Boxscore Bits: May 2nd, 2022
by Paul Sporer
May 2, 2022
A few thoughts on the games from the weekend’s games:
FOR STARTERS
The Weekend’s Starters
| # | Name | Team | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | TBF | ERA | WHIP | W | vFA (pi) | vSI (pi) | SwStr% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcus Stroman | CHC | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 0.00 | 0.43 | 1 | 92.6 | 91.7 | 7% |
| 2 | Nathan Eovaldi | BOS | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 0.00 | 0.43 | 0 | 97 | 16% | |
| 3 | Merrill Kelly 켈리 | ARI | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 25 | 0.00 | 0.29 | 1 | 92.2 | 92.3 | 12% |
| 4 | Triston McKenzie | CLE | 6.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 25 | 0.00 | 0.79 | 1 | 93.1 | 9% | |
| 5 | Josh Winder | MIN | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 20 | 0.00 | 0.50 | 1 | 95.6 | 11% | |
| 6 | Gerrit Cole | NYY | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 0.00 | 1.17 | 1 | 97 | 10% | |
| 7 | Adrian Houser | MIL | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 0.00 | 0.83 | 1 | 94.9 | 94.2 | 7% |
| 8 | Josiah Gray | WSN | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 0.00 | 0.83 | 1 | 94 | 10% | |
| 9 | Vince Velasquez | CHW | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 0.00 | 0.71 | 1 | 94 | 91.6 | 15% |
| 10 | Tylor Megill | NYM | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 0.00 | 0.60 | 1 | 95.6 | 14% | |
| 11 | Taijuan Walker | NYM | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 0.00 | 0.80 | 0 | 94.5 | 94.4 | 11% |
| 12 | Zach Davies | ARI | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 0.00 | 0.80 | 0 | 89.3 | 8% | |
| 13 | Walker Buehler | LAD | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 0.00 | 1.40 | 1 | 95.8 | 96.1 | 14% |
| 14 | Kyle Gibson | PHI | 4.1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 0.00 | 1.62 | 0 | 91 | 91.1 | 8% |
| 15 | Rich Hill | BOS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0.00 | 0.25 | 0 | 88.7 | 8% | |
| 16 | Dane Dunning | TEX | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 27 | 1.17 | 0.39 | 1 | 90.9 | 14% | |
| 17 | Joe Musgrove | SDP | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 1.29 | 1.00 | 1 | 92.9 | 92.3 | 16% |
| 18 | Eric Lauer | MIL | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 26 | 1.29 | 0.86 | 1 | 94 | 21% | |
| 19 | Shane Bieber | CLE | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 28 | 1.29 | 1.14 | 0 | 91.3 | 16% | |
| 20 | Kyle Freeland | COL | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 1.29 | 0.71 | 1 | 90.2 | 90.5 | 13% |
| 21 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | 6.1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 1.42 | 1.42 | 1 | 93.1 | 6% | |
| 22 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 1.50 | 1.00 | 0 | 90.5 | 9% | |
| 23 | Jesús Luzardo | MIA | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 1.50 | 0.67 | 1 | 96.8 | 95.5 | 6% |
| 24 | Corey Kluber | TBR | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 19 | 1.50 | 0.17 | 1 | 89.8 | 16% | |
| 25 | Mitch Keller | PIT | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 1.50 | 0.83 | 0 | 97 | 7% | |
| 26 | Jordan Lyles | BAL | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 1.50 | 1.67 | 1 | 92.2 | 90.3 | 12% |
| 27 | Cole Irvin | OAK | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 1.50 | 1.33 | 0 | 91 | 90.7 | 7% |
| 28 | José Berríos | TOR | 5.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 27 | 1.59 | 1.59 | 1 | 93.4 | 93.6 | 9% |
| 29 | Logan Gilbert | SEA | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 1.59 | 1.24 | 1 | 95.7 | 6% | |
| 30 | Connor Overton | CIN | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 1.69 | 0.94 | 0 | 92.1 | 91.9 | 9% |
| 31 | Tyler Anderson | LAD | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 1.80 | 1.20 | 1 | 90.1 | 90.1 | 13% |
