Boxscore Bits: May 26th, 2022

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

A few thoughts on the pitchers 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 Cristian Javier HOU 5.2 3 0 0 0 1 9 21 0.00 0.71 1 93.5 18%
2 Erick Fedde WSN 6 4 0 0 0 1 6 22 0.00 0.83 1 92.9 11%
3 JP Sears NYY 5 3 0 0 0 2 5 21 0.00 1.00 1 93.6 11%
4 Aaron Ashby MIL 5.2 4 1 0 0 3 5 25 0.00 1.24 0 94.9 96.6 10%
5 Paul Blackburn OAK 5.1 1 0 0 0 5 2 21 0.00 1.13 1 92.4 92.5 5%
6 Lucas Giolito CHW 6 5 1 1 0 4 7 26 1.50 1.50 1 93.7 16%
7 Julio Urias LAD 6 4 1 1 0 3 3 22 1.50 1.17 0 93.9 7%
8 Dylan Bundy MIN 5.2 5 1 1 1 1 6 23 1.59 1.06 0 89.5 89.9 12%
9 Glenn Otto TEX 5 3 1 1 0 2 7 19 1.80 1.00 1 93.6 93.8 7%
10 Yu Darvish SDP 6.2 3 2 2 0 2 7 24 2.70 0.75 0 96.4 95.9 9%
11 Jakob Junis SFG 6 3 2 2 1 1 4 22 3.00 0.67 1 90.3 9%
12 Cal Quantrill CLE 6 6 2 2 0 4 3 26 3.00 1.67 0 93.6 93.1 7%
13 Ryan Feltner COL 5 3 2 2 0 2 7 21 3.60 1.00 0 94.9 93.6 11%
14 Luis Castillo CIN 5 4 2 2 0 1 6 20 3.60 1.00 1 96.6 96.7 10%
15 Tyler Wells BAL 5 5 2 2 0 0 2 20 3.60 1.00 0 93.9 16%
16 Rich Hill BOS 5 2 3 2 1 1 1 18 3.60 0.60 0 87.8 83.3 5%
17 Robbie Ray SEA 6 7 3 3 2 1 10 26 4.50 1.33 0 94 24%
18 Rony Garcia DET 4 3 2 2 1 2 5 17 4.50 1.25 0 93.3 9%
19 Drew Rasmussen TBR 5 6 3 3 1 2 7 21 5.40 1.60 1 95.8 10%
20 Reid Detmers LAA 6 5 5 5 2 1 3 24 7.50 1.00 0 93.4 14%
21 Charlie Morton ATL 4.1 9 4 4 1 1 4 23 8.31 2.31 0 95.1 94.5 10%
22 Kyle Hendricks CHC 4 5 4 4 1 1 1 18 9.00 1.50 0 87.5 87 3%
23 Ranger Suarez PHI 4.1 6 5 5 1 4 4 21 10.38 2.31 0 92.6 91.9 7%
24 Zach Thompson PIT 3 7 4 4 1 0 3 15 12.00 2.33 0 92.4 92 8%
25 Cody Poteet MIA 3 4 5 5 1 3 1 16 15.00 2.33 0 95.3 95.5 10%
26 Thomas Szapucki NYM 1.1 7 9 9 4 3 2 13 60.75 7.50 0 94.6 8%
Sorted by ERA

Business As Usual: Nothing actionable

Notable Gems: The standouts who merit some extra attention

  • Cristian Javier – This is what I was hoping for last year when I kept thinking/hoping they would put him back in the rotation. Even with a 7 ER dud at WAS, he has a 3.14 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 28.7 IP since joining the rotation (that run includes a 3 IP relief gem, too). He is still available in 36% of Yahoo! leagues and 27% of ESPN leagues, which should definitely change as he is an all-formats gem.
  • Aaron Ashby – The Freddy Peralta injury gets Ashby in the rotation for a bit and while the young lefty is volatile (4 IP/6 ER at ATL in his last start; 3+ BB in all 4 of his starts), I’m rostering him anywhere I can. I might not always start him, but I don’t think he should be on any waiver wires right now with his upside. He gets a 2-step next week at CHC and v. SD.
  • Glenn Otto – Otto’s Kikuchi-esque schedule saw him get HOU, at NYY, BOS, at HOU, and then at LAA last night. He has actually been solid in 4 of 5, but the 5th was an 8 ER dud v. BOS which spoiled the whole bunch (5.55 ERA in 24.3 IP). But now he has a gem against a difficult Angels lineup ahead of a 2-step so he will have some waiver interest this weekend. He gets TB/SEA at home next week, not exactly easy, but almost feels like a reprieve after the run he’s been through.
  • Erick Fedde – Fedde continues his excellent May, adding 6 shutout innings to the mix and dropping his ERA to 1.95 in 5 starts. His season long 3.55 ERA isn’t too bad, either, though his 1.38 WHIP suggests some caution. The tough part about this run is that no one is benefitting from it. Who is confident (crazy?) enough to start him at COL, at LAA, v. HOU, at MIL, or at LAD?! The funniest part is that his worst start of the season was v. ARI, the exact kind of start where you’d stream him. He remains a deep league streamer at best.
  • JP Sears – Nice little spot start for the 26-year-old lefty! He was sent back out after this start so no need to rush to the wire to scoop him but keep tabs on him. He lacks a true third pitch, throwing his changeup just 6% of the time. His fastball/curveball combo has delivered some great work in the minors with a 34% K and 5% BB in 75 IP at Triple-A between this year and last.
  • Dylan Bundy – It is hard to put much stock in a gem against the Tigers, especially from someone like Bundy who we know is remarkably volatile start-to-start. You know the risk you’re taking if you stream him… is the at DET next week worth taking on the at TOR later in the week?

