| | | | Wednesday, July 9, 2025 | | The most interesting moment for a young player is when they make their debut. The second-most interesting moment for a young player is right after they fail for the first time. I want to see what these young players look like after they've gotten punched in the mouth for the first time. What does their counterpunch look like? That's what separates the flashes in the pan from the superstars, who always have an answer for whatever their opponents throw at them. | | After getting knocked around for the first time in his previous outing, Jacob Misiorowski got up off the mat, dusted himself off, and threw one heck of a counterpunch Tuesday against the Dodgers. It was the kind of performance that sure makes Misiorowski look like a budding superstar, if you were skeptical before. | | Misiorowski held the Dodgers to just one run – on a leadoff homer by Shohei Ohtani – over six innings of work, while allowing three hits and one walk and striking out a career-high 12 batters. And what might have been most impressive about it is the growth Misiorowski showed from his first few starts, successful though they were. | | Misiorowski entered Tuesday's start having thrown four-seamers or sliders for 85% of his pitches, with his curveball and changeup making up the rest of them. In this one, Misiorowski lowered his fastball/slider usage to 72%, with his curveball taking on a much larger role, as he threw it 21% of the time. And it was incredible, garnering eight swinging strikes on 13 swings while generating weak contact the rare times the Dodgers actually got wood on it. The four-seamer was excellent as well, generating nine swinging strikes, while he added three with the slider and one more with the changeup for 21 on 91 pitches. | | | | It was a dominant performance, and it was by far the most impressive showing we've seen from Misiorowski so far. That's saying something, because he's been largely untouchable so far. The increased curveball and changeup usage was likely a result of the Dodgers throwing more lefties than righties in the lineup, as he threw all but two of his combined 25 of those pitches against lefties. But I do think Misiorowski should consider leaning on the curveball more often against all hitters after this one. | | He clearly commands the pitch fairly well, and as ridiculous as his slider looks, it hasn't been a great swing-and-miss pitch so far. Probably because, despite how it is classified, that pitch is much more of a cutter than a slider – it comes in at 94-95 mph with 7-8 inches of induced vertical break and about an inch of horizontal break. Call it a slider, call it a cutter – heck, call it a fastball – but despite the elite velocity, it hardly plays like your typical swing-and-miss slider. And he doesn't really use it like one, either, as he goes to it just 19% of the time with two strikes and typically throws it belt-high or higher on the glove side, rather than burying it like most pitchers do with their sliders. Compare that to Jacob deGrom, who might be Misiorowski's best comp already, and who throws his slider 43% of the time in two-strike counts and typically aims for the low, outside corner when doing so. It's a very different approach. | | Misiorowski's stuff is good enough to more than get by at the MLB level already. With very little refinement of his approach or command, he has put up a 2.81 ERA through his first five starts, with 33 strikeouts to 11 walks in 25.2 innings of work. But Misiorowski also has the stuff to do more than just get by, and Tuesday was a glimpse of how good he could be if he misses even more bats. | | Here's what else you need to know about from Tuesday's action around MLB: | | | | Wednesday's top waiver-wire targets | | Kyle Bradish, SP, Orioles (13%) – Bradish's return from Tommy John surgery has gone pretty under the radar in Fantasy circles – just compare Bradish's relatively low roster rate to Shane Bieber 's 59% rate. Both are on a similar timetable in their returns, with their rehab assignments likely to come in the next week or so and a return to the majors in late July or early August. Bradish has thrown two live batting practice sessions and will likely have one more before beginning his rehab assignment , and it's worth remembering just how good Bradish has been over the past few seasons: Across 2023 and 2024, he threw 208 innings with a 2.81 ERA and 26.5% strikeout rate. Pitchers coming back from major elbow surgery are never a sure thing, but Bradish looked like a burgeoning ace the last time we saw him, and it's worth stashing him just in case he can be that again down the stretch. | | Brayan Bello, SP, Red Sox (69%) – Six starts ago, Bello started throwing a cutter, and since then, he hasn't allowed more than three runs in a start, entering Tuesday's game with a 2.67 ERA in his previous five starts. So, of course, in the best start of his career, a 10-strikeout complete game, the cutter was a big part of his game plan, right? Not quite. Bello threw the pitch just three times in this one, as he mostly reverted to his pre-June pitch mix, leading with the sinker, leaning on the sweeper for whiffs, and throwing the four-seamer and changeup against lefties. The cutter hasn't exactly been a dominant pitch for Bello, so maybe it isn't a surprise that his best start came as he largely sidelined it. But the timing is strange … until you see who Bello was facing: The Rockies on the road, where they are hitting .208/.268/.343 as a team. I don't want to say this is just about the matchup, but I also don't think we should take this as a sign that Bello is making a leap to ace-dom. He's been pretty good over his past seven starts, sporting a 2.75 ERA with 36 strikeouts to 12 walks, but with a gauntlet coming up out of the second half – @CHC, @PHI, vs. LAD in their first three series – I don't really think we should be