| 32 | Madison Bumgarner | ARI | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 1.80 | 0.80 | 1 | 90.9 | 6% | |
| 33 | Nestor Cortes | NYY | 5 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 1.80 | 1.60 | 1 | 90 | 6% | |
| 34 | Beau Brieske | DET | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 1.80 | 1.00 | 0 | 94.4 | 2% | |
| 35 | Spenser Watkins | BAL | 4.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 1.93 | 1.29 | 0 | 92.3 | 9% | |
| 36 | Chris Archer | MIN | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 2.25 | 1.25 | 0 | 94 | 10% | |
| 37 | Miles Mikolas | STL | 7.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 26 | 2.45 | 0.55 | 0 | 93 | 92.8 | 8% |
| 38 | Corbin Burnes | MIL | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 26 | 2.57 | 0.71 | 0 | 96.3 | 20% | |
| 39 | Kevin Gausman | TOR | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 27 | 2.57 | 0.86 | 1 | 95 | 21% | |
| 40 | Luis Garcia | HOU | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 3.00 | 1.00 | 0 | 93.5 | 11% | |
| 41 | Kyle Bradish | BAL | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 3.00 | 1.00 | 0 | 10% | ||
| 42 | Ian Anderson | ATL | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 3.00 | 0.83 | 1 | 94.1 | 12% | |
| 43 | Jimmy Herget | LAA | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 3.00 | 0.33 | 0 | 91.3 | 91.5 | 9% |
| 44 | Michael Lorenzen | LAA | 8.1 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 34 | 3.24 | 1.32 | 1 | 94.3 | 93.7 | 8% |
| 45 | Taylor Hearn | TEX | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 3.60 | 1.40 | 1 | 94.3 | 93.1 | 10% |
| 46 | Chad Kuhl | COL | 7.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 3.68 | 0.68 | 1 | 94.1 | 93.6 | 7% |
| 47 | Sean Manaea | SDP | 6.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 4.05 | 1.20 | 0 | 91.2 | 9% | |
| 48 | Framber Valdez | HOU | 6.1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 4.26 | 0.63 | 0 | 93.1 | 93.5 | 6% |
| 49 | Lucas Giolito | CHW | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 24 | 4.50 | 1.33 | 0 | 93.9 | 15% | |
| 50 | Aaron Nola | PHI | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 23 | 4.50 | 1.17 | 0 | 92.2 | 89.7 | 11% |
| 51 | Adam Wainwright | STL | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 4.50 | 1.50 | 0 | 88.1 | 88.1 | 5% |
| 52 | Yu Darvish | SDP | 6 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 4.50 | 1.50 | 1 | 95 | 94.7 | 11% |
| 53 | Logan Webb | SFG | 6 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 4.50 | 2.00 | 1 | 92 | 91 | 12% |
| 54 | Carlos Hernandez | KCR | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 4.50 | 2.25 | 0 | 95.1 | 92.3 | 9% |
| 55 | Aaron Sanchez | WSN | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 5.40 | 1.20 | 1 | 93.9 | 92.5 | 7% |
| 56 | Shane McClanahan | TBR | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 21 | 5.40 | 1.20 | 0 | 97.3 | 17% | |
| 57 | JT Brubaker | PIT | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 5.40 | 1.20 | 0 | 92.8 | 93.3 | 9% |
| 58 | Robbie Ray | SEA | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 5.40 | 1.60 | 0 | 93.8 | 13% | |
| 59 | Kris Bubic | KCR | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 5.40 | 0.80 | 0 | 92 | 6% | |
| 60 | Elieser Hernandez | MIA | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 5.40 | 1.20 | 1 | 91.5 | 9% | |
| 61 | Daniel Lynch | KCR | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 5.40 | 1.00 | 0 | 93.7 | 93.8 | 11% |
| 62 | Luis Severino | NYY | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 5.40 | 1.60 | 0 | 96.3 | 11% | |
| 63 | Jordan Hicks | STL | 3.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 5.40 | 1.20 | 0 | 98 | 98.5 | 8% |
| 64 | Max Scherzer | NYM | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 23 | 6.00 | 1.00 | 1 | 94.2 | 20% | |
