PPP 838 – Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers To Add And Drop – 9-5-26

0:00Insurance isn't one size fits all. That's why drivers have enjoyed progressive's name your price tool for years now. With the name your price tool, you tell them what you want to pay and they'll show you options that fit your budget. So whether you're picking out your first policy or just looking for something that works better for you and your family, they make it easy to see your options. Visit progressive.com, find a rate that works for you with the name your price tool, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. What's up? Welcome to the Plus Pitch podcast. Your morning starting pitcher podcast brought to you by pitcher list.com. My name is Jake Crumpler and today is September 5th. Let's break down every single start from Friday September 4th. We'll start it off with Christian Javier and remember when Javier was such a popular Dark Horse I Young candidate entering 2023 that he was basically a front runner that followed a 148 and 2-3rd inning campaign in which Javier

1:01posted a 254-ERA with a 33% strikeout rate. But it's been all downhill since then Javier took a huge step back in that highly anticipated campaign with a 456-ERA in 162-Enings pitch and he may just seven starts in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John's surgery in 2025. He returned to make eight starts before the season came to a close but he lasted just three starts this year before succumbing to a grade two shoulder strain. It seemed like the magic had all but faded away but Javier showed a sparkle in his eye in mid August when the whiffs started flowing in his previous three outings. He induced a 20% swinging strike rate but the results didn't match returning a 584-ERA. There was something in the air on Friday though as it all clicked when Javier tossed five innings with one earned one hit three walks in eight strikeouts inducing 19 whiffs with 35% CSW against the Dynavax. He looked better than he had in years sitting 93 to 94 miles per hour with his beautifully shaped

2:01four seamers at 18 inches of vert with 1.3 Hava at a low 35 degree arm angle which means that that vert is really playing up and he slung his signature sweepers breaking off dastardly changeups and incorporated a brand new cutter which has been much needed for his arsenal throughout the years with fastballs landing up stairs for strikes and whiffs sweepers landing away from right-handed batters for whiffs or sneaking in the front door to left-handed batters for free real estate changeups falling below the zone for whiffs to left-handed batters and cutters propping up the strike rate. He showcased a complete arsenal that is only missing better command for future success. As a result, Javier will have bouts of inconsistency and because of that command he did walk three with a sub 60% overall strike rate in this one after all but the stuff is undeniable. The whiffs have been flowing like the water and the agra fall so as long as Javier stays efficient by avoiding the free pass and poor fortune which sort of ruined his success in the last three starts. I think he's

3:03going to display some of the best strikeout upside in the majors down the stretch and I'd be rolling the dice on his success continuing in Philadelphia next. Now let's see how every other starting pitcher did on Friday September 4th starting off with Ranger Suarez in Baltimore 7-Shadow innings, five hits, one walk and three strikeouts and these are the kind of starts from Suarez that make me both amazed and incredulous about his success. On one hand he's so great at mixing speeds and locating his pitches to induce weekly hit grounders and on the other he struggles to miss bats and is so reliant on the results of bad at balls. The results haven't been great since the beginning of July when he kicked off a stretch of nine starts with single digit whiffs but we're going to keep starting him knowing he'll be better more often than not when he's allowed to throw more than 90 pitches. Next we have Jera Jones versus the Angels six shut out innings three hits, one walk and nine strikeouts, 21 whiffs and 43% CSW for Jera Jones and if this doesn't get you excited about a full season from Jones in 2027, I don't know what to tell you. Jones pulled in Andres Munoz and

4:08threw his slider more than his fastball two bonkers results and a king call as he led baseball with that 43% CSW. The breaker was absolutely unhittable as he kept it downstairs with ease to induce 19 whiffs and 53% CSW with 80% strikes while throwing it half of the time. This is the best that his breaker has looked all year and it only needs minimal assistance from his upper 90s fastball when it's performing like this. This had a bit of blame it on the Angels written all over it but I've been enamored with Jones and stay one and I while I don't expect this slider to perform like this every night, I do view it as a weapon that'll become sharper the further he gets from surgery. I am pumped for the future of Jera Jones. Next we have Blake Snell versus the Nationals six shut out innings five hits two walks in seven strikeouts ace is going to ace for Blake Snell and even even in September with rain starting to appear across California. Hashtag hot Snell summer continues. Next we have Eric Fettie versus the twins five squalestinnings three hits two walks

