After last week’s monologue, I want to keep it short and sweet and get to the meat and potatoes. Congrats to Logan Gilbert on his call-up to the majors. He is just one of multiple promising players for the Seattle Mariners.
Each week this season I will be looking at the week ahead for pitchers. Waiver options, streamers, pitchers making two starts, injury updates and more can be found within.
Waiver Wire/Streamers
Anthony DeSclafani – San Francisco Giants
Yahoo: 66%, ESPN: 72%
The Giants have a top-10 pitching staff, and all six starters used this season have at least a 0.4 WAR with Kevin Gausman and DeSclafani at 1.0 or higher. DeSclafani has been a competitive pitcher until last season’s drop-off in Cincinnati. His walks and strikeouts percentages are back to his career averages, and he is limiting hits at a career rate. It also never hurts when the team defense behind you is fourth in Defensive WAR.
Kyle Gibson – Texas Rangers
Yahoo: 67%, ESPN: 79%
Y’all are goofy. Add the man in his career year (up until now).
Jon Gray – Colorado Rockies
Yahoo: 46%, ESPN: 52%
The Rockies have a few pitchers that keep them in games while the offense has its ups and downs. Jon Gray has been the best, and aside from his Expected Fielder Independent Pitching being 0.9 runs higher than his 2.93 ERA, he is on track to have similar success going forward. Wins will be spotty, but if you have a couple solid starters on your team, Gray can help maintain ERA/WHIP while chipping in occasional wins.
Taijuan Walker – New York Mets
Yahoo: 61%, ESPN: 56%
Despite walking batters at his highest rate since 2014, Taijuan Walker has been a positive addition to the Mets. The former Mariner has regression due (.221 BABIP, 0.90 HR/9 lower than career average), but so does the Mets offense. Walker is on pace to start two games based on his Wednesday start this past week.
JT Brubaker – Pittsburgh Pirates
Yahoo: 52%, ESPN: 44%
Brubaker officially has stock in this column. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his seven starts.
Tyler Anderson – Pittsburgh Pirates
Yahoo: 31%, ESPN: 33%
Anderson has been a success story in 2021 because he is trusting his cutter more (+9.8% from 2020) and with a lower velocity. Since his back-to-back bad starts to open this season, Anderson has not had a game ERA higher than 3.60.
Cole Irvin – Oakland Athletics
Yahoo: 49%, ESPN: 41%
The first-year Athletic was six outs from a win May 15 before Jake Diekman let up the game-changing three-run homer to Miguel Sano. Still, it was another solid start for a pitcher on a first place team.
Ryan Weathers – San Diego Padres
Yahoo: 33%, ESPN: 19%
Outside the box thinking with Weathers, but he is piggybacking starts from pitchers that need limiting or are returning from injury (like Dinelson Lamet). That means when he enters the game, he is in line for the win. Weathers has gone three innings in two of his three appearances since an injury scare and is 1-1 with five hits, one earned run and 4:1 K/BB in seven innings. Less risk for wins is fine with me. Weathers also has starting and relief pitching eligibility on Yahoo and ESPN.
Injuries
Mike Soroka will undergo exploratory surgery on his right Achilles and his return is unknown. He has not pitched in 2021.
Astros starter Framber Valdez will start a rehab assignment May 16 and is expected to return to the rotation in June.
Also in Houston, Jose Urquidy could return to throwing as soon as the week of May 17 after an MRI showed no structural damage and some inflammation. He left his May 12 start early with right shoulder inflammation.
Luis Severino is in the “start of spring training mode” stage of his Tommy John recovery, according to Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
Stephen Strasburg will make a rehab start May 16 at Triple-A Buffalo.
Zac Gallen was placed on the 10-day IL with a right elbow sprain that is believed to be a UCL sprain. He will be reevaluated in a few weeks and surgery is not yet an option.
Two-Start Pitchers
This is a projected list. Starts are subject to change and not all starters have been named.
Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo (CIN) – vs SF, vs MIL
Dallas Keuchel (CHW) – at MIN, at NYY
J.A. Happ, Michael Pineda, and Matt Shoemaker (MIN) – vs CHW, at CLE *The Twins have a Thursday doubleheader that will constitute if Shoemaker starts on Sunday.
Gerrit Cole and Jamison Taillon (NYY) – at TEX, vs CHW
Sam Hentges (CLE) – at LAA, vs MIN
Walker Buehler (LAD) – vs ARI, at SF
Zack Wheeler (PHI) – vs MIA, vs BOS
JT Brubaker (PIT) – at STL, at ATL
