so wish we had data or video for this one. He’s had these moments before (PLV has loved him, FWIW) but they are often fleeting given his questionable precision and feral command. Don’t forget this and monitor his next games.
Ross Stripling (OAK) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Strip should be in the rotation and everything looks normal here.
What To Watch on TV Today
SPs to watch on TV today #SpringSPnotes
WAKE UP IT'S TARIK SKUBAL DAY
Aaron Civale – SL focus?
Luis L. Ortiz – Decent Command?
Cody Bradford – Is he really the SP #5?
Jordan Wicks – Better than Caleb Kilian? (Is Caleb pitching today? LET HIM START)
Matt Waldron – Still in SP…— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) March 4, 2024