MASH Report (8/25/14)

• Jeff Passen looks at the playoff contenders and how the health of their pitching staffs have helped with their 2014 playoff runs.

Of the top 10 in each category, opening-day-rotation starts have more playoff teams than starters’ ERA or team ERA. Seven of the teams with most starts from opening day rotations would make the playoffs if the season ended today, whereas only six of the top 10 in starters’ ERA and team ERA would get to the postseason. And the three non-playoff teams on the healthy list include Detroit (one game back of the second AL wild card), Atlanta (one game behind for the second NL wild card) and Cincinnati (every theory needs an outlier).

Edwin Jackson is headed to the DL with a lat strain.

It’s been a struggle this season for the right-hander, who gave up seven runs over 2 2/3 innings on Wednesday against the Giants to fall to 6-14 with a 6.09 ERA. Jackson led the National League in losses last year, and he was on pace to do so again.

“It’s been the last few starts and something I’ve tried to work through,” Jackson said Thursday. “I figured it was in the best interest of myself, and the team as well, to try not to fight through it any more before something major happens. It’s one of those things that you try to work through, and it didn’t work out for me.”

Sounds like phantom DL stint. His velocity and Zone% were down, but they were similar to earlier season values.


I expect some time in Arizona working things out with little recovery time.

• I have zero trust is Justin Verlander being his old self right now. Here is his pitch speeds in his first game back from a skipping a start.

For three innings he was able to keep his fastball near 94 to 95 mph. Then it dropped like a rock to around 91 mph for a couple of innings before bouncing back at the end around 93 mph. I expect him to continue to pitch through this shoulder discomfort since the Tigers are in the playoff hunt.

Fastball Velocity Watch for Pitchers Returning From the DL

Andrew Cashner’s average fastball velocity was at a 2014 low. It would be nice to see it move upward for the rest of the season.

Jacob deGrom’s velocity is up.

Players on the DL

(*) 15 Day Disabled List
(**) 60 Day Disabled List
(***) 7 Day Concussion List
(****) Free Agent
Red colored entries are updates since last report.

Major League Report

Minor League Report





Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.

6 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Wobatus
9 years ago

Any indicators show anything about Zack Greinke’s tender elbow? They pushed his start back 2 days but velocity seems generally fine.