On The Mound

I do daily grading of each starting pitcher's performance. SP Grade Categories: 100+ Hall of Fame 90 - 99 Elite 80 - 89 Ace 70 - 79 Baller 60 - 69 Solid 50 - 59 Workable 40 - 49 Gas Can 20 - 39 Dumpster Fire 0 - 19 Train Wreck < 0 Cluster F ck #MLB #StartingPitching #NoHitters #Dealing #Strikes

This is incredible considering the rotation is decimated by injuries. #BravesCountry

SP Grades (April 3) We got our first TRAIN WRECK grade of the season. Not one, but two on the day! ELITE Bryan Woo (SEA) - 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 9 whiffs, 87 pitches His velo was down slightly, and his fastball had less ride on the night. That didn’t matter as Woo had great command all night. He’s off to an excellent start this season and a dark horse for the AL Cy Young. ACE Eduardo Rodriguez (AZ) - 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR, 11 whiffs, 90 pitches Eduardo is quietly off to a great start this season, pitching 12 shutout innings so far. His changeup to righties is nasty. The heater is only sitting at 91 moh, but he commands the ball well enough around the zone to keep hitters guessing. Can he sustain this level of performance? Grant Holmes (ATL) - 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 KK, 14 whiffs, 85 pitches Sublime outing by Holmes. The slider in particular was filthy, generating 9/17 (53%) whiffs. Fastball velo crept up over 95 mph. Can we expect more of this going forward? Framber Valdez (DET) - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 6 whiffs, 91 pitches Six shutout innings and Framber’s great start as a Tiger continue. He’s given up 1 run in 12 innings this season. He did give up seven hard hits, so I’m surprised he got out of this one with a shutout. His sinker velo was 95 mph in the first inning, and by the 6th inning, it was down to 92 mph. He could be vulnerable later on in a game. Reid Detmers (LAA) - 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 14 whiffs, 104 pitches His four-seamer and slider combined well, generating most of the whiffs. He’s got a good 18” of IVB on his four-seamer, but it gave up 6 out of his 8 hard hits. Jeffrey Springs (ATH) - 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 12 whiffs, 103 pitches The slider had a 50% whiff rate and a 40% CSW. The changeup is filthy. Can Springs do this consistently? He looks like he could have a very good season, but time will tell. Sean Burke (CWS) - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 15 whiffs, 85 pitches Yes, I know, technically he didn’t start as the White Sox used opener, Grant Taylor, for the first inning. This was a great outing for Burke. Superb command, with plenty of swing and miss. His velo was up, which is promising. That four-seamer is excellent with 19 “ of IVB. It got 9/18 (50%) whiffs! The slider was also very good. Now do it again please! Aaron Nola (PHI) - 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 14 whiffs, 95 pitches That knuckle curve is a thing of beauty. It got 50% whiffs (9/18) with a 37% CSW. Great outing by Nola and much needed after a shaky first outing last time out. BALLER Nolan McLean (NYM) Sonny Gray (BOS) Joey Cantillo (CLE) Joe Boyle (TB) SOLID Brady Singer (CIN) Will Warren (NYY) Mitch Keller (PIT) Mackenzie Gore (TEX) Dylan Cease (TOR) WORKABLE Bailey Ober (MIN) Michael King (SD) Michael McGreevy (STL) Cade Horton (CHC) Left in the 2nd inning with an arm issue. Not looking good for a very promising arm. Hoping for the best. Kyle Bradish (BAL) GAS CAN Emmett Sheehan (LAD) Is he not supposed to be good? The second consecutive disappointing appearance by the highly touted Dodger righty. Eury Perez (MIA) Its never easy going to Yankee Stadium. Judge took him deep early on. He struggled with command and looked out of his depth initially. He did fight back courageously with a couple of shutout innings. He will learn from this experience. DUMPSTER FIRE Tyler Mahle (SF) Cristian Javier (HOU) TRAIN WRECK Michael Lorenzen (COL) - 3 IP, 12 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 8 whiffs, 77 pitches I know you pitch in Colorado, but c’mon. Velo was down and got hit all over the place by the Phillies. Miles Mikolas (WSH) - 4.1 IP, 11 H, 11 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 7 whiffs, 87 pitches The worst SP performance of the season so far. I know its the Dodgers, but this was brutal. If you’re going to throw meatballs in the zone, then don’t be surprised if you get absolutely hammered. I know Miles is a veteran, but I’m struggling to see how he can improve. #MLB #BaseballTwitter #SPGrades #StartingPitching

The most impressive team for me so far has been the @CleGuardians. Why? They’ve been on the road @Mariners and the @Dodgers. Arguably the toughest start to the season. Now they’re at home to the @Cubs and they have a 5-3 record. Chase DeLauter has a lot to do with that. Gavin Williams, Joey Castillo and Parker Messick have pitched great so far. I didn’t have them making the playoffs and I might regret that. #Guardsball

Whiff leaders this season: 1. Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) 2. Matthew Boyd (CHC) 3. Kevin Gausman (TOR) Who has the most whiffs at the end of the season? #MLB #Whiffs #Baseballtwitter

Eduardo Rodriguez (AZ) is quietly off to a great start this season. #DBacks

BRYAN WOO (SEA) is our SP of the day with an ELITE rating. A dominant performance. #TridentsUp

It’s going to be fun watching Konnor Griffin in the playoffs in October this year

#Rockies fans unleash first boos of the season. In the first half of the first inning. #Phillies leading 6-0.

A second TRAIN WRECK grade of the day! This one goes to Michael Lorenzen (COL). Painful to watch. 3 IP 12 H 9 ER 2 BB 2 K 2 HR #Rockies

@BaseballWRLD_ That was so cool

KONNOR GRIFFIN IN HIS FIRST CAREER AB HE’S ACTUALLY THE TRUTH WOWWWWW

@DanClarkSports Sensational

RBI double for Konnor Griffin in his first MLB plate appearance.

Wow! RBI Double in his first MLB at bat. #6 #LetsGoBucs

No!!!!

Stop whatever you’re doing right now! Konnor Griffin is due up 3rd in the bottom of the 2nd #LetsGoBucs

You don’t see this often with the White Sox SPs, but Sean Burke earn an ACE grade for his performance today. Technically don’t start as they used Grant Taylor as an Opener in the 1st inning #WhiteSox

@SamulskiNYC He looked terrible today. Occasion was too big for him.

Eury Perez has walked 5 Yankees already. He has a 45% strike rate and has just loaded the bases for Judge....and he hits Judge

Miles Mikolas earns a TRAIN WRECK grade against the Dodgers. Nationals fans look away now. 4.1 IP 11 H 11 ER 4 BB 4 K 4 HR Tough day in the office. #Natitude

The moment is too big for Eury Perez. He just looks out of his depth #FightinFish

What was I thinking starting Eury Perez against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium

Eury Perez hangs a slider over the plate and Judge thanks him