Let’s take a moment to appreciate just how good Shane Bieber has been since 2019. On Friday, he put his name into the record books. The 25-year-old ace struck out 11 batters against the White Sox to give him 68 through April, the most by any pitcher in history for the month. The performance also made him the record holder for most consecutive starts (18) with at least eight strikeouts, passing Randy Johnson. The last time Bieber failed to strike out at least eight batters came on September 25, 2019, when he struck out seven against the White Sox. And through six starts last year, Bieber had 65 strikeouts. The man has just been incredible.
Against a tough Chicago lineup on Friday, Bieber tossed 66-of-100 pitches for strikes and generated 19 whiffs -- seven on the slider, six on the curve -- to finish with an elite 39 percent CSW (called strikes plus whiffs). Going into Friday’s contest, he trailed only Corbin Burnes in CSW for the year at 36.5 percent. When it comes to just swinging strikes, Beiber’s 19.1 percent ranked behind only Burnes and Jacob deGrom. He’ll take a 3-2 record with a 2.76 ERA and 0.99 WHIP into his next start against the Royals in Kansas City on Wednesday as he looks to keep the streak of at least eight strikeouts going.
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Starting Pitchers with an EDGE
Gerrit Cole vs Tigers
6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K
Cole was absolutely dominant against the Tigers on Friday, tossing 61-of-87 pitches for strikes and generating a ridiculous 44 percent CSW as he was efficient through six innings. There was no need for the 30-year-old ace to go longer as the Yankees had already put up 10 runs on the Tigers through five frames. His next start will come on Thursday next week against the Astros.
Freddy Peralta vs Dodgers
6 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 7 K
Peralta has absolutely made some fantastic strides as a starting pitcher. On Friday, he held the Dodgers lineup to just one run and struck out seven. The only damage came on a solo home run by A.J. Pollock in the fifth inning. He takes a 2.25 ERA with 45 strikeouts across 28 innings into his next start against the Phillies on the road. At this point, Peralta is a must-start across all formats.
Lance McCullers vs Rays
7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 9 K
McCullers shut down the Rays on Friday with seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. The 27-year-old right-hander generated 21 whiffs, including 11 on the changeup for a 69 percent whiff rate on the pitch. The Rays just had no answer for the talented hurler. He gets a tough test against the Yankees in New York next week.
Yu Darvish vs Giants
6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 12 K
Darvish gave up a solo home run in the first inning to Buster Posey and then settled in nicely over 6 1/3. He generated 12 strikeouts with the help of 16 whiffs and a 38 percent CSW rate. The 34-year-old right-hander has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since the second half of 2019. Darvish will take a 2.13 ERA with 49 strikeouts across 38 innings into his next start against the Pirates in San Diego.
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Hitters with an EDGE
Aaron Judge vs Tigers
2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Judge hit a solo home run in the third inning to give the Yankees a three-run lead, then cleared the bases with a grand slam in the fourth inning. The 29-year-old outfielder looked just fine after returning from a few days off due to lower-leg soreness. Occasional time off is to be expected as the team tries to keep the slugger healthy all season.
J.D. Martinez vs Rangers
3-for-4, 3 H, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
J.D. Martinez is looking like he’s back as one of the best hitters in baseball after an incredibly hot start to the season. He’s slashing .351/.430/.745 with nine home runs and 25 RBI through 107 plate appearances. Martinez blasted two of those home runs on Friday to help Boston win against the Rangers. The 33-year-old slugger has a 13.2 percent barrel rate and 48.5 percent hard-hit rate that is more in line with his 2019 numbers.
Alejandro Kirk vs Atlanta
2-for-4 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB
Alejandro Kirk had himself a big day at the plate on Friday as he launched two homers and drove in four runs in the game. His first home run came in the fourth inning -- a 109.4 mile per hour shot off Drew Smyly. The second came in the fifth inning off of Edgar Santana. The 22-year-old backstop is hitting just .231, but the multi-homer game could get him going and hopefully get him into the lineup more often going forward.
Priority Pickup
Alex Kirilloff, OF, Twins (Available in 71 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Kirilloff launched his first two career home runs on Friday against the Royals and has hit safely in four consecutive games. The 23-year-old top prospect has been hitting near the middle of the order and should be in a position to drive in plenty of runs. If he can continue to hit at the major league level, Kirilloff will be one of the rookies to make the biggest impact this season and should be rostered across all formats.