| 65 | Justin Steele | CHC | 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 6.00 | 2.67 | 0 | 92.5 | 91.9 | 12% |
| 66 | Nick Pivetta | BOS | 4.1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 6.23 | 1.38 | 0 | 92.7 | 6% | |
| 67 | Bryce Elder | ATL | 4.1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 6.23 | 1.62 | 0 | 92.4 | 7% | |
| 68 | Eduardo Rodriguez | DET | 5.2 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 27 | 6.35 | 1.41 | 0 | 92.3 | 91.8 | 4% |
| 69 | José Urquidy | HOU | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 7.20 | 1.60 | 1 | 93.9 | 16% | |
| 70 | Dallas Keuchel | CHW | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 7.20 | 2.20 | 0 | 87.2 | 5% | |
| 71 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | 5.2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 25 | 7.94 | 1.76 | 0 | 96.9 | 96.1 | 13% |
| 72 | Zach Thompson | PIT | 4.1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 8.31 | 1.15 | 0 | 92.9 | 92.5 | 9% |
| 73 | Hunter Greene | CIN | 4.1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 8.31 | 2.31 | 0 | 97.2 | 13% | |
| 74 | Dylan Bundy | MIN | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 26 | 9.00 | 1.50 | 0 | 89.8 | 90 | 15% |
| 75 | Frankie Montas | OAK | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 9.00 | 1.80 | 0 | 96.1 | 95.5 | 8% |
| 76 | Alex Wood | SFG | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 9.00 | 1.80 | 0 | 92.8 | 9% | |
| 77 | Joan Adon | WSN | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 9.00 | 1.75 | 0 | 95 | 12% | |
| 78 | Jose Suarez | LAA | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 9.00 | 2.50 | 0 | 93.5 | 92 | 12% |
| 79 | Zach Eflin | PHI | 4.1 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 10.38 | 2.08 | 0 | 92.9 | 92.5 | 6% |
| 80 | Josh Fleming | TBR | 3.2 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 12.27 | 2.18 | 0 | 93.3 | 92.8 | 7% |
| 81 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | 4.1 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 12.46 | 2.08 | 0 | 87.2 | 86.6 | 8% |
| 82 | Aaron Civale | CLE | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 13.50 | 2.00 | 0 | 90.7 | 90.8 | 7% |
| 83 | Yusei Kikuchi | TOR | 2.2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 13.50 | 2.63 | 0 | 95 | 17% | |
| 84 | Alex Cobb | SFG | 0.2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 13.50 | 10.50 | 0 | 95 | 8% | |
| 85 | Tyler Alexander | DET | 2.1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 15.43 | 2.14 | 0 | 90.2 | 89.9 | 6% |
| 86 | James Kaprielian | OAK | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 18.00 | 3.50 | 0 | 93.6 | 93.8 | 5% |
| 87 | Garrett Richards | TEX | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 18.00 | 3.00 | 0 | 94 | 18% | |
| 88 | Kyle Muller | ATL | 2.2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 23.63 | 3.75 | 0 | 95 | 11% | |
| 89 | Matt Brash | SEA | 2 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 27.00 | 4.50 | 0 | 96.4 | 18% | |
| 90 | Reiver Sanmartin | CIN | 0.2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 81.00 | 12.00 | 0 | 90.5 | 90 | 7% |
Sorted by ERA
Friday:
- Rich Hill hasn’t been bad (3.71 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), but he hasn’t reached 5 IP in an outing and has just a 16% K rate. I’m not sure how he’s rosterable in anything but AL-Only or crazy deep mixers (like 20+ tms).
- Adrian Houser is a magician! He has the 7% K-BB rate he had last year, but the 59% groundball that saved him last year is at just 39% this year and yet he’s damn near unhittable somehow (.195 AVG, .246 BABIP). It hasn’t just been bad teams, either, as the Cubs team he dominated on Friday is 9th in wRC+ against righties. He gets CIN in both of his next two starts (one home, one away) and I’m inclined to start him for both.
