Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every starting pitcher’s performance from every Thursday game. I apologize for the jokes written in my delirium in advance. Have questions? Ask me during my office hours on Twitch weekday mornings from 10 am-12 pm ET.
Kodai Senga (NYM) @ CIN (L) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 95 pitches.
I don’t think I need to spend a long time on this. Kodai Senga is a Cherry Bomb and can’t be trusted for consistent success in situations that present added risk. Take today, for example, in Cincinnati: 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 95 pitches. His four-seamer went 0/38 whiffs (down over a tick, too), his forkball returned just 50% strikes, and the cutter + sweeper kept him afloat.
We drafted Senga loving the ceiling with a great schedule, but now it’s May, where the Rays + Coors are looming across his next three starts. You really don’t need to hold onto this. Just chase a streamer instead and avoid the toppling blocks.
Let’s see how every other SP did Thursday:
Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) @ OAK (W) – 8.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 12 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 113 pitches.
This was awesome. Eovaldi has now tossed 25.2 scoreless across just three starts like it’s 1988, here returning a Gallows Pole en route to a career-high in strikeouts because why the h*ck not. He went east-west effectively, had his splitter working beautifully (48% CSW!), and even stole strikes consistently with cutters and curveballs, all with the fastball sitting 96 mph (and hit 97 mph in the ninth). This is how you take advantage of the Athletics and it’s hard to argue against raising him far up The List on Monday. So fun.
Alex Cobb (SF) @ ARI (W) – 7.1 IP, 0 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 104 pitches.
Look at Cobb go, doing exactly what we wanted him to do…with very few whiffs, a 17% CSW on his splitter, just one slider thrown, and a heavy reliance on his curve returned 46% called strikes. Keep holding Cobb as he has a relatively decent schedule ahead, but you won’t see a start like this for a bit. Y’all know he’s not this good and that’s okay, right? It’s almost as if the baseball gods are favoring him after the disaster of 2022…even if he was a bit Singled Out here. That LOB rate going the other direction is pure beauty.
Drew Rasmussen (TB) @ NYY (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 39% CSW, 76 pitches.
Yessssss. Rasmussen came out swinging against the Yankees, showcasing nearly a tick extra velocity on his cutter and four-seamer, propelling a King Cole across seven shutout frames. I don’t even think it was the best effort we’ve seen from him and it didn’t matter. I’m so glad we’re past that valley, especially with his tough schedules of @NYM, TOR, LAD up next. You got it, dude.
Derek Law (CIN) vs NYM (ND) – 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 1 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 20 pitches.
He opened for three innings of Ben Lively (Hey, it’s Raggedy Anne! Haven’t used that in six years) and y’all know this isn’t the life to live.
Brady Singer (KC) vs CWS (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 80 pitches.
Consider Brady as a Cherry Bomb, which essentially says “he’s great half of the time, terrible the rest.” He’s now made eight starts, returning 5 duds, 3 studs, which is pretty much what you’d expect flipping coins. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Seriously, the HOTEL was to blame – if not just general volatility – for how extreme the poor outings were (.350 BABIP, 24.1% HR/FB, 51% LOB rate entering today) and in the end, it’s the same guy we saw in 2021 and 2022. Play that how you want to.
Domingo Germán (NYY) vs TB (L) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 87 pitches.
I was pretty down on Germán and I’m giving him a ton of credit for surviving twice against the Rays. Sure, this one was a little more fortunate, but leaned more on changeups that came through for him as the curveball wasn’t the monster pitch we’ve seen it to be thus far. He has a few more rough games left – @TOR, @CIN, SDP – but so far so good. That really is a tough schedule.
Luis Medina (OAK) vs TEX (L) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 87 pitches.
Honestly, a PQS from Medina is waaaay better than what we saw the first outing. He spotted his four-seamers well along the edges and was able to mix in the curve and slider pretty well – still more work to be done (especially with the changeup as well), but definitely an improvement. Sadly, his 95/96 mph heater doesn’t return whiffs, but we can work with this command if it’s the norm moving forward. He’s a desperate Quality Start play for deeper leagues right now, without a whole lot of Win or strikeout upside.
Yu Darvish (SD) @ MIN (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 80 pitches.
Solid stuff again from Darvish and I wrestled with an AGA tag, electing to hold back in the end. Why? Because Darvish isn’t surgical with his deconstruction of batters. It’s a lot of “in the general area” and has a sense of chaos despite the high zone rate. He doesn’t overwhelm like the AGA do. But hey, still love it, that’s a total of 5 ER in four of his last five.
Tommy Henry (ARI) vs SF (L) – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 97 pitches.
Honestly better than expected, but y’all know the rules. Don’t go after a guy with two strikeouts and a 20% CSW? No, well, yes, but no no no. Don’t trust guys with two first names. DUH.
Mike Clevinger (CWS) @ KC (ND) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 92 pitches.
A PQS with a good WHIP and just two strikeouts? Ehhhh, I’m conflicted if this helps or not, especially without a Win to feel good. He was down a tick across the board and only returned 2/18 whiffs on the slider –> y’all don’t want this.
Bailey Ober (MIN) vs SD (ND) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 96 pitches.
Hey, I really dug this. Oberizzi’s pitch separation was killer, his slider returned 35% CSW, and the changeup got 70% strikes. That’s what’s up. Is it enough to start him against the Dodgers next? Maaaaybe? At least tier three (Questionable Start) and if it’s a package deal with the Giants after, then I go for it. Sure don’t like the schedule after that, though. Poor fella.
Game of the Day
Graham Ashcraft vs Eury Pérez – Ashcraft should perform well in Miami, while we get to watch the debut of Eury (roster him everywhere). This is where the fun begins.
But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.
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Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
Well Rasmussen to the 60 day DL just when he was looking good. First Springs now him. I guess we get Taj back but he’s been sucking ever since his demotion.