Happy WEDNESDAY, Razzball faithful!
NO! Despite being on summer vacation and never being able to follow the calendar properly, I HAVEN’T gotten my days mixed up!
Grey asked that we run the Top 100 Starting Pitchers on Wednesday instead of Monday this week. Today, I’m here to look to the ROS Player Rater for some second-half starting pitching friends to help guide us to a strong fantasy baseball finish.
I mentioned in my Rizz-o-Meter article on Monday that I’d be using a slightly different format for this week.
Since we’re stepping in for Itch today, I’ll give you the updated Top 100 Starting Pitchers list (with our usual ‘NOTES’ on each player) without our biggest “jumpers and dumpers” sections. What better way to tip the cap to Itch than to include a few up-and-coming starting pitchers in our blurbs?
What players could get the call in the second half? Which ones may get moved to a different team at the deadline? Are there guys who deserve a shot at the MLB rotation?
These are all great questions that you may be asking yourself. I looked at a few names from early in the year and researched any information that Itch may have already shared.
That’ll be what follows the Top 100 Starting Pitchers list today.
But, as always. before we get to the list, I need to plug a couple of things for y’all first. If you want to check the spot I usually have open when flipping through my information on Sunday afternoons, you’re looking for that Player Rater leaderboard. This is always a great resource to use if you’re doing research. A bit of this, and a splash of that goes into the prep work for our weekly Top 100 Starting Pitchers list.
Of course, if you’re one of those doubting-your-own-gut-instinct fantasy managers, or simply want to use a great resource that will point you in the right direction every week, The Streamonator is here to help you answer those burning questions.
If you haven’t signed up for it, this should be your go-to reference for the entire season. It will save you a lot of time researching and often includes those “Oh, I never thought about that” solutions. The Razzball subscriptions are well worth the price of admission. If you’re serious about improving throughout the season, check the link, yo.
| RANK
(LAST WEEK) |
Name | TEAM | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | Phillies | I mentioned earlier that I’d be referencing the ROS Player Rater for some of these moves. Well, here’s the SP atop that list at a projected $28.1 the rest of the way. |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | Tigers | I wrote him up in the Rizz-o-Meter article and the July 1st Top 100 SP piece. If you drafted him as your SP1/2, you’ve been pretty happy. He’s also Grey’s top ranked arm and #14 overall in his Top 100 for 2nd Half rankings. |
| 3 | Corbin Burnes | Orioles | Burnes also ranks as the 3rd SP on the ROS Player Rater, so this isn’t too surprising. |
| 4 (6) | Chris Sale | Braves | Wrote him up as last week’s lede. He’s a Top 20 SP in the ROS rankings and should finish even higher if he can keep that 35-year-old body from breaking down. His 2024 numbers are the best he’s posted since 2018. |
| 5 (8) | George Kirby | Mariners | Wrote him up two weeks ago in the Wayne Gretzky section. He snuck into the Top 5 ROS SP just ahead of Skubal. |
| 6 (10) | Paul Skenes | Pirates | Maybe I’m getting swept up in the hype, but slotting him anywhere outside the Top 10 SP feels wrong. Just be careful with the innings limit and have a decent set of backups to pick up the slack when he gets shut down. He’s also Grey’s #4 SP for the second half and ranked 25th overall in his Top 100 in his 2nd Half. |
| 7 | Grayson Rodriguez | Orioles | I think he’ll flourish in the second half for Baltimore’s run to the AL East title. Then he’ll step up in the playoffs. That’s the good news.