- While I’m obviously not surprised Tylor Megill didn’t finish the no-no, I am surprised he wasn’t given a chance at the 6th. They seem to be living in 85-90 pitch count as his upper range right now, but I thought this might be a chance to expand that into the upper 90s. I get it, though, he had 24 pitches and 2 BB in the 5th, so the tank was definitely close to E and I guess the Mets didn’t want to see how far below E his needle goes like we all did in college, especially with the no-no going.
- Even giving Antonio Senzatela a break for his .421 BABIP, his MLB-high 33 hits with a whopping 6 Ks is just a combo ripe for disaster. The 3.66 ERA has to head upward soon.
- Corey Kluber looked great against a quality MIN team and he quietly has a 3.05 ERA/1.16 WHIP in 20.7 IP with a 16% K-BB and 12% SwStr rate. Of course, it’s about health not skill with Kluber. He gets a trip to OAK this week and is an easy start across all formats.
- Madison Bumgarner’s 1.17 ERA might be even more of a ticking time bomb than Senzatela’s 3.66 as the 5.08 SIERA screams danger! He just a 4% K-BB rate with his .181 AVG/.197 BABIP combo doing all the heavy lifting. He has only walked 1 in his last 10 IP after 10 in 13 to open the season, but I’d still be very careful here. He does get at MIA and v. MIA his next two which is appealing as their 30% K vL is an MLB-high.
- Tyler Anderson is too widely available in my estimation (22% Y!, 13% ESPN) as he is now a starter for the foreseeable future. He has a solid skillset at 16% K-BB and 13% SwStr in 17.7 IP. If he can keep the ball in the yard, he is an all-formats guy. He has done that to this point (0.5 HR/9), but the 6% HR/FB will likely regress. He gets trips to CHC and PIT in his next two, I’m in for both!
- Kyle Bradish has some Beau Brieske vibes (who I’ll get into in Saturday’s portion) as an organizational prospect with a little intrigue, but it’s confined to just deep formats at this point. The 25-year-old righty held his own v. BOS despite just 2 Ks. He had a 28% K rate in 101.7 IP at Triple-A since last year and was graded a 45+ as the 7th prospect on Baltimore’s list. It’s a watchlist play for now with MIN and at STL coming up next.
- Adam Wainwright walked 5, something he hadn’t done since 2019, though still managed a baseline quality start. I’m more concerned about the 6% SwStr, but I am still starting him where rostered.
- Yu Darvish, Lucas Giolito, and Aaron Nola all had solid baseline quality starts (6 IP/3 ER). Easy auto-starts, of course.
- Aaron Sanchez is back and I wish him luck, but there’s nothing to see here through 2 starts. His velo is up 3 mph back to his 2019 levels, but just a 13% K and 5% SwStr leave too much to be desired.
- It was the first HR-free start for Elieser Hernandez, though it was still just a meh 5 IP/3 ER outing v. SEA. I’ve never been a huge fan of Hernandez and my interest still remains tepid overall, but he is slated for ARI twice in a row so I’m open to streaming him where available (8% Y!, 19% ESPN).
- José Urquidy wasn’t too bad in back-to-back outings v. TOR. No one is psyched about a 5.06 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, but this is one of the toughest teams in the league and he still had 9 Ks and a win. He gets DET this week which is an easy start.
- It’s easy to give Hunter Greene a pass for a trip to COL, however he has 8 BB in his last 7.7 IP (v. STL, at COL) and a 2.5 HR/9 across his 4 starts. Let’s loop Matt Brash in here as well because both rookies have substantial upside, but tons of risk as they find their footing in the majors. Brash was blasted in MIA and lasted just 2 IP. After an impressive debut that led to some massive FAAB bids, he has 12 BB and 11 ER in his last 11.7 IP. Greene gets MIL in his next 2 starts and Brash gets at HOU/v. PHI in his, so I’m open to cutting both in shallow formats and definitely benching them in deeper leagues.
- Juuuust when we were starting to think Dylan Bundy was back on track he gets blasted for 6 ER in 6 IP at TB. However, there are still some positives to take from the outing as he allowed 4 ER in the 1st inning and then put up 5 IP/2 ER/5 K afterwards. He turns to BAL this week and I’m open to streaming him.
