Matt Bishop | September 1, 2019
STREAMER OF THE WEEK
Mitch Keller, SP PIT
(37% CBS, 4% ESPN, 9% Yahoo)
9/03: Miami Marlins (48 – 87) Last in NL East
9/08: St. Louis Cardinals (75 – 59) 1st in NL Central
Firmly solidified as the Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect and ranked as the 25th best prospect in baseball, Mitch Keller carries an electric skill set and an array of plus offerings. But since his callup on 5/27, the results have been lack-luster, pitching to a butt clenching 8.62 ERA 1.98 WHIP. While his 11.86 K/9 is encouraging, Keller has never really been known for his control, which is evident from his 3.45 BB/9. This is slightly higher than his 2.83 BB/9 minor league career mark, but not terrible for his first exposure to major league hitters.
While Keller’s fastball is clearly hot garbage, his slider is an elite pitch carrying a 28.3% swinging strike rate, which is the 8th best mark in baseball (3rd best among starting pitchers). In fact, his slider is currently carrying a 43.3% strikeout rate, with a 36.7% K-BB%. Pair this with a 15.2% swinging strike rate on this curveball and opposing batters hitting .133 against the curve, the sky is the limit if he can get his fastball in order.
Keller will face off against the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals this week, both at home. While we are aware how bad the Marlins are, the Cardinals are a bit scarier. Even though they are currently first in their division and 8-2 in their last ten games, they are in the bottom 10 in baseball in batting average (.241), wRC+ (88), and wOBA (.311) on the road this season. If you are desperate for pitching, Mitch Keller should provide some solid ratios this week.
MUST START
Gerrit Cole, SP HOU (@MIL, SEA)
Walker Buehler, SP LAD (COL, SF)
Mike Clevinger, SP CLE (CHW, @MIN)
Noah Syndergaard, SP NYM (@WAS, PHI)
Max Scherzer, SP WAS (NYM, @ATL)
SAFE START
Jose Berrios, SP MIN (@BOS, CLE)
Mike Minor, SP TEX (@NYY, @BAL)
Mike Fiers, SP OAK (LAA, DET)
Mike Soroka, SP ATL (TOR, WAS)
Masahiro Tanaka, SP NYY (TEX, @BOS)
Jake Odorizzi, SP MIN (@DET, CLE)
Ryan Yarbrough, SP TB (BAL, TOR)
Kyle Hendricks, SP CHC (SEA, @MIL)
RISKY START
Aaron Civale, SP CLE (CHW, @MIN)
Rick Porcello, SP BOS (MIN, NYY)
Anthony DeSclafani, SP CIN (PHI, ARI)
Adam Wainwright, SP STL (SF, @PIT)
Mike Leake, SP ARI (SD, @CIN)
Sandy Alcantara, SP MIA (@PIT, KC)
Adrian Houser, RP MIL (HOU, CHC)
Mike Montgomery, RP KC (DET, @MIA)
Joe Ross, SP WAS (NYM, @ATL)
Dylan Cease, SP CHW (@CLE, LAA)
Vince Velasquez, SP PHI (@CIN, @NYM)
DON’T START
Jacob Waguespack, SP TOR (@ATL, @TB)
Asher Wojciechowski, RP BAL (@TB, TEX)
Ariel Jurado, SP TEX (@NYY, @BAL)
Justus Sheffield, RP SEA (@CHC, @HOU)
Drew Smyly, SP PHI (@CIN, @NYM)
Tyler Beede, SP SF (@STL, @LAD)
Trent Thornton, RP TOR (@ATL, @TB)
Dereck Rodriguez, SP (@STL, @LAD)
Daniel Norris, SP DET (@KC, @OAK)
Peter Lambert, SP COL (@LAD, @SD)
Jordan Zimmermann, SP DET (MIN, @OAK)
Ross Detwiler, RP CHW (@CLE, LAA)
Jaime Barria, SP LAA (@OAK, @CHW)
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