Boxscore Bits: April 13th, 2022

A few thoughts on the games from Tuesday, April 12th:

Note: no chat from me today, but my regular season ones will start next Wednesday at 2pm CT!

FOR STARTERS

• Just 4 SP wins and 1 extended RP win of note: Megill, Smyly, Cobb, Elder, and Whitlock.
• Megill was brilliant again with even more velo (up .7 to 96.9) and near identical results, adding a third of an inning and losing a strikeout off his Opening Day appearance. He is a must-roster in all formats if he is somehow still available.
• Smyly was pretty pedestrian at PIT, but if you streamed him, you were rewarded outside of just the 1 K. Quintana was pretty solid against his old team, as well. Both veteran lefties will have bout of streamer usefulness as long as they remain healthy. Smyly gets a trip to COL this weekend so no need to pick him up in daily leagues, but gets PIT against next week so consider him in FAAB this weekend while Q gets WAS on the weekend and rematches Smyly & the Cubs next week so he could be worth the pickup now in deep daily moves leagues.
• Heaney was a popular sleeper, going around the 20th round in the Main Event, as many believed the Dodgers could be the team to maximize him. So far, so good. He led the day with a 24% SwStr rate and was excellent in the shortened outing. He gets CIN at home on the weekend and a trip to SD next week. He is rosterable in 12s or larger while at least worth a Watchlist inclusion in 10-team formats.
• Nasty Nestor! Cortes didn’t get a ton of hype after an excellent 93 IP last year (2.90 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 21% K-BB), but the soft-tossing lefty got off to a strong start and his velo was up to a career-best 91.2 mph. There is some discrepancy on his SwStr because we are showing 8%, but I’m seeing 9 swinging strikes in 72 pitches, good for a 13% mark. With starts at BAL and v. CLE in his next two, I’m going for Cortes is just about any format right now.
• Archer survived against the Dodgers, but I wouldn’t use this an impetus to scoop him everywhere. I’ve been a fan of his forever so I’m always keeping tabs on him in hopes of him recapturing his previous success. With a trip to KC coming up next week, I’d pick up Archer in deeper formats, but he is pretty far down the list of likely available guys for 10s and 12s.
• The Sandoval-Luzardo game did NOT disappoint! I will say that the early game shadowing that had the pitchers in bright sun and then the shadow starting about 10-12 ft in front of them wreaked havoc on batters and maximized what these two were able to do. I’m not discounting their starts because of it, just pointing out that it likely garnered an extra K or two. Both are all formats gems, so check your waiver wire and make sure they are rostered. I still favor Sandoval over Luzardo, but they aren’t too far apart.
• Seemed like L.Garcia was in cruise control a bit, pitching down the competition with a solid 4 IP. His velo was up 1.3 to 94.6 mph and I’m not worried about the modest numbers surrounding the scoreless appearance.
• No was starting MadBum against HOU but he held his own. He has a 2-start setup next week at WAS and v. NYM. It’s very risky because of how reliant he is on the many batted balls he allows finding gloves. There aren’t many formats where I’d be considering him even with WAS on the slate.
• I used to be a Kuhl fan when he was with PIT, hoping he could channel some of his sharp raw stuff into success, but it never really came together (4.44 ERA/1.42 WHIP) and he struggled to stay healthy as well. He survived 4 BB as his 18% SwStr was 3rd on the day, but of course he’s a Rockie so it will be very difficult to feel comfortable streaming him, even in a 2-step like next week (v. PHI, at DET). He is at least back on my Watchlist, though.
• Speaking of guys I can’t quit no matter how many times I’m burned, Velasquez did enough to remain Watchlisted for me. He had 3 BB to just 2 Ks, but another discrepancy on SwStr (I’m efforting the reasoning behind these discrepancies, btw) where we have 8% to ESPN’s 11%. It’s a 2-pitch difference, but that’s the difference between average and below.
• Mahle’s home woes weren’t in full effect here and he actually got a bit unlucky (though 3 of 4 R were unearned). I’m still not super confident using him at home against average or better offense, making him a tough start v. STL next week.
• Brash had some of the most GIF-worthy pitches of the day, but that might have obscured the fact that he was blasted when they did make contact with a 71% HardHit rate (40% lg. avg). There is plenty of excitement and he is a must-roster in all 12s or deeper while being a bit more borderline in 10s depending on who you’re cutting and who else is available. He is behind Megill, Sandoval, Luzardo, and Cobb just from Tuesday’s slate of guys with a high probability of being available in 10s or smaller.
• Speaking of Cobb, his velo was up nearly two ticks at 94.4 (+1.7), which he’d shown hints of in spring. He was really good last year and health has really been the only thing that slows him down. With some newfound strikeout stuff, he has all formats viability while healthy.
• Elder was a 5th round pick in 2020 so last year was his pro debut and he enjoyed a strong 3-level campaign (A+/AA/AAA) and got an early call to the majors. He pitched well with a lead and the Braves trusted him to start the 6th which was encouraging even though he did start getting hit that 3rd time through w/HRs to Soto & Bell. This is why teams so often curb those outings at 5, but challenging Elder when they had the lead to do it (11-1) was good to see.
• Bieber’s velo was up a little (+0.3) and he was clean through 5, but it all fell apart in the 6th. While he is coming off a major injury last year, there is still reason to believe this is just him tuning up on the job as opposed to indication of poor health. Either way, there is nothing actionable as I can’t imagine sitting him anywhere.
• Hill was Hill, but I added Whitlock to our board because he is very interested. Whitlock followed Hill with 4 no-hit innings to secure the win. He has all-formats relevance because it seems that he will either be in this follower role which is ripe for wins potential or just outright starting when he is stretched enough to go 5+. They just paid him, they love him, and so do I!
• Definitely wanted better out of streamer-types like Lauer and Hudson in good matchups. They remain streamers so if there is a better option, don’t hesitate to move on.
• Kikuchi is in that same tier, though you weren’t necessarily starting him in Yankee Stadium. He is on the chopping block if the studs from Tuesday are available.
• Brutal outing from Darvish. Just gotta eat this one, not much you can do.
• Tough debuts from Oller and Romero as they both got in trouble early and often. Keep tabs on them in case they settle and shine some deep league viability, but they needn’t be rostered anywhere.

