Austin Gomber vs SD (W) – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 95 pitches.
I can’t help but love what Austin Gomber is doing, especially after he survived not just the Padres, but also Coors as he went 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks Monday night. The man has executed our dream, tossing under 30% fastballs once again and relying heavily on his changeup, slider, and curveball to get it done. It’s glorious and everything we’ve wanted in the current age where we recognize that fastballs carry the worst wOBAs of any pitch.
Obviously, it’s not an approach that can fit any arm, but Gomber held a 1.57 ERA across six starts before this one, which began with, guess what, defeating the Padres in Coors and now that he’s performed well for the seventh straight outing, he’ll get to face the Brewers twice in a row. I guess we’re starting him for both as I trust the variety of his arsenal to get the job done. Austin is a stone cold machine right now.
Let’s see how every other SP did Monday:
Matthew Boyd @ KC (ND) – 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 41 pitches.
Boyd left this one early with a triceps injury, a start in which he held a 23% SwStr on sliders and a 94 mph fastball. Noooooo. He’s heading to the IL, and I hope he’s okay.
David Peterson vs CHC (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 73 pitches.
Huge props to Peterson for this one, especially as I bounced him from The List for being unreliable. Not to say that this outing changed the feeling — too many heaters found the heart of the plate here — but hey, it’s something.
Nathan Eovaldi vs TOR (ND) – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 81 pitches.
Avoid starting Eovaldi and Manoah, I said. The Sawx and Jays are destined for another slugfest, I said. Eovaldi was able to squeeze out some value with his secondaries, albeit on the backs of some pleasant BABIP, and sadly I don’t think this start changes my outlook on Nathan a whole lot, and we were likely starting him against the Royals next anyway. Let’s hope he still has the same good fortune.
Kenta Maeda @ SEA (ND) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 76 pitches.
Maeda gave us all nightmares as he walked the bases loaded in the first and then…got out of it, and began a streak of fanning four straight batters. His splitter was downright filthy at times, but his slider wasn’t quite the pitch we wanted it to be + his heater wasn’t along the edges but instead often in the middle of the zone. It’s not the fixed Maeda we’ve chased all year, but is he good enough to start against Texas next time? I think so as he’s likely to go over the 80 pitch mark.
Tony Gonsolin vs PHI (ND) – 3.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 81 pitches.
I watched a good amount of this one, and Gonsolin just isn’t there yet. I didn’t see the slider that was a legit Money Pitch in the past + his splitter earned just two whiffs on the game. He was forced to do everything with heaters, leading to a vastly inefficient day and a lot of laborious moments. I can see him improving with more starts, but he’s got work to do.
Sean Manaea vs LAA (W) – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 104 pitches.
He got a bit Singled Out, but that’s okay as Manaea still flexed 91+ mph velocity and a decent changeup. Not the best slow ball, but good enough. The worst news here is the curveball that was pretty dang blegh. Hopefully that can step up next time as we keep starting Manaea.
Dinelson Lamet @ COL (L) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 75 pitches.
On one hand, he was allowed to go 75 pitches and that should make us feel better as Lamet moves toward 5-6 inning territory. On the other, that’s a poor WHIP with 23% CSW and just three strikeouts. Like the opposite of Phillies fans, we’re shouting WE WANT MO(O)RE! I think you’re about to get what you want and it’s going to be lovely.
Alek Manoah @ BOS (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 93 pitches.
He’s still lacking with his changeup, but the slider was plenty better here with 38% CSW and 7/29 whiffs. I’m not quite in love with his four-seamer at the moment, but Manoah has had a few rough matchups and survived to get the Orioles back-to-back now as we get our salvation.
Vladimir Gutiérrez @ MIL (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 110 pitches.
Vlad was glad to see his curveball land for 11/30 called strikes (whoa!) as he earned 14 whiffs across his four-seamer & slider. Look at this glorious pitch separation and precision on his fastball! Yeaaaah, that works. Cool to see the Reds allow him to toss 110 pitches as well, but for those wondering if he’s worth the add, note @SDP + ATL ahead. As much as I’m intrigued by this, I’m not starting him in either matchup. Too much risk. I am super intrigued by it, though — that curveball is super pretty to watch and if he’s spotting heaters like that constantly, this could still work out.
Tyler Glasnow @ CWS (ND) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 53 pitches.
Glasnow left this one early as he felt a little tug in his elbow. Why, oh why, did I feel compelled to remove the “injury risk” label from Glasnow on The List today. WHY.
Jean Carlos Mejía vs BAL (ND) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 4 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 55 pitches.
I wonder if it’ll take 799 more JCMs to make a performance that truly rocks. You know, a JCM 800.
Alex Wood vs ARI (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 38% CSW, 101 pitches.
