Ranger Suarez
Suarez tossed 6 shutout innings allowing only two hits and two walks while punching out 8 in Thursday's afternoon game. He was fairly dominant, allowing only three hard hit balls while posting a solid 32% CSW. He's now allowed only three free passes and 9 hits in 17 innings on the year, but most notably has gone at least 5 innings in all three starts. He has been a groundball animal thus far (67.9%, 96th Percentile), while also getting guys to expand out of the zone (31.3% Chase, 72nd Percentile). My only concern with Suarez thus far is the stuff. He doesn't throw very hard (91 mph) and doesn't have a true 4-seam either (12.9 IVB). He hasn't been a strikeout guy in the past, so I still believe the profile is more crafty lefty that's tough to hit instead of a power-punchout guy. Nonetheless, the results so far have been great, and it at least puts him on the map as a guy to watch moving forward.
Jared Jones
The rookie went 6 ⅓ innings on Thursday night, allowing 3 ER on 6 hits while issuing no free passes and punching out 8. Last outing, Jones only let up 2 ER, and both came via solo homers. This outing is the same, all three runs came via two homers, one being a two-run shot. Eerily, this start also had the same feature the last one did of getting a solid CSW (36%), but still gave up 8 hard-hit balls. I'm still going to chalk up the hard contact to leaving too much over the plate and/or not throwing a third pitch enough. He's only allowed two free passes in 18 innings, while punching out 25. If he can keep the ball in the ballpark a little bit better, he can be really dangerous. I have him on almost every team.
Grayson Rodriguez
The towering youngster put together another strong start, going 5 ⅔ innings, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 5 K on Thursday. It was nice to see such a solid stat line given how down his stuff was. Rodriguez's fastball velocity (95.7) was almost two ticks below his season average (97.4). The cutter and changeup were also down a good bit. As a result, he didn't gather as much miss today (28%) as he normally does (32%). It's not insane for a pitcher's velocity to go through some slight ups and downs throughout the season. It's encouraging to see him do well even without his best stuff (which is still solid anyways). It's even more encouraging when you consider what he could be at his best. A confident start week in and week out.
Garrett Whitlock
Whitlock threw 5 clean innings of one run baseball on Thursday, walking two and punching out four. The one run allowed came via a solo homer. Whitlock now has three "quality" starts (not formal definition of QS) on the season, having allowed one or zero runs, going at least four, and allowing four hits or fewer. He now has two earned runs across 14.1 frames. That being said, the .427 xwOBACON and .254 xBA against suggest he is solid, but not necessarily this amazing. I'm riding the wave right now.
Mason Miller
I don't anticipate the Athletics winning many games this year, but I think it's time to seriously consider adding Mason Miller. Miller threw a clean 9th to close out Thursday's 1-0 win against the Rangers and pick up his second save of the season. He posted the exact same line of no hits, no walks, no runs, and two punchouts on Tuesday against the Rangers for his first save. The fireballer topped out at 104, averaging 102, and never dipped below 101. What's most encouraging is seeing back-to-back outings without issuing a walk. Only three of Miller's 16 pitches went for a ball. If he's throwing strikes, we now have a clear cut closer that could be an asset in the ratio department as well. He's only owned in 12% of ESPN leagues.
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