I went through the few American League lineups to see if there was a change in a player’s value different from preseason expectations. Here are my thoughts on each team.

Angels

• Albert Pujols has already sat in two of the six games.
• David Fletcher (1.022 OPS) is playing every day and leading off.

Astros

• Kyle Tucker (.188/.235/.313) started three straight games.
• It’s one of the more consistent lineups.

Read the rest of this entry »

The last of the Finding Giolito series comes to pause. I couldn’t find any footage on Logan Webb and the Manaea video was crap. That said, the Garrett Richards looked great.

Garrett Richards (Padres, RHP)

Games

• 3/3/20
• 3/9/20

Notes

• Pitches straight ahead attacking the plate.
• The slider has a curveball shape but in the low 90’s.
• He never controlled the curve in either game. He was just giving away those pitches.
• In the third inning of the 3/9 game, he lost control of everything. He might have tried throwing his change since he bounced a couple pithces way in front of the plate.
• While the broadcast talked of the changeup, I didn’t notice him throwing one else it was one of the pitches he bounced.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I started a series on finding the potential Spring Training breakouts based on increased velocity and a possible new pitch. I planned on going in-depth on a couple of guys but found no game footage for Nick Pivetta, Danny Duffy, and John Means. Instead, I pivoted to Alec Mills.

Alec Mills

Improvements

• Fastball velo up 0.8 mph.
• New two-seam grip.

Games watched

• 2/26/20: 2 IP, Best game to watch. Good camera angle and pitch velos.
• 3/7/20: 3.2 IP, Horrible camera angle.
• 3/11/20: 1 IP

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m continuing my quest to find the next Lucas Giolito breakout and failed with these two. They both were to be adding slider and some added velocity.

Tyle Mahle: Reds right-handed pitcher

Games

• 2/29/20
• 3/5/20

Notes:

• Some rise on the fastball but it’s really straight (95 and 97 mph from broadcast on two pitches).
• The curve was inconsistent and he hung a few.
• Just didn’t throw a put-away pitch in the second game.
• He had no feel for the splitter at all in the 3/5 game. It was better in the 2/29 game.
• I wasn’t sure what he was doing. He might not of known either.

Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked this offseason, “Who is this season’s Giolito?” So I’m supposed to know of a pitcher who was completely useless the previous season but is going to throw harder, find the strike zone, and rework his repertoire. Yea … I wish. But we can start diving in and I’ve found 10 arms who may pull it off.

The elusive list of 10 pitchers came taking anyone on Jason Collette’s New Pitch Tracker with anyone who saw a velocity increase in the first Spring Training. Initially, 12 pitchers made cut.

Read the rest of this entry »

Note: I’d like to grade out both of their pitches more but the camera angles where sh …. not good.

Kwang Hyun Kim

LHP on the Cardinals

Games watched

• Feb 22: 1 IP (in rain with ump covering the catcher’s glove)
• Mar 9: 3 IP

Projections and comps from earlier this offseason.

The projected talent should play with comparable projected pitchers being Jesus Luzardo (3.98 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), Sonny Gray (3.91, 1.30), and Carlos Martinez (3.97, 1.33).

One game that was not on MLB.tv had StatCast velocity readings and here are his pitch velocities.

• Fastball: 90-93
• Slider (Change): 83-86
• Curve: 69-71
• Cutter: 88- 89
• Split: 77-78

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been considering this article’s concept for a while and am going to try it out for a couple of weeks and see if it is useful. I’ll spend three hours catching an hour of three different games and writing my thoughts and diving into deeper into areas of fantasy interest. Here is take #1 and let me know your thoughts.

Orioles at Yankees

• It was an easy choice for taking this game. Scherzer versus deGrom sounded like a 1-0 game with the Mets bullpen letting deGrom down (I was close but wrong).
• The top of the Orioles lineup could steal a few bases nothing to play for and Cedric Mullins, Dwight Smith Jr., and Jonathan Villar as those first three. I had to examine Smith and determined why I didn’t know more about him. He’s kind of boring with a projection near 10 homers, 10 steals, and a .240 average. Maybe it will be just Mullins and Villar stealing bases.
• Like it’s going to matter but Andrew Cashner’s velocity was up a tick.
• Luke Voit with a bomb (113 mph) to straightaway center. His power is legit and needs to be in the Yankees lineup every day.
• Additionally, Luke Voit possesses some 80-grade hair.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jacob Nix

Fastball: Come in at 91-95 mph and straight but the 22-year-old righty hit his spots moving it around the strike zone.

By the 5th inning, he’d lost a couple ticks off the fastball. With the velocity loss, he may struggle later in games.

Curve: 76-79 mph with a 12-7 break. He didn’t have a feel for it and bounced a couple up to the plate. It’s not loopy and has above average speed. It could be a really good pitch for him.

Read the rest of this entry »

Touki Toussaint

Fastball: The 22-year-old righty threw a 91-96 mph with a decent amount of release side run. Generally, he can control the pitch but its movement can cause it to dart in-and-out of the strike zone. This movement may help him generate weak contact.

Read the rest of this entry »

A couple nights ago, I sat down to do a Quick Look at two pitchers, Brett Kennedy and Tommy Milone. Both had horrible starts with game ERA’s over 10 and lost quite of bit of fantasy value. After watching each start, both pitchers may end up being usable but owners will need to proceed with caution.

Brett Kennedy

I’ve anticipated this callup for a while after prospect pitcher finder spotted him earlier in the season. Before his major league debut, 24-year-old righty was projected to the be the Padres best starter by ERA. After the start, he dropped below Joey Lucchesi.

The 11th round draft pick was never on anyone’s prospect radar but he has been tearing up the PCL with a 10-0 record, 2.72 ERA, and an 8.1 K/9.

Read the rest of this entry »