I feel like Dumbledore as I chase down Wood after seeing this line. ALEXDIDYOUHAVEYOURSLIDERTONIGHT?! The answer is “kinda, sure, but my changeup was way better and my sinker sat 92 mph again and got a ton of called strikes.” It’s not quite the answer we wanted, but it works and we should feel cool about that. I mean, can I really be upset about 6/21 slider whiffs? Yeah, didn’t think so. The Phillies are next and yeah, that’s a start.
Jon Lester vs PIT (ND) – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 17% CSW, 86 pitches.
I’m happy Lester was able to take advantage of a solid matchup for once. Well, kinda. That’s not a great WHIP and he only earned two strikeouts and he certainly got a bit of luck with just 17% CSW…
JT Brubaker @ WSH (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 71 pitches.
I guess we’re okay with this from Coffee Cakes, pretty shocked he fanned just one with eleven whiffs – HAISTFMFWT?! – and let’s all be happy he’s following the rules of the Toby.
Braxton Garrett @ STL (ND) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 70 pitches.
I don’t really dig what Garrett is putting down, sadly, but the Cardinals kinda were. I think Zach Thompson is the better spec add from the back-end of the Marlins rotation for now.
Adam Wainwright vs MIA (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 105 pitches.
I’ll certainly take this from Waino, even if we imagined something a bit more dominating against the Marlins. The cutter is still lacking, sadly, and it does make me a little worried for his weekend start against Atlanta.
Spencer Howard @ LAD (L) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 67 pitches.
Pretty impressive from Howard as his only three baserunners came around to score (bad timing!) and he held this solid WHIP + K/9 with essentially just a four-seamer at 93/94 mph. That doesn’t sound like a great repertoire. That’s because it’s not. I’m waiting until I see his slider and/or change or curve to show up in a big way before I’m considering jumping on board.
Marco Gonzales vs MIN (ND) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 41% CSW, 91 pitches.
After I was incredibly disappointed by Marco’s performance against Detroit, he gave us a 5.20 ERA with a 2.00 WHIP as he…earned a Golden Goal?! Seriously?! Marco’s curveball went 10/28 on whiffs while his sinker earned 13 called strikes and 52% CSW, which I guess essentially equates to what you’re seeing but hot dang that’s pretty wild. Does it mean I’m okay starting Marco against the Rays next? Ehhhh maybe. I wish the results were, you know, good in any way to justify it but yeah, there’s a chance it normalizes next time. What’s more likely the lucky one? The Whiffs/CSW or the results? I’m leaning the results and so I guess, yeah, I’m starting him. Wild.
Lance Lynn vs TB (L) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 16 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 103 pitches.
Aces gonna return a VPQS but still earn plenty of whiffs along the way. Not the effort you want to see from Lynn as his cutter was plenty worse than usual, but hey, the man finds a way to grind out innings and get you strikeouts.
Matt Peacock @ SF (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 94 pitches.
Don’t stream Peacock. Seriously, the extra scenes of The Office isn’t worth it. Spend your money elsewhere, like supporting Pitcher List with PL+. Because you’re the best and you deserve the best.
Dean Kremer @ CLE (L) – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 71 pitches.
This start didn’t do a whole for you as Kremer’s cutter wasn’t the magical pitch we once saw. He’s mixing in a changeup now and it’s…not the answer. We’re still staying far away from this.
Eric Lauer vs CIN (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 90 pitches.
Okay okay, even if Lauer is tossing 90 mph cutters, it clearly doesn’t matter. EL? Oh, L.
Jake Arrieta @ NYM (L) – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 77 pitches.
Yeaaaah, it feels weird seeing Arrieta pitch like this after being one of the premier talents in the game. It truly was a remarkable time and I wouldn’t touch him in 15-teamers, now. So it goes.
Brad Keller vs DET (L) – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 20% CSW, 100 pitches.
Jeeeez, did anyone bother to tell Keller that this was the Tigers? No? Streaming Record: 42-31. Guess we’re not jumping back into this one any time soon. The heaters are simply not good enough.
Dylan Bundy @ OAK (L) – 2.1 IP, 7 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 59 pitches.
Some took the gamble after last week’s survival, some elected to watch from afar. All of us watched in horror. Sub-90 mph heaters. Just 8% sliders. Two tears running down my face. I don’t care if he gets the Tigers next, you can’t trust this. You just can’t. Lower your DB levels, he’s already caused too much pain and you don’t want lasting effects.
Game of the Day
Lance McCullers Jr. vs Kyle Gibson – Don’t forget, Jake Odorizzi is following McCullers — it’s three starters for the price of two!
But Nick?! Where are the streaming picks? – I’ve moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article.
Featured Image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)