Boxscore Bits: June 1st, 2022
A few thoughts on the pitchers from Thursday’s games:
FOR STARTERS
| # | Name | Team | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | TBF | ERA | WHIP | W | vFA (pi) | vSI (pi) | SwStr% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Wainwright | STL | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 24 | 0.00 | 0.43 | 0 | 88.9 | 89.6 | 7% |
| 2 | Martín Pérez | TEX | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 24 | 0.00 | 0.43 | 1 | 93.6 | 92.9 | 8% |
| 3 | Luis Castillo | CIN | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 0.00 | 0.67 | 1 | 96.6 | 98.1 | 19% |
| 4 | George Kirby | SEA | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 23 | 0.00 | 0.83 | 1 | 95.7 | 13% | |
| 5 | Michael Wacha | BOS | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0.00 | 0.53 | 0 | 93.7 | 93.7 | 11% |
| 6 | Trevor Williams | NYM | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1 | 90.1 | 88.2 | 8% |
| 7 | Joey Wentz | DET | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0.00 | 0.25 | 0 | 93.9 | 13% | |
| 8 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 1.29 | 0.71 | 1 | 93.5 | 92.6 | 10% |
| 9 | Jakob Junis | SFG | 4.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 2.08 | 1.15 | 0 | 91.7 | 8% | |
| 10 | Cristian Javier | HOU | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 2.25 | 2.00 | 0 | 94.2 | 7% | |
| 11 | Frankie Montas | OAK | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 26 | 2.57 | 1.00 | 0 | 96.9 | 96.4 | 8% |
| 12 | Devin Smeltzer | MIN | 6.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 2.70 | 0.90 | 1 | 90.5 | 8% | |
| 13 | Blake Snell | SDP | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 3.00 | 0.83 | 0 | 95.5 | 13% | |
| 14 | Mitch Keller | PIT | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 3.60 | 1.40 | 1 | 95.9 | 95.4 | 5% |
| 15 | Ryan Yarbrough | TBR | 6.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 4.05 | 0.90 | 0 | 86.5 | 7% | |
| 16 | Ranger Suárez | PHI | 4.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 4.15 | 1.85 | 0 | 93.9 | 93 | 8% |
| 17 | Cal Quantrill | CLE | 6.1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 26 | 4.26 | 0.95 | 1 | 93.9 | 94 | 5% |
| 18 | Eric Lauer | MIL | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 4.50 | 2.00 | 0 | 93.8 | 9% | |
| 19 | Justin Steele | CHC | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 5.40 | 1.40 | 0 | 92.7 | 91.8 | 10% |
| 20 | Kevin Gausman | TOR | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 5.40 | 1.40 | 1 | 95.2 | 13% | |
| 21 | Julio Urías | LAD | 6 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 27 | 6.00 | 1.50 | 0 | 92.7 | 19% | |
| 22 | Charlie Morton | ATL | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 7.20 | 1.20 | 0 | 95.6 | 95.8 | 6% |
| 23 | Cole Sands | MIN | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 9.00 | 2.25 | 0 | 91.8 | 12% | |
| 24 | Humberto Castellanos | ARI | 4.2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 9.64 | 1.93 | 0 | 90 | 91.1 | 9% |
| 25 | Rony García | DET | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 23 | 10.80 | 1.60 | 0 | 92.6 | 8% | |
| 26 | Lucas Giolito | CHW | 4.2 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 11.57 | 2.14 | 0 | 93 | 16% | |
| 27 | Daniel Lynch | KCR | 4 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 13.50 | 3.00 | 0 | 95.2 | 93.5 | 13% |
| 28 | Patrick Corbin | WSN | 4.1 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 27 | 14.54 | 3.23 | 0 | 92.1 | 92.7 | 10% |
| 29 | Noah Syndergaard | LAA | 2.1 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 19.29 | 3.43 | 0 | 94.2 | 93.8 | 2% |
| 30 | Bryan Baker | BAL | 1.1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 20.25 | 2.25 | 0 | 96.4 | 10% |
Business As Usual: Nothing actionable
- Kevin Gausman, Frankie Montas, Julio Urías, Jordan Montgomery, Adam Wainwright (10 K spike is welcome surprise!), Eric Lauer (wasn’t great, but salvaged w/6 Ks), Cristian Javier, Cal Quantrill, Charlie Morton (at this point, 4 ER is damn near the expectation), Justin Steele (remember, biz as usual isn’t always a good start), Ranger Suárez (he is a streamer at best right now)
Notable Gems: The standouts who merit some extra attention
- Luis Castillo – Castillo had really been finding his form the last two starts (3.27 ERA/1.09 WHIP/11 Ks in 11 IP), but a trip to BOS is unsettling for just about anyone right now. He was brilliant, though, allowing just a hit in six shutout innings with 10 Ks. After a couple bumpy outings to open his season, he is back into full auto-start mode.
