Latest news with #pitchers
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer: Dylan Cease makes for an attractive buy-low candidate for strikeouts
Last week, we looked at hitters who could help fantasy baseball teams in specific categories down the stretch. This week we will turn our attention to pitchers who have a specific area of excellence and could be acquired for a reasonable return. Please note that I did not recommend anyone to help in the wins category, as chasing specific pitchers to provide more wins would be a fool's errand. Rather, those who want to improve in wins should do their best to stream starters with decent skills and favorable matchups. [Smarter waivers, better trades, optimized lineups — Yahoo Fantasy Plus unlocks it all] Strikeouts Dylan Cease, San Diego Padres Cease has appeared in my trade column more than once this season, as he continues to be one of the most frustrating and unlucky pitchers in baseball. His .323 BABIP and 68.5% strand rate are among the highest marks of any starter, and his ERA estimators are all more than a full run lower than his 4.79 ERA. But there is one thing that Cease can do in spades — strike batters out. His 153 punchouts rank fourth in baseball, which makes him an attractive buy-low candidate for those need to take a chance on a high strikeout starter with massive upside. Jesús Luzardo, Philadelphia Phillies Luzardo is a poor man's version of Cease. One could make a case that Luzardo is the more attractive hurler to add. Unlike Cease, he has had some dazzling stretches this season. Still, Luzardo's penchant for ugly outings surely has frustrated many managers, as he has allowed four or more earned runs in six of his past 11 starts. His strikeout total (140) ranks 11th in baseball, making the southpaw a smart buy-low option for those who need to make a move in that category. ERA Eury Pérez, Miami Marlins Pérez has been an ERA asset throughout his brief career, evidenced by his lifetime 3.13 mark. The right-hander struggled in his initial starts following Tommy John surgery, but has allowed four runs across his past five starts. His 32:5 K:BB ratio over those outings supports his outstanding run prevention, and his 2.68 xERA is the third lowest of any pitcher who currently holds a rotation spot. Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds Some managers may have forgotten how well Greene has pitched this season since we haven't seen him in action for nearly two months. He was dominant in his 11 starts, logging a 2.72 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 73:14 K:BB ratio. His groin injury is less of a concern than an arm injury, which means that he could be a dominant ace for the stretch run. Greene could return to fantasy baseball lineups in a week or two. WHIP Matthew Boyd, Chicago Cubs There is no doubt that Boyd has pushed through his ceiling so far in 2025 since his current ratios (2.47 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) are likely unsustainable. He is not worth acquiring if his current manager values him as an ace, but that shouldn't be the case in many leagues. Boyd has two characteristics that should lead to a low WHIP the rest of the way — he generates plenty of fly balls and rarely issues walks. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Zack Littell, Tampa Bay Rays Littell is a poor man's version of Boyd. He doesn't generate enough strikeouts (6.0 K/9 rate) and is too hittable, which is a result of living inside the strike zone. Still, the lack of walks usually leads to a low WHIP, and this year Littell has turned his impressive 3.3% walk rate into a 1.11 WHIP. Both Boyd and Littell are ERA risks for the stretch run, but they could post an ERA over 4.00 and still help in the WHIP category. Saves Will Vest, Detroit Tigers The Tigers not only have one of the best records in baseball, but also have a favorable schedule for the stretch run, thanks to plenty of series against division opponents below .500. Vest has a modest saves total this year (16), but could skyrocket up that category if his team capitalizes on their schedule and logs several narrow victories. My plan with Vest would be to make a trade offer as soon as the MLB trade deadline passes on Thursday.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB trade deadline: Pitcher Seth Lugo reportedly reaches 2-year, $46 million extension with Royals
Seth Lugo, one of baseball's most underrated pitchers, is sticking around Kansas City after all. The Royals reached a two-year, $46 million guaranteed contract extension with Lugo on Sunday, according to multiple reports. While Lugo was widely considered one of the top trade candidates ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, he'll instead be in Kansas City for years to come. Lugo was under contract until the end of this season with a salary of $15 million. Between his success and the Royals' struggles, Lugo loomed as one of the trade deadline's biggest prizes, so long as the club was willing to deal him. His career has flourished since joining Kansas City, as he finished as the runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award last season behind Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. As a soft-throwing right-hander who doesn't strike out many batters and sees most of his balls in play go in the air, Lugo is hardly anyone's vision of an ace. However, his seemingly bottomless arsenal of pitches keeps batters off-balance enough to post quality starts on a regular basis. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] The Royals hold a 52-54 record heading into Monday's matchup with the Atlanta Braves, which has them sitting third in the AL Central. Lugo is set to take the mound Tuesday in the second game of that three-game series. Baseball Savant identifies an incredible 10 pitches that Lugo has used this season: four-seam fastball, curveball, sinker, cutter, changeup, slurve, slider, slow curve, sweeper and splitter. Pitch identification isn't an exact science, but all that goes to show how many looks Lugo can present on any given pitch. And he's a Gold Glover to boot. The results speak for themselves. No pitcher in the American League faced more batters last season than Lugo, and he's on pace to post a similarly strong season this year with the Royals. A lot of advanced stats don't love the 35-year-old's chances of continuing his success, but there are always players who overperform their peripherals. A player with Lugo's approach could easily be one of them. What to make of this extension? Lugo's extension feels like a win-win for both the pitcher and the Royals. Since arriving in Kansas City last season, the Royals' right-hander has been one of the best starting pitchers in the American League. The Royals' key to success has always been starting pitching first; don't expect that to change in 2026. Lugo, who could've opted out at the end of 2025 and re-entered free agency, instead gets the raise he was going to get on the market. And Kansas City keeps the most consistent starter in its rotation around for two more years, with the hope of better success in 2026. In terms of the trade deadline, Lugo's extension takes one of the top starting pitchers off the board and means that teams that were looking to add, particularly with rentals, will need to go back to the drawing board. — Dorsey
