Boxscore Bits: June 8th, 2022
by Paul Sporer
June 8, 2022
A few thoughts on the pitchers from Tuesday’s games (pitchers only today with my chat coming up at 1pm CT!):
FOR STARTERS
Monday’s Starters
| # | Name | Team | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | TBF | ERA | WHIP | W | vFA (pi) | vSI (pi) | SwStr% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yu Darvish | SDP | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 0.00 | 0.29 | 1 | 95.7 | 95.5 | 16% |
| 2 | Michael Kopech | CHW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 20 | 0.00 | 0.33 | 1 | 96.3 | 12% | |
| 3 | Jeffrey Springs | TBR | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 0.00 | 1.33 | 0 | 91.8 | 9% | |
| 4 | Graham Ashcraft | CIN | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 0.00 | 0.50 | 1 | 97.9 | 97.9 | 13% |
| 5 | Alek Manoah | TOR | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 0.00 | 1.50 | 1 | 94 | 92.8 | 2% |
| 6 | Mitch White | LAD | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 0.00 | 0.40 | 0 | 94.3 | 94.4 | 12% |
| 7 | Justin Verlander | HOU | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 29 | 1.29 | 1.14 | 1 | 95.1 | 15% | |
| 8 | Dakota Hudson | STL | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 1.29 | 0.43 | 0 | 92.4 | 92.1 | 13% |
| 9 | Edward Cabrera | MIA | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 1.50 | 0.67 | 1 | 96.6 | 95.8 | 9% |
| 10 | Jason Alexander | MIL | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 1.80 | 1.80 | 0 | 93.1 | 92.7 | 5% |
| 11 | Kyle Wright | ATL | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 28 | 2.25 | 0.63 | 1 | 94.8 | 93.8 | 19% |
| 12 | Ranger Suárez | PHI | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 26 | 2.57 | 0.86 | 0 | 94.2 | 93.4 | 5% |
| 13 | Chris Flexen 플렉센 | SEA | 6.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 2.70 | 1.20 | 0 | 91 | 5% | |
| 14 | Cole Irvin | OAK | 5.1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 3.38 | 1.50 | 0 | 90.8 | 89.7 | 10% |
| 15 | Tarik Skubal | DET | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 27 | 3.86 | 0.86 | 1 | 93.9 | 94.4 | 16% |
| 16 | Cal Quantrill | CLE | 7 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 30 | 3.86 | 1.29 | 1 | 92.7 | 92.8 | 8% |
| 17 | Kyle Bradish | BAL | 4.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 3.86 | 1.93 | 0 | 9% | ||
| 18 | Germán Márquez | COL | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 27 | 4.50 | 1.33 | 1 | 95.2 | 94.8 | 7% |
| 19 | Brad Keller | KCR | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 4.50 | 1.50 | 0 | 94.4 | 93.7 | 8% |
| 20 | Carlos Rodón | SFG | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 4.50 | 1.25 | 0 | 94.8 | 8% | |
| 21 | Taylor Hearn | TEX | 5.2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 23 | 4.76 | 1.06 | 1 | 94.9 | 92.8 | 13% |
| 22 | Jose Suarez | LAA | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 5.40 | 1.80 | 0 | 93.2 | 92.4 | 13% |
| 23 | Taijuan Walker | NYM | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 6.00 | 1.17 | 0 | 94.1 | 93.4 | 8% |
| 24 | Jon Gray | TEX | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 9.00 | 2.00 | 0 | 95.5 | 6% | |
| 25 | Garrett Whitlock | BOS | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 9.00 | 1.50 | 0 | 95.1 | 14% | |
| 26 | Jameson Taillon | NYY | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 9.00 | 2.50 | 0 | 94.4 | 94.1 | 8% |
| 27 | Kirk McCarty | CLE | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 9.00 | 2.00 | 0 | 91.8 | 13% | |
| 28 | Cole Sands | MIN | 3.2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 9.82 | 2.73 | 0 | 92.1 | 10% | |
| 29 | Jose Quintana | PIT | 3.1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 10.80 | 2.40 | 0 | 91.1 | 91.2 | 15% |
| 30 | Keegan Thompson | CHC | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 21.00 | 2.00 | 0 | 93.8 | 93.3 | 6% |
Sorted by ERA
Business As Usual: Nothing actionable
- Justin Verlander, Tarik Skubal, Alek Manoah, Carlos Rodón (they ran his pitch count up, I’m not worried about this), Yu Darvish, Kyle Wright, Jeffrey Springs, Cal Quantrill, Taijuan Walker, Brad Keller, Dakota Hudson & Cole Irvin (6 Ks are a bonus for both!)
