Weathers, The Storm

Ryan Weathers @ LAD (ND) – 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 33% CSW, 89 pitches.

With Dinelson Lamet on the IL and Adrian Morejon getting TJS, the Padres looked to Ryan Weathers to eat innings and he did just that across 88 pitches against the Dodgers with a gorgeous 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks performance. Hot dang! This was just with a fastball and slider, the former sitting 93/94 mph and earning a whopping 41% CSW, propelling him toward a King Cole. I’ll be honest, I watched every pitch of this and that fastball didn’t feel like a 40%+ CSW pitch. Maybe it was the fact that he was the definition of effectively wild? He nibbled the edges, got some calls, avoided the heart of the plate, but never looked in command the way Trevor Rogers does. Meanwhile, he has a slider that gets it done when he spots it well, but he’s still figuring out how to get consistent with that breaker as well.

It adds up to a pitcher who clearly has an effective heater and should be able to handle the Diamondbacks next week. Yes, he’s wild and will likely walk more batters in future outings, but he’ll throw enough strikes to get his outs and hopefully learn a few things along the way. Embrace the chaos.

 

Let’s see how every other SP did Thursday:

 

Walker Buehler vs SD (ND) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 101 pitches.

Aces gonna ace. Velocity is creeping back up and it was phenomenal for a 50% CSW across 50 thrown. Absolutely unreal. I’m a little annoyed his secondary stuff went just 1/44 whiffs, but whatever, Buehler’s heater is so legit, it hurts. And this was against San Diego! Imagine a normal schedule.

Cristian Javier vs LAA (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks – 21 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 98 pitches.

A well-earned Gallows Pole for Javier here as he returned and with a seemingly new approach to his slider, finally using it to get whiffs and boy did it work. 11/35 on whiffs alone with sliders, helping his already strong fastball do more damage on the whole. His command is still a bit wonky, but his stuff was difficult to square up for the Angels and those that took the chance were well rewarded. If he’s still out there, I’m down for his next start against Seattle in all formats, and possibly the Yankees after, too.

Aaron Sanchez vs MIA (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 67 pitches.

Ayyyy, he was able to pull off the questionable stream. His curveball was the savior last time and here…it failed to earn a whiff with a 14% CSW despite being thrown nearly a third of the time. Whatever, his sinker was good enough and he survived. Without that deuce, though, there’s nothing to lean on to make us believe he’s worth our time moving forward. Bummer.

Jeff Hoffman vs ARI (ND) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 88 pitches.

Before this game went absolutely haywire, Hoffman was Honman once again despite lacking a major force inside his repertoire. I just can’t buy into him when his slider + curveball return 0/29 whiffs. That ain’t right. I get a feeling he’s going to be replaced sometime soon, but he’ll likely get the Dodgers next and that’s a clear Sir Robin as you turn around and run away.

Domingo German @ CLE (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 90 pitches.

German started this game with a “called strike three” that was nowhere near the zone and I feel that represented this entire outing. His curveball is still solid, but his heater is two ticks down from last year and he’s not as polished as we want him to be. But hey, it’s Cleveland and that’s a solid outing. Streaming Record: 11-9. Now he gets Baltimore and I think that’s okay with me. I hope he’s a bit better then.

Aaron Civale vs NYY (ND) – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 93 pitches.

It’s not pretty, but it worked. Civale is still putting things together as he’s lacking that one pitch to really put him over the top. It’s like he has all the complements but no complementee because that is totally a word. Maybe that cutter or curveball can be the major force that is reinforced by his four-seamer, changeup, and slider, but until I see one sole pitch take over, I find myself leaning stronger toward the likes of Means, Gausman, Rogers, etc. You obviously will keep starting him, but yeah, I want to see that leap.

Mitch Keller @ DET (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 80 pitches.

Hey, he survived! And he earned just 3/31 whiffs on breakers! Why am I using exclamation points for this! The pitches did earn called strikes, at least, and he kept the heater up. I still don’t trust it – the Tigers are not a proper litmus test – and I’d hesitate before giving him the green light against the Royals. They’re sneaky dangerous.

Nick Pivetta vs SEA (ND) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 86 pitches.

Oh Pivetta, I’m proud you were able to survive six frames against the Mariners, yet I’m so, so disappointed you went 1/41 whiffs on sliders and curveballs. I can’t even. I CAN’T. Don’t endure his next start against the Mets, this feels like a trap.

Justin Dunn @ BOS (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 100 pitches.

He’s beginning to believe. So the velocity wasn’t 93/94 but rather 92/93, but he still earned 8/54 whiffs with four-seamers while earning 7/39 on curveballs and sporting a 32% CSW between them. That’s progress. Sadly, he gets Houston next and I’d be cautious there but if he continues this effort, he’ll be a pickup for LAA + TEX after.

Jose Urena vs PIT (ND) – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 89 pitches.

After a rough first inning, Ureña settled down and earned 21 outs in total with just two punchouts. Can you hear that sound? That’s my eyes rolling, mouth slightly open, and head leaning back just a touch. This ain’t it.

Trevor Williams vs NYM (ND) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 82 pitches.

Hey, you’ll take this and run from T-Dubs against the Mets as everything helped. He’s still going fastballs up + secondaries down (BSB!) but he’ll need luck if he’s to survive Atlanta next. He’s just a streamer down the road.

Joey Lucchesi @ CHC (ND) – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 60 pitches.

The man has yet had a regular outing as he went just sixty pitches here. Wait until he’s stretched out at the very least…plus actually, you know, pitching well. Okay fine, he earned five strikeouts, but you get what I mean.

Daniel Castano @ SF (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks – 3 Whiffs, 17% CSW, 82 pitches.

Daniel sounds like he wanted to be a part of a theater production but was denied during auditions. Cast? Ahhhh, no. Poor guy, all he wanted to do was express himself. What about his baseball career? Oh, that? Well, he’s certainly expressing something, just not what you’re looking for. What am I looking for? Normally it’s a solid starter but for you specifically? You’re going to have to answer that one yourself. Taking personal inventory is as important as anything, make sure you take the time to do so constantly. It’ll help you make smart decisions for yourself, like not rostering Castano. You thought I wasn’t going to tie this back together, didn’t you.

Taylor Widener @ CIN (ND) – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 89 pitches.

This fell apart in the sixth with a touch of Careful, Icarus, where he hadn’t allowed a run prior save for the first batter he faced. Widener cruised with his four-seamer, earning 10 whiffs on the pitch (!) and I wish I weren’t so skeptical of it, or at the very least, I wish I had more faith in the secondaries. At the very least, our decision is made easier by a date with San Diego, so sit this out. Maybe he shows us more then to make Miami a cozy stream.

Alex Cobb @ HOU (L) – 2.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 24% CSW, 79 pitches.

Ouuuuch. He did go heavy splitter – 43%! – but it went just 12% CSW. Is that bad? It’s as if I served you a “hotdog” and it was just a SlimJim between two slices of wonderbread. How dare you. Now you know how I feel. Like a man nicknamed “Dream” in the sixteenth century, the dream is dead. Jeeeez, this one seems forced. Just like Cobb throwing 43% splitters. Touché.

 

Game of the Day 

 

Yu Darvish vs. Clayton Kershaw – I mean, we’re doing this again and everyone is okay with that.

 

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

 

Featured image by Aaron Polcare