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB trade deadline: Pitcher Seth Lugo reportedly reaches contract extension with Royals
Seth Lugo, one of baseball's most underrated pitchers, is sticking around Kansas City after all. The Royals reached a multi-year contract extension with Lugo on Sunday night, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Further specifics on his new deal are not yet known. Though Lugo was widely considered one of the top trade candidates ahead of the deadline this summer, he'll now be in Kansas City for years to come. Lugo was under contract until the end of this season with a salary of $15 million. Between his success and the Royals' struggles, Lugo loomed as one of the trade deadline's biggest prizes as long as the club was willing to deal him. His career has flourished since joining Kansas City, where he finished as the runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award last season behind Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. As a soft-throwing right-hander who doesn't strike out many batters and sees most of his balls in play go in the air, Lugo is hardly anyone's vision of an ace. However, his seemingly bottomless arsenal of pitches keeps batters off balance enough to post quality starts on a regular basis. The Royals hold a 52-54 record heading into Monday's matchup with the Atlanta Braves, which has them sitting in third in the AL Central race. Lugo is set to take the mound next on Tuesday night for the second game of that three-game series. Baseball Savant identifies an incredible 10 pitches Lugo has used this season: four-seam fastball, curveball, sinker, cutter, changeup, slurve, slider, slow curve, sweeper and splitter. Pitch identification isn't an exact science, but all that goes to show how many looks Lugo can present on any given pitch. And he's a Gold Glover to boot. The results speak for themselves. No pitcher faced more batters in the AL last season than Lugo and he's on pace to post a similarly strong season this year with the Royals. A lot of advanced stats don't love the 35-year-old's chances at continuing this success, but there are always players who routinely overperform on their peripherals. A player with Lugo's approach could easily be one of them.
National Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Jays erupt for six late runs to break open a pitchers duel against the Tigers
One of, if not, baseball's best pitchers facing a team sporting baseball's best record, the stage was set for an epic matchup in Motown. Article content It was no letdown. Article content Tarik Skubal, the AL's reigning Cy Young Award winner, went up against the first-place Blue Jays for the first time since 2023 at Comerica Park on Saturday night in the third game of a four-game series. Article content Toronto took the opening two games with relative ease, but Game 3 had a different feel with the imposing Skubal on the mound, facing Jays ace Kevin Gausman. Article content It went pretty much as expected. The two star hurlers went six shutout innings apiece — with Gausman actually outpitching Skubal — before the Jays pulled ahead in the eighth on a two-run Bo Bichette single, then tacked on four more runs in the ninth in a 6-1 victory. Article content The Jays had the better chances early on, but couldn't crack through. Article content The first real scoring opportunity was scuttled in the fourth inning when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was picked off at third base, yet another example why the franchise face needs to be more mentally engaged. Article content A 13-pitch at-bat by Bichette led to a walk as the Jays loaded the bases with one out in the sixth inning. Tyler Heineman then looped a short single into centre. George Springer, waiting to see if the ball would fall in, hesitated from third then made the dash to plate but was an easy out after he mysteriously slowed down. Article content Gausman, who had 10 strikeouts, and three relievers limited the Tigers to two hits, both by No. 9 batter Jake Rogers. Article content Skubal gave up six hits, walked three and struck out seven. Article content Since the all-star break, the Jays have gone 8-1 to improve their overall record to 63-42. Article content With the New York Yankees losing again to the Phillies on Saturday, the Jays' lead atop the AL East is now 6.5 games. Article content A win Sunday and the Jays will earn a series sweep over a Tigers team that has lost 12 of its past 13 games but still leads the AL Central by a healthy margin. Article content All-star Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk was forced to leave the game after he took a foul ball flush off his mask. He finished the inning, but was replaced by Heineman. Article content Springer, Guerrero and Nathan Lukes all hit homers in the ninth as the Jays piled it on. Article content Pitching perspective Article content The Jays have done well of late when facing some quality arms, whether it was Logan Webb and Robbie Ray when the San Francisco Giants were in town or whether it was the New York Yankees tandem of Carlos Rodon and Max Fried. Article content One has to go back to the middle of last month when the Blue Jays were in Philadelphia and were completely held in check by the Phillies' Big 3 of Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler. The Blue Jays were swept in the three-game series and were outscored 22-6.
New York Times
16-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
MLB All-Star Game 2025 score and live updates: Brent Rooker's 3-run HR cuts AL's deficit vs. NL
Clayton Kershaw is tied with Mike Trout for most All-Star selections among active players at 11. A legend pick in this year's game, Kershaw is about to pitch in an All-Star Game for the eighth time. He has started the All-Star Game only once, in 2022. All week, people around the league have been asking how to get more players — pitchers especially — to participate in the All-Star Game rather than bow out. This season, the likes of Zack Wheeler, Max Fried, Chris Sale, Hunter Brown and Jacob deGrom are only some of the pitchers who chose not to participate in the Midsummer Classic. "I think as far as an All-Star game product, I think we have the best one," Kershaw said. "Now with that said, how to get everybody here, I think the best players (need) to be here … But it's hard. I think position-wise we do a good job of that. But when you pitch on Saturday and Sunday, I get it. You're going max effort with a lot of adrenaline. You get out of your routine, that's not a great recipe. "I'm not sure what you to do get all the starting pitchers here that you would want to be here, the big names. But yeah, it's better if Zack Wheeler can make it, if the best guys in the game can be here to pitch. I don't know if there's really a solution other than try to fix the schedule for guys to be available on Tuesday, but you can't tell teams to do that when they're trying to win games."
