A.J. Puk, SP, Marlins
A.J. Puk was hit hard again on Friday, allowing seven runs on seven hits and three walks in three innings. This start raised his ERA to 9.22 and brought his K:BB to 12:17 on the season. He has shown very little promise as a starter thus far, failing to pitch 5 innings in all four of his starts. He is unable to throw strikes consistently, with his 24.1% BB% ranking in the 1st percentile on the season, and when he does throw strikes, hitters have an average exit velocity of 85.2 mph and a ground ball rate of only 30.6. The Marlins shocked everyone earlier in the week by demoting Max Meyer, and Braxton Garrett is currently working his way back from injury. It's hard to see a path for Puk to remain in the rotation much longer, and he's not worth rostering in the majority of fantasy leagues. His best bet to gain fantasy relevance would be to eventually take over closing duties after moving to the bullpen, but that would most likely require Tanner Scott to pitch his way out of the job.
Garrett Crochet, SP, White Sox
Garrett Crochet got knocked from the game after only three innings against the Phillies, allowing seven runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three. After his first two dominating starts, his next three have gotten worse each time. It's safe to say he has finally come back down to earth after his hot start. His slider seemed especially off in this start, garnering 0 whiffs on the 13 that he threw. The Phillies at home are a pretty tough matchup, so I'm not writing him off yet. After all, he still struck out 10 batters in his last start against the Reds, despite giving up 5 runs in 4.2 innings. It's time to pump the brakes on calling him an ace, but a volatile pitcher with huge strikeout upside is still plenty valuable in fantasy. Keep an eye out for his performance next time out against the Twins, but I still trust him as a top-35 starting pitcher.
Blake Snell, SP, Giants
Blake Snell allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk over 4.2 innings against the Diamondbacks. He struck out three. It was another disaster outing, and Snell has now failed to pitch five innings in each of his first three starts. His whiff rate was only 21%, and he now has 12 strikeouts and 5 walks over 11.2 innings to begin the season. He was already one of the most volatile pitchers in baseball, winning the Cy Young while walking 13.3% of batters he faced, and his circumstances surrounding the start of his 2024 season can't be helping matters. He signed with the Giants so late into the offseason that he missed essentially all of spring training, so it makes sense that he would still be rusty. However, you never know what you're going to get when he takes the mound, and I wouldn't be surprised if he continues to struggle. He will hurt your WHIP no matter what, but now he also isn't striking people out at the rate we usually expect. I rank him around SP25 for now, but he could see himself outside of the top 30 if his next start isn't promising.
Nick Lodolo, SP, Reds
Nick Lodolo had another good showing in his second start of the season, striking out 6 over 6.1 innings while allowing 1 run on 7 hits. It wasn't an easy matchup, facing a hot Angels lineup in Great American Ballpark, but he got the job done. This was coming off of his first start where he struck out 10 over 5.2 innings against the White Sox, so it's safe to plug him into your lineups with confidence now. He has flashed ace upside in the past and was one of the most popular breakout picks in all of baseball coming into last season, where he had a few blowup outings but a 12.32 K/9 before suffering a season-ending injury in May. His injury history is a concern, but at this point, all pitchers represent some type of injury risk. It looks like his breakout season could be coming a year late, and I would rank him around SP40 as of now.
Justin Verlander, SP, Astros
Justin Verlander made his first start of the season on Friday, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and no walks while striking out 4 over 6 innings. It was against an underwhelming Nationals offense, but it's still impressive for the first start of the season for a 41-year-old coming off of a shoulder injury. He only induced 4 whiffs on 40 swings and 78 pitches, but he isn't expected to be blowing guys away with his stuff at this point in his career. He knows how to pitch to get weak contact, and that's exactly what he did here. He should be a great contributor to your ratios and get consistent quality starts and wins, and I view him as a top-40 SP for the rest of the season.
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