… Man, I just don’t know anymore
Let’s just say it’s been a week (or 3).
Spencer Strider is coming off a major injury, and as frustrating as that may be, we have to keep remembering that. It’s a long layoff from actual competition. It’s getting used to your body as it is now. And it’s learning to trust that your body is going to do it while not breaking again. It’s likely going to take a minute to get back to what he was.
Because he hasn’t been great since coming back. He’s got a 5.68 ERA, and while metrics suggest he’s a run better than that … well that’s still not good. His strikeouts are way down, walks are up, and fly balls are happening more frequently. It’s not a good combo, but I’m not really going to delve into it too much.
Here’s the main point. We have to be patient with our expectations with Spencer. 4 starts and 19 innings isn’t enough time for us to glean much of anything.
Landen Roupp, however, had been very good, and you may not know his name. A 3.18 ERA is backed up by an xFIP and xERA that are just a tad worse. His metrics aren’t outstanding in any particular area, but he’s pretty good in all of them – strikeouts, walks, and getting groundballs.
Roupp prefers movement to velocity, and he comes at you from a lower arm angle than most. Statcast isn’t fully onboard, but the curveball is a legit weapon.
It’s mostly curveballs and sinkers, but he mixes in the cutters and change-ups for a different perspective. Overall, it’s been very effective, and we’ll see how Atlanta handles it today.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, June 8th, 4:05 p.m. EDT
Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
TV: FanDuel Sports South, Southeast, MLB Network (only out-of-market)
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan