Robert Stephenson returned from the IL yesterday and confirmed us he nonetheless has that very same swing and miss stuff he confirmed with the Rays earlier than lacking all of final season recovering from Tommy John surgical procedure. He solely threw 12 pitches within the recreation, however he earned 6 whiffs on his “cutter” that averaged 3000 RPM’s and he additionally threw two fastballs, each of which had been 98 MPH. Maybe this was only a results of him being amped up for his first look shortly, however that velocity is nearly 1.5 MPH greater than he confirmed in 2022/23. That won’t stick, however his velocity was steadily within the 96-97 vary in his rehab outings, and so long as he’s commanding his cutter and four-seamer, Stephenson must be again as one of many high setup males in baseball.
Notes
Dennis Santana rejoins the record because it seems the Pirates are going to let it trip with David Bednar within the nearer position. Santana has been fairly lights out in Could with 13 strikeouts whereas not permitting a stroll, so it’s an attention-grabbing resolution on Pittsburgh’s half, however it’s seemingly a moot level anyway, as each Bednar and Santana must be prime commerce targets in two months.
Ryan Walker was faraway from the nearer position with Camilo Doval getting his outdated gig again, however I’m not so positive Walker even sees a lot high-leverage work within the quick time period with how properly Randy Rodríguez aznd Tyler Rogers are pitching in the meanwhile. Rogers continues to overlook bats rapidly, as he holds a 24/1 Ok/BB ratio over 23.1 IP since April 1st.
Ronny Henriquez hype hit a excessive this previous weekend as he picked up his first save of the season, though don’t count on him to take over that position by himself anytime quickly, because the Marlins are dedicated to go the committee strategy. He then got here again on Wednesday and labored the seventh and eighth earlier than Calvin Faucher closed issues out, however a minimum of for holds leagues, we are able to begin feeling assured about Henriquez.
Drew Pomeranz has nonetheless but to permit an earned run this yr, and continues to dominate in Could with eleven strikeouts and simply 4 hits and two walks allowed over 9.1 IP. He’s actually only a fastball solely pitcher proper now because the curve has but to get a swinging strike nonetheless, however the fastball has nice form and command so it’s working.
Yennier Cano has strung collectively 3 strong outings in a row now, permitting zero baserunners whereas hanging out 4. Regardless of the struggles this yr, the stuff stays high notch, as he holds a 5.30 PLV which is 93rd percentile amongst relievers.
Mason Montgomery continues to be inconsistent on the mound however the stuff stays electrical so he’s nonetheless somebody to roster in dynasty codecs on the very least. The left aspect of his participant web page exhibits who he’s now, however the appropriate aspect exhibits what he might be, however I do perceive dropping persistence as we at the moment are one third of the best way via the season.