The bad? Blow-ups in two of his last five starts vs AL rivals that he’ll likely face in the playoffs (NYY and HOU). |
| 8 (9) | Logan Gilbert | Mariners | I’m stuck on the elite walk numbers with this guy. He threw a 7-inning 2-hit shutout on Sunday with 9 Ks and … guess how many BBs. |
| 9 (11) | Aaron Nola | Phillies | I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t believe he was back. He’s been solid since the June 13th 8 ER implosion. |
| 10 (4) | Tyler Glasnow | Dodgers | Back-to-back 5 ER outings then banished to the IL with a BACK injury? He’s supposed to return July 21st but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that you’re thinking what I’m thinking: “Will he really be back July 21st…and for how long?” |
| 11 (19) | Cole Ragans | Royals | It was between him and Houck for this spot. It goes to Ragans based on the strikeout numbers alone (116.2 IP, 141 Ks). |
| 12 | Tanner Houck | Red Sox | See above. 117 IP, 112 Ks. |
| 13 (5) | Garrett Crochet | White Sox | I am not happy about dropping him this far, but MarmosDad is a man of the people. Crochet is just one inning away from doubling his career-best (54.1 IP in 2020). Before this year he had thrown 12.2 total innings since the end of 2020. He’s on a pitch count to (a) protect his arm, (b) protect his trade value, and (c) well…you know. |
| 14 | Shoto Imanaga | Cubs | The July 10th start was a huge sigh of relief for those of us who roster him. 6 shutout innings, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks. He should be a bit lower, but I’m banking on his age and ability to maintain stamina throughout the second half. |
| 15 (24) | Gerrit Cole | Yankees | This is more about him being lights out for the 2nd half than anything else. He should crack the Top 10 soon, and the ROS Player Rater agrees (ranked 8th). |
| 16 | Sonny Gray | Cardinals | This whole pocket of arms is tough to rank. Some have the talent and track record to be just outside the Top 10 whereas others are here because of their strong first half. Gray is a bit of both. |
| 17 (20) | Luis Castillo | Mariners | Castillo moving up this week is me betting he turns it up for the Mariners’ second half and leads that rotation into the promised land as the ace they expected when they extended him. |
| 18 (22) | Joe Ryan | Twins | See the Sonny Gray blurb above. We could make a case that Ryan should be just outside the Top 10. ROS Player Rater has him slotted in as the SP7. |
| 19 (23) | Pablo Lopez | Twins | The ERA is pretty nauseating, (5.11), but the strikeouts are there. He gets a boost from his rank (2) on the ROS Plater Rater. |
| 20 (17) | Ranger Suarez | Phillies | ROS Player Rater has him at 38. He missed the All-Star game with a back injury (tightness) and could use the extra time off to right the ship. Three straight starts with 4+ ER. |
| 21 | Max Fried | Braves | Solid. There’s just not enough slots above him to move someone else out of his way. |
| 22 (42) | Max Scherzer | Rangers | Even this ranking feels too conservative. If Max is healthy, expect a solid second half as the Rangers push for the AL West title or a Wild Card spot. |
| 23 (31) | Zac Gallen | Diamondbacks | Based on the ROS Player Rater, Gallen (15th) should be even higher. He could jump up the list as others have trouble repeating their strong first halves. |
| 24 (13) | Kevin Gausman | Blue Jays | It doesn’t look good. The double-digit strikeout games and track record keep him this high, but he’s provided more hits than Taylor Swift. 75th on the Player Rater for the first half…BUT, 9th on the ROS one. |
| 25 (15) | Seth Lugo | Royals | Before you argue it, (Lu)Go check out his ROS Player Rater ranking and tell me you expect a repeat of his first half numbers. (ROS SP ranking: 62). |
| 26 (18) | Luis Gil | Yankees | First of all, he’s been GREAT. Let’s get that out of the way…before we look at the 4.31 BB/9 and that his highest innings total was 29.1 in 2021. He’s at 102.1 P now and it’ll be interesting to see how the Yankees manage his time so he’s good to go in the playoffs. |
| 27 (25) | Freddy Peralta | Brewers | It’s no secret that I’m a big Freddy KBB fan. The 11.36 K/9 is a great point to support his inclusion in the Top 20. The rest of the numbers? Not as great to point at. |
| 28 (27) | Dylan Cease | Padres | Strikeouts and walks? That sounds like a Freddy Peralta neighbor. They’re ranked 14th and 16th, respectively, ROS. |
