Brandon

Young

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.

Young kept the Mariners scoreless through two innings, then gave up a run on two walks and a hit in the third. It was the only run Young allowed through six innings before he allowed the first two runners to reach in the seventh. That would end his day at 92 pitches. Both inherited runners would come in to score, spoiling an otherwise solid day on the mound. The 27-year-old right-hander will take a 3.18 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and a 44/23 K/BB ratio across 62 1/3 innings into a start against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Young allowed just two hits on the evening, dropping his ERA to 3.04. Jake Rill of MLB.com notes the Orioles are now 9-1 in games he starts this season. Additionally, Young recently revamped his splitter, and he’s thrown four straight quality starts. He’ll look to make it five in a row with a rematch against the Mariners next time out. That one will come in pitcher-friendly Seattle.

Young allowed a leadoff double to George Springer to start the game. Springer would eventually come home on a sacrifice fly by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to tie the game at 1-1. In the second inning, Young would narrowly escape a jam with runners on the corners and two outs, and went on to pitch two more scoreless frames before falling victim to a two-run homer by Brandon Valenzuela, which put the Jays up 3-1. Overall, it was a solid outing for Young, who didn’t allow a free baserunner all night and left the game with a chance to pick up the win after the Orioles drove home five runs in the sixth inning. Young continues to be one of the more reliable arms in the Orioles’ rotation. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of his nine starts and has pitched into the seventh inning in his last three outings. His next start is scheduled for Wednesday at home against the Mariners.

Young held the Blue Jays scoreless through three innings, then gave up two runs on three hits in the fourth. That would be the only damage against Young as he went on to pitch into the seventh, leaving with two outs in the inning at 86 pitches. He struck out a season-high seven batters on 13 whiffs. The 27-year-old right-hander will take a 3.35 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and a 33/17 K/BB ratio into a rematch against the Blue Jays in Toronto on Friday.

Young struck out four batters on the afternoon while issuing a pair of walks. The damage done against him came in the fourth inning as the Tigers scratched out a pair of runs after Pete Alonso botched a potential double play ground ball. He generated eight whiffs on 105 pitches in the contest, posting a CSW of 26 percent. He’ll try to keep the good times rolling as he brings a 3.47 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 26/16 K/BB ratio (36 1/3 innings) into Friday’s tilt against the Blue Jays.

The clubs ultimately decided there wasn’t enough of a window in the forecast at Camden Yards that it made sense to try to start this contest. It’ll be made up as a split doubleheader on Sunday instead. Fantasy managers should anticipate Saturday’s original starters — Framber Valdez and Brandon Young — taking the ball at some point during the twin bill.