Welcome to the SP Roundup, Nick was too busy organizing his bobblehead collection so the graphic designer is going to be writing the article today. I make no apologies for the jokes written, or lack thereof. Any actual baseball analysis happened completely by accident. (Happy April Fools’ everyone!)
Have legitimate questions? I can’t help you. But you can ask Nick during his office hours on Twitch weekday mornings from 10 am-12 pm ET.
Kodai Senga (NYM) @ STL (L) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 92 pitches.
After being inundated with injuries over the past two seasons, perhaps Kodai Senga was ready to hit the reset button. Pitching against a depleted, abiet fiesty, Cardinals squad, Senga posed a 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks – 17 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 92 pitches line. That included increases of 2.7 mph of velocity, and utilizing each of his seven pitches effectively. At this point, results are secondary to health. Senga stepping on the mound and succeeding is the story of the day. It’s about time that the ghostfork back in the game.
Let’s see how every other SP did Tuesday:
José Soriano (LAA) @ CHC (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 90 pitches.
I have no idea what to expect out of pitchers from the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim) (in California) (of the United States) (via North America) (as placed on Earth). Soriano effectively muted the bats of the Chicago Cubs while throwing them (checks notes) mostly curveballs. I guess you can say he threw the Cubs a curveball. eh eh?
Max Fried (NYY) @ SEA (W) – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 90 pitches.
ACES
Hunter Brown (HOU) vs BOS (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 37% CSW, 78 pitches.
GONNA
Brandon Williamson (CIN) vs PIT (L) – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 94 pitches.
(not you)
Shohei Ohtani (LAD) vs CLE (W) – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 87 pitches.
ACE. Can we all just take a moment and relish in the fact that we have the best player that ever played the sport playing right now at this point in our lives. AAAAAND he’s hitting and pitching. Life is good.
Andre Pallante (STL) vs NYM (W) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 27% CSW, 88 pitches.
Pallante, a very fun to say name, is never going to make batters chase consistently. However, this is not something we want to rely on weekly.
Jameson Taillon (CHC) vs LAA (ND) – 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 85 pitches.
Shaking off the rust or is this a classic Taillon tease – moments of legitimate pitchability paired with just enough lack of command to keep him from turning the corner? Putting Taillon on the monitor list.
Bubba Chandler (PIT) @ CIN (ND) – 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 6 BBs, 6 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 81 pitches.
The worst part of playing on the Pirates, is playing on the Pirates. Irrespective of that, Chandler had more of a Mr. Chanandler Bong performance with six walks. After a tidy two innings where he struck out four Reds hitters, his command started to wane. Chandler topped out at 101.2 mph (!!) in the 3rd inning. Chalk this up to first start of the year inconsistency and start with confidence going forward.
Ryan Feltner (COL) @ TOR (ND) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 5 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 47 pitches.
That’s life – cruising along, loving life, succeeding. And then out of nowhere, a 106 mph baseball hits you from behind in the behind, and it all comes to an end.
PJ Poulin (WSN) @ PHI (ND) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 44% CSW, 9 pitches.
PJ Poulin your leg if you think he pitched more than an inning. But maybe he should have. That’s about as efficient of an inning a pitcher can have. It took just nine pitches to retire Philadelphia’s vaunted front three hitters with 891 career home runs. We needed Rick Graham to start the Opener List and vault PJ Poulin to the top.
Max Scherzer (TOR) vs COL (W) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 22% CSW, 83 pitches.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But sometimes an old dog can do old tricks very well. An efficient 83 quality start is about the best possible outcome we can expect from Max these days. But Rocky Road never disappoints. Scherzer gets the Dodgers up next, which might be a good one to pass on.
Casey Mize (DET) @ ARI (ND) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks – 15 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 93 pitches.
That’ll do. Nine strikeouts across six innings! The stars of the show were that splitter/sinker combo, which just drew a ton of weak whiffs and weak contact. Next two starts are @MIN and vs MIA, I would keep riding this.
Andrew Painter (PHI) vs WSN (W) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 84 pitches.
I know I preach caution when starting pitchers in their MLB debut. That’s usually the safe play. But once in a while, a pitcher can surprise you. Painter did just that coming out of the gate, firing up to 98.7 mph in the first. Feels like we’ve been waiting on Painter forever but perhaps he was worth the wait.
Tanner Bibee (CLE) @ LAD (L) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 74 pitches.
I was told by a very credible person that I should not consider Tanner Bibee for this season. Perhaps that’s true. What do you think? Tell us in the comments below.
Aaron Civale (ATH) @ ATL (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 25% CSW, 87 pitches.