| 29 | Tanner Bibee | Guardians | Bibee and the next two are interchangeable ROS. I went with the stronger team here then had some confirmation bias when Grey listed him as next year’s Skubal in his 2nd half writeup. |
| 30 | Jack Flaherty | Tigers | If he’s healthy, he’ll pitch his brains out and likely get dealt to a contender. If you’re willing to gamble that he throws another 95 innings in the second half…well, you’re more of a risk-taker than I am. |
| 31 (32) | Logan Webb | Giants | 20th on the ROS Player Rater. I push him down a bit here based on the 7.75 K/9% |
| 32 (34) | Mitch Keller | Pirates | I’ve said it before, but this guy has been sliding between the shadows of Skenes and Jones all year. He might see that same ‘workload management’ that his rotation-mates will get, but I’m here for the great starts until that happens. |
| 33 (43) | Bailey Ober | Twins | 5 straight QS move him back up here. Here’s hoping he continues to build off that at the start of the second half. |
| 34 (36) | Nick Lodolo | Reds | Please stay healthy…please stay healthy…please stay healthy… |
| 35 (26) | Ronel Blanco | Astros | The disrespect! Well, this is more about me buying into the regression than his ability to maintain the gains. The ROS Player Rater agrees (86th). |
| 36 (38) | Michael King | Padres | I mean…if Paul Skenes is the true KING, does that mean Michael has to change his name to Michael StrikesOutALotOfDudes? |
| 37 (33) | Reynaldo Lopez | Braves | The ratios are pristine. But the ROS Player Rater doesn’t believe he’ll keep this up (72nd) … and I don’t believe it either. |
| 38 (NR) | Blake Snell | Giants | We bounced him off the list last week because of the most recent IL stint, but he’s thrown back-to-back one-hitters with 0 ER in 12 IP since his return. Grey mentioned on Monday that Snell’s strong second half last year netted him a Cy Young award. Health permitting, his second-half push could be just as strong as last year’s. |
| 39 (46) | Hunter Greene | Reds | I’m sorry, did you mean to say, “2024 ALL-STAR Hunter Greene”? |
| 40 (55) | Taj Bradley | Rays | Don’t mind this guy. He just jumped from 70th up to 40th over the past two weeks. He’s 2nd on the last 30-day Player Rater but lower than this spot in the ROS rankings. Peek at his line from the first half if you think this is too high. |
| 41 (28) | Gavin Stone | Dodgers | He was cruising until giving up 4 earned runs in back-to-back starts. That LAD offense is giving him a lot of support, but he’s capped out at around 130 innings in each of his last 3 seasons. I expect the Dodgers to load up on SP at the deadline so they can manage the innings of guys like Stone. |
| 42 (41) | Jose Berrios | Blue Jays | If we’re looking at his most recent starts as the indicator of future success, he should be ranked in the 70s. ROS Player Rater has him as the SP34 between Mitch Keller and Yamamoto. |
| 43 (45) | Justin Steele | Cubs | He jumped 20 spots last week and the Player Rater believes. Steele is ranked 26th ROS. 9 straight QS with a 1.48 ERA in his last 60+ innings. |
| 44 (38) | Bryce Miller | Mariners | I wanted to slot him in higher, but when I looked at the numbers from his first half they weren’t exactly eye-popping. He should still be a good SP option the rest of the way. |
| 45 (65) | Framber Valdez | Astros | Dang it! I want to resist this so much, especially after he burned those of us who drafted him as an SP1 this year. But the ROS Player Rater has him at SP10, so anything outside the Top 50 here feels wrong. |
| 46 (52) | Nathan Eovaldi | Rangers | Another 7-inning outing with fewer than 2 runs allowed. 18 Ks in his last 21 IP and ZERO walks in those three games. |
| 47 (66) | Justin Verlander | Astros | On Sunday the report was that he threw 25 pitches and felt good. Would you want to bet against a healthy Verlander on a contending team? I sure wouldn’t. |
| 48 | Nestor Cortes | Yankees | He hasn’t been flashy, but he never really is. He got roughed up at TB in his last start, but he has the experience, stamina, and offense behind him to at least give you innings and a good shot at some wins the rest of the way. |
| 49 (64) | Zach Eflin | Rays | The drop to 64 was likely too harsh. He’s boosted based on the ROS ranking (27th), and he should be dealt to a contender soon. That 0.82 BB/9 is the best in the league. |
| 50 (43) | Matt Waldron | Padres | He’s shown a bit of regression over his most recent starts (0-2 in his last 4 GS), but I’d still take him over a few others around here. I certainly don’t think he will finish the year at SP113 (his ROS ranking). |
| 51 (40) | Jared Jones | Pirates | The bad news is he’s been shut down for two weeks with a lat strain. The good news is he’s eligible for activation on July 19th. That’s the first day back after the ASB. Prayer circle time! |
| 52 (47) | Erick Fedde | White Sox | Back-to-back wins, 11 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 8 Ks. The 5 BB (total) aren’t great, and the ROS expects a lot of regression. |
| 53 (63) | Chris Bassitt | Blue Jays | This is strictly a Player Rater call. Ranked 29th ROS. |
| 54 (58) | Kutter Crawford | Red Sox | I wanted to push him up even higher but ran out of spots. Here’s the total from his last 4 starts: 21.1 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 17 Ks. If only someone had called him a sleeper for 2024. (Google that shizz). |
| 55 (69) | Shane Baz | Rays | It’s nice to get to the post-50s section and find someone who needs to be pushed way up. The good news is with just 10.1 IP, the Rays shouldn’t be concerned about managing his pitch count. He’ll need a couple of rotation mates to get dealt to ensure he keeps getting the ball every 5 days, though. |
| 56 (50) | Christopher Sanchez | Phillies | He’s not dazzling anyone with a 7.58 K/9% and he’s 50 innings away from a career-high, but Sanchez has some impressive ratios and is throwing in front of one of the league’s best offenses. |
| 57 (51) | Nick Pivetta | Red Sox | The big Canadian tied a Red Sox record (again) last week when he struck out 8 straight batters. He’s the only Sox player to do that since some guy named Roger Clemens, (from his 20-K performance in 1986). |
| 58 (57) | Ryan Pepiot | Rays | Building stamina is the next big step. Last week’s 6-inning 2-hit shutout was a good start. |
| 59 (39) | Bryan Woo | Mariners | I had Woo slotted in at 50 this week, and dropped him even further down the list. His sub-6 K/9 is underwhelming, and with the pitch count management, he likely won’t cruise to 10 wins in the second half. I’m OK with being a year ahead of the Woo hype here, but I’d be looking to lock him in if you’re in a keeper league. Hopefully, he blows the training wheels off in Spring Training next year. |
| 60 (44) | Jake Irvin | Nationals | Two 6 ER blowups in a row and a less-than-encouraging 115th SP ROS ranking means Irvin starts the slide back down here. |
| 61 (59) | Carlos Rodon | Yankees | A VERY gracious ROS ranking keeps him in the 60s here. He added two more HR allowed to his total BUT now ranks second on that list. (Good work, Jose Berrios *smh*) |
| 62 | Brandon Pfaadt | Diamondbacks | 6 shutout innings in his last start. If he keeps this up, he’ll be “Crushin’” a Pfaadt Boys lede in the not-so-distant future. |
| 63 (54) | MacKenzie Gore | Nationals | This is more in line with the Player Rater numbers. He’s allowed 4+ ER in three of his last four starts. |
| 64 (49) | Brady Singer | Royals | This is almost a direct flip of him and Eflin. When in doubt, consult the ROS rankings (65th). |
| 65 (67) | Hunter Brown | Astros | I still believe in the resurrection of Hunter Brown. ROS Player Rater does too (42nd). |
| 66 (68) | Jon Gray | Rangers | Well, would you look at that?! Gray ended up right where the ROS Player Rater had him. |
| 67 (56) | Ben Lively | Guardians | I’m expecting a second-half visit from an army of regression fairies. The fastball velo, chase %, whiff %, and hard hit % are all at or below the 22nd percentile. Woof. |
| 68 (72) | Brayan Bello | Red Sox | This section was tough to sort. Bello gets the higher open slot here based on the ROS ranking (45th). |
| 69 (61) | Yusei Kikuchi | Blue Jays | I believe it was 2 Live Crew that belted out this exquisite banger…”Pop Kikuchi…Hey! Pop Kikuchi, Baby!” The Blue Jays had better hope for 9 scoreless innings in his first start after the break, then trade him for whatever they can get. |
| 70 (91) | Kodai Senga | Mets | This is more about the hope that he comes back like gang-busters than anything else. It’s similar to what I said about Baz, we won’t have to worry about load management here (unless he re-injures himself). |
| 71 (88) | Gavin Williams | Guardians | A pre-season pick of mine. I outlined him in the Rizz-o-Meter article on Monday. |
| 72 (77) | Yariel Rodriguez | Blue Jays | I could see myself calling him ‘Ackbar’ soon because, after the series vs DET, his next two starts line up against TB and TEX. “It’s a trap!” |
