Gold Digging: Building a Team After Pick-300 Pt. 3

One day this flu will fully go away. One day. At least I’m no longer sleeping 20 of 24 hours every day and can actually do things, but my goodness this cough is something else. Anyway, let’s finish off our Gold Digging team by heading to the mound with five notable starting pitchers I’m drafting and monitoring this spring in hopes of seeing the signs that they are ready for a breakthrough. If you missed either part on hitters, you can check those out here:

• Part 1: C, 1B, 2B
• Part 2: SS, 3B, OF

DJ Herz | WAS – 316 ADP

Herz impressed in a 19-start debut, highlighted by a fantastic 28% K rate in 89 innings. He had some classic rookie issues with a 9% BB rate and 1.1 HR9, but the walk rate was actually the best we’ve seen from Herz at any stop in his career (15% BB in 321 MiLB IP). He has a legit 3-pitch mix, all of which can miss bats, and the young lefty was so adept at handling righties that he actually posted a better OPS against them (.651, 43 pts clear of his work vL). He will need to iron out some of his volatility to have a major breakout, but I’ll take the shot at this price point.

Grant Holmes | ATL – 332 ADP

Holmes was a multi-time Top 100 prospect allll the way back in the mid-2010s, but didn’t debut until last year at age-28. It was worth the wait as he looked sharp in a swingman role (7 starts, 19 relief appearances) and now he’s got the inside track on a starting role to open the year. He could be the first man out when Spencer Strider returns, but I don’t think that’s a foregone conclusion, especially if he’s excelling once Strider is back. His 20% K-BB was great, but there is also some strikeout upside on his 25% rate if he can leverage that 16% swinging strike rate a bit more. And of course residence on the Braves gives him legitimate Win potential every time out.

Reid Detmers | LAA – 358 ADP

I know, I knoowwww… but I just can’t quit him. Not yet at least! My undying obsession with Angels pitchers will subside a bit this year with Griffin Canning no longer on the team and Patrick Sandoval sidelined for the year (and now on Boston, of course), but Detmers remains the apple of my eye and it’s not like I’m out on some crazy limb backing a 25-year-old with an elite slider who has shown significant upside across his 75 major league starts. He’s shown some pretty wretched downside, too, I cannot deny that, but the market is clearly ready to move on as evidenced by his ADP so at least the expense to stay bought in is minimal. Even in last year’s craptastic season, he had a 2.12 ERA through his first five starts. Sure, it unraveled with an eye-popping 9.05 in his final 12, but his 18% K-BB for the year was actually a career-best. He will have to compete for his job this spring, which is fair, but as long as he’s not allowing bombs at a near-2.0 per 9 clip, he should make it in. He is undoubtedly one of the Angels five most talented starters.

Joey Cantillo | CLE – 418 ADP

We’ve currently got Cantillo penciled in to start the season at Triple-A this year with the return of Triston McKenzie and the acquisition of Luis L. Ortiz, so we’ll have to see if he gets a real shot at winning a spot or is seen as more of an in-season reinforcement for them. Either way, he will remain firmly on my radar. The young lefty showed some flashes in 39 innings last year, with a healthy 27% K rate and strong 49% GB rate. The latter didn’t help him limit homers in that short sample with a 1.4 HR9 that matched what we saw out of him in Triple-A so that will be his biggest hurdle to bringing his 4.89 ERA closer to the 3.69 FIP. A little bonus pick to keep tabs on is Slade Cecconi, who came over in the Josh Naylor trade, and could also be in contention for a starting role this spring. He’s a control artist who has allowed too many homers in his 104 MLB innings, but Cleveland is an organization I trust when it comes to starters so I’m eager to see what they have in store for him once they get him into camp. If he can trim the homers and push his K% into the low-20s, they might have a sneaky gem on their hands.

Hayden Wesneski | HOU – 444 ADP

We will cap it off with one more Sporer fave I’m staying committed to this year. I took a fat L on Wesneski in 2023 as he lost his starting role by June, posting a 4.63 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 89 innings. He was primarily a reliever again last season (7 starts, 21 relief appearances), improving his ratios a good bit (3.86/1.14) despite continuing to struggle with HRs (2.0 in ’23; 1.6 in ’24). Now he joins one of the savviest teams in the league, reinvigorating my interest in him. The Astros aren’t shy about enacting a plan for pitchers when they get them on the team. I hope they have something in store for Wesneski to lean on his sweeper and start cutting into the homers, so I’ll be meticulously watching him in Spring Training to see if they are able to recapture the 2022 version (2.18/0.94) or if it’s more of the same guy we’ve seen in 2023-24.