Civale is a vampire. You think he’s done, and then he comes out of nowhere and you have to consider him again. He’s a HIPSTEL, that is a Headache Inducing Pitcher that Styfles the Entire League. I’m sorry, Aaron. We don’t know what to do with you.
Brandon Woodruff (MIL) vs TBR (W) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 67 pitches.
Woodruff making his first appearance since his season ending lat strain in 2025 was bound to be taking home a Doggie Bag (when you save some pitches for later).
Shane McClanahan (TBR) @ MIL (L) – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 79 pitches.
Looks at the monitor, squints, looks again, rubs eyes. Is that, is that a Shane McClanahan line? It’s finally happened. Shane finally made his return to an MLB mound during the regular season. We can dust off our Shane McClanafan shirts again. Happy day.
Janson Junk (MIA) vs CHW (ND) – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks – 11 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 79 pitches.
I really think that Janson should really embrace his name and throw entirely offspeed pitches. I mean, 32% sliders is a great start, but 27% fastball is still much too high. Junk needs to get that usage down to about 5%, introduce a forkball, and grow out a spiral mustache. Complete the transformation Janson!
Zach Eflin (BAL) vs TEX (ND) – 3.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks – 12 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 74 pitches.
Ok, Zach, you have my attention. A bit inefficient at 74 pitches through 3.2 innings, but we will take the 7 strikeouts. It’s an unconventional approach this day in age as he throws mostly off-speed pitches (TAKE NOTES JANSON), but it had the Rangers off-balance for today’s start. Justin, he left the game with an elbow injury. I KNEW THAT.
Zack Littell (WSH) @ PHI (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks – 7 Whiffs, 31% CSW, 75 pitches.
It’s difficult to follow such an amazing opening act as PJ Poulin. Few have tried, some have succeeded (probably). Littell did his best, but we aren’t going to be able to butter our bread with one strikeout.
Logan Webb (SFG) @ SDP (W) – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks – 10 Whiffs, 21% CSW, 104 pitches.
Webb earns the first-ever Nolan award for a pitcher lasting 100 pitches. While a rather common occurrence all the way back in the 1900s when things appeared in black and white, throwing 100 pitches has almost vanished from today’s game. This award connects the modern-day player with his early predecessors. In particular, with Nolan Ryan who famously pitched 235 pitches in a game and then wrestled a bear into submission. We honor Logan for his accomplishment.
Erick Fedde (CHW) @ MIA (L) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks – 8 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 80 pitches.
Eric(k) Fedde. Meh.
Jacob deGrom (TEX) @ BAL (ND) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks – 13 Whiffs, 32% CSW, 79 pitches.
Surviving the start of the season stiff neck scare (MLB PLAYERS ARE JUST LIKE US), deGrom returned to the mound to give up a homer to his former teammate. Let’s be honest, deGrom probably threw Alonso a bone because it was starting to get awkward in Baltimore.
José Suarez (ATL) vs ATH (L) – 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 9 Whiffs, 23% CSW, 66 pitches.
There is only enough time to write up one José per day and Soriano won today’s José off.
Germán Márquez (SDP) vs SFG (L) – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks – 2 Whiffs, 26% CSW, 65 pitches.
He’s not Germán to roster in 12-team leagues. So moving on.
Brandon Pfaadt (ARI) vs DET (ND) – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks – 6 Whiffs, 29% CSW, 85 pitches.
YEARS have passed, and I still cannot get over that Brandon Pfaadt gave up four home runs in his MLB debut, including back-to-back homers while they were INTERVIEWING HIS MOTHER on national television. He may not be scarred from this, but I certainly am.
Logan Gilbert (SEA) vs NYY (L) – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks – 14 Whiffs, 34% CSW, 95 pitches.
So… Gilbert threw a cutter today. That’s new… So there’s that.
Brayan Bello (BOS) @ HOU (L) – 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks – 18 Whiffs, 28% CSW, 92 pitches.
Much talk was made of Bello’s new curveball this year. He did use it 15 times (16%) in this game to the tune of 33% CSW. A Gallows Pole hopefully nurses the sting of getting singled out in Houston.
Happy April Fools’ Day everyone! You can find Nick’s real SP Roundup here (at 3:00am ET).
Game of the Day
Disappointing Paul Skenes and his 67.50 ERA vs. Sterling Andrew Abbott and his 0.00 ERA – Can Paul Skenes finally live up to his reputation or will it be more of the same for this washed-up Cy Young winner?
But Justin?! Where are the streaming picks? – I don’t know. Ask Nick… oh wait. He moved them to the daily SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings article. That happened two years ago. Pay attention!
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Featured image by virtuoso Nick Pollack (@PitcherList on Twitter)