Notable Gems: The standouts who merit some extra attention
- Michael Kopech – I understand why we get concerned by big velo drops in a game, but if there isn’t a subsequent injury report, then it should be all systems go next time out, right? I don’t know if anyone was sitting Kopech with a 2-step even though it included LAD. His velo was back up to 96.2 and 9 of his 13 swings-and-misses were off the heater. A great rebound off the dud at TOR for the budding ace.
- Graham Ashcraft – Ashcraft garnered some weekend attention with a 2-step incoming and the first half of it will only add more to the bandwagon. He doesn’t miss many bats with just a 14% K rate, but he has posted 12% and 13% SwStr rates in his last two and I think he could be a 20-22% K guy. That is still light, but enough if he maintains the elite groundball rate (61%). He throws 98, has three pitches, and dominates opposite-handers (.378 OPS vL).
- Edward Cabrera – Another gem for the premium prospect. He still has spotty command that will breed some volatility, but the upside is too rich to pass on him right now. His roster rates at Yahoo! (54%) and ESPN (26%) need to rise.
- Mitch White – Brilliant work from White here with 5 scoreless, but he may soon be on the outside looking in with Clayton Kershaw out on rehab. Don’t cut White once that happens as he is the next man up and he will likely find more time in the rotation as the year goes on.
Decent Enough: Mostly biz as usual but with some commentary
- Kyle Bradish – We took the shot because of 11 Ks at StL and you have to pounce quickly in today’s fantasy game. An 8.27 ERA in 20.7 IP later we realize it wasn’t his coronation as a fantasy viable arm. He still merits attention and will likely be streamed several more times this year, but right now he is just a standard streamer option. He is at KC this weekend, a start I would take a shot on, but then v. TBR next week which is less appealing.
- Chris Flexen 플렉센 – Only 2 Ks, but have to give him a shout for standing tall at HOU.
- Germán Márquez – A rare good start for Marquez, though likely on most benches since it was at SF.
Duds: The worst of the day from fantasy relevant arms
- Jameson Taillon – First real dud of the season against a solid MIN team, nothing to worry about.
- Keegan Thompson – Just as he was starting to get some shallower league intrigue, he gets shellacked at BAL. Three homers, including back-to-back to open his start, ruined the outing. He gets a 2-step at home next week v. SD & ATL and I’d still give him a shot for sure in 15s and consider it based on team context in 12s and below.
- Garrett Whitlock – At least he struck out 5! It feels like he’s been underwhelming as a starter, but the 4.15 ERA/1.26 WHIP isn’t that bad (38 Ks in 39 IP) and I think we should give him a little more leeway to settle into the role. I definitely thought he’d transition smoothly and just be excellent in any role, but it’s fair to have some bumps when converting to a starter. He’s nowhere near the chopping block for me, even in shallower leagues.
- Jon Gray – The whipsaw continues: 0, 4, 2, 5, 1, 5 ER in his last six. The 12-K gem with a 2-step upcoming made him very appealing and now he has to salvage it at CWS. Yikes.
- José Quintana – You finally mustered up the gumption to start Quintana because he had been pitching so well and had a 2-step that included DET. Oof! Now he needs an absolute gem at ATL to save the week and that doesn’t feel super likely to me.
WTWT
Here is What To Watch Today for Tuesday, June 8th:
- HOU derailed Brady Singer hype train a bit, can he get back track v. TOR?
- I’m keeping an eye on Mike Minor as he works his way back… could be an eventual streamer
- Sandy Alcantara Day!!
- Nasty Nestor Cortes will be popping off in MIN, too
- Can Reid Detmers stop the LAA losing streak?
- Logan Gilbert is an all-formats, must-start… that doesn’t mean there aren’t some nerves at HOU, though!
FWIW re: Bradish — He was one out away (one strike, really) from qualifying for the win.