| 73 | Reese Olson | Tigers | 5 spots higher than his rest-of-season ranking. He has wins (and QS) in 3 of his last 4 starts. |
| 74 (75) | Michael Wacha | Royals | I guess plugging him in at 75 last week was a good spot. He’s ranked 69th ROS. |
| 75 (60) | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Dodgers | Yoshi was officially placed on the 60-day IL on Monday. Now officially won’t be back until the end of August at the earliest. |
| 76 | Clarke Schmidt | Yankees | Comes in right behind Baz on the ROS list (99th). He’s throwing again and due back in mid-August. |
| 77 (71) | Andrew Abbott | Reds | Abbott skidded into the All-Star Break with 5 ER in 3.1 IP against Miami. 2 HR allowed and just 4 Ks. |
| 78 | Luis Severino | Mets | Seve-stream-o for now until he gets dealt to a contender. |
| 79 | Charlie Morton | Braves | I spotted a pattern here as I flipped back and forth between my notes and the ROS rankings. The experienced starter gets a lot more rope in ROS rankings. (49th on the ROS Player Rater). |
| 80 | James Paxton | Dodgers | 119th on the ROS Player Rater? Maybe disregard what I said about experience in the previous note. |
| 81 (82) | Dean Kremer | Orioles | 15 Ks in 13.1 IP since returning from the IL. That’s the good news. 9 runs and 7 BBs is the bad. How much longer are the Orioles going to hold Chayce McDermott down? (More below). |
| 82 (83) | Jameson Taillon | Cubs | Broke his streak of 6 straight QS last week. |
| 83 (NR) | Edward Cabrera | Marlins | I was tempted to slot him in last week in the 99th spot. He got killed at CIN, (4 HR allowed), but I’m willing to give him two more starts to see if it was just post-injury rust. |
| 84 (82) | Jose Soriano | Angels | We got more of the same from Soriano last week. 6 innings, 1 ER, 5 Ks, but 4 BBs. If only there was someone that the Angels could promote to help their rotation…More below. |
| 85 (98) | Tyler Anderson | Angels | Can you think of an arm more likely to get dealt at the deadline? I think not. |
| 86 (NR) | Aaron Civale | Brewers | A trade to MLW might be what he needed to shake the rough first half. 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, and 6 Ks in his last start. |
| 87 (70) | Mitchell Parker | Nationals | He’s in the 130’s on the ROS Player Rater. I just dropped him for Yariel Rodriguez in TGFBI. |
| 88 | Christian Scott | Mets | Baby steps and stamina building. He could end up right behind Senga as the Mets’ SP2 when the team starts to sell off starters. |
| 89 (93) | Zack Littell | Rays | It was between Littell, Hicks, and Lorenzen for this spot. Littell was closest to 100 according to ROS ranks (109th). |
| 90 (84) | Jordan Hicks | Giants | When comparing ROS to Littell, it was pretty close (116th). |
| 91 (89) | Javier Assad | Cubs | A rough return from the IL last week. He’s clinging to a Top 100 spot by his fingernails. |
| 92 (96) | Miles Mikolas | Cardinals | Ok. I’ll play along. Mikolas threw 6.1 shutout innings with 0 BBs…just kidding, that was from two weeks ago. Last week he gave up 4 HR and 6 ER in 5.1 innings against the Cubs. |
| 93 (87) | Kyle Gibson | Cardinals | Ugly starts over the last month, but the ROS Player Rater still believes…52nd. |
| 94 (86) | Joe Musgrove | Padres | “Platelet-rich injections” is never a term you want to see when you read news on your rehabbing SP. |
| 95 | Marcus Stroman | Yankees | The Rizz-o-Meter wasn’t kind to Mr. Marcus. |
| 96 (97) | Bailey Falter | Pirates | Falter stays here because I refuse to pay attention to the 43rd SP on the ROS list. (Lance Lynn). |
| 97 (NR) | Jose Quintana | Mets | He had his worst start of the year last week but was ranked in the Top 10 SPs on the last 30-day Player Rater. |
| 98 (92) | DJ Herz | Nationals | When they sent him to the minors last week, DJ found a note taped to the inside of his locker that read “Herz, don’t it?” That’s some cold shizz right there. He could return when the Nats need a 5th starter later next week. |
| 99 (74) | Ben Brown | Cubs | “Lingering neck discomfort” and a cool 200 ranking for the ROS sends Ben Brown down. |
| 100 (53) | Bobby Miller | Dodgers | This is here to serve as a heads-up for anyone that hadn’t heard the news. Miller was sent down on Wednesday after getting rag-dolled by the Phillies. If you’re a fan of optimism, at least it’s a better situation than Dustin May’s torn esophagus. |
PITCHING PROSPECT UPDATES!
