Boxscore Bits: April 28th, 2022

Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

A few thoughts on the games from Wednesday’s games:

FOR STARTERS

Wednesday’s Starters
# Name Team IP H R ER HR BB SO TBF ERA WHIP W vFA (pi) vSI (pi) SwStr%
1 Paul Blackburn OAK 5 3 0 0 0 1 4 18 0.00 0.80 1 92.7 91.8 13%
2 Jakob Junis – as RP SFG 5 4 0 0 0 1 6 19 0.00 1.00 0 90.6 16%
3 Mark Leiter CHC 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 10 0.00 1.50 0 92.2 91.9 0%
4 Pablo López MIA 6 3 0 0 0 1 6 21 0.00 0.67 1 91.6 92.2 11%
5 Dillon Peters PIT 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 0.00 0.50 0 93.3 92.6 0%
6 Zac Gallen ARI 6 2 0 0 0 2 5 23 0.00 0.67 0 94.7 10%
7 Joe Ryan MIN 7 1 0 0 0 1 9 23 0.00 0.29 1 93 13%
8 Drew Rasmussen TBR 6 2 0 0 0 1 9 21 0.00 0.50 1 96.9 23%
9 Michael Wacha BOS 6 4 1 1 0 2 5 24 1.50 1.00 1 93.7 92.7 12%
10 Julio Urías LAD 6 1 1 1 1 2 4 21 1.50 0.50 0 92.5 9%
11 Aaron Ashby MIL 5.2 1 1 1 0 5 6 22 1.59 1.06 0 96.2 95.2 11%
12 Ross Stripling TOR 5 5 1 1 0 0 7 20 1.80 1.00 0 92.4 89.9 17%
13 MacKenzie Gore SDP 5 5 1 1 0 2 10 22 1.80 1.40 1 95.4 15%
14 Dylan Cease CHW 6 3 2 2 0 3 9 24 3.00 1.00 0 96.9 18%
15 Jordan Montgomery NYY 5.2 4 2 2 1 0 4 22 3.18 0.71 0 92.7 92.2 13%
16 Cristian Javier HOU 5 4 2 2 1 2 4 20 3.60 1.20 1 94.6 12%
17 Shohei Ohtani LAA 5 5 2 2 1 1 4 21 3.60 1.20 1 96.9 8%
18 Tyler Wells BAL 5 3 2 2 1 0 4 18 3.60 0.60 0 93.4 8%
19 Erick Fedde WSN 4.2 3 2 2 1 3 5 19 3.86 1.29 0 92.4 8%
20 Glenn Otto TEX 4.1 4 2 2 1 2 5 19 4.15 1.38 0 92.5 92.9 13%
21 Zack Greinke KCR 6 5 3 3 1 0 4 24 4.50 0.83 0 88.8 10%
22 Ranger Suárez PHI 6 7 3 3 1 1 3 24 4.50 1.33 1 93.6 92.5 9%
23 Michael Pineda DET 5 7 4 4 3 0 2 21 7.20 1.40 0 90.3 14%
24 Ryan Feltner COL 5 7 4 4 1 2 7 23 7.20 1.80 0 94.2 91.7 11%
25 Steven Matz STL 4 6 4 4 0 2 6 20 9.00 2.00 0 93.7 13%
26 Sam Long SFG 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 4 9.00 1.00 0 94.4 24%
27 Charlie Morton ATL 2.1 4 3 3 0 4 1 14 11.57 3.43 0 94.8 94.2 4%
28 Vladimir Gutierrez CIN 4 5 6 6 1 6 2 22 13.50 2.75 0 91.7 7%
29 Zach Plesac CLE 3.2 7 7 6 1 2 2 21 14.73 2.45 0 92.4 3%
30 Carlos Carrasco NYM 3.2 8 8 7 0 2 3 23 17.18 2.73 0 93.1 93.4 13%
31 Marco Gonzales SEA 0.1 1 1 1 0 1 1 3 27.00 6.00 0 89.4 18%
Sorted by ERA

