Welcome to the SP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article where I discuss the performance of every starting pitcher from every Monday game. I apologize in advance for the jokes I wrote in my delirium. Have questions? Ask me during my office hours on Playback.tv weekday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon ET.
Nate Pearson (CHC) @PHI (ND) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit, 1 BBs, 0 Ks – 0 breath, 17% CW12 parking spaces.
On a night with only four games, I was thrilled that we had the chance to watch Caleb Kilian for the first time since his electrifying preseason, which ended prematurely due to injury. Unfortunately, the follow-along performance didn’t help any fantasy team: 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 10 whiffs, 24% CSW, 85 throws. But what does this mean for the future?
What I saw was a step back from the man who had thrilled me in the spring. His fastball varied the speed solid from 91-97 mph, with the heater turning on moderately iVB And HAVA. However, he has excellent extension at seven feet and if he is able to lean up into 96+ four-seamers with that extension, then we may be on to something.
He paired it with a cutter that had his moments + a number of breakers that were far from polished, including a sweeper that often got out of Caleb’s hands badly. I’m not going to judge Caleb too much here given the situation at hand – he’s making his first appearance of the year in his seventh MLB game – and I hope we get another look at him over the weekend. If Killian can maintain 96+ velocity (was it a low 93 mph sinker and a 96/97 four-seamer?) while nailing the tough 86-88 mph cutter, there’s real potential here. That extension with speed and (hopefully) good control dictates real skill for 12-team players in 2025.
Let’s see how all the other SPs did on Monday:
Bryce Miller (SEA) @HOU (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks – 20 puffs, 33% CSW97 parking spaces.
WHOA NELLY. A Gallows post in a beginning away from Seattle and against the Astros?! It was without Yordan. Anyway, still awesome. He went BSB with heaters up and splitters/curves down with those secondary throws that return 8/35 misses. I love it. I hope we get another one from Bryce to see if it’s even repeatable and we’ll obviously use him at home against the Athletics.
Tanner Houck (BOS) @ GOAL (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit, 1 BBs, 0 Ks – 1 touch, 28% CW57 parking spaces.
He was eventually limited, but he made the most of it, lasting the full five minutes to give you a win… and zero strikeouts. HAISTBMBWT?! It’s pretty clear that he’s either not going to pitch on Sunday or he’s going to keep throwing around 60 pitches. That’s not the case, not even against the Rays.
Hunter brown (HOU) against SEA (To) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 17 touch, 31% CSW103 parking spaces.
It’s nice to see. Sure, a win would have been a nice addition, but his cutter and his curve were legitimate at 11/31 whiffs, while the heaters filled the zone appropriately from 93-98 mph. We have real BSB Action also with some Canibal McSanchez while Brown checks another approach off his bingo card, and I think I’ll be going with Hunter next year. He really feels like Bassitt, just with a much better fastball.
Aaron Nola (PHI) against CHC (W) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 11 touch, 37% CSW102 parking spaces.
Aces become aces with a King Cole. I don’t expect him to pitch on Saturday or Sunday since the division is complete, or it could be a low pitch count. That is, if he Is you do it anyway. Given the strangeness, I would prefer a clear start to him.
Hayden Birdsong (SFG) @ARI (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks – 10 puffs, 33% CSW95 parking spaces.
Damn, look at you! The ONE day I say “Look, there is no streaming tip today” is obviously the volatile Birdsong against The Sneks, the hottest Association Installation in the city. It has everything—NOT NOW. We must of course give Birdsong the Gold Stareven if none of his secondary throws exceeded a hit rate of 60% (almost 50%) and the four-seamer was saved by the grace of Koufax. For what it’s worth, his strikeouts have been abysmal — changeup down, fastballs up, standout breaker gone — it’s just that the consistency isn’t there in the slightest. He’s a fluke against the Cardinals, and the odds aren’t in his favor.
Chris Bassitt (GOAL) against BOS (To) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, 7 BBs, 2 Ks – 7 puffs, 17% CW88 parking spaces.
We finally got Bassitt to start against a mediocre lineup and …ugh. Bassitt hopes he gets the pearl on Sunday, but it’s not yet decided whether it’s limited duty or a full bullpen. I’d look to bring in another starter, even against the Marlins.
Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI) against SFG (To) – 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks – 13 touch, 32% CSW103 parking spaces.
Ouch. Three home runs (one of them inside the park) ruined the day. The changeup was great in general, but the Giants took advantage of his mistakes on the cutter and heater, and that’s the game. Against the Padres, he’s clearly on the bench, but if he actually starts, there’s a desperate chance of a win or QS. It could just be a bullpen day for Erod, or an easy bullpen, as the team prepares for its playoff series just days later.
Match of the day
Ryan Pepiot vs Tarik Skubal – The future Cy Young against the future Future Cy Young? I’m in.
But Nick?! Where are the streaming tips? – I have moved them to the daily article “SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings”.
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Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