Here’s my homage to Itch. Have a look at some of the minor league names that I think warrant attention for either ROS or keeper leagues.
If you’ve been napping under a rock since last weekend, you might have missed the Futures Game on Saturday. There are a few names from that game listed here, but also some others that warranted a check-in at the mid-point of our MLB season…
Emiliano Teodo – This kid started for the AL team in the Futures Game. It took him just 14 pitches (12 strikes) to get through 2 innings
Emiliano Teodo gave the home crowd in Arlington a show yesterday.
The @Rangers righty was the best player we saw at the Futures Game.https://t.co/Rb4BahrePN
(? @TEXPlayerDev)pic.twitter.com/EbO5EoBkLV
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) July 14, 2024
The MLB Prospect page has Teodo projected to debut in 2025. The 70-grade fastball is pretty exciting, and I can see the obvious comparisons to Yordan Ventura in both his statute and delivery there. The “best player we saw at the Futures Game” is pretty high praise from BA considering the other names on the field.
Here’s what Itch had to say about him on Sunday…
“Rangers RHP Emiliano Teodo looked incredible right off the jump, cruising through two scoreless innings for the American League. He repeats his delivery so well you could freeze-frame ten different pitches at any point in the delivery and they’d all look the same. His value seems to be all over the place in the dynasty realm partly because some have clocked his 6’1” 165 lb frame and ticketed him for the bullpen, and I think that outcome is pretty far down the probability chain at this point. He looks like a no-doubt starter to me. He’s got a 1.71 ERA and 89 strikeouts across 68.1 Double-A innings and shouldn’t be in Double-a much longer.“
Jackson Jobe – The good news for Tigers fans is their team is not good. WAIT! Before you start throwing Crazy Bread at me, hear me out! If you’re a Tigers fan…would you rather have your team clawing for a wild card spot or considerably out of playoff contention? On the surface, the obvious answer is, “Playoff spot, baby!”. But what if I told you it’s better for Detroit if they are well out of contention when the trade deadline arrives?
The Tigers feel like they’re at a bit of a crossroads. Ditching contracts like Kenta Maeda and Javier Baez may not be ideal (or easy to do), and jettisoning players like Carson Kelly, Jack Flaherty, and Mark Canha might not help sell tickets the rest of the way. But, opening up MLB playing time for kids like Jackson Jobe, Dillon Dingler, and Jace Jung is what you should be hoping for if you’re a fan of the Motown Maulers.
Would you rather see this for the next 8 years, or see him dealt away for an ‘ace’ late-inning reliever and a bench bat for a stretch run?
Jackson Jobe folks.
5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
Fastball touched 99 mph plenty, averaged 97.6. Slider wasn’t even there for him like it usually is, but the heater dominated at the top and the changeup was working off of it.
1 ER and 16 Ks in 10 IP since returning to AA Erie. pic.twitter.com/R1dMmXoFyB
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) July 12, 2024
Ya. I don’t think watching two months of Kyle Finnegan and Joey Meneses would be worth losing this kind of arm.