5:10and two strikeouts and it's always don't trust the feds until he saw until he tosses five shut out frames and this might actually make me trust him less Fettie has induced double digit whiffs just once in 30 appearances this year one time as he had 10 or more whiffs in 30 appearances and he seems like he's running out of good fortune to return any more outings as decent as this one Fettie sweeper is pretty cool but a 55% overall strike rate across his entire arsenal suggest that he's not commanding as well as he needs to to avoid damage on the rest of his arsenal so it still stands don't trust the feds. Next we have Shane Bos versus the Red Sox six and a third innings one earned four hits two walks and six strikeouts and just five whiffs here with those six strikeouts for Bosn you think that'd be a product of an unsustainably high putaway rate but Bosn's 46% mark was right in line with his year long 42% mark and with a 50% two strike rate this was all just perfect timing on his whiffs and a handful of backward strikeouts that's not really sustainable but

6:14regardless of how he achieves his results balling Bosn has been solid if not unspectacular all year so we keep starting him. Next we got Ryan Johnson in Pittsburgh six innings one earned four hits two walks and six strikeouts and where has this been all year Johnson found a couple of extra ticks on his sinker and sweeper but he barely threw the former instead relying on his signature cutter to tunnel with the breaker to great effect. Johnson avoided the heart of the zone as the pair of pitches combined for 12 whiffs 38% CSW and 78% strikes. Splitters were a competitive around the bottom of the zone but batters weren't tempted to chase him so this was basically all cutters and sliders. I'd be willing to write this start off as an anomaly if not for the 167 ERA Johnson's recorded in six starts since the beginning of August. Luckily for analysis sake he's held a 2% strikeout minus walk rate during that time allowing us to ignore the results given the lack of arsenal improvements and changes combined with the underlying metrics that

7:15is not a guy who's going to pitch to a sub two year ERA the rest of the way. The cutter slider combo just isn't very impressive and his command is not great. Next we got showed to Emanaga in Miami six innings one earned three hits no walks and four strikeouts 22 whiffs for Emanaga. The splitter show was completely sold out as it put on its best performance of the year inducing 17 whiffs with 79% strikes and 11 outs on 11 balls in play propelling Emanaga to the gallows ball as he led baseball with those 22 whiffs. It's crazy the degree to which the pitch was able to take over while the rest of his arsenal got dragged along like an owner walking a dog chasing a squirrel. Emanaga may have aracked up a lot more punchouts if the splitter could get any support but we'll take this all day and we'll feel comfortable starting him knowing that there's an even higher ceiling for him to achieve if he can get more strikeouts with his ability to get whiffs. Next we have Andrew Sears in Cleveland five and two third zinnings one earned four hits two walks and four strikeouts Sears earned his first career major league start and he did not

8:16disappoint with elite extension and a little extra velocity Sears four pitch mix played up revealing his swatched potential and allowing him to get away with 12 outs on 16 balls in play with secondaries combining for sub 50% strikes. There's still a way to go for Sears to command his arsenal better which is going to be the next step in his evolution. I don't think his four Seamer and Sinker are going to be enough to carry him through many more starts like these unless those off-speed pitches improved dramatically at least in the strike rate department. Next we got Max Fried in San Diego that's his former team I'm pretty sure five and two third zinnings one or four hits one walk and four strikeouts. It takes efficiency for a pitcher to complete nearly six frames in just 72 pitches but that's one of Fried's best skills. It's what's made him such a reliable volume producer and what set him apart as an elite Holly with 80 pitches on the horizon Fried will be an auto start moving forward and his ability to be efficient pitch to contact in a

