Stras Of Cards

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 9 am-11 am ET.  

Stephen Strasburg (WSH) @ MIA (L) – 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 83 pitches.

It’s been a while (it’s been a whiiiiile) since we’ve seen Stephen Strasburg pitch for real on the bump and after months and months we got…something. 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 83 pitches ain’t the most welcoming return, though there were some silver linings that could spell success as he gets his grip in the majors once again. His changeup had some lovely moments down, his curveball was a strike machine, and his four-seamer…well he sat just 90.3 mph. Oh no. Yeah, that’s a big problem.

You see, for me to actually want to roster Strasburg, we need him sitting at least 93 mph — he was 94/95 mph when we most recently enjoyed rostering him. There’s a decent chance his velocity was lower today as he needs more time to ramp up, but I wouldn’t anticipate Strasburg bouncing back next start or any time soon. Leave him on the wire for now.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Thursday:

 

Shane McClanahan (TB) vs STL (W) – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks – 20 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 94 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. Yep, him and Sandy are destined for Tier 1. What a wonderful time to be alive.

Dylan Cease (CWS) vs LAD (L) – 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 20 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 110 pitches.

Cease had a rough fifth inning due to an error, effectively kicking him out of the game. I can’t be too cruel about the WHIP because of it — six baserunners in the fifth alone. He’s fine, you know this. You don’t need me.

Shohei Ohtani (LAA) vs BOS (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 100 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. Seriously, just don’t face the Yankees ever again. That’s it. That’s the blurb.

Tyler Mahle (CIN) vs ARI (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 105 pitches.

Whoaaaaa welcome back…? His four-seamer was HAWT with 14 whiffs and 47% CSW. The splitter, cutter, and slider, weren’t great, but it didn’t matter because, again, THE HEATER WAS HAWT. Keep it going against the Sneks again.

Max Fried (ATL) vs PIT (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 94 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. Great to see Fried have a high strikeout total (yay slider whiffs!), but does the WHIP need to stay this high? The answer is no. No it doesn’t.

Zach Eflin (PHI) @ MIL (ND) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 96 pitches.

The curveball still sat above 20% usage, but the rest of Eflin’s attack was rough. I mean, 96 pitches for just four frames?! Seriously? At least it’s Miami + DC next and I think he’s okay for those.

Corbin Burnes (MIL) vs PHI (L) – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks – 22 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 113 pitches.

Aces gonna earn a Gallows Pole and make me feel weird. What is up with this game. First Eflin needs nearly 100 for four innings and Burnes goes 113 pitches for just 13 outs?! Wild.

Miles Mikolas (STL) @ TB (L) – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 36% CSW, 85 pitches.

Hot dang, look at you! Mikolas showed up like it was late April for a King Cole with his slider returning a wonderful 42% CSW…and the Rays being kinda bad right now. Well, it doesn’t matter, the Pirates are next and that’s a clear start.

Austin Gomber (COL) @ SF (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 99 pitches.

Wow, can’t say any of us expected this from Gomber. The heater did a lot of the work with sliders half floated, half decently spotted down.I’m going to give him a golf clap and continue ignoring him on the wire.

Logan Webb (SF) vs COL (L) – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 100 pitches.

Ehhhhhh that WHIP hurts. The good news here was the slider doing well for another start, but he sat a bit higher up with many of his pitches, failing to get everything down like he normally does. Still good, of course.

Nick Pivetta (BOS) @ LAA (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 11 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 97 pitches.

Okay, this has to be the Angels being terrible, right? 11 Whiffs for 11 Ks with a 1.60 WHIP is all kinds of mixed messages here. Whatever, it’s the Athletics next. That’s cool.

Trevor Rogers (MIA) vs WSH (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 85 pitches.

The changeup and four-seamer were there, and it allowed Rogers to go five innings for a Win. The slider went 0/8 CSW, though, making it the final piece before Rogers can become the amazing southpaw he was in the first half last year. A man can dream…I’m not totally buying that his heater and changeup are set to work in tandem moving forward.

James Kaprielian (OAK) @ CLE (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 75 pitches.

Yep, that’s a Toby alright. This was a four-seamer focused start with his slider barely thrown and I guess that’s okay? He gets the Sawx next and you don’t want that.

JT Brubaker (PIT) @ ATL (L) – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 99 pitches.

That’s a 1.14 WHIP with seven strikeouts and not a terrible ERA, yeah I’ll absolutely take this. His curveball was as good as we’ve seen with a 62% CSW and his sinker earned strikes. Definitely not riding it against the Cardinals next, though.

Zach Davies (ARI) @ CIN (ND) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 35% CSW, 107 pitches.

If you started Davies, I think you’re okay with this with a PQS as his changeup was working for the third straight start — 10 whiffs here. I guess I’m okay starting him against the Reds for a repeat in Arizona next week.

Konnor Pilkington (CLE) vs OAK (ND) – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 85 pitches.

Womp womp. I had hoped Pilk could return something similar to last week, but his changeup and slider weren’t nearly as good and the whole thing fell apart. Welp, it was a fun ride while it lasted. No it wasn’t. You’re right, it wasn’t.

Kris Bubic (KC) vs BAL (ND) – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 90 pitches.

Yeeeeeep. Bubic ain’t ready yet.

Dylan Bundy (MIN) vs NYY (ND) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 66 pitches.

A HAISTBMBWT?! from Bundy against the Yanks? Sure, why not. This whole start is that in a basket w/ chicken. Why with chicken? Why not? Touché.

Tyler Anderson (LAD) @ CWS (ND) – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 81 pitches.

Oh no, the regression has arrived. The White Sox are better against southpaws, but still, Anderson didn’t have his best changeup and made too many mistakes inside the zone. I think he’s still fine against the Angels next and at least we can all not expect a Top 30 SP here moving forward…right?

Jordan Lyles (BAL) @ KC (L) – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 96 pitches.

Hey, it’s me, the wrong side of the coin. I know buddy, I wish I wasn’t looking at you either.

Gerrit Cole (NYY) @ MIN (ND) – 2.1 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 70 pitches.

Oh dear. Cole had been killing it before this one and after allowing three back-to-back solo shots in the first, two more longballs followed, totaling five homeruns on the game. FIVE. Yeah, that’s not going to stick as this is a clear One Night Bland. Sorry it happened to y’all.

 

Game of the Day 

Roansy Contreras vs. Spencer Strider – Yeah, this is why we do this.

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 Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)