STOLEN BASES

• Luis Robert 2 (4) – he had a supersized combo meal, adding a HR as well!
• Myles Straw 1 (3)
• Cody Bellinger 2 (2) – at least he’s doing something of value
• Whit Merrifield 1 (2)
• Starling Marte 1 (1)
• George Springer 1 (1)
• Chris Taylor 1 (1)
• Ke’Bryan Hayes 1 (1)
• Thairo Estrada 1 (1)
• Steven Duggar 1 (1)
• Tyler Wade 1 (1)
• Stephen Piscotty 1 (1)
• Luke Voit 1 (1) – just what I drafted him for!

NOTABLE CALLUPS

• Nick Lodolo, P | CIN – He has allowed 3 through 3 innings of his debut on 5 H and 3 BB, but he does have 4 Ks… check that, he allowed a homer to Jose Ramirez literally as I was posting this so now it’s 5 ER through 3.7 IP. There is a lot of upside with Lodolo and a poor first outing will keep prices down in leagues where he is available. I’d consider him in 12s or deeper right now.

WTWT

Here is What To Watch Today for Wednesday, April 13th:

Getting this out a little later on a day when there are several day games so some of these starts have already begun

• Lodolo’s MLB debut v. CLE and Triston McKenzie’s first start of the year.
• Eduardo Rodriguez facing his former team.
• Max Scherzer v. Aaron Nola should be fun!
• Clayton Kershaw’s debut, we take him for granted… enjoy this HOFer!
• Corbin Burnes’s 2nd start of the season after a rough debut.
• Sean Manaea v. Logan Webb should be a blast!
• Is Merrill Kelly 켈리’s standout spring indicative of a good season coming? His first start was solid and another against HOU would really drive up interest.
• Jose Berrios and Gerrit Cole are both looking to rebound.
• A pair of lefty Cy Youngs on the Southside w/Robbie Ray v. Dallas Keuchel.