9:17good way will also getting the strikeouts when he needs to is what makes him one of the best pitchers in baseball. Will Warren did pitch in relief of Fried going two to thirds shut out innings with no hits one walk and no strikeouts using his throw date to give the bullpen arrest and provide length behind a start that the Yankees expected to be limited. I think Warren will rejoin the rotation in the next turn unless the Yankees prefer Emma Elmer Rodriguez and ultimately it'll sort itself out like it has all year we've always been curious what the Yankees are going to do with Will Warren and Ryan weather as well. We haven't really had to be this whole year and Warren was so good in his previous start that I think he's just going to be right back in the rotation though when we get to the playoffs I think Warren will be a bullpen weapon for them. Next we have Janssen junk versus the Cubs five innings one earn three hits one walk and four strikeouts still no semblance of an approach or intentional locations from this piece poor execution awesome stuff junk has great stuff but he's not really doing anything with it his arsenal is dope enough to get him through

10:21five frames of one run ball but the whiffs and strikeouts won't explode until junk likes the fuse that illuminates a map to a treasure chest filled with game plans and that might be a bit of a stretch but I think you get the point he's needs a game plan he needs an approach he needs some intentional locations with his stuff if he really wants to unlock the full potential of his awesome arsenal that's Janssen junk next we have Andre Palante in Colorado five innings one earn two hits four walks and one strikeout not too bad for course but just like my lips at this elevation my bread is completely dry how am I supposed to put on my bread which is one strikeout it was a left-handed batter heavy lineup forcing Palante to rely on his inferior cutter like forseamer more than his sinker slider combo which is great against right handed batters and that's why we have the lack of strikeouts here and if you're curious about why he had four times as many walks of strikeouts and you understand why he had such few strikeouts the a lot of walks the four walks are mostly due

11:25to a 37% strike rate on off-speed pitches putting him behind and counts all game Palante will be his regular Toby self with back-back starts against the giants coming up next we've got Walker Bueller versus the Yankees five innings one earn three hits two walks and six strikeouts and Bueller's actually been pretty solid across his last six starts with a two five three ERA and even one whip and a 21% strikeout rate but we're all too familiar with his stick to be fooled by such a lose resource for its level numbers Bueller's induced single digit whiffs in all six of those starts and nothing changed about his seven pitch kitchen sink approach to get us interested in starting him versus the nationals next and we're definitely not touching Walker Bueller in course afterward next we have James and Tyone and Kansas City two innings one earn two hits no walks and one strikeout and Tyone returned from the I L and we'll head right back to it he was pulled early and is now set to undergo an MRI on his elbow which initially helped him out of action for the past month at this point in the year I think it's safe to say that Tyone's disappointing

12:28season is over rest up buddy next we got Chris sale in Philadelphia six innings two earned six hits one walk and seven strikeouts ace is going to ace for Chris sale and if not for the Miz I feel like sale might be running away with the National East I young award this year fortunately this is just another feather in the cap of a Hall of Fame career next we have Nolan McClean at first of the giants six innings two earned six hits four walks and seven strikeouts McClean is what Bueller wishes he was a guy with a debarsnal missing the command he needs to maximize it but making up for that with incredible stuff McClean is a converted position player so we still evolving from throw or to pitcher and if you're wondering what level that occurs I think it's like level 36 or something let's hope that doesn't take that long because he's only 25 the metamorphosis might be in progress as we speak though as the second half has seen McClean almost completely acts as sweeper to focus more on his rasp hack and a supportive slider leading to a two on five year

13:28in nine starts the control still needs some work though and that's going to be the next step that takes McClean to that next level evolves him into a pitcher next we'll talk about Nick Martinez Christopher Sanchez at Foster Griffin at Merrill Kelly and the rest of the guys who pitched on Friday but first we're going to take a quick break here on the plus pitch podcast and we're back Jake Crumpler here breaking down every single start from Friday September 4th we'll resume with Nick Martinez in Texas he tossed six in the third innings allowing three earned with five hits two walks in four strikeouts the season long Vargas rule is entering the final month of the season and it remains intact it's slowed down as of late but this start wasn't as borderline as the final line suggests Martinez entered the seventh with his with his only blemish being a solo shot he got the first out in the seventh but was yanked after putting two men on only to watch in pain from the bench as both inherited runners came around to score on a grand slam as a textbook careful at Chris for Nick Martinez next we got Christopher Sanchez versus the braves six innings

