Joey

Cantillo

Cantillo’s runs were unearned, but he was certainly due to see some hitters cross the plate Tuesday. He allowed six hits and three walks, so there was consistent traffic throughout the contest. Still, credit to Cantillo for battling through those runners — even if it was self-created — and if not for an error by Travis Bazzana, he just might have kept the Twins off the board Tuesday evening. He also was able to strike out a solid seven over those five frames, and he’ll look to apply the good from this start versus the Marlins in Miami on Sunday.

Cantillo struck out four in the 93-pitch outing. He came out for the sixth inning but departed after walking the first hitter. The left-hander posted his best monthly K-BB% of the year in June, but Wednesday’s outing was a step backward in that regard. His profile is built to excel at strikeouts and grounders rather than throwing strikes, and that disconnect prevents him from being a set-and-forget starting pitcher in most fantasy formats. Consider him a streamer next time out against the Twins.

Cantillo allowed just two hits and two walks in the ballgame. The lone tally against him came on a solo shot off the bat of Colt Emerson in the third inning. Aside from that, Cantillo was in complete command. The 26-year-old southpaw generated 18 whiffs on 90 pitches on the night, registering an elite CSW of 38 percent. He’ll bring a 3.87 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and an 85/39 K/BB ratio (86 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Rangers.

Cantillo gave up four hits, walked one and struck out nine. He improved to 6-3 with the win. Cantillo had allowed 15 runs in 11 innings over three starts before rebounding with two runs allowed in 13 innings over his last two starts. His ERA is down to 4.05. Cantillo will face the Mariners at home next week.

The Tigers brought a run in on Cantillo in the first inning on a pair of hits. He stranded a runner in the second and allowed the first two runners to reach in the third before retiring nine straight batters, ending his day after the fifth with just the one run allowed and four strikeouts. Cantillo needed this one after giving up 15 runs across his last three starts. The 26-year-old left-hander will take a 4.38 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, and a 67/36 K/BB ratio across 72 innings into a start against the Astros in Houston on Friday.

Cantillo gave up nine hits, walked two and struck out seven. He fell to 4-3 with the loss. Cantillo entered the game with a 3.92 ERA and a 4.64 xFIP. After allowing seven earned runs, his ERA is 4.57. It’s a tough break for fantasy managers that 11 of the 34 runs Cantillo has allowed this year came in his last two starts, but given his xFIP this feels like him pitching to his true talent level. He’s off the fantasy radar for his next start against the Tigers at home next weekend.

The Guardians let Cantillo off the hook by scoring nine runs tonight. They’re now 10-3 in Cantillo’s starts, though Cantillo’s record is just 4-2 and this makes three times in four starts that he’s allowed four runs. Getting to work with Patrick Bailey has yet to be much of a boon for him. In fact, he has better ERAs in his two starts with David Fry (1.86) and four with Bo Naylor (3.54) this year than in his four with Austin Hedges (3.98) and three with Bailey (6.17). He’ll face the Rangers on Sunday.

Cantillo gave up a two-run homer to James Wood in a four-run second, but the bigger problem was the four walks. He threw 29 pitches in the first and 40 in the second before being removed. Cantillo has walked 11 over 12 2/3 innings in his last three starts, and his walk rate is up to 12.6 percent for the season. He’s in such a nice situation in Cleveland that it seems worth sticking with him, but he definitely needs to get better about the free passes. He’s a risky play in Yankee Stadium next time out.

This one seemed poised for a different outcome early, but Cantillo was able to strand the bases loaded in a 32-pitch first inning and he allowed just three more baserunners the rest of the way. He ended the outing having allowed only two hard-hit balls and sporting a 32 percent CSW. Cantillo, who was working with Patrick Bailey for the first time today, moved to 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA, and the Guardians are 9-2 in his starts. It’d be nice if he were more efficient — he might have a couple more of those victories — but he’s proving useful anyway. He’ll face the Nationals on Tuesday.

Three of the runs came in the fifth, which started with a bunt single, a sac bunt and then walks to three of the next four batters. Spencer Steer followed with a two-run double on which Sal Stewart was thrown out at home to the inning. That ended Cantillo’s evening at 87 pitches. He has a nice 3.40 ERA, but he has gone six innings just twice all year. He also has an ugly 11/11 K/BB in four starts this month after coming in at 34/13 in his first six outings. He’ll face the Tigers next week.