Run of the Gil

Luis Gil vs BAL (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 88 pitches.

Out of nowhere, the Yankees lost Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery to COVID, forcing them to call up Luis Gil to start against the Orioles. The word had been “hard fastball, decent slider, questionable command”, making me think we’d see an inefficient arm who could get walloped as Baltimore sat heater.

I was wrong.

Gil astounded all of us via 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 88 pitches on Tuesday night, boasting a heater that touched 99 mph and a slider that held a 38% CSW. I watched all of this outing and I have some thoughts. First, he was sent back to Triple-A after this game, so let’s not make any adds (he’s not starting next time against the Mariners). Second, his heater started the game at 97 or so and fell to 94/95 mph in the fourth onward, though he was able to rear back for more a few times. The pitch seemed to have a little extra life at the end as the Orioles had a tough time picking it up, returning 9/46 whiffs on the four-seamer. Its command wasn’t incredible, but not as erratic as I’ve seen, let alone during an MLB debut.

The slider and changeup leave a little to be desired, though. I don’t buy the breaker as a 9/29 called strike offering in the future, while the 92/93 mph changeup wasn’t located well + doesn’t do quite enough for me to get amped it. The slider is clearly the #2 pitch and if the heater is that amazing, it’s good enough to make the whole thing work, but it’s not one of those ridiculous sliders that have made us spoiled when watching MLB debuts these days. Thanks for nothing, Josiah Gray.

In the end, if he were to get regular starts, I’d consider Gil, but I do believe this was an exceptional day, not a standard we’d see regularly. We didn’t see the floor of his command and I think he squeezed a bit more out of the slider than normal. But hey, he put on a show and it was marvelous.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Tuesday:

 

Max Fried @ STL (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 98 pitches.

Ayyyy there’s some more Fried goodness…kinda. His slider was terrible at 0/14 CSW, but his curveball and fastball did work, including a sinker that went 41% CSW. Now he gets the Nationals and everything should be fine. He’s no SP #1, but he’ll get the job done.

Dylan Cease vs KC (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 11 Ks – 21 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 103 pitches.

The slider was dope, the four-seamer earned whiffs, and he even went 6/18 whiffs on curveballs. So yeah, Cease was amazing and yoinked a Gallows Pole from the rest of tonight’s slate. He gets the back-up Cubs offense next time and it should be more of the same.

Lance McCullers Jr. @ LAD (W) – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 110 pitches.

Excellent job here from McCullers, earning a King Cole as he cruised through the Dodgers lineup. The slider was magnificent, while the curve took a bit of a backseat, but earned 5/15 whiffs regardless. The main focus should be the fastball earning 30% CSW and getting enough strikes to allow McCullers to dominate with the breakers. I can only hope that sinker can perform this well moving forward.

Walker Buehler vs HOU (L) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 113 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. He didn’t have the four-seamer whiffs nor a secondary pitch to step forward and dominate (the cutter did get plenty of outs, though), but you have to hand it to Buehler to allow just one earned run across six innings during an “off” night. That’s legit.

Yusei Kikuchi @ TB (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 92 pitches.

Kikuchi sat 93 mph on his heater but still made it work. Somehow. That’s a two tick difference from his last start and I just don’t what to think anymore. I’m feeling like Kikuchi is destined for volatility this second half and I’d be worried about the Yankees next. Yusei tossing sub 94 mph ain’t right.

Wily Peralta vs BOS (ND) – 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 96 pitches.

Oh no Wily, don’t you dare start doing this again. At least the WHIP flirting with a 2.00 mark should steer everyone clear of this one, right? RIGHT?!

Adrian Houser vs PIT (ND) – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 0 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 104 pitches.

Do I really need to give Houser credit here? He didn’t allow a hit but walked five and he earned 2/34 whiffs on all his secondary pitches. Y’all know this ain’t right, but let’s be happy he knows how to take down the Pirates. Yay. He gets the weak Cubs next and that’s okay for a desperate stream, but nothing more. The floor is too dangerous.

Blake Snell @ OAK (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 105 pitches.

That’s a Dusty Donut with a 1.80 WHIP but six strikeouts and just one earned run. Snell went hard on the heaters in this one, tossing them a whopping 72% of the time and I’m still in shock even after typing that out. It’s the performance of a truly frustrated pitcher. This isn’t the answer and I wonder what approach he’s going to try next…as we watch from afar. This isn’t the outing that should convince you to give him another shot. Yeah, but didn’t his strike-zone plot look a lot like what Robbie Ray has done? Well, um…huh. That’s an interesting point. He did feature a ton of heaters in the zone, after all. Alright fine, I’m going to monitor this super closely for next time.

Madison Bumgarner vs SF (ND) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 99 pitches.

I was terrified of this start as Bumgarner has been sub-90 mph in each of his last three starts and in this one he was…exactly 90 mph. No wonder he had success! Kidding aside, maybe I’m not giving Bummy enough credit to his command as he kept changeups and curveballs down + cutters along the glove-side edge. Still, I really want to see 91/92 mph heaters again, please and thank you. He gets the Padres next, though, and I’d avoid that.

Hyun Jin Ryu vs CLE (W) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 99 pitches.

His changeup didn’t have the whiffs, but it did get outs as he located it well down-and-arm-side. Fastballs got strikes, cutters got outs, and curveballs were as good as ever. I’ve been worried about Ryu, but this is certainly pushing me in the right direction again. It’s not the ZOMG HE’S BACK performance with his changeup, but this will do.

Johnny Cueto @ ARI (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 100 pitches.