- Kyle Hendricks and Aaron Civale are both off to slow starts and didn’t help themselves on Friday, but they remain standard streamers and both have seen their SIERAs stay in line with their recent history. Hendricks has an uncharacteristic 10% BB, but he’s at 6% over his last 3 starts. Civale’s .388 BABIP is killing him and it should meander back down toward his career .282 as the season wears on, but he is tough to start with his ratios struggling since he doesn’t add many Ks. Hendricks is a toss up v. CWS while Civale is an easy sit v. TOR.
- Why is Yusei Kikuchi (26% Y!, 39% ESPN) still rostered in this many leagues? I’m not even rostering him at this point in deep leagues with NYY in both of his next two starts.
Saturday:
- 5 BB ran Kyle Gibson out before he could finish five innings despite allowing just 2 H and 1 unearned run. That pushed his season mark to 11%, but he’s been excellent on the year with a 93 ERA/1.08 WHIP aided by a swing-and-miss surge that has resulted in a 15% SwStr and 23% K rate. He gets NYM again and while they aren’t easy, he is a steady start right now and should be on more than just 64% of Y! rosters.
- I tabbed Merrill Kelly v. Miles Mikolas as the Spider Man meme matchup and it was wild how much that ended up being the case as they had the exact same line through 5 innings! Both are all format starts right now, even in a difficult matchup such as Mikolas headed to SF this week.
- As a recovering Velasquoholic, I’m tempering my excitement for the sharp Vince Velasquez start against a strong opponent (LAA). I need more than one start to get back in here but I will say that a gem in BOS will really start to draw my attention again.
- Despite just the 1 K, Taijuan Walker did have an 11% SwStr in his first real start of the season (2 IP in his season debut). By a weird scheduling quirk, he gets PHI for a third straight start and I’m willing to start him in deep formats while he is more of a standard streamer in 12s and below.
- Were there any new conspiracy theories for why Gerrit Cole was good this time or can we stop over analyzing every single one of his outings? The 10% BB rate is running a bit high, but he has a 3.00 ERA/1.17 WHIP/27% K/14% SwStr. He’s great. I’ve seen nothing to be overly concerned with through five starts.
- Dane Dunning was excellent against ATL with 7.7 IP of 1-run ball including 7 Ks and zero walks. He has been pretty solid (3.81 ERA/1.27 WHIP) despite a spicy schedule (at TOR, LAA, at SEA, HOU, ATL). Dunning is a team streamer for me right now and I’m likely only considering him at NYY in deep formats.
- Eric Lauer has been absolutely incredible thus far. His velo is up near 2 ticks to 94.1 and it has paired with his slider to yield a brilliant 37% K rate and 5% BB rate in 23.3 IP. That 90% LOB rate won’t hold, but he’s an easy auto start in all formats right now and it’s truly baffling that he is rostered in just 55% of ESPN leagues. Hell, even his 71% Y! rate should be a good bit higher.
- Jesús Luzardo didn’t have his swing-and-miss stuff (6% SwStr), but his 35% CSW% helped him still come through with a strong outing. There has been a bit of volatility, but Luzardo is clearly better than he was last year and I’m comfortable starting him across the board right now.
- Cole Irvin is a standard streamer and I’m passing on his trip to MIN this week.
- I referenced Beau Brieske in the Bradish write up as a watchlist deeper prospect. It was hard not to be impressed with his gritty outing at LAD if you watched it, but it still included just a 2% SwStr and 3 Ks in 5 IP of work. I’m keeping an eye on him, but a trip to HOU is not the time to jump in with him.
- Chris Archer hasn’t reached 5 IP yet with 3 BB in each of his last three outings, I just don’t see the fantasy relevance yet, even with a trip to BAL on the docket this week.
- Chad Kuhl has been great through 4 starts (including 2 at home) and there is even a case for more Ks (19%) given his 14% SwStr. His .177 BABIP is doing plenty of work for his tiny ERA and WHIP (1.90/0.85) but I wonder if might actually be a solid streamer with a high-3.00s/low-4.00s ERA and some decent Ks. Residing in Coors mucks everything up, but he’s on the road for his next two (at ARI, at SF) and I’m at least considering him depending on my team context and need.
