Andrew

Heaney

Impressive work against a team averaging nine runs per game. It’s Heaney’s 21st career 10-strikeout game. He had one of those last year for Texas. It’s just the fourth time since 2022 that he’s gotten the chance to complete seven innings. We still wouldn’t go trusting Heaney in mixed leagues, but it is to his benefit that he’s pitching half of the time in the worst home run ballpark of his career. He’ll face the Reds in Cincinnati next time out.

The veteran struck out two and walked one on the day while posting just a 14 percent whiff rate and 24 percent CSW. He got ahead in the zone with his four-seam fastball early and was able to get weak contact on changeups and sliders out of the zone. It was an efficient performance but not an exciting one for fantasy purposes. Things will get much tougher next week against the Yankees, where Heaney is not a recommended start.

Keller, Bailey Falter and Andrew Heaney will close out the remainder of a four-game series against the Marlins after ace Paul Skenes takes the ball for his first-career Opening Day start. We’re assuming fifth starter Carmen Mlodzinski will make his season debut on Monday against the Rays, but that hasn’t been finalized.

Eloy Jiménez and Danny Jansen hit back-to-back homers off him in the second. Heaney fell to 0-3 with a 9.49 ERA, but given that he didn’t sign until late February, no one ought to care about that. He’ll open up in the Pittsburgh rotation.

On the plus side, the 33-year-old southpaw racked up four strikeouts on the evening and didn’t walk a batter. The bulk of the damage done against him came via the long ball, with Dillon Dingler swatting a solo homer in the second inning and Ryan Kriedler doing the same in the third. Heaney got eight whiffs on 56 pitches in the contest, half of them on his changeup, while posting a CSW of 30 percent. Heaney holds an uninspiring 11.25 ERA, 2.13 WHIP and a 5/5 K/BB ratio over eight innings in Grapefruit League action.

Heaney is still just worried about building up after signing with the Pirates a mere 15 days go. He threw 57 pitches today, 33 of which were strikes. His velocity was down about one mph from last year, which, given his late start, seems about right.

Heaney was perfect in the first but then went walk, walk, single, walk to begin the second. He still could have escaped the inning having allowed just the one run, but Bryan Reynolds took an awful route to Abraham Toro’s shot to right with two outs, resulting in a three-run triple.

The deal, which was agreed to on Thursday, is now official. The 33-year-old southpaw will help to add stability and leadership to a young Pirates’ staff. He showed rare durability during the 2024 season, making 32 appearances (31 starts) for the Rangers where he registered a 4.28 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 159/41 K/BB ratio across 160 innings.

The deal is still pending a physical. The 33-year-old southpaw stayed healthy for the duration of the 2024 season and made 32 appearances (31 starts) for the Rangers, registering a 5-14 record, 4.28 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 159/41 K/BB ratio across 160 frames. He should have a spot in the Pirates’ Opening Day rotation and could be a viable late-round rotation option in deeper mixed leagues.

The Tigers made a surprising run to the postseason in 2024 on the back of AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and a surging young offense. However, the Tigers were also forced to use “bullpen games” often due to injuries and inconsistencies from the remainder of their rotation. While it would be unlikely for the Tigers to enter a bidding war for some of the top starting pitchers on the market, it seems like the team is interested in finding a lower-cost veteran starting pitcher to help round out their rotation.