Caden Dana – At first glance, I assume I’m not the only one who thinks the Angels’ number-one-ranked prospect looks a lot like a younger version of Noah Syndergaard. The 5-6 record in AA isn’t exactly eye-popping, but the rest of his 2024 numbers are nothing to look down on. In 90.1 IP, Dana has recorded 97 strikeouts, 31 walks, and allowed just 8 HR. The ratios are pretty great too. He’s sporting a 2.99 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and a .194 BAA through 16 starts.
K-ADEN DANA
Caden Dana records a strikeout in the 2024 Futures Game! pic.twitter.com/sCbSuD8E7W
— Rocket City Trash Pandas (@trashpandas) July 13, 2024
The 20-year-old is not expected to debut with the big club until 2026, but he should be ticketed for a AAA promotion after the All-Star Game. He’ll get some air time on the highlight shows for giving up a big fly to Cam Collier in Saturday’s game, but this 11th-round pick (2022) has already made his mark on prospect lists and should be ready for the next challenge.
Chayce McDermott – The top pitching prospect in the Orioles organization is #7 on their list behind a half-dozen hitters! (As if Baltimore needs MORE position player prospects!). McDermott has thrown well in 19 games for Norfolk and, similarly to Caden Dana, doesn’t have a strong record to show for it.
McDermott’s 5-6 record isn’t a great indicator of future success. The 90.1 IP, 72 H, 37 ER, 128 Ks? That’s pretty impressive. A 12.8 K/9% is what rival teams will start with when looking for trade targets to pull in as they dump expiring contracts at the deadline. That 5.4 BB/9? That’s one that the receiving team will put atop their “Things to work on” list.
Six scoreless frames for @Chayce_mcd99 ?? pic.twitter.com/AmYL94IlG2
— Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) July 13, 2024
I assume we see McDermott in another organization after the trade deadline passes. With so many injuries and problems in the Baltimore rotation, if they haven’t called McDermott up yet they probably won’t. He should net them quite a return from a team looking to boost their pitching prospects.
Jacob Misiorowski – I wrote up Misiorowski WAY BACK in early Spring for my “Next Next 100” article. To be fully transparent, I hadn’t had a lot of exposure to “The Mis” before MLB The Show introduced him as a special card right after launching this year’s edition of the game.
Let’s have another bit of ‘me quoting me’ for Big Jake…“Is this kid starting in Milwaukee? No. Does he have good command to pair with his plus fastball and slider? Not really. But the Brewers #2 ranked prospect had a solid spring and looks poised to be a top arm in that rotation at some point in the near future.”
Well, let’s call this an update to the original notes in March. With 98 Ks in 72.2 IP, (good for a 12.14 K/9 at AA Biloxi,) the strikeouts have been as advertised. Unfortunately, the walks have been too. His 5.08 BB/9 is better than last year, but still not quite where it needs to be to get that call-up to MLW.
The good news? In two July starts, Misiorowski has 20 Ks in just 12.2 IP with a measly 4 BBs in two starts. Baby steps.
Ricky Tiedemann – Of course, it wouldn’t be a MarmosDad article if there wasn’t some Blue Jay representation. I was all set to write up Tiedemann as a sneaky second-half target as he recovered from ulnar nerve inflammation in his pitching elbow.
In late June, Tieds racked up 5 Ks over just 2.1 IP in a no-hit rehab start at Single-A Dunedin. “Back up the Hype Train! It’s time to get on again!”
Well…the Tiedemann excitement was quickly quelled as he was pulled from a July 9th start with forearm soreness after just one inning.
Can we expect any impactful innings from Tiedemann for the rest of 2024? I don’t think so. Will he be ready for 2025 Spring Training? Um…if the Jays don’t send him straight to the operating table to get that elbow sorted out, I’d be betting on not seeing him until mid-summer 2025 at the earliest. Let’s file this under TBD.
Other names to watch: Shane Baz, Cade Horton, Drew Thorpe, Max Meyer, David Festa, Christian Scott, DJ Herz, Sawyer Gipson-Long, and Jake Eder.
That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it! Next week, I’ll post the Top 100 Starting Pitchers with some write-ups on some of the arms that I think need a bit more attention than others. Then, I’ll try to keep cherry-picking names to highlight throughout the list as we progress through the season.
Drop some comments in the chat if you’re feeling extra fired up about some of the names I do (or don’t) have here. Have a great week!
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