- Logan Webb has been a little inconsistent start-to-start thus far resulting in a 9.8 H/9 and 16% K rate through 5 starts. My concern level is legitimately zero and he remains an easy auto-start across all formats.
- I’m not terribly surprised by Robbie Ray’s 4.15 ERA/1.25 WHIP, but I had him for more than a 21% K rate even with some ratio regression. I can’t see sitting him if he’s on my roster because while he hasn’t been as good as expected, he has still been fine. His 12% SwStr is just off his 13% career mark so the Ks should tick up even if the ratios don’t substantially improve.
- I see some streamer appeal for JT Brubaker in deeper formats as he’s settled down a bit in his last three with a 4.15 ERA/1.15 WHIP and 14 Ks in 13 IP after allowed 8 ER in first 7.3 IP of the season. A trip to CIN isn’t usually appealing because of the park, but they are 29th in wRC+ versus righties this year so I’d take a shot here. He gets CIN again (in PIT) next week, too, so I’d probably hang onto him after this outing if you decide to give him a shot.
- The walks finally caught up to Bryce Elder as he was sent out after another 3 BB in 4.3 IP, pushing his season mark to 16%.
Sunday:
- Back-to-back solid outings have Marcus Stroman on track again two mega duds including a trip to COL. He is at least a team streamer right and I certainly won’t blame you for passing on an outing against LAD this week.
- Remember the panic over Triston McKenzie’s Opening Day relief outing (3 IP/2 ER)? So much for all that. He has a 2.21 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 4 starts since with 23 Ks in 20.3 IP. I’m starting anywhere I’ve got him, even with a tough draw against TOR this week.
- The tough part about streamers like Josiah Gray is that it’s often his own issues that cause the blowups (HR, BB) so the matchup doesn’t really matter as much as he can deal against anyone when on or get smashed by a low tier team when he’s off. I doubt many took the plunge in SF and they missed six 1-hit innings of shutout ball, though with 3 Ks. He avoids their trip to COL this week, but a trip to LAA isn’t that great, either.
- Josh Winder looked sharp in his first start of the season with six shutout innings at TB after stretching out via some lengthy bullpen outings. Despite a strong SwStr rate (12%), he had just a 12% K rate coming into the outing, but we saw more of his K upside with the 7 punchies against the Rays. The 25-year-old righty made our Top 100 (#91) this year after an impressive 2-level campaign last year at Double- and Triple-A and certainly looks the part of a mid-rotation arm. He was picked up in 35 of 47 Main Event leagues this weekend, but Sonny Gray is slated to return this week and could shift Winder back to the bullpen even with Bailey Ober on the IL. If they will continue giving up extended relief outings, there is value here, but it’s still limited to deeper formats with an uncertain role (the Main Event is a 15-team mixer).
- Jordan Lyles doing great v. BOS is a microcosm of how much they have struggled (27th wRC+ vRHP), but still not enough to pique my interest, even with an outing v. KC this week.
- Kevin Gausman actually looks better than he did last year somehow given how great he was for the Giants. The splitter is absolutely god tier and it appears my concerns about returning to the AL East were overblown. It’s not like I thought he was 100% the guy he was in Baltimore, but he’s a complete 180 from that right now and early on looks like he should’ve been valued more as a top 12 pitcher as opposed to just a top 30 one.
- It had to be frustrating for CWS to come away with just 2 ER in 8.3 IP against Michael Lorenzen as they accumulated 9 H and had 14 Hard Hit balls against just 2 Ks. I totally understand Joe Maddon giving him a chance at the shutout, though I wasn’t at all surprised when they finally pushed across some runs in the 9th. I definitely want to see the Ks trend upward in short order, but I’m pleased with the 3.04 ERA/1.10 WHIP combo we’ve seen through 4 starts.
- Taylor Hearn wasn’t bad v. ATL, but no shot I can trust him at NYY this weekend.
- I’d give Daniel Lynch a solid A- for his 2-step at CWS and v. NYY: 2.45 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 11 Ks, and 1 W in 11 IP. He has been tremendous this year outside of two bad innings at STL in his season opener. The 25-year-old lefty is leaning on his slider more with positive results and could be laying the groundwork for a legit breakout campaign. I kept him after the 2-step and will use him at BAL this week.