Closing Time
Mark Melancon recorded his ninth save of the season on Friday in a victory over the Giants. The 36-year-old right-hander leads the league in saves and has been incredibly effective with 14 strikeouts across 13 innings.
With Hector Neris unavailable after pitching back-to-back days, Sam Coonrod was called upon to protect the lead in the ninth inning and recorded his first save of the season.
Lucas Sims entered the game against the Cubs in the ninth inning with a four-run lead and could not find his control as he walked three batters. Tejay Antone came in to clean things up and end the game for the Reds as he converted his first save of the season. We might have seen Antone take a hold of the closer role with the outing.
Emmanuel Clase converted his fifth save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning against the White Sox. Clase did work around a leadoff hit as he induced three consecutive groundouts to finish the frame.
Josh Hader recorded his seventh save of the season on Friday against the Dodgers. Hader struck out the side -- all swinging -- as he looks as dominant as ever with 19 strikeouts over 9 2/3 innings.
Cesar Valdez continues to get away with throwing his changeup almost exclusively as he worked around two base hits to start the ninth inning against the A’s. Valdez recorded his sixth save of the season, tied for most in the American League.
Matchup of the Day
Dustin May (LAD) vs Brandon Woodruff (MIL)
The Brewers moved a half-game up over the Dodgers in the National League standings with a win on Friday. The second game of the series features two starting pitchers off to a tremendous start. Brandon Woodruff comes into the contest with a 1.55 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts over 29 innings. He’s become a dependable fantasy ace after a breakout 2020 season. Meanwhile, questions surrounded Dustin May regarding his role and ability to generate strikeouts. He’s answered both questions with a 2.53 ERA and 13.50 K/9 over 21 1/3 innings across four starts as his breakout season seems upon us. This one will be a fun pitching duel to watch.
American League Quick Hits: Adalberto Mondesi was able to take batting practice on Thursday ... Luke Voit is expected to return to the Yankees for their road trip starting on May 11 ... Yordan Alvarez was activated from the COVID-19 injured list ... Max Kepler was activated from the COVID-19 injured list ... Brady Singer was removed from Friday’s start with a left heel contusion after he was hit by a line drive ... Rich Hill was placed on the COVID-19 injured list with vaccine side effects but will make his start Sunday... Yandy Diaz went 0-for-4 and is 5-for-32 in his last 10 games ... Kyle Garlick was activated from the COVID-19 injured list ... Ryan Jeffers was optioned to the alternate training site ... the Athletics signed Cam Bedrosian to a minor league contract ... Daulton Jefferies will begin the Triple-A season on the injured list with biceps tendinitis ... Andre Scrubb was activated from the injured list ... Jonathan Davis was optioned to the alternate training site to make room for Teoscar Hernandez ... Tanner Roark was designated for assignment ...
National League Quick Hits: J.T. Realmuto was scratched from the lineup on Friday with a sore hand ... Carlos Carrasco threw five innings in his latest start at the alternate training site ... Francisco Lindor went 0-for-5 and hit just .189 in April ... Willson Contreras left Friday’s game with mild left thigh tightness ... Marcus Stroman was pulled from Friday’s start due to a tight hamstring ... Keston Hiura remained out of the lineup Friday due to performance ... Kevin Gausman is good to go for his scheduled start on Sunday ... Jesse Winker was removed from Friday’s contest with back tightness ... Didi Gregorius was placed on the COVID-19 injured list ... Jean Segura could be activated from the injured list before the end of the weekend ... Mike Soroka was transferred to the 60-day injured list ... Kole Calhoun underwent a surgical procedure on his left hamstring and will be out 6-8 weeks ... Tony Gonsolin threw a 20-pitch bullpen session on Thursday ... Jonathan India was placed on the injured list without an injury designation ... Bryce Wilson was optioned to the alternate training site ... Sean Newcomb was activated from the 10-day injured list ... Johan Camargo was optioned to the alternate training site ... Kristian Robinson won’t be ready to start the minor league season as he waits for visa clearance following an aggravated assault arrest last year ... Cubs recalled Kyle Ryan from the alternate training site ... Steven Duggar was recalled by the Giants
