Pitcher Playing Time Changes: March 24, 2025
Below are all of the changes in projected playing time (games started for starters, innings pitched for relievers) for pitchers since our last update on March 19. We learned quite a lot in the last five days, so this is our most robust update yet!
SP Projected GS Changes, 3/19 to 3/24
| Pitcher | Team | Old GS | New GS | GS Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Liberatore | STL | 3 | 18 | 15 | Won SP5 job over Matz |
| Logan Allen | CLE | 6 | 19 | 13 | Won SP5 job over McKenzie |
| Shane Smith | CHW | 6 | 16 | 10 | Likely SP5 over Bryse Wilson |
| AJ Smith-Shawver | ATL | 13 | 19 | 6 | Won rotation spot; Anderson traded away |
| Bryce Elder | ATL | 5 | 10 | 5 | Optioned to minors but Anderson trade opens starts up down the line |
| Hayden Wesneski | HOU | 13 | 18 | 5 | Stronger hold on SP5 with Luis Garcia setback |
| Griffin Canning | NYM | 13 | 16 | 3 | Tighter hold on rotation spot with excellent camp |
| Joey Estes | ATH | 16 | 19 | 3 | Won SP5 over Spence, others |
| Paul Blackburn | NYM | 11 | 8 | -3 | Rough camp; will start in bullpen |
| Kyle Harrison | SFG | 16 | 13 | -3 | Officially lost SP5 to either Birdsong or Roupp |
| Andrew Abbott | CIN | 24 | 21 | -3 | Not injured, but starting on IL as he continues to build up |
| Joey Cantillo | CLE | 16 | 13 | -3 | Probably starting out in minors to stay stretched out |
| Shinnosuke Ogasawara | WSN | 10 | 6 | -4 | Really bad Spring, starting in AAA |
| Jared Jones | PIT | 28 | 24 | -4 | Continued uncertainty as we await word on elbow |
| Luis L. Ortiz | CLE | 23 | 19 | -4 | Kept rotation spot but a rough camp means he has a lot to prove |
| Ian Anderson | LAA | 15 | 10 | -5 | Likely to spend most of his time as an Angel in the bullpen |
| Kenta Maeda | DET | 8 | 3 | -5 | Will start in bullpen; hard to see many starts with Jobe, Mize, eventually Cobb, maybe Montero |
| Triston McKenzie | CLE | 18 | 13 | -5 | Starting out in bullpen; velocity is coming back but command hasn’t |
| Mitch Spence | ATH | 19 | 13 | -6 | Opening the year in the bullpen |
| Caden Dana | LAA | 13 | 6 | -7 | Really bad Spring + Ian Anderson addition means he might need more time than thought to keep developing |
| Ryan Weathers | MIA | 26 | 19 | -7 | Starting season on IL (forearm strain) |
| Luis Garcia | HOU | 18 | 11 | -7 | Setback in Tommy John recovery |
| Cade Povich | BAL | 18 | 8 | -10 | Won SP5, but that’s more than canceled out by Gibson addition |
| Quinn Mathews | STL | 16 | 6 | -10 | Six-man rotation, good McGreevy Spring means he’ll be eighth on the depth chart for a bit |
| Drew Thorpe | CHW | 15 | 0 | -15 | Tommy John surgery, see you in 2026 🙁 |
RP Projected IP Changes, 3/19 to 3/24
| Pitcher | Team | Old IP | New IP | IP Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Bowman | BAL | 15 | 52 | 37 | Contract selected; frontrunner for last bullpen spot |
| Patrick Murphy | TEX | 24 | 60 | 36 | Dunning on outright waivers, Murphy can provide long relief |
| Ryan Johnson | LAA | 10 | 44 | 34 | Impressive camp could get him on the roster sooner than later |
| Hunter Stratton | PIT | 15 | 46 | 31 | Contract selected, should factor in soon if not Opening Day |
| Ian Anderson | LAA | 13 | 42 | 29 | Likely to spend most of his time as an Angel in the bullpen |
| Brad Keller | CHC | 26 | 54 | 28 | Not official yet, but should be last reliever to make bullpen |
| Mitch Spence | ATH | 10 | 38 | 28 | Starting out in the bullpen after entering camp as SP5 |
| Jackson Rutledge | WSN | 23 | 50 | 27 | Converting to relief full-time, likely to make Opening Day roster |
| Zack Kelly | BOS | 26 | 50 | 24 | Nice Spring Training showing makes him less of an up-and-down option and closer to a stalwart |
| Sean Newcomb | BOS | 14 | 36 | 22 | Likely to be SP5, move to bullpen after 1-2 of Giolito, Bello, Crawford return |
| Joel Peguero | SFG | 14 | 34 | 20 | Went from under-the-radar NRI to possible Opening Day reliever, or early call-up |
| Jonathan Hernández | TBR | 26 | 46 | 20 | Six good Spring appearances have him on the verge of an Opening Day spot |
| Ryan Gusto | HOU | 18 | 36 | 18 | Haven’t fully committed, but could be in Opening Day bullpen |
| Steven Matz | STL | 22 | 39 | 17 | Will start out in bullpen, move to rotation April 16 |
| Kevin Kelly | TBR | 41 | 57 | 16 | Vasil trade, Faedo injury opens up PT |
| Alex Faedo | TBR | 57 | 41 | -16 | Opening on IL with shoulder discomfort |
| Sean Hjelle | SFG | 66 | 50 | -16 | Sent down after entering camp with a great shot at Opening Day bullpen, should be back soon though |
| Declan Cronin | MIA | 67 | 50 | -17 | Starting season on IL (hip discomfort) |
| AJ Smith-Shawver | ATL | 46 | 26 | -20 | Won last rotation spot, but could still get RP innings when Strider’s healthy |
| Zach Pop | TOR | 56 | 35 | -21 | Starting season on IL (elbow discomfort) |
| Matthew Liberatore | STL | 64 | 40 | -24 | Made Opening Day rotation; this projected RP IP total could keep going down |
| Shane Smith | CHW | 51 | 25 | -26 | Frontrunner for SP5 but could still get some RP innings |
| Dane Dunning | TEX | 60 | 18 | -42 | Reportedly on outright waivers after rough Spring |
Jon Becker manages RosterResource's team payroll pages and assists with all other aspects of RosterResource, too. Follow him at your own peril on Twitter at @jonbecker_ and on BlueSky at @jon-becker.com.