- The Jordan Hicks-as-a-starter experiment just doesn’t seem to be working and I wonder how much longer StL will continue with it. He’d be better in a 2-3 IP relief role.
- Nick Pivetta’s velo is down 1.6 mph, his BB% rate is up 4 points (14%), and his already-bad HR rate is up 0.3 to 1.7 HR/9. How on earth is he still rostered in 77% of Main Event leagues?!
- I’m torn on Eduardo Rodriguez. The defense failed him early on, though he still allowed 6 H in 2 innings. But he settled down and allowed 2 ER in his final 3.7 IP with 5 Ks. This isn’t the first time the defense has let him down, though that doesn’t completely absolve him from the 5.33 ERA/1.30 WHIP to this point, either. The 38% LOB rate will rise and so should the 6% SwStr. That said, I understand people cutting him especially with a trip to HOU this weekend. I do think he will settle and become a team streamer at the very least, though.
- Sandy Alcantara was having a strong outing before things turned in the 6th. He got the first two outs quickly then J.P. Crawford doubled. That was followed by a curious decision to intentionally walk Abraham Toro (62 wRC+) in order to face Julio Rodríguez, who entered the day at a 67 wRC+ himself. I kinda understand setting up the force, but with 2 outs, why not let Alcantara go after Toro?! J-Rod burned him and smacked his first career HR, spoiling the outing. It’s a bummer, but nothing actionable comes from it with Alcantara.
- Josh Fleming wasn’t satisfied with all 7 runs being unearned earlier in the week so made sure to give up 5 earnies in 3.7 IP resulting in a disastrous 2-step: 7.94 ERA, 2.28 WHIP, 3 Ks, and 4 BB in 5.7 IP.
- James Kaprielian returned from the IL and got mollywhopped. He had given up 9 ER in his last 8.7 IP at Triple-A, too, so I doubt anyone was rushing to start him here anyway. I’d give him another start or two before considering him for any lineup.
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:
- Shohei Ohtani – Friday
- George Springer (2 HR) – Saturday
MULTI-HR/MULTI-SB
Guys with 2+ HR or SB over the weekend (Fri-Sun):
SBs:
- Kyle Tucker (3, 4)
- Andy Ibáñez (2, 3)
- Darin Ruf 러프!! (1, 2)
HRs:
- Kyle Schwarber (6, 7)
- Yordan Alvarez (5, 6)
- George Springer (5, 6)
- Hunter Renfroe (4, 5)
- Corey Seager (3, 4)
- Christian Yelich (2, 3)
- Jorge Soler (2, 3)
- Jason Vosler (1, 2)
- Jordan Luplow (1, 2)
NOTABLE CALLUPS
- MJ Melendez, C | KC – Cam Gallagher suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain which will likely cost him at least a month and upwards of two, clearing a path for Melendez. The standout prospect slotted 22nd on our Top 100 list this year after a massive 2021 that saw him blast 41 HRs across Double- and Triple-A. He’s had a slow start this year (61 wRC+, 2 HR, 3! SB), though a .204 BABIP is certainly holding him back. His plate skills are still in line with last year’s (24% K, 14% BB) and the bar for C2 relevance just isn’t that high so I’m interested in him for any 2-catcher format.
WTWT
Here is What To Watch Today for Monday, May 2nd:
- Dylan Cease and Patrick Sandoval square off for an excellent day game battle in Chicago.
- Zac Gallen (0.60 ERA) and Pablo Lopez (0.39 ERA) have to be one of the lowest ERA matchups
- I’ll be keyed in on Chris Paddack’s curveball usage today as he continues to cultivate his 3rd pitch.
- Can Tyler Wells have a good start against a team that isn’t NYY?
- I’m keeping a close eye on Ross Stripling. He’s been good before and if he can start adding some Ks with that 12% SwStr, his fantasy relevance will expand.
- Max Fried and Chris Bassitt should be a great duel between studly #2s.
Thanks for adding in the last names for your pitcher blurbs! You’re a gentleman and a scholar, sir!
Happy to make it a better read!