Decent Enough: Mostly biz as usual but with some commentary

  • Cal Quantrill – Just wanted to give him some shine for the success at HOU, but only 3 Ks against 4 BB. He was surviving out there and if you took the plunge, you’re feeling OK.
  • Paul Blackburn – Weird outing where he had 5 BB and just 2 K, but also just 1 H in 5.3 IP. The walks were particularly uncharacteristic, but still only pushed his season mark to 6% (was 4% prior to this outing). The 20% K rate is nothing to write home about, but ratios (1.70 ERA/1.00 WHIP) and unexpected wins (5-0!) are driving his success. I wouldn’t bet on the latter to continue and obviously the former will regress, though I think he can be a mid-to-high 3.00s ERA with a sub-1.20 WHIP rest of way.

Duds: The worst of the day

  • Charlie Morton – Another dud and it’s really difficult to keep running him out there, especially with a 2-step next week that includes a trip to COL. His 4.44 SIERA offers a glimmer of hope from the 5.28 ERA, but the 1.53 WHIP is just blasting you start after start and he isn’t offsetting any of the damage with his normally strong K rate as it’s down to just 20% with a mere 9% SwStr rate. I’m still looking to hold in 12s or deeper, but he isn’t a must-hold in 12s and shallower.
  • Ranger Suárez – We knew his numbers would spike off last year’s insanity, but this worse than I expected. The lack of a true standout pitch was a critique against Suarez from those who weren’t buying in this year (hello, Nick Pollack) and that seems dead on thus far and it has just made things a lot tougher for him. The swinging strike rate is down 3 pts to 8% and has taken the K rate down 7 pts with it to just 19%. I could even tolerate the mid-4.00s ERA (4.74 ERA/4.37 SIERA) if the WHIP was better. A 1.53 WHIP is unrosterable when you’re not getting anything good to counter it.
  • Kyle Hendricks – He has a massive platoon split (268 pt. edge for lefties at .930 OPS) and just completely lacks the start-to-start consistency he used to be known for in his heyday. He is slightly better at home, but not enough to just stream him there and he’s actually been worse against lesser teams (6.14 ERA v. sub-.500 clubs; 4.85 against +.500 clubs). I have zero interest in his MIL/STL 2-step next week.

PARTIAL WEEKEND STREAMERS (just Friday’s, I’ll have Sat-Sun in tomorrow’s)

  • Bailey Ober v. KC – This is a shallower league recommendation, but I’m definitely starting him anywhere he’s available.
  • Alex Faedo v. CLE – Ks were up for a couple starts, but then back down to 2 in 5.3 IP last time out. Good matchup and his 11% SwStr still says the Ks could jump up.
  • Chase Silseth v. TOR – Second straight start v. OAK wasn’t great (4 ER in 4.3 IP). The 6 Ks are great, though! I love the velo (96.2 mph) and swing-and-miss (13%) as a foundation to build upon and TOR just hasn’t been as tough this year!
  • Jeffrey Springs v. NYY – I might just pick him up and stash for starts after this one given how tough it is to face the Yankees. That said, I am starting him in my Main Event (15-team mixed) so I’m putting my money where my mouth is!

WTWT

Here is What To Watch Today for Thursday, May 26th:

  • It’s Sho-Time! Shohei Ohtani faces the Jays in LA tonight and is obviously must-watch!!
  • This is a pivotal start for Hyun Jin Ryu 류현진 and if he does well against the Angels, that will definitely boost my confidence in him.
  • Will the A’s start exposing the Martín Pérez mirage?
  • Mitch White is still stretching out (49 pitches last start) so I don’t expect much, but I’m keeping tabs on him and hope he can eventually be a legit 5-inning guy





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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si.or.nomember
1 year ago

Combo Meals:
Kole Calhoun
Seth Brown
Jack Suwinski