- George Kirby – After opening his career with scoreless, Kirby was a bit bumpy with a 6.43 ERA/1.50 WHIP in three starts, though the 9 Ks in his recent start before Tuesday were encouraging. This gem looked a lot like his debut with an extra strikeout (8 total) and his first win. He gets a trip to TEX this weekend, but then BOS comes calling next week.
- Blake Snell – Back-to-back good starts as he finds his footing after a late start (debuted on May 18th). He has 2-step at home next week v. NYM and COL.
- Martín Pérez – He can’t keep getting away with it!!
- Michael Wacha – I mean, I should just repost the video from above here again. A .198 BABIP, 82% LOB, and 0.9 HR/9 (down from 1.7 last yr) are driving this success as Wacha’s solid 17% K-BB from last year is down to just 8% this year. He is inducing weaker contact, but that alone cannot sustain this run with an 8% K-BB rate.
- Devin Smeltzer – The lefty finesse control artist is riding hot four starts into the season with a 1.50 ERA and 0.83 WHIP but his 4.62 SIERA tells the real story. I want nothing to do with his trip to TOR this weekend or even his start against TB next week.
- Mitch Keller – Degree of difficulty being at LAD makes this 5 IP/2 ER outing particularly strong, though it doesn’t really inspire me enough to consider picking him up with a trip to ATL on deck next week.
Decent Enough: Mostly biz as usual but with some commentary
- Jakob Junis – Junis was fine despite just 4.3 IP. He was replaced with a lefty when Kyle Schwarber came to bat in the 5th which seems a little premature given what I’m seeing in the boxscore, but I haven’t had a chance to watch this game yet. Junis did have just 1 out with Schwarber and Bryce Harper coming up in 2 of the next 3 batters.
Injury-Shortened
- Joey Wentz – A shoulder strain derailed a strong outing from Wentz, allowing just 1 hit in 4 scoreless IP. He was sent back to Triple-A after the doubleheader, but he will be back if the shoulder doesn’t prove to be anything major.
Duds: The worst of the day
- Noah Syndergaard – I had a bad feeling about this one. Nothing statistical, just didn’t love Thor headed to the Bronx. A four-run 1st inning doomed him, and he made it just 2.3 IP before exiting. He hasn’t been missing bats this year with just a 16% K rate, but the 11% SwStr rate has suggested more are coming. The tide did not turn in this game and it’s part of why he was pulled after just 45 pitches with just 1 swinging strike and no strikeouts.
- Daniel Lynch – The 6 ER nearly pushed his season ERA up a full run, jumping from 3.92 to 4.81. A pair of 3-run innings did the damage and while he had just 2 Ks, he did have a solid 13% SwStr rate. This outing doesn’t dissuade me from his home 2-step next week v. TOR and BAL.
- Lucas Giolito – His last inning unraveled the start (4 ER on 5 H), but he still had 8 Ks and it was his first start anywhere close to bad this year so I’m not concerned.
COMBO MEALS
Shoutout to ESPN’s Fantasy Focus podcast for coming up with the “combo meal” term when guys get a HR and SB in the same game. Here are the weekend (Fri-Sun) combo meals:
- Adolis García – 8th HR, 5th SB
- Patrick Wisdom – 11th HR, 2nd SB
RELIEVER IN FOCUS WEDNESDAY
Stay in tune with all the closer news with the Bullpen Report and once a week I will highlight someone I’m keeping a close eye.
- Alex Lange | DET | 33% K, 18% SwStr, 1.83 ERA, 0.86 WHIP in 19.7 IP
A pitch mix overhaul has turned Lange into a major weapon out of the pen for Detroit. He has shaved 19 points (!) of fastball usage to just 27% in favor of his curve (+10 pts to 49%) and changeup (+9 to 25%). This change has fueled across-the-board improvements including a beautiful 25% K-BB rate with an 18% SwStr rate that is in line with Ryan Helsley’s 19% mark (they are 0.6% apart if you don’t round). Lange doesn’t have easy 100 gas like Helsley, but his 96-97 mph that is throwing a lot less will do the trick. With Lange, the recently returned Will Vest (30% K-BB), and currently-needed-as-a-starter Rony García (28% as RP; 23% as SP), the Tigers actually have three lockdown relievers when at full strength while their two most known relievers – Michael Fulmer and closer Gregory Soto – are pitching well enough, too, despite otherwise modest K-BB rates of 12% and 9%, respectively. It is rare to have even a single stud reliever in a Tigers bullpen, let alone multiples. Now if only anything else would go well for them!
WTWT
Here is What To Watch Today for Wednesday, June 1st:
- Verlander looks to rebound off his first bad start of the year
- Ober/Skubal in DET could be very low scoring if they continue to stifle HRs
- Edward Cabrera makes his 2022 debut… but it’s in Coors!
- Hunter Greene v. Garrett Whitlock could be fun or a total disaster – nothing in between!
love this article series– good work!