viewing Bello as a must-start pitcher moving forward, or anything. | | Cam Schlittler, SP, Yankees (41%) – Schlittler is officially making his MLB debut Wednesday against the Mariners , and while I think his roster rate doesn't really need to be any higher than this before he makes his debut, I am pretty interested to see what the 24-year-old looks like against MLB hitters. He has been one of the big breakouts in the Yankees system this season, sporting a 2.82 ERA and 31.9% strikeout rate while pitching his way to Triple-A. Schlittler is 6-foot-6 and delivers his pitches from a high arm slot, which helps his fastball play up even more than it otherwise would, leading to a very strong 14.1% swinging strike rate this season. He's had some issues with walks and has run an extremely high BABIP through the high minors (.350 this season), which means he'll probably need to miss a lot of bats to be successful. But he has the skills to do it, and I'm interested in seeing how this first start goes. | | Brandon Young, SP, Orioles (2%) – I've been waiting to see some upside from Young, who has performed well enough at Triple-A in his career to think there might be a chance of him being a rotation piece for the Orioles. He mostly failed to impress in his first four starts, but Tuesday against the Mets was different, as he struck out six over 5.1 innings of work, including, unbelievably, an immaculate inning. Young's velocity was up 1.1 mph on his four-seamer in this one, and he generated nine swinging strikes on just 66 pitches against a solid Mets lineup, so maybe he's worth a look in some deeper leagues heading into the second half. | | | | Tuesday's standouts | | Hunter Brown, Astros vs. CLE: 6 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K – Brown just couldn't command his fastballs in this one. He threw just 40% of his four-seamers in the zone and just 35% of his sinkers, and that right there is kind of the whole ball game, even for a pitcher with as many weapons as Brown. I think we can chalk this one up to, "Stuff happens." | | Logan Gilbert , Mariners @NYY: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K – Not to keep making excuses, but I also think we can mostly write off the bad line from Gilbert here. He struck out four and allowed just one hit over four shutout innings to open the start, and then sat through a 35-minute rain delay before giving up five runs in 1.1 innings after coming back out. Gilbert's been a bit shaky since coming back from the IL, and the fact that he missed time with an elbow injury certainly gives me pause when projecting him moving forward. On the other hand, his stuff looks better than it ever has, so I'm still very much inclined to treat Gilbert as an ace. I'm buying whatever shares you might be selling. | | Shota Imanaga, Cubs @MIN: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K – Imanaga keeps getting solid results, but the lack of strikeouts is starting to become pretty alarming. His strikeout rate has fallen from a very strong 25.1% last season to 17.4% in 2025, and I'm worried that the league has just caught up to him. Last season, Imanaga gave hitters a totally unique look, and that, combined with his elite command, helped his otherwise middling stuff play up. With the element of surprise gone, maybe hitters just aren't quite as baffled by him? His 2.80 ERA and 0.98 WHIP suggest there isn't much to be concerned about, but the underlying numbers suggest things could be a lot uglier in the second half. I'm viewing Imanaga as a sell-high candidate right now. | | Jack Flaherty, Tigers vs. TB: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K – Because the stuff has mostly looked like it did last season, I've been inclined to give Flaherty the benefit of the doubt amid his struggles this season. And he's starting to live up to it with 24 strikeouts to seven walks in 17.1 innings over his past three starts. Flaherty's command has held him back, but I still think he can go on a nice run and be a must-start pitcher in the second half. It's not a guarantee, but it's within the realm of possibility, and I think he's a decent buy-low candidate with upside. | | Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers @LAA: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K – I'll admit, I was pretty worried that Eovaldi's trip to the IL would derail his incredible season, but that really hasn't happened yet. He gave up three runs in three innings in his first truncated start back from the IL, but he has allowed just one unearned run while striking out 11 and walking just one in two starts since. Eovaldi is a 35-year-old with a current ERA more than 1.25 runs lower than his career mark, so I do think there's plenty of room for regression to come. But I also think his track record is a reason why people would be relatively unwilling to shell out much for him in trade, so I mostly think you should just hang on to Eovaldi for as long as this lasts. | | Eury Perez, Marlins @CIN: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K – The only thing surprising about Perez turning his season around the way he has over the past two starts is how quickly he has done it. After allowing a 6.19 ERA with 10 walks in his first 16 innings of work, Perez has walked just one over the past two starts, while striking out 15 in 11 one-run innings. I felt very confident that Perez would turn things around at some point, I just wasn't sure if it would happen in July or August or September, or perhaps not until next April. Well, it looks like it's happening, and I'll just remind everyone yet again that Perez is just 22. He's almost exactly a year younger than Jacob Misiorowski, despite making his debut two years before him. You should have always been betting on Perez figuring this out at some point. | | Seth Lugo, Royals vs. PIT: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K – This is exactly what Lugo should be doing against a terrible lineup like Pittsburgh's. This is just about the only time his dominance actually makes sense to me. He's down to a 1.54 ERA over his past seven starts, and I just don't know what else I can say about Lugo. I don't believe in him as an ace, even though he's been pitching like one for a year and a half now. I just keep ramming my head into this wall. One thing to note here: His fastball velocity was down 1.5 mph, and that was pretty much true of the whole arsenal. Something to watch, though, of course, it didn't matter in this one. | | Clay Holmes, Mets @BAL: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K – It's bad timing coming off a start, but I think you should be trying really hard to sell Holmes right now. His ERA still sits at a very solid 3.29 mark despite a below-average strikeout rate and poor control. And, Holmes might be piggybacked in his next start Sunday by Sean Manaea , who is making his return from the IL. Would the Mets consider treating Holmes like the Rays are Drew Rasmussen, pairing him with another starter as a way to limit his innings with an eye on the postseason? They haven't tipped their hand yet, but with Holmes' production already looking unsustainable, it's just another reason to get out while you can. | | Jose Soriano, Angels vs. TEX: 4 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 4 K – Soriano is an object lesson in the value of command. His stuff is excellent. He generates ground balls at a rate few pitchers can match, and he pairs that with an arsenal that features four pitches with an above-average swing-and-miss rate, something only five other starters can boast of. But he's liable to get bombed by even mediocre lineups like the Rangers' because he goes through stretches where he just can't throw strikes consistently. You can squint and see Soriano following in Framber Valdez and Cristopher Sanchez 's footsteps and becoming a must-start pitcher, but he hasn't found anything like the consistency those guys have. And until he does, he's just going to remain a headache, I think. | | Nick Martinez, Reds vs. MIA: 5 IP, 7 H, 10 ER, 3 BB, 2 K – It might be time to take the Marlins off the "Obviously you're streaming against them" list. They still rank just 21st in the majors in wOBA, for the season, but they also have a below-average team strikeout rate now and have been a more middling-than-bad lineup for a while – they rank 18th in wOBA since June 1, just behind the Phillies, with a lower strikeout rate than them. The Marlins aren't a great lineup, but they're good enough to take advantage of fringe talents like Martinez. Clearly. Frankly, I'm not sure Martinez is particularly likely to remain in the Reds rotation whenever Hunter Greene is eligible to come off the IL. | | News and notes | | Ronald Acuña was scratched from the lineup Tuesday with lower back tightness. Eli White started in his place. Hopefully, it's just a one-day situation for Acuña, though it also might explain why he's cooled off over the past couple of weeks. | | Ketel Marte returned to the lineup after missing Monday with groin tightness. | | Rafael Devers is dealing with some back tightness, and the earliest he'll play at first base is after the All-Star break. We'd like to see him get 20 appearances there so he won't be DH-only for 2026. | | Hunter Greene threw a bullpen session on Tuesday. Nice to see that after he experienced renewed groin discomfort the other day. | | Shane McClanahan began a rehab assignment at the Florida Complex League on Tuesday. He threw one inning with a walk and strikeout on just 11 pitches. He's looking to make his next appearance Sunday at Triple-A, which will be our first chance to see where his stuff is at, since the Triple-A parks do use Statcast. I'm looking forward to it. | | Jacob Wilson left after getting hit by a pitch on the left wrist, but X-rays came back negative, so hopefully this is just a day-to-day issue. | | The Yankees have moved Jazz Chisholm back to second base. That's good news for Yankees pitchers. | | Kodai Senga is expected to return Friday against the Royals. | | Cole Ragans was transferred to the 60-day IL, which makes sense. He can't return until early August with that rotator cuff strain, and this probably doesn't do much to change his timeline. | | Ivan Herrera will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A on Thursday or Friday and expects to be activated after the All-Star break. | | Adley Rutschman took dry swings Tuesday, his first step to returning from that oblique injury. Which is good news, because we also learned Tuesday that Gary Sanchez is likely to miss 8-10 weeks with a moderate PCL sprain in his right knee | | Rhys Hoskins hopes to return by mid-late August with that Grade 2 UCL sprain in his left thumb. Andrew Vaughn could get a lot of run between now and then, so that's a name to keep an eye on if he gets hot. | | Luis Robert was activated from the IL. | | Luis Gil is expected to begin a rehab assignment Sunday. | | Keibert Ruiz went back on the 7-day concussion IL Tuesday. He was activated Friday, but had renewed symptoms. | | Starling Marte was placed on the IL due to a right knee bruise. Jesse Winker was activated. | | Zebby Matthews threw a live BP Tuesday, his first time facing hitters since going on the IL with a right shoulder strain. | | The Dodgers called up Alexis Diaz from Triple-A. He's been pretty terrible in the minors since coming over from the Reds, so I'd be surprised if he really figured into the save situation there. | | | | | | | | PGA Tour | | U.S. Open Cup | Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are back at the Genesis Scottish Open. Watch the third and final round this Saturday and Sunday at 12 ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
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