Brandon Young picks up ninth win vs. Twins

Young was mostly in control early on, limiting Tampa Bay to just a solo homer from Yandy Díaz through three innings before things unraveled in the ensuing frame. He surrendered five hits in the frame, including homers to Ryan Vilade and Jorge Mateo, but managed to escape without any additional damage. He finished with three strikeouts and only issued one walk. He was fortunate to receive a no-decision after Baltimore’s offense rallied to take him off the hook. He’s in line for a rematch against the Rays at Camden Yards this weekend.

Young has a 3.21 ERA over his last 15 starts, but this makes back-to-back duds against the Phillies and Angels. It was a bit unfortunate for him that the sequence worked out to give Neto a three-run homer, but he’s more of a living-on-the-edge 12-team starter than a true must-roster player. A matchup against the Twins next week remains tasty despite the recent downturn.

Young got off to a rough start in this one, allowing Trea Turner to reach off with an infield single, which he followed with a walk to Kyle Schwarber. A single by Bryce Harper would bring in Turner to put the Phillies up 1-0, and an RBI ground out by Brandon Marsh extended that lead to 2-0 before Young was able to get out of the inning. Young made it through the second inning without any issues, but after allowing solo homers to Turner in the fourth inning and J.T. Realmuto in the sixth inning, he found himself on the wrong side of a 4-2 ball game. This was Young’s worst start since July 4th, when he allowed four earned runs over five innings to the Reds, but he has been relatively strong as of late. He’ll look to bounce back in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday at home against the Angels.

Young gave up four hits, walked two and struck out six. The 27-year-old right-hander left the game in the seventh inning with a 2-1 lead, but an Ozzie Albies home run in the eighth inning tied the score. Young lowered his ERA to 3.13 with another exceptional outing, though his 4.40 xFIP is a warning sign that he could be due for regression. He’s lined up to face the Phillies at home next weekend.

Young gave up five hits, walked one and struck out seven. He improved to 8-2 with the win. Young was excellent in this start, holding the Astros to one run in seven innings. He has a 3.25 ERA and a 4.50 xFIP. Young is lined up to face the Braves at home next weekend.

This means Bradish will pitch in Boston instead of in Houston, which seems like a downgrade right now. It does give Bradish a night to celebrate his $90 million extension, however.

Young kept the Royals off the board through the first three innings, striking out three batters over that span. In the top of the fourth inning, Home Run Derby participant Jac Caglianone smashed a 389-foot solo homer to kick off the inning, cutting the Orioles’ lead to 2-1. A few batters later, Young would allow a walk to Michael Massey, who would later come around to score on an RBI double by Josh Rojas to tie the game. Young would get out of the inning and throw three straight scoreless innings before Isaac Collins got the best of him to lead off the eighth, sending a solo homer to deep center to tie the game at 3-3. It’s a disappointing way to pick up a no-decision. Young needed just 85 pitches to get through seven innings and struck out five or more batters for the fifth straight game. The righty enters the All-Star Break with an impressive 7-2 record and a 3.42 ERA.

Young allowed eight hits and walked three, but the Reds didn’t do a great job of making him pay. In the sixth, he was pulled after a walk and a single to start the inning, but Grant Wolfram came in and got a double play and a groundout to protect Young’s 3.38 ERA. Young moved to 7-2. His 62/30 K/BB in 77 1/3 innings isn’t very impressive, but he’s given up just seven homers. Last year, he allowed 12 in 57 2/3 innings, even though he had a better groundball rate than he does now. Young will face the Royals at home to finish off the first half. That’s a kind matchup, but he’s not an every-week option in mixed leagues.

Young gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out eight. He has a 3.11 ERA, but his 4.61 xFIP is a massive red flag. Young has just a 17 percent strikeout percentage in 72 1/3 innings. While he was able to record eight strikeouts on Saturday, he hasn’t been a strikeout pitcher in the broader sample this year. If Young isn’t getting strikeouts, he certainly isn’t worth risking your ratios on. He’s lined up to face the Reds on the road next week.

Young struck out five and walked two, and is now 6-2 on the season. He’s not overwhelming hitters, and posted an 11 percent swinging strike rate on the day, with most of his whiffs coming on his fastball. His four-seamer has solid velocity at 95.1 mph but gets good vertical movement, and he does a nice job of keeping it up in the zone. Against righties, he’ll keep the slider low in the zone and then throw a splitter to lefties. He does have a solid sinker that he can get called strikes with to righties, but he’s all about keeping hitters off the barrel and inducing weak contact. It’s a tough tight rope to walk, but he could be worth the risk in deeper formats next week against the Nationals.