  • The Giants got Blackburnt! The 28-year-old righty continued his ascent with a solid 5 IP against one of the best teams in the league. He has held the +2 mph in velo on his fastball with a solid secondary arsenal. He gets TB at home next week and I’m continuing to use him in most formats.
  • Junis was a big fantasy pickup this past weekend and didn’t disappoint in another follower outing with 5-shutout innings. He displayed an intriguing new changeup in that first outing but didn’t really need it against OAK as he was mostly fastball/slider. He still got ahead often (84% 1st-pitch strike) and had plenty of whiffs (16% SwStr), plus OAK had just 2 lefties in the lineup so the changeup wasn’t a must.
  • Lopez was excellent again and I was a little surprised he didn’t come out for the 7th inning (84 pitches through 6), though maybe MIA didn’t want him going 100 pitches (or more) in back-to-back outings. The only concern is the shoulder holding up and if it does, he’s an ace!
  • Speaking of health being the only real concern, Gallen was strong again. He wasn’t overly dominant against the Dodgers (10% SwStr, 24% CSW), but no one is complaining about 6-shutout innings v. an elite team.
  • Ryan looked downright dapper in his turtleneck whilst destroying my Tigers! The 4 BB from his season debut was so uncharacteristic and he has been completely dialed in since then with a 0.47 ERA and 0.53 WHIP in 19 IP plus 21 K against just 2 BB. He is an all-formats auto start.
  • Great outing by Rasmussen with the biggest aspect being that he went 6 IP! He was completely dialed in for the second half of the start, needing just 11, 14, and 9 pitches for the final three innings. I still think 84 pitches will yield 5 IP more often than not, but it was awesome to see Rasmussen dominate.
  • Wacha’s 4.24 SIERA says that 1.77 ERA will be headed upward soon. His 10% K-BB rate is well below the 19% and 17% marks from 2020-21 when he had a 5.39 ERA over 158.7 IP. A .154 BABIP is doing all the heavy lifting for the 30-year-old righty. He did have a season-high 93.7 mph fastball yesterday and used it 50% of the time but we need to be careful here. It’s a risky 2-step next week v. LAA and CWS.
  • PIT didn’t punish Ashby for 5 BB as they mustered all of 1 hit in 5.7 IP. I wonder if they were waiting him out for the walks because he wound up with 22 called strikes, most on the night. The exciting swingman might not get a start next week, but I would still hang onto him as he will eventually get a more permanent role in the rotation.
  • I’ve been a huge Stripling fan in the past and he’s pitching like a really solid streamer so far (3.60 ERA, 1.13 WHIP in 15 IP). In fact, his 12% SwStr suggests the 19% K rate could head upward, too. He gets a 2-step next week v. NYY and at CLE. I’d go for it in 15s and give it some real consideration in 10s and 12s.
  • Gore is an impressive young lefty, but I’d be surprised if he remains in the rotation in the short-term. They have Blake Snell and Mike Clevinger working their way back and I don’t see them removing Nick Martinez from the rotation for Gore when the latter can be easily sent down. They can massage Gore’s IP usage a bit in the minors to make sure he has enough juice for the stretch run and potential playoffs. Plus, these things usually play themselves out and another spot could open via injury in no time.
  • I wasn’t watching Montgomery v. BAL so I wondered why he was removed mid-inning in what looked like a solid start, but it seems Boone thought he was spent after a HR/HBP in back-to-back plate appearances, so he was pulled.
  • I told y’all Javier was going to join the rotation!! (For those unaware, I’m 100% joking! I was quite certain he would join the rotation at some point last year for Luis Garcia to manage Garcia’s innings… I was decidedly incorrect!). It looks like they are going 6-man for now and if so, Javier is a must scoop! He is essentially a 2-pitch guy, but the curve or change might become more prominent if he is consistently starting as he likely didn’t feel like he needed them when relieving. Buy!
  • Wells seems to really enjoy the Yankees with 2 ER in 9 IP against them and then 6 ER in 4 IP against TB and OAK. I think he is a standard streamer and with a 2-step next week, he will be in focus during this weekend’s waiver period. He gets MIN and KC at home. I’d take a shot in 15s, but I’m playing it a bit more cautiously in 12s and lower.
  • Otto survived against HOU. He was a key pickup for me this weekend, but I didn’t start him with the Astros on tap. I’ll assess my rotations that have him and decide if I want to use him at PHI next week. That isn’t a particularly fun outing, either, but a decent enough start v. HOU is encouraging (yes, in today’s IP-starved landscape 4.3 IP/2 ER qualifies as “decent enough”).
  • Matz’s skills have been amazing (28% K, 6% BB, 12% SwStr), but a .462 BABIP has spoiled the work en route to a 6.11 ERA. I still think he is at least a team streamer and I’m taking a shot on his 2-step next week even with a trip to SF in the second one (he gets KC on Monday).
  • Morton was inconsistent to start last year, too, and had a 5.08 ERA eight starts into the season. It’s been rough, but I just can’t cut someone with his talent. His velo is fine and he’s still making his starts so I don’t think he’s hurt. You can bench him if you really want (I wouldn’t, personally), but don’t cut.
  • Plesac is a standard streamer and shouldn’t have been used for this start at LAA. In fact, you should be avoiding LAA with any streamer types. Top 30-40 types only against that lineup.
  • Gonzales left his start after being blasted in the left wrist by a comebacker. He was playing catch pre-game on Thursday so that’s a good sign. He says he intends to make his next scheduled start.

A TAYLOR MADE STUD

I recommended Taylor Ward in this space about 10 days ago and he’s posted a 1.269 OPS with 3 HR in 39 PA since then yet he is still heavily under-rostered (44% Y!, 24% ESPN). He’s playing everyday atop a studly lineup and raking. Ward is an all-formats must-start right now. He might be reserve-worthy in 3 OF leagues if you have a studly trio, but I just can’t envision leaving him on the wire anywhere.

PRO-FAR, SO-GOOD

Jurickson Profar has been in the fantasy consciousness for over a decade. He broke into Top 100 prospect lists back in 2011 and eventually ascended to #1 in 2013. It has been quite a tumultuous ride since then with more downs than ups, but the 29-year-old (yes, he’s just 29) super utilityman is off to a blazing hot start, crushing his 5th HR of the year on Wednesday. He is down to just a .210 AVG after an 0-for-5 on Thursday, but the .342 OBP and .516 SLG are fantastic. The sub-.200 BABIP will regress and bring the AVG with it. He is hitting the ball harder than ever with a 36% HardHit rate and half as many Barrels as he had all last year (4 in 76 PA after 8 in 412 last yr). He isn’t too widely available (75% at Y! and ESPN), but I wanted to highlight him because I’m buying into this fast start and think it could be the start of a breakout season.

STOLEN BASES

MULTI-HR

Guys with 2+ HR yesterday:

WTWT

Here is What To Watch Today for Thursday, April 28th:

  • It’s a light WTWT because all but 2 gms are day games I had a few morning/early-afternoon commitments that kept from posting until about 3 pm CT.
  • Kyle Wright looks to continue his early season breakout against the Cubs.
  • Can Dakota Hudson keep his BB in check and have a good outing v. ARI?





Paul is the Editor of Rotographs and Content Director for OOTP Perfect Team. Follow Paul on Twitter @sporer and on Twitch at sporer.

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JJ17Chi
1 year ago

Profar is so tough as he hasn’t been good, ever, and now has a great 18 games. How do you rate him vs a struggling J Polanco?