14:31three earned five hits three walks and five strikeouts and it only took one inning to saddle Sanchez with a poor quality start as all three runs scored in an inning and he was outdulled by his division foe Chris sale which could be a precursor for a potential postseason match up between Sanchez and sale Sanchez was not at his best on friday unleashing plenty of uncompetitive changeups that sale too far on side leading to a 56% strike rate that wasn't inflated by overwhelming sinkers as they returned sub 60% strikes as well we won't change our fantasy strategy when it comes to Chris of Sanchez but we have to come to terms with the fact that he won't be helping us out in the whip department down the stretch lastly we've got foster Griffin versus the Tigers six innings three earned eight hits two walks and three strikeouts Griffin's been throwing his cutter a little bit harder to make up for the lack of support for the rest of his arsenal and he went full cutter mode on friday bumping its usage to a season high 51% to make up for it i'm sure Griffin will be

15:34receptive of the advice that you just should never go full cutter mode especially after he turned in a very very poor quality start with 10 base runners in this poor quality start Griffin is at his best when his deep seven pitch arsenal works in concert to keep batters off balance to set up his cutter change up and sweeper to put batters away that's not what we've been seeing recently but he's been getting by regardless because of how good a pitcher he is how good he is at mixing things up and how deep his arsenal is next we got Merrill Kelly in Houston six innings three earned seven hits no walks and four strikeouts and usually a hipster is a young guy who is inconsistent from start to start but kelly's fallen into that category as it's been difficult to determine in which matchups he will succeed he's battled his command more often than usual this season this season and while his pitch separation was pretty solid in Houston a poor quality start isn't the result that we're going to want to chase flip the coin at your own risk regardless of the opponent moving forward for Merrill Kelly next we've got Jackson Kent in LA against the Dodgers five innings three earned four hits four walks

16:39and four strikeouts Kent is priming himself to join the next wave of swatches but this start wasn't great however I'm proud of him for surviving the Dodgers while inducing a decent amount of whiffs thirteen whiffs here for Jackson Kent it's disappointing to see his change up field disappear though with an unruly 30% strike rate because he'll need the slowball cooking if he wants to graduate into streamer university next we've got Zebi Matthews on the south side of Chicago five innings four earned four hits one walk and four strikeouts and there was plenty of discourse especially on Twitter about Zebi's streamability here after reeling off three straight starts with one run a piece I was skeptical skeptical though given two of them were heavily reliant on bad at ball luck and the other a season high 23 whiffs was an outlier in a mediocre campaign as expected Matthews struggled to miss bats and while the luck on balls in place stuck around cofax had other plans as a trio of long balls left the yard I don't think he has the weapons to handle left handed batters enough

17:39to take down the guardian's necks just it's four seamer cutter slider and that's just always going to do much better against right handed batters but Zebi's proven thus far that he can every once in a while get it done next we got Ryan felt nervous as the Cardinals five innings four earned seven hits three walks and five strikeouts cool story bro of course remains undefeated next we got Mac Mac Wilkinson in Queens three innings four earned five hits two walks and two strikeouts the tugboat was dodging splash hits all game and I think he allowed three home runs in this one this was in New York and I guess there's why they're there too so you could still have some splash hits regardless I've never been to New York but the point is that Wilkinson got beat a few times because he struggled to command his secondaries as they combine for just sub 50% strikes setting his fastball up to get punished Wilkinson will need to be more polished to display his swatched potential upside next time junior marty followed and after I butchered his debut by getting him

18:44mixed up with a previous junior marty I think he deserves a proper assessment for me he went five innings three earned four hits two walks and two strikeouts in relief of Wilkinson showcasing an underwhelming 92 mile per hour four seamer which was down one to two ticks from his debut and a solid 84 mile per hour slider the breaker is dope but he pretty clearly breaks the foscar roll a solid career in the bullpen as far from out of the question for junior marty though next we got Kumara rocker versus the raise five innings five earned nine hits no walks and three strikeouts and rocker did everything he could to hide his sinker he pitched in bulk relief of Trevor Williams and Robbie all strum he threw his slider nine percent more often through his four seamer 12 percent more often and he even held it behind his back but the raise were still all over it belting the sinker for four hits and a homer I wish rocker would throw his cutter more than a sinker especially against life tannin batters it makes no sense to be subjecting yourself to damage like that by throwing a already hitable sinker against a bunch of left handed batters next we have Daniel Lynch the