It’s a Dusty Donut as that 2.00 WHIP hurts like anything, but Cueto had the best changeup he’s had all year – 8/20 whiffs! – and that’s something of note. Maybe he can survive the Brewers next time if he has that slow ball.

Kyle Freeland vs CHC (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 66 pitches.

Solid stuff from Freeland inside Coors, though it is the Cubs and we really aren’t expecting much of anything from that offense for the final two months. He didn’t have one of his four primary pitches return a CSW above 30%. Don’t touch him.

Luis Patiño vs SEA (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 100 pitches.

Awwwwww. Streaming Record: 66-49. I was hoping Patiño could pull it off again and while his four-seamer did earn 8 whiffs, the slider was poor and he couldn’t put batters away with the heater. Now he gets Boston and I’m not a fan of that, no-siree Bob.

Nick Neidert vs NYM (W) – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 74 pitches.

Hey, that’s one out away from a PQS and that’s way better than I expected from Neidert. He went heavy on his slider, tossing them 40% of the time and earning 38% CSW, though his four-seamer is still kinda wack and that lack is trag-ack. Tragic? The most. A real Romeo and Juliet over here. I wouldn’t go after this.

José Suárez @ TEX (W) – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 88 pitches.

It’s a Philly but the rest is solid and I’m going to continue keeping Suárez on my possible streaming list. It’s not enough to roster in a 12-teamer, but someone to consider for a given night.

Max Kranick @ MIL (ND) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 82 pitches.

13 whiffs are cool, but he still has a good amount of work left to do before it comes with a strong line. You know, his Max potential.

Kris Bubic @ CWS (L) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 96 pitches.

It’s incredibly weird to see Bubic toss more curveballs than changeups, but here we are and they were excellent, earning 7/24 called strikes, alone. He missed a bit too frequently on his changeup and relied heavily on that breaker, while his fastball was…meh. A lot of misses over the heart of the plate. But hey, he got a PQS with eight Ks and I’m pleasantly surprised. He could follow “The Cardinal Rule” next time out and make trusting managers happy if he has this curveball a second time. That would be cool.

Garrett Richards @ DET (L) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 72 pitches.

Oh hey, it’s another Richards start. He has about one left before Chris Sale shows up and steals everything he has. But Chris, that’s my mustache! Not anymore.

Tyler Mahle vs MIN (ND) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 95 pitches.

Bleeeggggh. Come on Mahle, get back into that groove you’re supposed to be in. Dominate with your fastball and clean it up with the slider. You. Can. DO. THIS.

Taijuan Walker @ MIA (L) – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 93 pitches.

Walker has reached the point where he can’t cruise against the Marlins and yeah, I’m worried as h*ck and you should be too. He gets the Phillies next and I’m kinda thinking that’s a no…but then again, he was sitting over 95 mph in this one and a full tick above his season average velocity. Ugggggh I guess I’m still in. FINE.

Zack Wheeler @ WSH (W) – 7.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 105 pitches.

Aces gonna go six frames scoreless and return four ER across four more outs. Careful, Icarus for real. Wheeler hasn’t been as legit lately per normal and you can blame the slider, which returned just 16% CSW here. It’s been the major facet of his ascension this season and we need more than 3/31 whiffs from it.

Patrick Corbin vs PHI (L) – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 93 pitches.

Soooo Corbin had 13/37 slider whiffs + a fastball at 93/94 mph and he still had a poor ERA. Am I going crazy here? I feel like he’s getting stupid unlucky now (three HRs allowed) as the skills HAVE NEVER BEEN BETTER. Considering everyone has abandoned ship, I guess you’re fine waiting for it to go his way and jump on board, but those in deeper leagues, yeah I’d consider the add. The whiffs + velocity are there and it’s not like a 1.00 WHIP with eight strikeouts hurt you – this was a Dusty Donut with a ‘Careful, Icarus” as he allowed his final three ER all in the seventh.

Sean Manaea vs SD (ND) – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 99 pitches.

Blegh. I awarded Manaea not only the AGA label last time, but also the featured image of The List and of course it means he takes a step back. His velocity was still up (~93 mph!), but his changeup and curveball were plenty worse and left in the middle of the zone often. He’ll be plenty better against the Rangers next than the mighty Padres here.

Kenta Maeda @ CIN (ND) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 84 pitches.

Sure, pitching in Cincy ain’t a fun experience, but the splitter was legit (7/35 whiffs) and his slider was on point. Things happen, keep starting Maeda.

Alexander Wells @ NYY (L) – 2.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 63 pitches.

I think we’re all wishing Wells a better time. When? Any day. Any single day should be better than this.

Jordan Lyles vs LAA (L) – 5.2 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 110 pitches.

Jordan, why you always Lyyylles. Oh my god, stop h*ckin’ Lyyllllles. Ahem. Sorry, it’s just tough to watch sometimes, you know? The new slider is good, but there just isn’t enough support for it.

Zach Plesac @ TOR (L) – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 82 pitches.

Sigh. I still have faith there’s enough talent in there that can come out through regular starts from Plesac, but he got roughed up by the Jays here, preventing him from earning a single strikeout. HAISTBMBWT?! He gets Detroit next and there’s a chance he improves there. At least his slider and changeup each had five whiffs here, that’s a start.

Jon Lester vs ATL (L) – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 88 pitches.

Hey St. Louis, I hope you’ve enjoyed your “innings eater” Lester for a night. It’s what you wanted, right?

Zach Davies @ COL (L) – 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 66 pitches.

It was Coors. It was Davies. There was a mutual head nod in agreement. We will avoid this one.

 

Game of the Day 

 

Kevin Gausman vs Zac Gallen – Which one will do well? Why not both?

But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.

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Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)