19:45fourth versus the blue jays five innings five earned seven hits one walk and no strikeouts and the way the royals run their team frustrates me to no end they draft weird they refuse to deploy their bullpen in a manner that makes me happy and their pitching development has been frustratingly slow and inconsistent after finally finding a role in which lint succeeded pitching and high-livered situations they've transitioned him back to the rotation and it's going about as well as you'd expect lint has recorded a six nine seven e-ray and a 12 percent strikeout rate in six starts while watching his stuff slowly diminish as he gets further stretched out there is swatched potential here just because he's a lefty who has a change up but that's not going to be the case when he's throwing 93 to 94 miles per hour without a single strikeout how am I supposed to butter my bread with that next we have cade morris in Seattle two and two third zinnings five earned five hits one walk and no strikeouts and morris piggybacked with Brady basso in an aisble pen game

20:45and if the lack of strikeouts doesn't get you pumped then you probably won't be excited about his sinker change up centric approach if you like jumpscares go look at morris's stats don't say I didn't warn you next we have Logan alan versus the tigers two and a third innings five earned six hits two walks and one strikeouts and what's with all the piggybacking alan combined with slayed sikoni to cover the first five frames of this one it's difficult to express the lack of emotion this situation inspires within me at least both alan and sikoni were throwing harder in relief next we got ret louder versus the brewers four innings six earned six hits four walks and two strikeouts and I told y'all we were done streaming louder after he succeeded on the north side of Chicago last time out and I hope you listen to me and did not stream him and you should keep that up because we probably are not going to stream him the rest of the year it's the dodgers back to back up next then he hosts the cubs in great american ballpark now those are not starts I want to be chasing for ret louder next we got shame drohan in since an adi for innings six earned five hits two walks and five strikeouts

21:49and drohan has become too sinker happy he's got to get back to throwing his cutter more to neutralize all the right handed batters he's been dealt if he can pull off the cannibal mcsanches plus Blake still blueprint combo that we've seen a lot with high four simmers and cutters mixed with low sliders curves and changeups there's a much clearer path path to success then looking for sinkers to earn quick outs on balls and play drohan gets a rematch hosting the reds and that's a questionable start for me our second to last guy is cater Monteiro in cleveland four innings six earned eight hits one walk and a four strikeouts the guardians always load the lineup with lefties and switch to the shoulders when facing a right handed starter so this was the worst time for Monteiro to lose the feel for his changeup the slowball return just 30% strikes reducing the effectiveness of the art of the rest of his arsenal it didn't help that he got singled out in a disastrous fourth frame that saw him serve up his only home run of the game a grand slam of course he should return to being a whip asset and Monteiro might be the perfect pairing with Christopher Sanchez because of it

22:53when he hosts the twins before heading to Toronto those are some fine starts to look for for whip production from Monteiro lastly we've got Logan Gilbert versus the a's four and two thirds innings seven earned eight hits two walks ten strikeouts and 21 whiffs and ace is going to do everything right except for keeping the ball in the yard the whiffs and strikeouts were a plenty but an absolutely ridiculous third frame in which the a's went deep a whopping four times ruined Gilbert's night this wasn't even in Sacre Verde it was just a one night bland we have to be happy that Gilbert salvaged it with so many punchouts that's every single start from Friday September fourth if we're looking forward to September fifth my game of the day is Carlos Rodón versus Robbie Ray we got two former Giants South Pots square and off in that one that should be fun but that'll do it for this episode of the plus pitch podcast make sure to head on over to pituralist.com to check out the companion article for this podcast the sp roundup where I break down every single start in the form of words and if you're looking for other stuff that we have on pituralist make sure

23:58to sign up for peel plus or peel pro to not only gain access to the discord but also to all of the incredible features we have on the site as well as an ad free website make sure to follow me on socials at Jake Crumpler where I do daily sp streamers and I break down every single start fee of the pitcher list stats player cards and tune into the plus pitch podcast again tomorrow as we break down every single start from September fifth